8th Ed. The Path to Awesome - Tracking Every Game Ever

[hdctambien]

I still like reading your reports.

 

[Caprasauridae]

Me too! I don't have much tactical input as I haven't been able to play much lately, but I still always read the reports and enjoy the ensuing conversations. Still, you haven't reached the Awesome yet, have you? Stay on the path.

 

[Silverbolt]

I, also, really enjoy this thread! I don't contribute much since work rarely let's me play nowadays...

 

[Fhanados]

I love these battle reports for a few reasons:

1. You go against the grain in a lot of ways with your Lizardmen and I love to see that it can work. As much as I like the Slann Bunker as a concept I've always felt that the Slann wouldn't pop up in as many battles as you'd think from their tabletop appearances - so it's nice to see a Slannless list.

2. I like your no-nonsense, logical stance on various rules and I like to see it in action. I have a very similar attitude to rules in 40k and I hate it when people get all "bendy" with their deliberate misinterpretation of rules.

3. Since my firstborn is due in a few weeks time my warhammer time has evaporated entirely. I get to live the dream through your battle reports!

4. I want to see you go up against one of these new fandangled "Undead Legion" lists of TK/VC and Nagash and win!

 

[Putzfrau]

2. I like your no-nonsense, logical stance on various rules and I like to see it in action. I have a very similar attitude to rules in 40k and I hate it when people get all "bendy" with their deliberate misinterpretation of rules.

Could you give some examples? 40k is a bendy rule set by its very nature. Wound allocation lets you do some wild things.

 

[Mr Phat]

I have two more reports to put up, but before I put in the effort, a quick question -
Has this thread outlived its usefulness?

not the slightest.

 

[GhostWarrior]

This seems more like a question for you to ask yourself, really.

I for one still enjoy reading the reports. If I had to be honest, the Slann sidetrack was... interesting. It felt like you had one foot out the door on that experiment (not that I blame you in any way, I personally have been enjoying 2 OB Cowboys).

I looked back on your first post for this thread. I guess the main question is: Are you still having fun? If yes, keep going. If no, make a change or consider stopping.

I will say that yours is the only BatRep thread I'm reading on this or any forum. I generally find the quality to be good, even if your tone can appear negative, win or lose.

Going for honest, constructive criticism here - I hope that comes across in my tone.

 

[Sleboda]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Good stuff in there. I'll definitely keep it going. May even get a report in later tonight.

A few specific comments -

@Caprasauridae - No. Awesomeness yet eludes me. Other than being a Steelers fan, which of course makes me awesome by default.

@Fhanados Part 1 - I'm glad you appreciate the unorthodox approach I take. Like I sort of said on page 1, I want to do something different.

@Fhanados Part 2 - I truly appreciate being able to be your surrogate Lizard, but I do feel I should offer you the same advice I give all the potential child-producers I know in my group of friends. "Always in the..." (that's as far as I'll go here on a public forum. Feel free to PM me). That way, no kids.

@GhostWarrior - Why you little piece of.... Just kidding. I _totally_ understand your tone and welcome your comments wholeheartedly. I tried very hard to invest in the Slann experiment, but you are right to observe that my heart was not in it. The biggest thing I learned is that I am bitter that Skinks cannot take High Magic. I'm not sure that was the point of the exercise.

Also, thank you for saying that the quality of my reports is good. To be honest, I am often embarrassed by them since my normal standard is muuuuuuch higher, but until my army is fully painted (which will likely wait until 9th as we've seen me mention in other posts - so not worth getting into here), I just can't bring myself to give the full photo treatment. Trust me, the reports will get significantly better when the Day of Full Paintiness arrives.


So, there we are.

Thanks again. More to come!

 

[Sleboda]

Game 36 - 2400 vs. Regular Dark Elf Opponent

Date: Aug 20, 2014
Opponent: Dark Elves - My Regular Opponent
Point Value: 2400
Scenario: Meeting Engagement

Overview
Ahhh....back to reality at last! The Slann is once again safely ensconced in a tomb of foam, safely hidden away from hateful eyes (those would be mine). To celebrate, I took on my regular Dark Elf opponent.

Over the weeks it had been since we last played, he confessed to me that he felt he had not lived up to his end of our bargain. You may recall, we agreed to each start new armies after a long period of Tomb Kings vs. Warriors (with some VC and CD tossed in). We each wanted to do something new, which is why I talk about my plans (back on page 1) for this army being what they are. His confession is that he thinks his new Dark Elf army might as well be an old Warriors army - guy on monster, push ahead, roll combat. He vowed to rethink things and play up the Dark Elf ways of playing a a bit more - some avoidance, some fast things, picking fights, and so on.

Let's see how it went.


My list:
Oldblood on Cold One with +2A sword, Glittering Scales, and Dawnstone
Scar-vet BSB - Great Weapon, Armor or Destiny
L2 Heavens Skink (Iceshard, Convergence)
L2 Beasts Skink (Wildform, Curse)

10 Skink Skirmishers with Javelins and Shields
10 Skink Skirmishers with Javelins and Shields
10 Skink Skirmishers with Javelins and Shields
13 Skink Skirmishers with Javelins and Shields
38 Saurus Warriors - Full Command

8 Kroxigor
1 Solar Bastiladon

1 Ancient Stegadon with Engine of the Gods (Oh, how I missed you)
1 Troglodon


His army:
Well, this is a little tougher. I have a photo, but not his list. Looking at the photo, it seems he has...

Hero or Lord on Pegasus
Hero or Lord on Pegasus
Cauldron with Nasty Lady
BSB on Cold One

5 Dark Riders
5 Dark Riders
5 Warlocks (Soulblight, Doombolt)
Kharibdys
9 Cold One Knights
12 Crossbowmen
24 Witch Elves
2 Bolt Throwers


Summary of Events
We rolled up Meeting Engagement.
Off the table for him: The Witch Elves, a Pegasus guy, and 5 Dark Rider
Off the table for me: Beasts Skink, 13 Skink unit, 10 Skink unit

The battle would be fought, as usual, near the center, where a building was just about the only piece of terrain that mattered. His bolt throwers were up on a hill in his backfield. Kharibdys, whom I shall call "Blu" from now on, was on my right, most stuff was in the middle, and a unit of Dark Riders was on my far right.

I had my Saurus Command Block (SCB) in the center, flanked on the right by Solaris (my Bastiladon) and then some skinks, and flanked on the left by the Trog, then the Ancient, and then the Krox. The Heavens SKink was in a unit of 10 skinks behind the SCB.

He went first.

Turn 1
Dark Elves
Movement: His stuff arrived on the table as the rest advanced.

Magic: 4,3
- Soulblight on Krox 6,5,2+2 vs NA = -1S and -1T on Krox (* I made a mistake all game that I will get into. This note is a reminder for me, and you, in case I forget to discuss it).
- Doombolt on Ancient 6,6,2,1 vs NA = 6 hits, 2 wounds, 1 saved and one dead Warlock from the miscast

Shooting: I lost a Kroxigor to all his shooting and took 2 more wounds.

Combat: None.

Lizardmen
Movement: My stuff came on the table while the rest moved a bit.

Magic: 5+1, 4. Engine on Heavens.
- Iceshard on his Flying General 5,4,3+2 vs NA = 3 wounds, all saved, but Charmed Shield was used up.
- Wildform on Krox 5,2+2 fails to cast
- Laser on Blu 6,5,3,1 vs 5,4,3,2,2+2 = dispelled
- Burning Alignment 2 fails to cast

Shooting: Blu takes 2 wounds from skinks.

Combat: None.


Turn 2
Dark Elves
Movement: Blu charges skinks, who stand and shoot and do two more wounds to Blu.
The rest start to go around the left (my view) of the building.

Magic: 5,4
- Soulblight on Stegadon 4,2,2,2+2 vs NA
- Doombolt on Stegadon 5,4,4,2,1+2 vs 5,4,3,2,2+2 = dispelled

Shooting:
All sorts of stuff fired at the Stegadon, who was now lower Toughness. This mattered, since he died from all those shots that got to re-roll failed to-wound rolls because the casket was nearby. Had the Steg been T6 still, it would have lived.

Combat:
Blu kills almost all the skinks, who flee, causing another nearby unit of skinks to panic off the table as well.

Lizardmen
Movement: I began to move my stuff to set up the right charges around the building. Also, the 13-man skink unit and Solaris turned to shoot Blu.

Magic: 5,1. No Engine. Sad face.
- Laser on Blu 6,2,1 vs 6,3,3+2 = dispelled
- Wildform on Krox 4,3+2 fails to cast

Shooting: Negative, negative... It just impacted on the surface.

Turn 3
Dark Elves
Movement: The flying general had ust enough room to flank charge the Trog. My mistake. Everything else stalled.

Magic: 4,3
- Soulblight on Krox 4,4,2+2 vs NA
- Bolt on Krox 4,4,3,3+2 vs 5,4,3,2+2 = dispelled

Shooting: Well, I'm down to 3.5 Krox now.

Combat: Trog dies.

Lizardmen
Movement: The remaining skinks positioned to shoot the General. Solaris put his back to the enemy and his front to Blu.

Magic: 5,1
- Wildform on Krox 4,1+2 fails to cast
- Laser on Blu 5,4,2,1 vs 6,6,4,4,2 = dispelled

Shooting: One wound goes through onto the General.

Combat: None.


Turn 4
Dark Elves
Movement: General charges Solaris in the flank. Blu charges Solaris in the front. Other stuff sits.

Magic: 5,1
- Soulblight on Krox 6,4,3,2,2,1+2 vs 6,6,4,4,3+2 = dispelled

Shooting: Due to the Cauldron re-roll effect, the Krox are reduced to 4 total wounds remaining.

Combat: Solaris takes a long dirt nap.

Lizardmen
Movement: I had nowhere to go, but the skinks did all get in position to shoot the General and Blu.

Magic: 2+1, 1+1
- Casting something failed

Shooting: Blu are many javelins and died. The general took another wound. Oh so close!

Combat: None.

Turn 5
All we did was check to see if a charge I planned next turn would make it (SCB into Cauldron unit) and it would fail, so we called it as I would then be left out to be flanked by the Knights+BSB and the enemy General.

Result: Big win for Dark Elves, but a fun game.


Post-game Thoughts and Unit Evaluations
I messed up in magic in a few ways. I should have been stopping Soulblight so that all the shooting phase shooting was less effective. That's on me. I realized it toward the end, but oh well. You play, you learn, you try to do better next time.

I also should have been tossing 3 dice at Wildform, knowing it needed a 10 to cast and, on average, I would get a 9.

Still, magic was only a little thing to me in this game, and it not doing much to help me really didn't bother me. What got me the loss was not finding a way to get the SCB into combat. Just like when you take a Slann your cunning strategy has to be "Cast spells," when you take the SCB it has to be "Get into fights!" I failed to do what my army was built to do and I lost as a result.

The thing is, I was afraid to put them out there. This is when my opponent gave me some advice that is so freaking simple that I am embarrassed that I never thought of it:

Put the skinks in front of the Krox and SCB. Advance and shoot, and when the enemy charges, shoot again, die, and then be in combat. Or flee and set up a counter. Either way. I need to employ this tactic A LOT more in the future, and I am very excited to do it. Clearly my army is all about getting the PF troops into combat and supporting them with small spells, the Trog, and the Engine's ward. Now I need to add the screen to that. I just need to leave a gap for the Oldblood to be able to charge out on his own should the situation call for it.

Anyway, there's the learin' I dun this game. Now onto the unit evals -


Skink Skirmishers with Javelins and Shields
They put in some good work and fell just short of killing the enemy general. Next time I'll know better how to use them.

Saurus Warriors
Too timid today.

Bastiladon
His laser continues to freak people out. Good! He also gave his life delaying units for a while. For 150 points, you can't ask for much more. I need to find a way to put another one in the list.

Ancient Stegadon
I'm such a dork. I hung him out to dry and he paid the price.

Kroxigor
Same here. Too timid. Too bad a job in the magic phase. I let these guys down, not the other way around.

Saurus BSB
He was part of the SCB that did nothing.

Oldblood on Cold One
So was he.

Skink Priests
Failing so many Wildform castings was also my fault. I should have done the math and used three dice. These two gus are 200 points and can be risked. Both lived through the game despite being parts of unit that were tossed out in front of the enemy. I don't know if people see them and their units as low-value targets or what, but they lived and I never felt afraid to use them, unlike how I feel about a Slann. Not looking back.

Troglodon
Poor fella. Another tactical error on my part got him killed.


Next up: 2200 vs. Khorne Demons with a Skull Cannon, Demon Prince, Soulgrinder, Juggers, and more! Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Putzfrau]

throwing 3 dice at wyssans means 50% of the time you'll fail to cast. Then you still have dispel.

You should be throwing 4 dice at wyssans with a level 1 or 2, pretty much always unless you're trying to squeeze in another spell to eat up dispell dice/its not that crucial.

Honestly if Wyssans is the spell you need to get off, and all you have is a level 2 i'd be throwing 4 dice minimum, maybe 5.

Throwing 3 dice at wyssans is a mistake unless you're treating it as a throwaway spell, because thats exactly what it'll be with 3 dice. You'll get it off 1 turn, maybe.

Either way, always a pleasure to read the reports. Sounds like a fun game.

A good rule of thumb with magic is take how many dice you think you'll need (in wyssans case, 3) and add one more. You dont want average. Average means you're failing half the time.

Even with a slann i'd probably still 3 dice it.

 

[Sleboda]

I'm with you on the +1die concept. It's something I have applied in my games over the years (most notably with my Doomrocket). I don't know what I was thinking in this game.

That said, I think 3 dice should get it through (or draw dispel dice) often enough. The score on 3 dice is either 10 or 11. Add in +2 for the wizard level and it's 12 or 13. Judicious application of the Engine makes the Casting Value a 9+. The third die is actually the extra since 2 dice+2 is 9.

Certainly, like all spells, there will be times I need to power the spell through. Lucky for me, I can afford to risk the caster since it's a priest and not a frog.

 

[Putzfrau]

Ah yes, the engine. I forgot about that. That makes sense then!

 

[n810]

I was wondering if you have ever tried out Kroak...
his miscast seem a lot less risky... and yea,
he's basicly a magic powered war machine.

 

[Sleboda]

Aside from Kroak being a Slann, and thus persona non-grata for me, I refuse to use him until GW gives us a FAQ about his spell.

 

[NexS1]

Aside from Kroak being a Slann, and thus persona non-grata for me, I refuse to use him until GW gives us a FAQ about his spell.

I would LOVE to see the bubble of death return.

Oh dear god, would I love the bubble of death..

 

[themuffinman873]

I just used Kroak against O&G the other day. It was defeat in the end but Kroak did some serious damage once he started rocking. Is the issue of the FAQ whether or not units in CC are hit (which we played as no) or is there some other RAW snafu I am unaware of with Kroak?
With tetto he is awesome^2. If I had more than 20 TG I would consider taking him again.

What do you guys think the -1 to hit TG is worth? Seems pretty sweet to me, unless it is an elf...

 

[hdctambien]

Is the issue of the FAQ whether or not units in CC are hit (which we played as no) or is there some other RAW snafu I am unaware of with Kroak?

In addtion to hte "does it affect models in close combat" question, there is some question as to whether Kroak's spell being defined as a Direct Damage spell means it only affects targets in the Front Arc or if "all units within X"" overrides the Direct Damage Front Arc restriction.

 

[heuningby]

We play Kroak as strictly RAW thus first and foremost Direct damage which results in:
*only in front arc and
*not units in CC

Still I believe him as worth his points as you have unbreakable, a passive iceshard and a small throne of vines in play which can't be dispelled. That is awesome especially as TG are a bit squishy imo. On top of that he is T5 W6 and has a 3++.

So technically we can say he is a Slann with:
*auto-casted Iceshard, +1T Ogre big name without stupidity and small Throne of vines which can't be dispelled
*Mark of Tzeentch (+1 to Ward save)
*+1 wound Vampire power
*Can cast multiple Area of Effect Shem's Burning gaze for dirt cheap
*Immune to losing all his wizard levels and/or spells
*Confers unbreakable to his unit.

All of that for 100 points plus giving up some flexibility.

 

[Link_t_c]

I love the detail you put into your reports and don't worry if you don't win, it's not winning that matters, it is how much fun you have

 

[laribold]

Just caught up with this thread.

It's been really great to read actually. You provide a nice counterpoint to a lot of received wisdom and have really made me re consider my army lists and what i want to get out of it.
(It's making me look at dropping the Slann!)

I notice the thread hasn't had much action for a while. Hope you come back to it once the ET dust has settled.