Monday, March 16, 2020

Maggotkin of Nurgle vs Stormcast Eternals, 2020.03.11

Introduction


Since this was our first time playing each other, we decided to throw a matched play game after the Path to Glory one. Some time had passed since I got the nurglies out for a walk, so I readily agreed.

Wait, let's start again.

Virulax walks into a Sigmarite bar. The bartender asks: What will you... Take and Hold?

Battle round 1


Everyone prepares, casts their spells. A squad of Plaguebearers rushes forward in a flanking maneuver.


Battle round 2 passed much the same, with cautious advances.

Battle round 3


I won the roll-off and took the chance, crashing into the Stormcast lines. The Plague Drones and their Daemon Prince charged the Judicators, neatly bypassing the Concussors. Virulax himself elbowed his way into the brick of Sequitors, while the 20-man Plaguebearer squad pinned them down, leaving no room for maneuvers. The 10-man flanking force also went in, keeping contact at a minimum. 

There was also the mandatory cripple fight, as the Nurglings charged the Gryph hound.



I did exactly as much damage as I expected... that is to say, barely any. The retaliation went a lot better, as the Concussors beat two Drones to pulp.


Battle round 4


Seeing the amount of hitting power I was facing (although I knew what Sequitors and Concussors are capable of, but seeing it first hand is always different...), I decided to spring my trap right away.

I took the turn again. Now the double turn here might not have sealed the deal, as everything on the Stormcast side was tied down... but best not to take chances.

The Stormcast had exactly 6 models on the objective. I tried everything to take it away from them. In this scenario, if you hold both objectives at any time, you win.

The remaining Plague Drone retreated, providing a bubble to block the cavalry.

The far left squad of Plaguebearers retreated and ran. Keeping 3" away from the Judicators, I managed to squeeze 3 models in range of the objective.

The Nurglings charged the Gryph hound but failed to kill it.

The other 10-man squad of Plaguebearers ran in a conga-line, keeping 1 model within 7" of a Gnarlmaw, and charged into the Lord Arcanum. Just one model in range...

Lastly, the Poxbringer and Daemon Prince charged into the Sequitors to provide distractions.


The combats did zero damage... both Poxbringer and Daemon Prince inflicted 0 wounds, but took mortal wounds in return. However, they were not supposed to do anything. With some nifty pile in moves, I got enough Plaguebearers in range to claim the objective... and victory!


Aftermath


I thought the victory conditions were clear, but my opponent disagreed, and the argument got heated. We went deep into the rulebook, even looking at how you hold objectives... I got sick of it honestly, and proposed we call a referee. We did, and the ruling was swift in my favor. We shook hands. I decided not to leave it at that, and we finished off the evening with another round of friendly banter. Much better.

As for the armies:
Nurgle is still what I know best, although Khorne has its charm.
My army composition is not geared for damage. What I faced down that day could have easily wiped me off the board, had I let the Stormcast maneuver into position.
Instead, I split them up, denied their full frontage, and played the objective game to squeeze out a hard-fought win.

Note: I noticed on the spot that my army list was no longer legal. With the new Slaves to Darkness battletome out, the Daemon Prince got a hefty points increase along with some new abilities. We agreed to use the old points cost and the old warscroll - I had nothing to substitute it with. So farewell, trusty army... you served me well. Next time, I'll think of how to tweak you.

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