This week, Roger’s Wood Elves and my Wyld Elves took on Mike’s Undead and Andrew’s Ratkin in an epic 2000 point clash of Fantastic Battles. We played on a 180x80cm battlefield, littered with woods, a few fields and a settlement. Roger deployed facing Andrew (to left), and my forces faced Mike’s (to right).
Andrew’s rats used the night march strategy to start forward of his default deployment area. He survived the mishaps rolls with barely a scratch, while Mike’s mishap rolls meant that his large units of mummies and skeletons were enthusiastic and deployed forward (in lone with the rats to their right). Roger’s wood elf spearmen were likewise enthusiastic, while one of my tree shepherds was late. Otherwise, there was little disruption in the deployments. Roger’s wood elf war-dancers were on stimulants and proved to be completely out of control (he rolled a 1) meaning they would be treated as out of command range throughout the game.
The battle opened with both the undead advancing on the right of the elven line, causing the wyld elves to react and shift much of their line to the right. In a moment of madness, I sent my newly recruited chariot archers forward, led by a magic-user with the entangle spell. The aim was the entangle the large unit of elite mummies in the centre of the battlefield and slowly weaken them with arrow fire before charging home with the stag-riders.
On the far left, a flank march of ratkin assassins led by a rogue erupted onto the flank of the wood elf war-dancers. As a result, he committed what might politely be referred to as a ‘learning point’; the units of glade riders and eagle riders holding the centre of the table turned into column to their left, and proceeded to abandon the centre to reinforce the flank. The gap that had already existed between the wood elves and their wyld elf cousins now became an inviting hole for the ratkin to scurry into!
Further to the elven left, the main wood elf line hung back, having a shoot-out with the ratkin jezails and grenadiers. A second unit of ratkin assassins and a posse of rats with flame-throwers advanced through the woods in the centre, only to be charged by a unit of ents.
Back on the right, the undead lord on his undead dragon and undead giant bodyguards stalled just outside of the bow range of the wyld elf rangers …
… and then swooped forward. The elven rangers had not activated and so could evade – unfortunately the second of the wyld efl magic-users had just moved to join the rangers, so could not evade with them. Her melee against the undead dragon was a short one.
The wyld elf stag-riders, now subject to undead artillery fire, charged forward into the mummies, supported by the giant eagle. However, the eagle was shortly engaged in it’s flank by a skeletal shieldwall, and the stag riders were flanked by the big rat wheel.
In the centre, the rat lord, comfortable with how his minions were rolling up the wyld elves, turned back to threaten the wood elves. His assassin unit moved up to flank the wood elf ents.
The battle seemed to be favouring the rat-undead alliance. I wouldn’t say that the dice gods had abandoned us (especially me!), but …
… this is the result of a best-case-scenario round of shooting with two units of rangers against the undead dragon. The target number was 5+.
After this point, the battle, while not one-sided by any means, continued to unravel. The stag riders and giant eagle were routed and shortly after the rangers who were supporting them were charged in their flank as well.
The bone dragon did finally succumb to the massed attacks of wyld elves and tree shepherd …
… but an undead summoner managed to bring forth a giant scorpion on the flank of the wyld hunt (who were in the process of destroying a bone giant).
The ents in the centre finally dispatched their ratkin opponents, only to be attacked by the great rat himself. The ratkin centre-right also started to crumble after the prolonged shoot-out, but the vermin guard were getting the better of the elven spearmen.
On the far right, the last of the wyld elves succumbed to the legions of the undead and their ratkin allies. With their destruction, the heart went out of the eleven forces and they scattered and fled. The photo isn't blurred, its just the tears in my eyes!
