Points: 1500
Deployment: Battle for the pass
Lists:
Daemons of Chaos:
- Herald of Nurgle, BSB, level 1 wizard, lesser gift (Always Strikes First)
- Herald of Nurgle, General, Greater Locus of 4+ Regeneration, level 1 wizard: Stream of Corruption, lesser gift (S2 breath weapon)
- 30-man Plaguebearers, full command, Banner of Swiftness
- 5-man Chaos Furies
- 2x 5-man Flesh Hounds, Ambushers
- 5-man Seekers of Slaanesh
- Beast of Nurgle
- Skullcannon
My opponent said he'll bring some OP shooting, so I was prepared for cannons with those 2 squads of ambushers and a healthy combat block to march up the field.
Skaven
- Warlord, general
- Assassin
- 40-man Clanrats, full command, swords/shields
- 46-man Clanrats, full command, spears/shields
- Doomwheel
- 3-man Stormfiends, Ratling Cannons
- 5-man Poison Wind Mortars
- 4-man Rat Ogres
- 8-man Warplock Jezzails
We caught a mistake well after we started the game: the Mortars cannot be taken on their own, only attached to other units. Oh well.
Deployment
I set up my Plaguebearers with the Heralds protected from shooting by the Furies. I didn't have any good ranged spells, so I banked on the Flesh Hounds arriving to keep the enemy in check. Beast and Seekers on the Flanks, with the Skullcannon taking aim at the Doomwheel.
The deployment unfortunately did not favor the Skaven. All the shooting was mid-ranged (18-24"), so nothing could fire first turn. Moreover, the army split in half, with one unit of Clanrats and the Rat Ogres facing backwards, to greet the Flesh Hounds.
Daemons, turn 1
I didn't move anything. However, notice the missing Doomwheel. For once, the Skullcannon decided not to blow itself up first turn, and do something useful.
Skaven, turn 1
Stuff moved up, ready to engage. The Mortars also turned around.
Daemons, turn 2
Both squads of Flesh Hounds arrived to my great surprise. Some finagling was needed, but I managed to *just* move out of charge arc of the Clanrats.
The cannon shot the Stormfiends, but inflicted only 1 wound.
Skaven, turn 2
My trap was sprung, and the Skaven army continued its march in two separate directions. The large group of spear-wielding rats with the Warlord (and the Assassin hiding), supported by the Stormfiends, advanced on my lines. The backfield units turned to intercept the Hounds. The Mortars shot and killed one Hound.
Daemons, turn 3
One unit of Hounds charged the Jezzails. One died to stand and shoot, the rest then murdered the rats. The other unit of Hounds failed its march test, but just managed to move forward enough to leave the arc of the large Clanrat unit.
The Skullcannon shot and killed one Stormfiend.
The Seekers moved behind the yellow rock just off-screen.
Skaven, turn 3
The spear rats moved forward, just out of charge range of the Plaguebearers.
The Mortars shot but did minimal damage to the Hounds.
The Fiends shot and killed some Seekers.
The backfield units continued turning ineffectively, trying to catch the Hounds.
Daemons, turn 4
I wanted to catch the Skaven main unit in the middle. In order to keep them there, I moved my Furies just in front of them. The Plaguebearers, even with the banner, could barely keep up.
The Seekers charged the Mortars, which fled almost off the board.
The Cannon shot the Fiends.
Skaven, turn 4
The Clanrats took the bait and charged the Furies, killing them off.
The Mortars managed to rally.
Daemons, turn 5
The Plaguebearers were out of reliable charge range. Plus, I wanted the Clanrats pinned and unable to use their spears effectively. So I marched my units up to surround them.
In an unexpected turn of events, the Beast of Nurgle charged the one remaining Stormfiend. They did no wound to each other, I won by charging, and ran it down.
The small unit of Flesh Hounds retreated behind rocks, trying to preserve their points.
Skaven, turn 5
The Skaven unit charged in, doing good damage, but not enough.
Backfield movement was pretty useless at this point.
Daemons, turn 6
The hammer fell, and the combined charge killed a lot of Clanrats. They managed to flee, and nothing managed to catch them. It looked like the Skaven could pull a minor defeat...
Skaven, turn 6
But then the general failed the rally test, and the unit fled off the table. Major victory for the Daemons!
Aftermath
I felt bad afterwards, thinking that I brought too strong a list against a new player. Alas, I was warned about Skaven shooting, and tried to counter it as best as I could. I also had luck on my dice, with both Flesh Hound units coming in turn 2, and the cannon not misfiring, not even once, which has never happened before.
My opponent was frustrated by my dancing around his units and never taking a charge. Then again, this game is won in the movement phase!
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