Game 2: Opponent            : Ed  Opponent’s Army : Orcs and Goblins Scenario              : Gain Ground

When game one was over I was disappointed at the performance (or lack of performance) of my Cold One Knights.  I was unwilling to jam them down the throat of a Great Unclean One and so I was left scooting them around a flank and never engaging.  Failing stupidity in one round contributed, but that’s just another reason to push them into combat faster.  I told myself that it would be different in game two and that I would be more aggressive. Opponents were assigned for game two and I drew Ed, with his orcs and goblins.  He was a new player, but the grapevine reported that he had brutalized the Bretonians he faced in Round One.  I got a look at his army and I knew I was going to have a hard time living up to my aggressive intentions.  4 wolf chariots, 1 pump wagon, and a night goblin unit loaded with fanatics promised more impact hits than I could handle unless I was careful. To complicate matters, we were to fight our battle in the midst of a city.  One edge of the board was bounded by a river complete with docks (with stacks of crates awaiting shipment) and the other was bounded by the city wall.  The battlefield was cluttered by seven buildings/ruins and the center was occupied by a hill. This lone hill would be the only bonus objective for the Gain Ground scenario.  It would be worth extra victory  points at the end of the game. I won the choice of board edges and took the side that had a large building that extended into the battlefield (this side also had the most elbow room).   Spells were quickly rolled up with Ed’s shaman picking up ‘eadbut and Hand of Gork.  My sorceress took her default spell and prepared for a dull afternoon. Ed had a ton of units to deploy.  I may not have gotten them all in the list I made from memory.  His center was held by 2 blocks of orcs and a big block of savage orcs (these savage orcs were all Dragonrune miniatures that looked really neat!).  The flanks were covered by a myriad of wolf rider and chariot units.  Because of the terrain he was forced to deploy fairly deep and he ended up with his night goblins behind his orc blocks.  He placed his spear chukkas and shaman in the center, one perched precariously in a ruined building to give it line of sight.  In my deployment, I spread my crossbowmen out (one of them ready to enter the large building and take up positions in its windows).  The dark riders were (predictably) on the flanks.  Most of my combat power ended up square across the table from Ed’s large orc blocks.  The reaper bolt throwers got placed across the table from the savage orcs, ready to concentrate fire on the unit.  Last, my sorceress hid behind a building to avoid getting hurt.

Orcs and Goblins                                               Dark Elves 1.  5 Wolfriders                                                  1.  Dark Riders 2.  30? NightGoblins                                          2.  Harpies 3.  Wolf Chariot                                                  3.  Crossbowmen 4.  Pump Wagon                                                4.  Cold One Knights w/Battle Standard 5.  30? Night Goblins (2 fanatics)                       5.  Corsairs 6.  25? Orcs                                                       6.  Highborn’s Chariot 7. 25? Orcs with Warboss and Battlestandard   7.  Bolt Throwers 8.  Spear Chukkas w/Goblin Shaman                 8.  Crossbowmen 9.  Savage Orcs (30ish?)                                   9.  Crossbowmen 10.  Wolf Chariot                                              10.  Dark Riders 11.  Wolf Chariot 12. 12 Wolfriders w/Goblin Bigboss 13.  Chariot

Turn One:  Ed won the roll and elected to go first.  His orcs and goblins surged forward all across the board, especially  the big wolfrider unit and chariot on his left.  Their companion fast cavalry wolf riders failed their animosity and squabbled with one another.   I looked particularly weak on that flank and I figure he was probably looking to loop around to get at my bolt throwers.  Magic was uneventful and his two spear chukkas missed.  In my turn, I declared a charge against the precocious wolf rider chariot on my right flank.  My crossbowmen on that side advanced towards the big wolf rider unit for some reason I can’t quite recall (I think I was counting on shooting to force a panic test or fear to prevent their charge).  On my left, the harpies flew straight into the center of his army to confuse things.  This forced his fanatics out and they both disappeared off the table.  The crossbowmen on that flank stood their ground and the center crossbowmen rushed into the building to take up firing positions.  In the shooting phase, massed bolt thrower fire destroyed chariot number 10, crossbow fire wounded chariot #3 twice, and the right flank crossbowmen failed to harm the wolf riders to their front.

Turn Two: Ed declared a charge against the right flank crossbows with his wolf riders and big boss. They elected to stand and shoot.  The pump wagon ran into my harpies who bravely decided to sacrifice all in order to march block about half of his army.  Magic was uneventful and the goblins were still inaccurate in the shooting phase.  In combat, the wolf riders and big boss broke my crossbowmen and pursued them straight off the table.  On the other side of the board, three harpies died to impact hits and the pump wagon pursued the remainder (running them down) and slammed  into the side of a building! (doing to wounds to itself)  In my turn, crossbow fire finished off the damaged pump wagon and massed missile fire took down 12 savage orcs.  My dark riders on both flanks jockeyed for position to hopefully avoid being charged by chariots.

Turn Three: Ed’s savage orcs apparently decided to have a violent disagreement over whose idea it was to walk into the teeth of two bolt throwers.  They failed their animosity test and squabbled.  The rest of Ed’s forces advanced, with his general’s unit getting very close to my screening crossbowmen.  His big wolf rider unit returned to the table, but was blocked from marching by my nearby dark riders.  This left them stranded, trying to avoid being flanked or reared by the dark riders and unable to go after my bolt throwers.  In Ed’s magic phase his general used the ‘itty Ring, but failed to harm a crossbowmen.  Then his shaman cast Hand of Gork on his general’s unit and I let it go through, hoping that he would clear out the crossbowmen and give me a good charge.  In close combat he predictably murdered the crossbowmen and they broke (to my relief!).  The orcs pursued, but were unable to catch the fleeing crossbowmen.  In my turn, I declared a triple charge against his general’s orcs.  My general’s chariot attacked the front and dark riders and corsairs went after either flank.  My cold one knights were unable to charge because the fleeing crossbowmen rallied directly in front of them (curses!)  Ed lacked confidence in his boyz ability to fight it out and he decided to flee instead.  The dice were unkind and the orcs were run down by my highborn’s chariot.  In the shooting phase, 2 squabbling savage orcs were shot by crossbowmen and my bolt throwers poured fire into his big block of wolf riders causing them to panic.

Turn Four: Ed’s savage orcs were in a position to charge my corsairs in the flank, so I had the corsairs flee. The dark riders that had helped run down his general last turn were charged by the other orc block and a small unit of wolfriders.  The dark riders fled, causing the orcs to fail their charge and the wolfriders to redirect into my highborn (?!?).  His two remaining chariots both failed fear tests when they tried to charge my units.  His big boss and wolf riders failed to rally and kept fleeing towards his side of the table.  In the magic phase I scrolled Hand of Gork to prevent him from moving the savage orcs again.  Predictably, his spear chukkas missed.  Those 5 wolfriders never stood a chance.  They failed to hurt my general and he left one alive to go scampering away.  In my turn 4, my corsairs failed to rally from their flight and their presence caused the nearby  crossbowmen to panic as well.  The fleeing dark riders rallied and repositioned.  In shooting, I poured fire into the savage orcs, bringing them under half strength.

Conclusion:  Time was called at the end of turn four and we didn’t get to play out the end of the game.  There was no real need to count up points and determine a margin of victory because of the lopsided results.  He had lost three characters and a number of units, while I was relatively unscathed.  This was an interesting game because of the terrain and the challenge presented by the massed chariots and fast wolf riders.  It was a mistake for Ed to charge into my crossbows unsupported with such an expensive unit and he admitted a lack of patience later.  This misstep caused the loss of his general and battle standard and pretty much sealed the game.  I don’t agree with his decision to flee in that circumstance either.  The odds of getting away were slim and he surrendered the opportunity to do any damage to me.  One thing I will commend is that he maintained a great attitude all the way through the game , even during that one disastrous turn.  He definitely got my top score for sportsmanship during the day.  Once again I managed to have my most expensive and dangerous unit sit around idly during the battle.  This had to stop!

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