AoS Killer Angel's BatReps

Since I'm planning to to more or less regular BatReps, I figure that to have just one thread is better than flooding this subforum with a bunch of posts. So here we go.

This growing thread will be structured this way:
in this first post there will be a summary of all the BatReps while i do them, each bat rep with a title (forces involved) and points of the armies, and there will be a link to the actual post of the Bat Rep. So you will have at hand the entirety of the reps and with an easy access to the ones that interest you (with the following comments).



OLD THREADS with previous BatReps (before the release of the General Hand book 2017):

- Seraphon Vs Dwarfs_New Gettysburg! (1540 pts)
- Seraphon Vs Dwarfs_skinks! (1500 pts)



2nd EDITION - GHB 2018

- Seraphon Vs Nighthaunt (1000 pts), which is the first BatRep posted here, in the following posts
- Seraphon vs SCE (1000 pts)
- Seraphon vs SCE (2000 pts) - Kroak + thunderquake
- Seraphon vs Spiderfang (750 pts)
- Seraphon vs FEC (1000 pts)
- Seraphon vs Khorne (1750 pts) - thunderquake
- Seraphon vs Destruction (2000 pts) - thunderquake
- Seraphon vs Slaanesh (2500 pts) - Thunderquake + shadowstrike
- Seraphon vs Free People (2000 pts) - triple EotG
- Seraphon vs Fyreslayers (2000 pts) - triple EotG


2nd EDITION - GHB 2019

- Seraphon vs Fyreslayers (2000 pts)
- Seraphon vs Fyreslayers (2000 pts) - Lord Kroak vs Gotrek


SERAPHON 2.0 - the New Battletome

- Seraphon vs Ironjawz (2000 pts) - Lord Kroak vs Goddrakk
- Seraphon vs Ironjawz (2000 pts) - this time it's Dread Saurian


AoS 3.0

- Seraphon vs Ossiarch Bonereapers (2000 pts) - Thunderlizard
- Seraphon vs Kharadron Overlords (2000 pts) - Coatl's Claw, special guest Dread Saurian
- Seraphon vs Soulblight Gravelords (Vyrkos) 2000 pts - Thunderlizard, special guest Dread Saurian
- Seraphon vs Kharadron Overlords (2000 pts) - Thunderlizard, special guest Lord Kroak
- Seraphon vs Lumineth (2000 pts) - Dracothion's tail
- Seraphon vs Cities of Sigmar (2000 pts) - Thunderlizard vs Tempest's eye and SCE drakes

 

Seraphon Vs Nighthaunt (1000 pts)​

Army Lists

SERAPHON
- Slann (general, Vast Intellect, iridescent feathers)
- Astrolith Bearer
- Skink Starpriest
- 10 Skinks (boltsplitters)
- 10 Skinks (javelin)
- Stegadon
- 4 razordons (proxyed by the models of 4 sallies)

NIGHTHAUNT
- Knight of Shrouds on steed: general, ruler of spirit hosts (can raise dead models), midnight tome (he's a wizard)
- Guardian of Soul (can raise dead models)
- Spirit Torment (can raise dead models)
- 40 Chainrasp Horde
- 20 Grimghast Reapers




Battleplan

This one (don't know the english name. Central Points?)

2 VP if you control the central objective
1 VP for each objective you control
3 VP if you control a couple of opposite Objectives (1-3 or 2-4)




Set-Up

SERAPHON:
javelin skinks near the obj n. 2 (the one on my right), Boltsplitter skinks near 3 (the lower one), all the rest near the wood whithin the skinks' units

NIGHTHAUNT:
40 chainrasps near the obj n. 4 (on my left), behind them, in the wood, we have the Guardian and Spirit Torment.
Knight and Reapers are set in the UnderWorld (can deepstrke anywhere at more than 9" from me)




I've got far more mobility to take objectives, but those 2 hordes could pose some problem if i don't snipe the heroes, and I could be taken by them in a dangerous pince.
I took the starpriest because he can cast starlight and the slann with vast intellect will just cast Curse of Fate, saving two spells for summining points.

Let's go!

 

FIRST ROUND

NIGHTHAUNT's player decides to go first, fearing my shooting. he wants to close the gap asap, possibly charging me in the first turn with the reapers from the underworld.

Spell not countered on the chainrasp (-1 to be wounded), they run forward, toward the central objective
Grimghast reapers and the General appear on my right, but they fail the charge.

2VPs fof the central obj




It's SERAPHON turn

successful Starlight on Steggy; Curse of Fate is countered..
If i teleport the steggy behind the lines to reach for the heroes behind the chainrasp horde i could wreck one of them, luring the horde back to swarm the dino. but with the horde so near, i could reach it with the steggy without a teleport (that i could use with a different unit), and i would be still within the range of the Astrolith. So i decide to play an attrition game, blocking the hordes and taking objectives.
I use the skink Alpha ability to move the steggy, and i teleport the skinks (roll a 6) on the right near the upper objective, then i move the razordons and the steggy.

i collect 10 summoning points (6+1 Slann, 3 for the Astrolith)



I shoot everything on the chainrasps and charge them with the steggy.
"Only" 19 dead, the survivors inflict 5 wounds to the stegadon and pass the battleshock with the use of a command point

3 VPs (the couple of objectives 2-4)





SECOND ROUND

NIGHTHAUNT wins the roll

I unbind the spell to raise back chairasps, but not the mystic shield on the Reapers.
The reapers are without target (the previously teleported skinks) so they are forced to run, passing upon my right objective
Chainrasps inflict damage on the stegadon, bringing it down to 1 wound!

3 VP (total: 5)




SERAPHON

things are becoming interesting. I decide to continue my tactic: play for objectives, not care for heroes and block the hordes.
Summon starlight on Razors (works), Curse of Fate on Steggy (failed due to unbind).
Teleport away steggy and land it near the unguarded objective on the left. Collect 9 summoning points for a grand total of 19.
Summon a Troglodon: being near the astrolith it should be easy to shoot at the reapers, gaining a +3 on the following charge that i could reroll with a command point. Sounds a good plan, as the reapers excel in fighting hordes.

(note: in the battlefield there are also previously killed models, that i will point so you know they're out of game)




Shoot at the chairasps (poor result), and successful shootin by the trog on the reapers. Charge!

The plan worked perfectly, I've killed only 4 reapers, but now the nighthaunt meleers are stuck in combat far away from my Headquarter and the units that are in control of objectives.
Please note that in this way I'm also limiting the move of the undead heroes, as they need to stay nearby the fighting units to grant them the bonuses they desperately need...

I score 4 VP (total: 7)

 

THIRD ROUND

I win the roll, so double turn for me! this one could be the turning point

SERAPHON

Starlight by Starpriest fails to enter; i forego all the spells with the slann, and i teleport away the 3 remaining razordons away from the Chainraps. I collect 11 summoning points, and the one previously saved takes me to 12
I move back the skinks upon the objective 1 and i summon a couple of new razordons.
After shooting (which the stegadon regularly fails), combat and battleshock, the surprisingly resilient chainrasp are still alive as unit (1 model), while the Reapers count a lot of dead models. The Troglodon is down to 6 wounds.

this turn i collect 4 VPs (total: 11)




NIGHTHAUNT

A reaper is raised tnx to the Knight of Shrouds, but i unbind the spell that would resurrect 1d6 chainrasp.
The last chainrasp flees back in the wood, and the guardian of souls moves toward the stegadon (which you cannot see in the picture, as it's behind the tower)
the Knight of shrouds moves and then charges the unit of 3 razors (who fail to shoot) and kills 2.
The spirit torment leaves the wood and charges my skinks, but wary fighter as they are, they say hello to the foolish undead and fall back.
My brave Trog is reduced to 1 wound, but still stands!

1 VPs for the undead, that goes to 6 VPs




FOURTH ROUND.

The NIGHTHAUNT manages to roll a double turn! WIll my opponent be able to turn the tide?

the heroes are finally able to raise 6 chainrasps and another reaper.
- chainrasps and spirit torment charge and surround the skinks in the wood
- the guardian of soul charges the 1-wound stegadon
- the Reapers try to mow down the Trog (with just 1 wound too as the Steggy)

my opponent could blast away both the dinos and the far skinks, but will it be enough?

after the combat:
1 heroic skink is still alive
Steggy is dead
the troglodon stands. epic!




(not in the picture, the Knight of shrouds is unable to finish the last razor)

due to pile-in, now the objective on my right in no more in control of nighthaunts but they have the n. 1 and 4.
total: 8 VPs



SERAPHON

The starpriest tries to cast a bolt but it's dispelled. The Slann doesn't cast and i obtain 13 summoning points
I try to teleport away the brave remaining skink to take the now undefended objective n. 2, but I fail…
I move to fire with the previously summoned razordons and then summon another couple to take the central objective.



After the shooting, the Reapers and the undead General are no more.

I take 3 VPs, going to 14


With just one turn remaining, the undead player quits.

VICTORY FOR SERAPHON​

 

tactical considerations about the battle and the weaknesses of the list.



Guys, those nighthaunts are tough as nails!
In this battle I managed to shut down almost all the raising attempts, otherwise i coud have been swarmed…. such large units can suffer heavy losses and still remain effective, especially if they can avoid battleshock with command points if there's need to. The positive thing is that with just 2 big units, it is relatively simple to engage and stop their advance, but you need to employ tough units.

Summoning for us is huge, in the end I managed to summon 320 points of units (but diluited along the whole game), sacrificing the casting of 260 points of slann (since the first turn).
Point by point, it would be a loss, but the adaptability and the control that Summoning give us is TOO BIG to be underestimated. You just need to be careful to what you're summoning and why.

Spells, summoning and teleport
I was unlucky; many spells dispelled because i rolled too low even with the support of the astrolith… however, some considerations must be done.
- unbind at 30" makes our casting less reliable
- my favorite tactic before 2nd edition (use Slann with Vast Intellect, buff a unit as a stegadon with Curse of Fate + starlight, teleport and charge), can be countered more easily
- summoning is too much important to be avoided
- teleport is always helpful

this is making me think about it.
At the moment, is probably better to leave Vast Intellect at home, and use a Slann with Great Remember: double teleport with unmodifiable chances but you can move up to two units.
Especially at 1000-1500 pts, double teleport lets you have a fabulous control of the battlefield, when units are few in numbers and distant objectives can be taken with ease.
Plus, double teleport lets you move also something to deal with annoying enemy heroes in the rearlines (as it would have been the case in this game)
The buff by Starlight can easily be obtained by a Starpriest and at that point you can go full summoning with the Slann.
At higher points, the impact on the game is less huge, but al low points games (1000-1500) a summoning battery as a dedicated Slann can shift the balance.

 

Good report, thanks for posting!

 

Yep, ATM i believe Great Rememberer can be better than Vast Intellect.
Skniks works better than guards as battleline if you don't plan to have your battleline do the real work, 5 sauri won't have any impact on the battle and to sacrifice the stegadon (which is still your main cc unit at the beginning of the game) to insert a scarvet on CO makes little sense.
Of course, you can sacrifice the steggy and the skinks to go heavy on saurus units…
The next batrep will be a sauri list.

 

I'm actually planning to do a series of BatReps with different lists, probably at 1000 (but who knows) to see how well diferent approaches will perform on the battlefield
The next one will be a list with saurus warriors as main force
then a heavy summoning one and maybe one with a dread saurian.

If you have some nice idea or something you would lke to see, let me know.

 

Seraphon Vs SCE (1000 pts)​

Army Lists

SERAPHON
- Slann (general, Great Rememberer, iridescent feathers)
- Astrolith Bearer
- Saurus Oldblood
- 10 Skinks (boltsplitters)
- 40 Saurus warriors (blades)
- 3 skink handlers

(note: I took the 3 handlers because they are a handy unit to teleport on obj and if there's need i can summon salamander and have them already able to shoot.
the idea behind the list is to teleport the warriors… if I roll a 3-4, i can move them with the command ability of the Oldblood and exploit a reliable 6" charge, to strike hard since turn 1)

SCE
- Lord Celestant on Stardrake
- Lord Exorcist
- 5 Liberators
- 5 Liberators
- 3 Prosecutors w javelin
- 3 Prosecutors w javelin
- Endless spell: celestian vortex

Battleplan

Starstrike

Objectives fall casually, one at the beginning of the 2nd round (mid line), then 2 others at the beginning of the 3rd round (each one on a different territory).
You collect victory points equal to the number of round for each objective




Set-Up

SERAPHON:
central section: Oldblood + Astrolith, then 40 warriors, Slann + Handlers; 10 skinks on my right

SCE:
Both the Lords are on my left, then we have both the prosecutors units, then a unit of Liberators, the other Liberators are set in the heavens.





I've got far more mobility to take objectives, but I have nothing to stop that Lord Celestant… we're talking about more than half of the army stuffed in a single model, with so many deadly abilities that hurts no matter how you face it.
Another unit that worries me it's the Prosecutors. There's 2 of them and they give mobility and dangerous shooting attacks, that could easily kill my heroes, if backed up by the long ranged MW by the Lord Celestant.
I decide that my main target will be the Prosecutors, to eliminate both the shooting and the flyiers. Then i will only have to "feed" units to the Drake, to buy times to go for objectives… hoping the objectives won't fall in a territory too much near to the Drake

Let's go!

 

FIRST ROUND

I end first, so I decide to seize the initiative given that the prosecutors units are near one to each other.
Constellation: reroll 1s to hit (meh)

SERAPHON's round

I teleport the warriors with a 5, so no need for the Oldblood, then i also teleport successfully the skinks to shoot the liberators.
I forego all the casting and roll a 1 for the astrolith. 11 summoning points.



skinks' shooting got no effect.
I move the warriors and run with the heroes, to have the horde within 12" from the astrolith; a 7" charge + pile-in let me blast away both the prosecutors. Mission accomplished!.




It's SCE turn

Lord Exorcist tries to cast the endless spell but my Slann unbinds it.
The Exo falls back and my opponent drops the liberator to protect him (imo not a great move, but hey)
The LC on Drake uses the ability that rolls a die for each model of the target unit, delivering a MW for each 6, then charges my warriors. Tnx to the terrain that gives FNP at 6+ and to some poor roll by my opponent, I manage to lose just a dozen warriors. My pile-in obtains basically nothing (just one wound, and another dead saurus tnx to the defensive ability of the Stardrake)




SECOND ROUND

the first objective lands on my right (GOOD!)


SCE wins the roll, so double turn

This is a bad new, I was hoping to save my warriors, but I've got no chances to survive against a double turn by a Stardrake.
The endless vortex kicks in, then the Lord Celestant further brutalize my poor sauri (sorry for the poor photo quality).
The liberators on my right (not in the picture) run toward the objective, where I've got only my skinks.
I've lost my combat block and the whole left side of the battlefield, now i can count only on my summoned reinforcements, and that damned drake got 13" move…




SERAPHON

this round can tell if I can recover from the psycological blow.
I totally abandon the left:
The Astrolith runs to the right, and I teleport the Oldblood near my skink, at 9" from the liberators, hoping to charge them.
Again, I forego all the spells, and I roll a 3 with the astrolith. 13 summoning points, for a grand total of 24!
I move the skinks to claim the objective and I call a Bastiladon at 9" from the Liberators.
the shooting with the reroll kills 2 liberators, then we have the charges.
Oldblood fails
Bastiladon fails.
I use a command point for another try, and the Bastiladon charges succesfully! another liberator is killed and and the survivors flee with the battleshock.

Great Turn, and i collect the first 2 VPs of the game!

 

I've summoned a Bastiladon and I've got the control of an objective, so things are not going bad.
However the stardrake is at full power and now that my main threat is gone, he can unleash mortal wounds at a safe distance.
Where will the objectives fall in the next round? to have a good move won't be of much help if they land near the Stormcast's force…



THIRD ROUND

We roll for the falling objectives.
The one in my battlefield lands at my left. It's no good, but i can work with it.
The one in SCE battlefield… lands at my right! with that, victory should be at hand, if i am careful with my moves. If only the Liberators were still in the sky, things could have been different


SCE win the roll

SCE

Liberators + Hexorcist run toward the left objective.
Stardrake spam some mortal wounds (3 to the astrolith, 1 to the Oldblood, to the Bastiladon that i save), then run for my right side.


SERAPHON.

i try to teleport the handlers, but fail… so i do it a second time, and now i roll a 4. Handlers land near the left objective.
I forego all the casting and the astrolith rolls a 2. WIth 12 summoning points, i call a unit of terradons.
I use a command point to have the skinks run at max speed, so they reach the objective on the right, while the oldblood moves to take the objective left by the skinks.
My Bastiladon places between the stardrake and the skinks, trying to put some wounds on the stardrake with no success.



Having gained the control of all objectives, i collect 9 VPs, plus the 2 i already have…. it's 11-0



FOURTH ROUND.

SCE again, but i doubt the course of the battle can be changed.

Hexorcist tries to cast, but my Slann counters the spell. the Lord deals a mortal Wound to the Bastiladon.
Liberators run, Stardrake successfully charges my Bstiladon… but the dinosaurs is MUCH tougher than the saurus warriors, and is immune to some of the Drake's abilities (no swallowing bite, no tail slap), so it stands with 4 wounds.


SERAPHON

I try to teleport the handlers again, to summon sallies and shoot the Stardrake, but i fail twice. Oh well.
I forego the casting and i summon a couple of razordons.
the multiple shooting hurts the Lord Celestant, and i collect 12 VPs.

Total VPs: 23-0





FIFTH ROUND.

the game is over, but my opponent wants to see if he can win the battle vs the bastiladon.

Sadly, i win the roll for the turn.
This round i teleport the handlers and summon 2 sallies.
The combined shooting by skinks, bastiladon, razordons and sallies finally kills the Stardrake, and all the objectives are still in my hand.

VPs: 38-0

CRUSHING VICTORY FOR SERAPHON​

 

A brief comment about the battle.


Despite the final score, we can still learn some things, at least for 1000 pts battles.

1) at 1000 points, there are few units on board. The control of the battlefield is king, and we have an enormous advantage, tnx to summoning and teleport

2) pick your targets.
Alpha strikes (be them with shadowstrike or teleport tricks) are our friend, but you need to select the real threats. Often the heroes are the way to go, but in this case I picked the units that could have posed some problems: the prosecutors.
Basically, i sacrificed 360 points of sauri to destroy 200 points of Flying dudes, but in the end that was one of the keys to victory.

3) move. Move always. Read the battlefield and exploit all what you have, including the use of a command point to run 6', if it makes the difference between taking an objective or to risk not taking it.

4) Big monsters eat points. If you field them, there will be almost nothing that can stop them, but you are going to pay a price in battlefield control.
If you plan to field a Dread Saurian at 1000 pts (a thing that I'm going to do), then go for it, but plan also a heavy summoning list to call asap the bodies you will lack in your initial set-up

5) a similar thing can be said for large but slow units. 40 chainrasps are nearly immortal, but unless they are going to sit on an objective, they should pose little threat to your highly mobile units.

6) SCE may be a dangerous enemy, but my opponent called the liberators in the sky one turn too early.
I would have won the same, but less easily.

 

My friend with SCE, wanted a "revenge" after the defeat in the last game, so he challenged me at 2000 pts.

Seraphon Vs SCE (2000 pts)​

Army Lists

SERAPHON

- Lord Kroak (general)
- 3 x 10 skinks (boltsplitters)
- Astrolith Bearer
- 3 ripperdactyls
- Thunderquake Starhost:
EotG, Bastiladon w laser, Stegadon, 3 salamanders + handlers
- Endless spell: chronomantic cogs

(note: I've got very few bodies, so the idea behind the list is to use Kroak's comet, then push summoning to fill the battlefield, while my strong core of dinos deals some long range damage and sits upon some objective, defending kroak. Plus rippers for some long range strike, and further conjured rippers to use the toad already on the battlefield.)

SCE
- Lord Celestant on Stardrake
- Lord exorcist
- Lord Arcanum on gryph charger
- Knight incantor
- 5 liberators
- 5 liberators
- 10 sequitors
- 3 vanguard raptors w crossbow
- 3 vanguard raptors w crossbow
- Endless spells: celestian vortex, everblaze comet, soulsnare shackles

(note: the list is heavily oriented on magic, it is clearly made to deal damage with comet, vortex and also the ability of the lord celestant, plus the support from the vanguard raptors.
the liberators are just there to sit upon some objective, while the close combat will be done by the stardrake, the sequitors and possibly also the lord Arcanum.
But the list is slow, I'm not sold on it. My friend plays SCE not the way I would use them.)


Realm & Battleplan


we play in the realm of Aqshy. There is one spell that would be very good for me…



we roll for the battleplan… and we play Conquer and Protect (if I recall the name): just two objectives, one on each side. By the third round, if someone controls both of them (by having more models within 6"), then it's immediate victory.
I feel almost bad for my opponent: with a thunderquake, no way I will lose my objective.







Set-Up

SERAPHON:

the rippers are placed on my right, then 10 skinks upon a building, then I place almost everything near my objective: the starhost as a whole, kroak, AB and 10 skinks. The last skink unit is on my left in cover.


SCE:

my opponent places basically all the army behind the fences of the large graveyard where the second objective lies. Only a unit of liberators is put outside.





this is going to be a war of attrition between magic and shooting by 2 entrenched armies that can both heal their own units, unless I will do something to break the scenario or my opponent can manage to kill Kroak.


Let's go!

 

FIRST ROUND


I end first, and decide to go first, as I want to get rid of the few things that threatens me.


SERAPHON's turn


I decide to deal with the heavy crossbows, the easiest things to kill. Kroak cast comet and kill 2 raptors, then I cast Cogs and put away some summoning points.
obviously, I set the starhost to reroll saves and to wound. The AB lets me reroll to hit, so my castle is rerolling everything.
I move the rippers at the edge of the forest and move forward my central block to shoot. I kill a 3rd raptor and one liberator (the only unit in range for my bastiladon)




It's SCE turn


the lord celestant manage to inflict 3 damage to kroak and 1 to the bastiladon
3 spells are cast (including the comet) but I unbind all of them.
(side note: I've made a huge mistake here: I counted the +1 to casting granted by the AB, also for unbinding, which is not true. Sadly, two of the unbinded spells would have been successful if not for this mistake)
the sequitors move forward, and the crippled raptors fail to accomplish anything.



SECOND ROUND

I win the roll, but I decide to leave the turn to my opponent, as the threat is minimal, and ATM I've suffered only 1 wound on my basti.


SCE


the lord celestant insist upon the bastiladon with no luck.
2 spells fail miserably and the third is unbinded by kroak. I made all the saves against the shooting (reroll is nice).
2 consecutive turns by 2000 pts of SCE managed to deliver a single wound to a dinosaur that will be healed in my next hero phase.

How unsatisfying, I know SCE are much stronger than this…





SERAPHON

it's time to punish my opponent for its lack of strenght and tactic.

Kroak casts another comet killing a sequitor, and (most of all) casts upon the rippers the aqshy spell that increases by 1 the damage dealt by all the melee weapons of said unit. The d6 mortal wounds by the EotG inflicts 3 wounds to the lord Celestant.
the Cogs is set to increase the move and the charge, then I collect some other summoning points.

I move forward with the thunderquake and the rippers, that aim for the sequitors…

the shooting wipes away a unit of liberator and weakens the sequitors.

charge. Tnx to the cogs' bonus, the buffed rippers impact on the sequitors and takes them down to 3.



Their retaliation is unable to kill a single ripper. After the battleshock, just a couple of sequitors remain.

 

THIRD ROUND


I win the roll


I leave the cogs with +2 move / charge
I try to teleport one of the skinks' unit left behind but I fail.
Kroak's comet deals just one wound to a sequitor, and the EotG kills a liberator
I move forward my dinos and the shooting kills the survived seguitors, freeing the rippers that will be able to charge.
with all the CCPs I've collected in 3 turns, I can summon a lot.
I conjure 2 units of 10 skinks and a troglodon: the plan is to charge with everything I can, and end the match here.




with also the use of command points, I charge with: the stegadon, 10 skinks, the rippers, the salamanders, the handlers and the troglodon.
when the dust clears, I've got more models than my opponent within 6" of the objective.





CRUSHING VICTORY FOR SERAPHON.





and now, a brief comment.


I'm angry with myself for my mistake about the +1 to unbind, but I don't think it would have make any real difference; this game has been so one-way it's embarrassing… .

but can still be used to learns something? well, I'd say yes.


1 – Identify the threats and pick your targets. In the case of this match, to use spells to weaken heroes can be useful in the long run, but if you can kill immediately the shooters, your army will be more protected.

2 – take a couple of minutes to analyze the possibilities granted by the realm you're playing into. There will always be one spell that really gives a solid buff to a certain unit.

3 – Chronomantic Cogs is a really amazing spell: the possibility to have a +2 to move and charge is huge… if your opponent casts it and you fail the unbind, in the following turn consider seriously to use a spell slot to cancel it.