8th Ed. T_Saurus Bat Reps

[T_Saurus]

Hello, Hello! Thanks for stopping by. I plan on using this thread to chronicle some games I have with my Lizardmen. I will be doing written batreps but in the future I hope to start creating YouTube batreps. I have been playing Warhammer Fantasy since September 2011 and have been focusing a lot of my attention recently on Lizardmen, but I also play Skaven, Bretonnians fairly regularly.

For tournaments I plan on first posting up the scenarios for the tournament, followed by a post discussing my list and why I decided to take what I did. Finally, I will do written battle reports covering the gist of the battle as well as my opponents lists (roughly)

You can use the following links to get to specific posts quickly or feel free to scroll through from this point.

Index:
January 25th, 2014 - 2000 points 3 Game Tournament Scenario/list: http://www.lustria-online.com/threads/t_saurus-bat-reps.13855/
Game 1: http://www.lustria-online.com/threads/t_saurus-bat-reps.13855/
Game 2: http://www.lustria-online.com/threads/t_saurus-bat-reps.13855/
Game 3: http://www.lustria-online.com/threads/t_saurus-bat-reps.13855/

February 16th, 2014 - 2500 3 Game Tournament
Game 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5uK7ZFtmL8
Game 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2NQpasFe6g
Game 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fydIDe8m4Sk

 

[T_Saurus]

Reserved for T Saurus

 

[T_Saurus]

January 25th, 2014 - 3 Game Tournament 2000 Points.

Scenarios and List

So, I had a 3 game tournament this weekend with the Scenarios released a week or so before the big day. The scenarios used were custom scenarios modifying the rule book scenarios. The battles are a 20-0 with additional points available

Scenario 1: This scenario revolved around 3 objective points, one in the center of the board and 2 on the centre line 6
from the board edges. The way to capture the points requires having non-fleeing units within 6" either 5 RnF models or 3 multiwound models. If there are enemy units with the requirements within 6" then the spot is contested. Controlling the middle objective gives 3 points and the outside ones give 1 each. Scoring starts on turn 2 and at the end of every player turn. Difference of 15+ is a massacre victory.

There are additional battle points available after that:
+1 if your General survives
+1 if you kill your opponents General
+1 if your opponent never controlled more points than you
+1 for capturing a contested point

Scenario 2: This second scenario is a modified Blood and Glory that doesn't end if you break your opponents but instead nets you an extra 500 VP. Additionally, captured standards are worth double VP.

Difference of 1500 VP is a massacre victory.

Additional battle points:
+1 if your general survived the battle
+1 if you killed the enemy general
+1 if you captured the enemy battle standard (if the opponent had no battle standard you automatically get this bonus)
+1 if you you broke the enemy army's fortitude

Scenario 3: Deploy like in Battle for the Pass. In this scenario there is an attacker and a defender. The defender gets three tokens to put onto 3 different units of 10 or more models (3 or more Monstrous). Controlling these tokens determines the victor. The token gives -1 Movement and +1 Ld to break/panic tests. If you panic or break you drop the token. Controlling all three tokens is a massacre victory.

Additional battle points:
+1 if your general survived the battle
+1 if you killed the enemy general
+1 if all coin tokens were captured by the attacker
+1 if all coin tokens were retained by the defender

There are two strong Empire players a Dwarf player who often shows up to these 3 game tournaments. Due to this I was hesitant to bring any type of monster list unless I was planning to go all out monster mash. I wasn't feeling confident with any of the lists for 2000 points and didn't want to handicap myself for Scenario 2. I also don't have a lot of skink banners to run Skink Cohort core. So, while thinking about my list I was hesitant to run any stegadons for fear of running into some cannons and having them blown off the table. I had done a few practice games attempting a no Slann list and while I felt it was alright I didn't like the idea of being without a level 4. I was also really looking forward to trying out the Wandering Deliberations Slann after being underwhelmed by High Magic.

All that being said here is the list I decided to run:

Slann Mage-Priest: BSB, Dispell Scroll, Ironcurse Icon, Standard of Discipline, Wandering Deliberations

Skink Priest: Level 1 Beasts, with Cube of Darkness and Dragonbane Gem

Saurus Scar-Veteran: GW, Cold One, Armor of Destiny

Saurus Scar-Veteran: GW, LA, Cold One, Dragonhelm, Dawnstone, Potion of Foolhardiness

Saurus Warriors x 30 with Full Command, Spears

Skink Skirmishers x 10, Blowpipes

Skink Skirmishers x 10, Blowpipes

Chameleon Skinks x 9

Temple Guard x 36 Full Command with Razor Standard

Total: 2000 points

I was going in with a pretty basic plan. For scenario 1 I was looking to control the middle with the TG and one side with the Saurus warriors. For Scenario 2 I was only rocking 5 fortitude. 3 of which was my Slann and 1 for the TG meant that if I lost that unit I broke fortitude and at that point I would have lost the game anyway, so I was taking a gamble with this list big risk big reward. For Scenario 3 I was really hoping to get the Defensive role, where I would castle up with 1 token on each of the skink skirmishers and one on the Saurus warriors. If I was the attacker I was more worried...There is a lot of field to get across in Battle for the Pass and I could only hope to blitz and take some tokens.

I felt that by having Wandering Deliberations I would be able to overload the magic phase with lots of cheap easy to cast spells. Hopefully, the Dispell Scroll and Cube of Darkness will be enough for magic defense. Searing doom and the 2 S7 Scar-Vets and then TG with Razor Banner. I feel that dealing with high armor is something that Lizards can really struggle with so I was fine having this redundancy in the list. I have a lot of flaming spells but no flaming attacks in the shooting or close combat phases so I was taking a gamble not having the banner or a salamander. Scar-vets would double as monster/chariot hunters and poison shots are always nice for big nasties without saves. At the end of the day nothing can really save you from a 6 dice irresistible force...which is what shut me down at the last Tournament, Dwellers top of first turn sniping my Slann. So, I was looking to get a bit of redemption against the Empire player that shut me down last year who ended up winning that tournament.

 

[T_Saurus]

January 25th, 2014 - 2000 point Tournament Game 1.

I won't repeat the full scenario information as it is posted in the previous post along with my list.

I was paired up against a High Elf player and unfortunately I didn't take good count of his troops but I have the gist of the list:

High Elf Archmage Level 4 Shadow, Book of Hoeth, 4+ ward.

Noble BSB Shield of the Merwyrm

~30 Spearmen with Gleaming Pennant

10 Silver Helms

~24 White Lions

~25 Phoenix Guard

2 - Great Eagles

Frost Phoenix.

He rolled up Melkoth's, The Enfeebling Foe, Withering, and Okkam's. My Beast skink went for Wyssans.

Terrain: 2 Hills, one on left side of board on center line, one near top of board, river running from hill to right board edge along the middle line. Marsh on the left side on center line, building in my deployment zone on right side of board. Most terrain didn't play a big deal in this game. My opponent dropped first with a unit of Phoenix Guard dead center of his deployment. I followed by placing a unit of skink skirmishers on my far left. Opponent placed his spearmen opposite my skinks lined up with the objective. I placed my saurus warriors to the right of my skinks. My thinking being that my saurus would be able to take out his spears and my skinks able to hold the objective afterwards. He dropped his unit of 10 Silver Helms on the far right to take the objective on that side. I countered by placing a unit of skink skirmishers inside the building in my deployment zone on the right side of the board. I wasn't sure how I would be able to take this objective and my planning at this point was to dance around the objective and the silver helms to contest this point. He then placed a unit of white lions to the left (my left) of his phoenix guard. This drop indicated to me that he wasn't planning to put more effort into the far flank where his silver helms were so that I might be able to actually hold that side if my Scar-vet can take out those knights. At this point all I had left to deploy was my TG and characters. TG went dead center opposite his Phoenix Guard. My opponent had 2 eagles that flanked his phoenix guard and a frost phoenix to the right of the phoenixes. His BSB and Archmage went into the PG. My Slann went into the TG (surprise surprise) with Skink priest behind the unit as he had no magic or shooting to threaten him. My two Scar-vets were split. My 1+ Armor save, 4+ ward save went to the spearmen between my skinks and warriors and the 1+ rerollable went to the right side to take the silver helms on. My Chameleon skinks were able to fit in the back right behind his Silver Helms and Frost Phoenix.

LM Turn 1
I got first turn. No Stupidity, no charges. Moved up my left skinks to contention range of the left objective point, my left scar-vet moved up to be ~14" from the spearmen. My saurus warriros moved up leaving options for going left to the spears or right to the White Lions. TG March up 8" in the center of the table. Skinks on the right left the building and Scar-Vet on the right moved to 18" from the Silver Helms. He could take the long-bait charge if he wanted, I was pretty sure he would fail that but if he made it they are only S5 and I would still have a 3+ armor rerollable and would still hit back at S7. Chameleon skinks blitzed 12" to take some shots at the Frost Phoenix.

Magic was uneventful, I was poking around to try to find the Banner of the World dragon and hit the White Lions with -2 Movement Miasma. White Lions didn't have the Banner and Silver Helms were too far away to Searing Doom. Shooting saw me put 2 wounds on the Frost Phoenix from the Chameleon skinks. No close combat so we moved to High Elf T1.

HE Turn 1
He didn't take the long charge with the Silver Helms and just moved them up. He moved his spearmen up to within 6" of the left objective so shoot that is being contested! His eagles and Frost phoenix all flew to my TG flanks. His PG and White Lions both moved up, PG to contest middle objective and WL turned towards the middle. I don't recall him getting anything important off in his Magic Phase...No shooting or Combat so on to my turn 2.

LM Turn 2
Time to get risky with the Scar-Vets. They are in this list to make big plays so I sent the left Scar-Vet into the Spearmen and the right Scar-Vet into the Silver Helms. Skinks on the right moved up to contest that objective. Chameleon Skinks were now all alone in the back field and ran to try to shoot some PG. Skink Priest moved out of charge arc of the Eagles and Saurus warriors moved onto the hill and wheeled towards the middle of the board. Magic was fairly poor again as I now Miasma'd the PG for all stats but only got -1. Iceshard Blizzard went up on the Frost Phoenix and I failed to cast Wyssans on the TG. D'oh! I really didn't like how surrounded I got in the middle of the board but I figured if I could keep Okkam's off the PG I would be able to make something work here...Chamo skinks did nothing to the PG. Close Combats! Scar-Vet vs spears. I took no damage did ~4 wounds or so. I won combat barely, he held on steadfast no problem. This fight ends up being a big grind fest with me taking no damage and slowly whittling down the unit. The Silver Helms couldn't crack my 1+ rerollable and I win by a couple but again he is steadfast and...BREAKS! But I fail to catch them. So end of LM Turn 1 sees me gain 1 objective point. 1-0

HE Turn 2
Bad luck for my opponent this turn. His Silver Helms fail to rally and flee off the board. Frost Phoenix and an Eagle charge my TG right flank, second eagle charges my left flank. PG and WL both charge my front. Uh oh! Opponent starts rolling and...PG fail (needed a 6) WL fail (Needed a 9). Big! But I still had a Frost Phoenix in my flank which is NOT ideal. The two eagles were not that big of a deal and I think he really should have tried to use them to deal with my skink skirmishers but I am not complaining! I shut down his magic phase and without shooting we move on to combat. Being ASL and -1 Strength sucks. I was able to take out both Eagles (needed Slann to kill one) but the Frost Phoenix did a number to me. I lost combat by a little but Stubborn 10 cold blooded rerollable means I don't move. I combat reform for ranks. Spearmen continue to be ground into dust by the Scar-Vet. The failed charge by the White Lions showed a tasty flank to my Saurus warriors. I still hold right side for 2-0

LM Turn 3
No stupidity issues and my Saurus Warriors go into the flank of the White Lions. Scar-Vet on the right starts zooming towards the center along with my chameleon skinks. I try to put up some buffer spells to help against the PG coming into my TG but I had a weak magic phase and I think only got Wyssans and Spirit Leech off putting a wound on the Arch Mage. Saurus Warriors win combat handily against the White Lions who are stubborn and hold but are unable to reform. Spearmen continue to be ground down making their steadfast tests. Only ~13 remain at this point and still no wound on my Scar-Vet. Love these cowboys. Frost Phoenix is down to 2 wounds but I can't shake him do to a good Thunder Stomp and rolls. Meaning I am a sitting duck to the PG but I have a lot of ranks and models left so I think I should be good...(Epic Foreshadowing). Still hold right side for 3-0

HE Turn 3
Phoenix Guard succesfully charge into the TG. Magic phase...Irresistible Force Okkam's...Uh Oh...After combat I punk his BSB he leaves me with 4 TG and my Slann... I hold. His Spearmen lose combat again...and fail their break test! Which he gets to reroll because of Gleaming Pennant...and he passes...Oh come on break already! White Lions continue to lose and fail to reform. 4-0

LM Turn 4
My Chameleon skinks are in range now to contest the middle objective. Magic saw my Lvl 1 put Wyssans on the Saurus Warriors, miscast and not be a wizard anymore.This phase I am killed down to my Slann who holds on a 3. Luck is yet in my favour. The Spearmen break and are ran down on this turn giving me both outside objectives. 6-0

HE Turn 4
This turn he takes out my Slann. He reforms but we realize that I will be getting the Massacre on this. He is down to a Frost Phoenix and the PG and about 7 white lions while I safely hold the outer objectives and he has no magic missiles/shooting to scare off my skink skimishers from their objective points. He asks to call it now. I say that I'd like to try to get his General yet because it is worth a Battle Point. So we continue playing. 8-0

LM Turn 5
Scar-Vet that killed the Silver Helms charges into flank of PG going for the Mage assassination. Chameleon skinks knock off the last wound off the Frost Phoenix. I kill his General and we call it.

23-1 For the LM.

Post Battle Thoughts:

It was a fun game against a really nice opponent. I have played him before and I am surprised he made the same mistake with his Silver Helms and my Scar-Vet because the same thing happened last time we played. We never ended up counting Victory points but I think that would have probably been very close. I don't think I would have ever got those PG points but that would be all he had left on the table if we played it out. Luckily for me though that wasn't the Scenario. Scoring was based on how well you did on the Scenario and I feel I outplayed him in this regard scoring the Massacre. There was certainly some unlucky breaks for my opponent with the breaking SH early and the failed PG charge. He made up for it by killing about 20 Temple Guard with the Phoenix Guard the next turn. I don't think he played his Eagles properly but there is always the chance that my skinks would have just shot them out of the air. Like I said my opponent was a lot of fun to play against but I don't think his list worked well for this scenario.

Notable other results from around the tables: My nemesis the Empire player who snuffed me last tournament earned a 21-4 Victory...

 

[T_Saurus]

January 25th, 2014 - 2000 point Tournament Game 2

Again the scenario for this battle can be found above as well as my list for this tournament.

My opponent for Game 2 was an Ogre player who has been out of Warhammer Fantasy for a while mainly being a 40k player but he has an amazing looking Ogre Kingdoms army that he decided to bring out for this Tournament.

His List (roughly)

Firebelly, General. Level 2 with dispell scroll

Bruiser, BSB +1 Ld Banner, Brace of Ogre Pistols

6 Ogres with Extra hand weapon, std and mus

6 Ogres with Extra hand weapon, std and mus

5 Ogres with Extra hand weapon, std and mus

4 Leadbelchers with mus

4 Leadbelchers with Mus

5 Leadbelchers with Mus

Stonehorn

Thundertusk

The scenario for this battle allowed you to gain an extra 500 VP if you break your opponents fortitude. I was sitting on 5 fortitude (Saurus war, Temple Guard, plus 3 for my Slann). My opponent also had 5 fortitude (2 standards on Ogres, 2 for Firebelly and 1 for BSB).

Terrain: This was my opponents second time at this table so he had to switch sides. The terrain had 3 buildings one on my right side just outside my deployment zone, a tower on the far left flank halfway between our deployment zone and a building on my opponents side of the board on the right side. A hill was in the middle of the map, a marsh on my opponents side of the table on the left side of the board and a river running from the middle of the map to the right board edge.

Deployment: My opponent's deployment from left to right. 5 Leadbelchers (Far left), 6 ogres with banner, 6 ogres with banner (Middle of table facing towards middle/right). 4 Leadbelchers with Firebelly out of unit behind them, Then on the right side of the board he had Stonehorn, Thundertusk, 5 ogres with BSB and 4 leadbelchers.

My own deployment I had skink skirmishers on far left, chameleon skinks scouted in behind the tower where they will move in turn 1. On my far right I placed my TG and Slann to go into the building on my first turn, saurus warriors dropped to the left of the TG to protect the side of the building with a unit of skink skirmishers beside them. My Scar-Vet's both went into the Saurus Warrior unit because I had no need for a LoS and was looking to protect against the Leadbelchers. The Skink Priest went into the building with the TG. My Skink rolled Savage Beast and his Firebelly had Flaming Sword of Rhuin and Piercing Bolts.

Pre-Game thoughts: I don't think my opponent brought a very powerful list and before we started he said he had a different list planned but got home drunk the night before and decided to change to the Monster list. (His other list had 4 Mournfang and two Ironblasters....So, I am not complaining at all.) After deployment I was looking for how I was going to break my opponent. I was confident that I would not be broken because I had 4 fortitude points going to be safely inside of a building with no real way for him to break my fortitude. My opponents weakest and easiest fortitude to get looked to be from his General and BSB, they were both on the side that I bunkered down in and did not look very well protected (particularly the solo Firebelly).

LM Turn 1:
I won first turn and moved my Chameleon skinks into the Tower on the left, and skinks around the outer side of the tower. My TG move into the building on the right. Saurus move up a little beside the building but I am not confident moving up to far and eating the big Stonehorn charge. Skinks on this side of the board move to the left to get in the way of the Ogre Bull units and keep them from supporting this side of the board. In Magic I launched a rank 2 fireball at his middle Leadbelchers killing one and forcing a panic test which he passed. The low leadership of most of his army that was outside of the BSB range was incredibly tempting for forcing those Panic Tests so I spent a good deal of time casting magic missiles this game. Shooting was all out of range and no combat yet.

Ogre Turn 1:
My opponent moved everything up. Magic saw him get Flaming Sword of Rhuin off on the Leadbelchers closest to my building on the far right. Shots from the Leadbelchers do a wound to my skinks on the left side of the board, shooting on the right side of the board kills some Temple Guard and some Saurus warriors. No combat again.

LM Turn 2:
I move my Saurus warriors back a little bit ensuring he would need a good roll for his Stonehorn to reach the Saurus. On my left side I move the skinks to in front of the Leadbelchers but lined up to jump through the building if I fled. Magic again didn't do anything of note, I think I tried to Spirit Leech his BSB but I did no wounds from it. Shooting saw me take down 2 of the 5 leadbelchers on the left side from Skink + Chameleon skinks but he passed his panic on a 7. Again no combat, at this point I was feeling a little dickish in the game I was playing. If my first game hadn't gone so well I would have let up on the competitive game I was playing but I was in first place after game 1 and was looking to keep that rolling.

Ogre Turn 2:
My opponent declared a charge against the Skinks that were blocking him on the left side of the board. I flee through the building and he fails to redirect to the Chameleon Skinks in the tower, YAY. The ogres on the right side all advance again, and his Firebelly moves behind the Stonehorn. Magic saw him Irresistible force Rhuin onto the Belchers and Piercing bolts did some wounds to the Temple Guard. I don't know what was going on with my magic defence this game. I didn't really feel like any of the spells were worth using the Dispell Scroll/Cube for until it came time for him to begin assaulting the building when I would focus on stopping Flaming Sword to stop the rerolls in the building. Shooting from the Belchers did a few wounds to the Saurus and the Stonehorn/Thundertusk shoot and do some wounds as well. No Combat means my turn and time to make some things happen.

LM Turn 3:
I declare a charge with my Rerolling Scar-Vet out of the Saurus unit at the Stonehorn. He has to hold due to Frenzy and I align in a way that if I punch through the Stonehorn I can overrun/pursue into the Firebellly. My skinks fail to rally and head towards the board edge. I will have 1 more chance to rally but they don't end up doing it. In the magic phase up I hit the Stonehorn with Miasma on his WS, Iceshard for -1 to hit and -1 Ld and Wyssans on my Scar-Vet. S8 Scar-Vet? Yes please! Shooting saw the Chameleon skinks take out a Leadbelcher and he panics and runs. In the middle of the board I send my skinks out of charge arc of the middle Ogres and take some shots taking out an ogre. Close Combat, His Stonehorn rider and Stonehorn were hitting me on 6s. Rider does nothing, Stonehorn gets 3 hits! 3 Wounds! And I save them all with my 4+ rerollable. Striking back I get 3 wounds on the Stonehorn leaving him to test on double ones do to winning combat by 4 and Iceshard Blizzard. He breaks and I run him down and pursue into the Firebelly. All according to plan...*rubs hands together*

Ogre Turn 3:
BSB's unit charges the TG in the building. Magic he puts Flaming Sword onto the Ogre/BSB unit irresistibly and takes a wound for his trouble. His far Leadbelchers rally, his ogres in the middle try to bring my skink skirmishers into charge arcs with the unit on the hill reforming to face. Shooting does some wounds to the Saurus. Close Combat his BSBs unit does some wounds to the TG but my TG hit back doing 6 wounds to his ogres and 2 to his BSB. He nudges back an inch ready to be flanked by my Saurus Warriors. In Combat my Scar-Vet wrecks his Firebelly and reforms back to the battle.

LM Turn 4:
Saurus Warriors charge the BSB. Skink skirmishers move again out of LoS of the middle Ogre Bulls, my skink skirmishers fail to rally and run off the board. Magic I buff/debuff the Saurus Warrior/Ogre BSB combat with a combination of Wyssans, Miasma, Iceshard and Savage Beast on my Scar-Vet. Shooting knocks a wound or two off the the middle ogres but no panics. Close combat I get in a challenge with the BSB but fluff my attacks leaving him with a single wound that my Cold One couldn't knock off. I do a couple wounds to Ogres who end up breaking giving me the BSB and breaking my opponents fortitude netting me another 500VP. I elect to not pursue (due to Skink Priest watching from the building) and reform to face the Thundertusk and the remaining ogres from that unit fled off the board on a long flee.

Ogre turn 4:
Thundertusk goes into the Saurus, Leadbelchers on the right charge the building. His 2 remaning leadbelchers on the left move up but do nothing. His middle ogres have realized they have been duped and just shuffle around. His middle leadbelchers try to shoot the skink skirmishers left on the table. Close combat the building combat sees me leave him with 1 leadbelcher left. The Thundertusk went pop and I reformed to have the remaining leadbelcher in line of sight.

LM Turn 5:
Charge the remaining lLadbelcher with the Saurus Warriors. At this point I think we had lost track of turn and thought this was Turn 6 so I moved my Skink Skirmishers to safety. And basically called it after combat as he saw he could not get any more points from me.

Final score:

24-0 for the LM

Post Battle Thoughts:

This was a decisive victory, with banners being worth double VP killing the BSB netted me 855 points including the bonus from breaking him. My Scar-Vet who killed the Stonehorn and General got me over 500 points in one game turn. Plus points from the BSBs unit, Thundertusk and Leadbelcher unit I destroyed I was well up by 1500VP enough for a Massacre. Bonus Battle points I got: Having my general stay alive, killing enemies General, Killing BSB, and Breaking my opponents fortitude for a 24 out of 24 possible. I think this game was probably more than a little frustrating for his opponent but as discussed earlier his was anything but a competitive list. I think I played well and could have done the battle without losing any VP if my Skirmishers had rallied on one of those 2 turns. Overall, I think I played the scenario perfectly but the scenario and terrain lent itself to creating a boring game for my opponent. It was during this game that I began feeling very comfortable with my list. Utilizing the Miasma/Iceshard/Wyssans combo has become one of my favourite combos. And with the low casting values it can be possible on a 4 dice phase (with a little luck). 2 for Wyssans and 1 each for Iceshard/Miasma. It is risky but has such huge reward.

Other notable results from around the tournament: My Nemesis again had a massacre victory tying my score for this round with a 24-0 Victory over a Beastmen army. From the conversation we had it sounds like the Beastman player had a unit of warhounds flee through his Minotaur and Gor horde and panic them both off the table before seeing combat. So so far in this tournament I am sitting on 47/48 points for the tournament while my Empire friend was at 45/48. So, my chance for redemption is here as I will be seeing him in the final!

 

[Sunchax]

Thank you! Totally awesome reports, i am really excited to read about you next match, will you beat your rival?!

 

[T_Saurus]

January 25th, 2014 - 2000 point Tournament Game 3

The scenario and my list can once again be found in the original post about the Tournament.

So going into the third and final game of the tournament I was 2-0 both with Massacre victories and sitting at a 47 of a possible 48 points. My opponent for this game is an Empire player who in previous tournament killed my Slann first turn with Dwellers so I was looking to take a win.

His List (roughly)

General: Arch Lector, 1+ AS (rerollable?) 6+ Ward GW

Battle Wizard Lord: Level 4 Life, Power Stone, Talisman of Endurance

Captain of the Empire: BSB, 1+ Armor?

Master Engineer

Halberdiers: ~25 (full command?)
-Archer Detachment: 5

Inner Circle Knights: 12 (full command?)

Greatswords: ~30

Demigryph Knights: 4 banner and mus

Great Cannon

Celestial Hurricanum

The scenario involved one player being a defender of tokens and one attacking trying to seize them. I won the roll off for sides (deployment like Battle for the Pass so we were fighting long table) and chose the side that had an Altar of Khaine in the corner. I figured that if I won the roll to be defender then I would be able to give the tokens to my skirmishers and have them hide behind my lines by the Altar so they would be immune to psych, and similarly if I was the attacker I didn't want to give my opponent that advantage.

I won the roll off and I immediately thought the game was decided, but I wasn't going to underestimate my opponent.

Terrain:
There were a couple of forests on the board, and several walls that were all facing perpindicular to our deployment zones so there was very little protection to be afforded from his cannon. Other than that there was a Hill about 2 feet up the board on the right side of the table.

Deployment:
On my opponents side he deployed his Inner Circle Knights close to the left board edge on the same side that the Altar was on. Beside that he dropped his cannon and Master Engineer. Then his Halberdiers with Wizard, Greatswords with Arch Lector and Captain BSB and on the other side he dropped his Demigryph Knights. His Wizard Lord rolled up: Throne of Vines, Shield of Thorns, Flesh to Stone, and Dwellers (Oh goodie!)

For my deployment I put my Saurus Warriors (with a token) on the left flank in front of the Altar, 2 skink skirmishers were placed on angles to benefit from the Altar's frenzy. In front of them I placed my TG horde. My Scar-Vets were using what little cover was offered on the table and in waiting positions to counter charge the Inner Circle Knights or Demigryphs when the come a knocking. My Slann I put into one of the Skink Skirmisher units (Each with a token) to try and save the Temple Guard from the inevitable Dweller's casting...My Skink Priest rolled up Amber Spear (Ooooooooo) and I deployed him all alone on the far right side of the board. The extra deployment zone due to Battle for the Pass allowed my Chameleon Skinks to deploy behind his lines ready to take out the Cannon on turn 1-2.

Empire Turn 1:
Part of the Scenario dictated which player gets to start, my opponent realized he has a large distance and a tough battle ahead and blitzes. Everything marches up as far as it can (except Hurricanum which is falling behind his faster mounted elements) and his Archers who turned to get the Chameleon Skinks. What a fool I thought! 5 archers versus my most elite skirmishers surely they are facing a doomed fight! Demigryphs marched the full 16" and the Inner Circle did likewise. Magic saw him put up Flesh to Stone on his Demi's. Shooting phase. Cannon takes a shot trying to get the Slann with a failed look out sir. Kills a Skink and 3 Temple Guard who were in the line of fire. The Archers moved, were within close range but shooting at Chamo Skinks so needed 7 to hit. 5 shots. 2 kills. WHAT! It's ok...7 is enough to do the job...

LM Turn 1:
Seeing an opportunity for my Skink to play MVP I marched him up the full 12" to the flank of the Demigryph knights just out of charge arc. The rest of my army waits. I feel a bit beardy at this point. Magic. 5 dice phase all at the boosted Amber Spear down the flank of the Demigryphs. Muahahahaha. Irresistible Force. Roll to wound..."1" Nooooooo. I take a wound on the miscast. Grumble....The dice gods...Have they forsaken me on my final game? Atleast I will do some damage to his backfield. Time to get revenge on those pesky archers. Hitting on 6s with 14 poison shots. 1 wound...Uh oh.

Empire Turn 2:
Feeling smug with the first turn my opponent moves his Inner Circle Knights to 14" from my Saurus Warriors but still safe from my Scar-Vet that was preparing for the counter charge. His Demigryph move up unperturbed by my other Scar-Vet. Halberds and Wizard march up along with the Greatswords with pursuing Hurricanum. Magic: Still out of range for Dwellers. I dispell Throne of Vines and he fails to cast anything else. Cannon again kills some skinks. Archers do nothing to my Chameleons.

LM Turn 2:
I charge my Scar-Vet into his Demigryphs. This is a risky trick that has paid off in the past. I am being hit on 4s, wounded on 4s where I then have a 4+ armor save followed by a 4+ ward. My other Scar-Vet performs equally well against Demi's, sometimes better due to Demi's sometimes having Flaming Attacks.

For reference: Scar-Vet into the Demigryphs -> Demigryph 6 attacks -> 3 hits -> 1.5 wounds -> 0.75 after first armor -> 0.375 after wardl. So there is a very good chance to take no damage from the Demigryphs and just have to contend with the Standard and Musician that is often with them. Striking back the Scar-Vet should get 1.72 wounds per turn so its certainly not a Sure Win every phase but its a risk that has paid off before with a Scar-Vet taking down a unit of 4 Demigryph all alone.

I decided to charge the Chameleon Skinks into the Archers...my thinking for this being I have 7 attacks strike first. Hit on 4s wound on 4s that should get me two wounds with a little luck. He would then only have 2 attacks back hitting on 3s wounding on 3s. With my charge I should win that and cause panic test on the Cannon and Master Engineer and open them up for shooting the turn after. Magic was a 5 dice phase that I failed a boosted Searing Doom by 1. Close Combat. The Scar-Vet did nothing to the Demigryphs who did nothing back. I lost by musician and held. The Chameleon skinks. Fluffed, did no wounds. Took 2 wounds. Broke and were run down...9 Chameleon skinks totally manhandled by a 35 point Archer Detachment...Hindsight: WHY DID I CHARGE! ARGH!

Empire Turn 3:
With his backfield clear he moves his archers back to be beside his cannon. They take a well-deserved rest for the rest of the game. The Inner Circle Knights charge my Frenzied Saurus Warriors. His Greatswords move up to give his Demigryphs the Generals Leadership. Wizard lord and Halberds move into Dwellers Range...Magic: 4 dice, he pops his power stone. 6 Dice Dwellers on the Temple Guard. Fail to Cast. HA! Still have both of my dispell items woohoo. Cannon does another wound or so to the skink units. Close Combat. Scar-Vet does 2 wounds. Wins combat Demis hold on a Steadfast 9. His Inner Circle Knights do about 6 wounds to the Saurus, not very scary when they aren't backed by the Hurricanum and with Hatred but still powerful. I do 2 wounds back and hold on steadfast coldblooded 10 rerollable (LOVE THAT!).

LM Turn 3:
I am a little upset how quickly he was able to close the gap with me, luckily my Scar-Vet is ready to flank the Inner Circle Knights and I only need to roll a 5. 2, 2, 1. D'oh! I move my Slann into the Temple Guard as I think I will be needing their stubborn soon. Magic Phase I put up the trusty Miasma/Iceshard/Wyssans combo on the Saurus/Inner Circle combat. Saurus Warriors go to town on the Inner Circle Knights winning combat handily and breaking AND running the Knights down. In the Scar-Vet/Demigryph combat the Demigryphs finally do a wound to my Scar-Vet and rolling back I fluff hard doing nothing to him. I lose combat by 2. Coldblooded 6 and fail the break test but get away, unfortunately that was breaking on my turn which allows for...

Empire Turn 4:
Demigryphs to charge and push Scar-Vet off the board. They redirect into the Temple Guard's flank. A little bit of forethought on my part would have had the Temple Guard wheel before the Slann entered the unit keeping the Demi's in my front arc but I was getting tired apparently. Magic Phase: My opponent puts up Throne of Vines and I let it go through, planning to use my Cube of Darkness to dispell his next spell as well as remove the Throne of Vines he just put up. 3 Dice on Throne of Vines on the Demigryph Knights. Irresistible...Crap! Miscast does a wound to the Wizard and removes his last dice. Shooting kills a couple of Saurus Warriors. Close combat: Made way with my unit champion for an extra attack. My Temple Guard were still within range of the Altar so they were Frenzied. Frenzy TG are very tasty! I think I put a wound through the Demis leaving them with 3 models. They handily won combat and I held.

Lizard Turn 4:
Saurus Warriors move to keep options of charging Halberdiers or Hurricanum/Greatswords open for next turn. Scar-Vet moves up to block/charge Halberdiers next turn. Magic: Wyssans on TG. Miasma/Iceshard on Demigryph. Thought about putting up Regen but was worried the Arch Lector would come in next turn and just force through flaming attacks. Demigryph in the flank took a couple of wounds, dealt a few back in return. Can't recall if it was a tie or I won but we both stuck.

Empire Turn 5:
Greatswords charge into the TG. Hurricanum follows to support the combat. Cannon may have done a few wounds to Saurus again. Magic: 12-6 dice for my opponent. Uh oh! I immediately use 3 of my dice to dispell Throne of Vines. He tries to put it back up. I dispell scroll it. He tries to put normal Flesh to Stone up. I cube of darkness it. With his remaining dice he attempts reroll failed wounds. I dispell it, leaving 1 to 1 dice left. He tries for 5+ ward, I dispell. Shut down a 12-6 magic phase. BIG! Close Combat. Demigryphs do a few wounds, oh wait...Greatswords are ASL? I'm Initiate 2...Ooooooo! Temple Guard. Go to TOWN! Front rank I put 9 TG from the front rank. Starting with 27 attacks (Frenzy for +1) I end up with 21 wounds. I think I gained 7 attacks through Predatory Fighter. This was with hitting on 4s wounding on 2s. It was big. A couple attacks to the flank leaves the Demigryph with just their Standard Bearer and the rest of the TG do another 5 wounds to the Greatswords for a total of 26 wounds. 4 Greatswords left! Demigryph breaks and as he is a Standard dies instantly. The Greatswords with BSB/General hold due to Stubborn Hold your ground!

LM Turn 5:
Saurus Charge the Hurricanum, Scar-Vet charges the Halberds and aligns to hit the Wizard. Magic I refresh some buffs but this game has been decided at this point. In combat my opponent challenges with his Arch Lector. I accept with my Revered Guardian and put that Priest DOWN! Rest of the Greatswords die, BSB fails break and is killed. Saurus do 3 wounds to the Hurricanum breaks but gets away. Scar-Vet takes a wound from the Halberds. WHAT! 8 Halberd attacks hitting on 4s wounding on 5s with a 1+ rerollable armor, what the hell is going on with these Empire State Troops?! Going for the Wizard assassination I put a few wounds through but his 5+ Ward keeps him alive with 1 wound.

Empire Turn 6:
The game is over at this point as he won't be able to take any tokens from me, I have already guaranteed a Massacre victory. But! He decides he wants a moral victory in taking down my General so he skips ahead to magic and...6 dices Dwellers on my TG/Slann! Noooooo...Slann rolls a 2 and is fine. TG were only failing on 6s due to Wyssans. Haha! And that is game!

Final: 23-0 +1 for killing his general, +1 for keeping my general alive and +1 for never losing a token.

Post Game Thoughts:
This was a tough scenario for the Attacker. Made all the more difficult by my having an Altar of Khaine in my deployment zone. Of all the tables I spoke to only on one table did an attacker seize any of the tokens. In my own game I felt I played to the scenario very well. This was another probably difficult game for my opponent as at this point in the Tournament...I really wanted to win. with 2 massacres a piece I knew the winner of this game probably won the tournament. Once again the shining star of the battle was the hexes/augments afforded by using Wandering Deliberations. The combination of Iceshard/Miasma and Wyssans won 3 decisive combats over the Tournament. With Magic Missiles and DD spells to throw before combat means I was never without a useful spell to cast.

Tournament Results:
1st Place: Lizardmen! Woohoo, my first Tournament victory and decisively with three massacre victories! 2nd Place: Second place went to another Empire player (not my last opponent) and 3rd Place went to my first opponent the High Elf player. My massacre victory in the final apparently dropped my opponent from 2nd to 4th.

Post Tournament Thoughts:
First of all, I had a lot of fun. The scenarios and perceived cannon heavy meta certainly determined what type of list I brought with me but I was quite happy with how my list worked out. My list worked well with my reactive playstyle. I had the numbers to take my opponents charge and counter back with my magic phase to augment and win combat often breaking my opponent. Over the whole tournament I attempted to cast every signature spell (except Shem's) but if I had gone up against a daemon or undead army then I am sure that would have been cast as well. Wandering Deliberations offers and incredible toolbox in the magic phase. I didn't have any single Game-breaking spell but I never really liked winning that way anyways, often using Beasts on my Bretonnians over Life. My opponents were all very good sports and I enjoyed every game I played. I'm going to be looking through my bits box to find an extra skink head to give my Empire opponent to model onto his archer detachment who made 3x their point cost against the Chameleon Skinks.

Overall, I don't think I made any glaring tactical errors in my play. There are a couple moves I missed/should have done but they were things that would have helped out regarding Victory points but for the most part had nothing to do helping or harming my chance of winning the scenarios.

Looking ahead to next month the Game store is running another tournament with points cost raised to 2500 points. I am certainly looking at fielding Tetto'eko to really stick it in the magic phase with Wandering Deliberations as well as adding in a Steg and a bastiladon (that I have been painting!)

So, let me know what you think. I would love to get your opinion on how you think I did, and on how the reports read. I am hoping that next month I will have a camera with me and I will be looking to do video battle reports!

 

[Overlord of Serpents]

Absolutely fantastic read! Glad you were able to take vengeance on an old nemesis and claim the overall victory! Sounds like you really found a comfortable list that works together extremely smoothly without any real wasted points. Congrats on your tournament win!

-Overlord of Serpents

 

[T_Saurus]

Thank you! Totally awesome reports, i am really excited to read about you next match, will you beat your rival?!

Thanks, I hope you enjoyed the final Battle as well

Absolutely fantastic read! Glad you were able to take vengeance on an old nemesis and claim the overall victory! Sounds like you really found a comfortable list that works together extremely smoothly without any real wasted points. Congrats on your tournament win!

-Overlord of Serpents

Thanks Overlord, I really do feel comfortable with the list it fits my counter punch playstyle and the opponents/scenarios that I had for this tournament really worked for that playstyle too. If I ever encounter something that can just run through my units then I will have a problem (The Okkam's PG in Game 1 for instance).

Thanks for reading, I don't know when I will get my next report up as I have a pretty busy schedule for the time being but I expect the next report to be a stand alone battle and another tournament sometime in February.

 

[T_Saurus]

First post updated to include the next 3 game tournament. Also moved to YouTube batreps!

Let me know what you think!