KoW Undead vs Salamanders [KILL - 1500]

[Itepixcauh]

So, a new season of KoW has started and we have a new league going on, this time will be 1500 all games (no escalation)

First scenario was KILL, sigh, anyway lets get started. My first opponent is a great guy, he is playing undead with a very conventional but effective army, maybe forgeting something here or there but more or less:

UNDEAD

Vampire Lord on Dragon with Armour
Revenant King on Horse
Likanys
Zombie Horde with Diadem of Dragon-Kind
Revenant Cavalry Regiment with Pathfinder
Werewolves Horde with Brew of Strength
Regiment of Wraiths

My army is the same as the last games, as I'm still play-testing it to get the hang of how the units work together, there is no reason to just change your army in each game:

SALAMANDERS

Ghekkotah Skylord with Blade of Slashing
Ghekkotah Skylord
Mage-Priest with Surge and Inspiring
Fire Elemental Horde with Blessing of the Gods
Tyrant Horde with Brew of Sharpness
GFE
Ankylodon Battle Platform
Ghekkotah Warriors Regiment
Ghekkotah Hunters

DEPLOYMENT

I have more drops and he starts deploying so I'm pretty confident I have the advantage (not very usual) but my brain short-cuts and I mess the deployment badly, here is a picture:

So the thing is I had the chance to place Anything I wanted in front of his Dragon, that is by far the only thing I really feared in his army and the wraiths that have def6, and instead of placing my hard hitters there and tank on that flank leaving the zombies and his cavalry a long walk to catch me I go half-ass and place just the GFE, my two Skylords and some poor hunters; so basically one unit that can put some damage and three that can't... yeah I did that.

We roll for fist turn and I win it, so I concede seeing that he has clearly the speed advantage and I wanted to see what kind of player I'm facing (aggressive, defensive, etc...)

UNDEAD TURN 1

So he has NO chaff at all, and just pushes forward with everything to get into the combat as soon as possible, he knows he can win the right flank easily and puts both his wraiths and Dragon in range of my Hunters and Skylords to bait me. On the other flank he Surges the Zombies forward.

SALAMANDERS TURN 1

I decide to move aggressively too, Specially with the Ankylodon, I know those zombies can't really harm him and locking that horde while I chew through his other units will be beneficial. I move my Ghekkotah Warriors to chaff my elementals against his cavalry and decide to let the Werewolves have the Tyrants as I know I will have them locked for a couple of turns and not running around with their speed 9!

On the other flank I move my GFE as far as possible to block the wraiths from charging as they wont fit and also giving the Dragon the charge in the hopes that his CS4 will at least leave him badly wounded. I move one of the Skylords in between his lines to cause havoc in future turns and place the other behind the hunters so he cant be charged.

ON the shooting phase I put some wounds on the Wraiths with my GFE hunters and Skylord (should have targeted the dragon...) while the other skylord chips one wound of the werewolves and the Ankylodon 5 to the zombies! that was great.

UNDEAD TURN 2

He takes the bait and charges my Ghekkotah Warriors with the Revenants and puts the Werewolves into the Tyrants, the Zombies move forwards to try and shoot-charge with surge and on the left flank the dragon goes into the GFE and the wraiths into the Hunters.

He puts THREE wounds on my Akylodon with the Diadem, that turns into 2 thanks to Iron Resolve and fails to Charge with Surge.

The combats go as expected and the Cavalry rout the Warriors and go back, but still leaving them open to a charge from the Fire Elementals and the Werewolves put 7 wounds on my poor Tyrants (still lower than average) and waver them, I do really love Fury.

The dragon manages to put 7 wounds on the GFE with a very lucky roll to hit and the wraiths rout the hunters too and marched forwards.

SALAMANDERS TURN 2

This turn is really crucial to me, if it goes well the battle will be mine for sure. First I see a gap between the zombies and my Ankylodon where he can see and charge the Revenants and I go for a multicharge as I cannot charge the Werewolves on the flank with my FE. The tyrants go back thanks to Fury and on the other flank I see the wraiths have the flank open to my GFE and I reform him in that direction to surge him later. I also charge the Skylord into the flank of the Dragon in hope rather than expectation.

I shoot the wraiths with the GFE and surge him into the flank, my other Skylord tries to shoot the Likanys but misses.

The first combat I roll is the Revenants and predictively they get routed (no inspiring nearby too) and I move forwards both units hoping for a flank into the werewolves next turn or into the Likanys, lot of options here, everything is looking great atm.

Then I go into the Tyrants and I roll pretty well (not brilliant, but well) leaving the werewolves with 9 wounds plus Brutal, with just nerve 15/17 I need just a 5 and 7 to rout, roll the first time and get 9 I think, reroll and get a 4.... yeah, my tyrants are dead.

I have big hopes on the GFE, 16 attacks with cs4 should be able to get the wraiths at least badly wounded, but the roll to hit is horrendous, a sea of ones, and only manage to make 6 wounds not enough to really do anything, and the skylord predictively doesn't make much, maybe a wound or two.

Not the best outcome of I'm honest, my GFE is dead and my Tyrants will fall too, that won't really leave much to deal with that damn dragon.

UNDEAD TURN 3

He starts combi-charging my GFE in the flank with the dragon and in the front with the wraiths, puts the Werewolves into the Tyrants and charges my FE in the front with the Licanys and in the flank with the Zombies (ouch), they are fresh so I think they will hold, specially with the Inspiring Mage nearby.

He has no shooting, so we jump directly into the fray. I will do this fast, both my GFE and Tyrants get routed but the mighty FE survive with 8 wounds on them. That Lykanis is so dead, a tasty roasted Werewolf nest turn.

The Dragon instead of reforming facing the real battle decides to keep facing the Skylord (might be afraid of a rear charge... 15 attacks with no CS, I woulnd't be afraid but lucky me)

SALAMANDERS TURN 3

I decide to use my Skylords well, and charge the werewolves on the back, and the zombies on the flank. I also turn the Ankylodon around to face the inminent dragon and wraiths and charge the FE back into the Lykanis.

The badly wounded Werewolves fall under the mighty Skylord (painted minis rout more enemies), he reforms to face the wraiths hoping to survive the charge and the other one performs incredibly well (3 to hit and 3 to wound with vicious) putting a lot of wounds on the zombies. The FE only manage to waver the Lykanis though, not fan of another flank charge from those zombies, you tend to forget how hard those damn werewolves are with Def 5.

Right now I don't really know if I will be able to get a draw, that damn dragon is A LOT of points and I know I won't be able to kill him, my only real hope is for my skylords to survive and flee to safety while the Akylodon tanks in the middle.

 

[Itepixcauh]

UNDEAD TURN 4

He decides to counter-charge the zombies and the Revenant King into the Skylord, leaving my FE free. If you ask me not the best decision but I understand his thinking. He charges the wraiths into the other Skylord and reforms the dragon to face the centre of the board. The Lykanis falls back into the forest.

The wraiths roll amazingly well and rout the poor Skylord. On the other combat both units put quite a lot of damage into the other Skylord but rolls the dreaded double one on him!

SALAMANDERS TURN 4

That double one gives me the chance to rout the Zombie horde once and for all, so I double charge the Skylord and the Akylodon into them and the FE into the not-willing-to-die Lykanis. Not much really to do except move my Mage outside the Wraiths arc of sight and throw a fireball at them.

The fireball manages to put one point of damage on them and I roll well on the Nerve routing them, but that damn dragon has inspiring... The second roll is crucial and of course I fail it.

The combat goes as planned and that Horde is finally routed. The FE perform badly but still manage to leave the Lykanis with 11 wounds but of course I roll a double 1

UNDEAD TURN 5

Game is looking great for him, and he takes advantage of it moving the damaged Lykanis out of the combat maybe to try and salvage his points or maybe to hunt down my Mage-Priest. He charges his dragon on the flank of my FE and the Wraiths with the Revenant King into my brave Skylord. The combats go as expected and both units are routed. He reforms to face my Akylodon.

SALAMANDERS TURN 5

Right now I know I cannot win, that dragon has healed all his wounds back thanks to the Life-leech ability, but if I get rid of the wounded Wraiths and the Lykanis I can get a Draw. So I charge the Akylodon into the Wraiths and pray.

My Mage-Priest, the absolute hero of all my games moves out of the arc of sight of the lykanis and shoots a Fireball on him causing three wounds, and finally after three turns he is dead.

The combat goes well too, can't remember how much I needed to rout them but CS4 is devastating on them and even with the inspiring they fall, I reform to face the dragon and hope to survive the next turn, if the Ankylodon is slained I will loose badly.

UNDEAD AND SALAMANDERS TURN 6

The mighty battle between the two beasts starts, the whole battle has lead onto this glorious moment, he goes first and charges both his character into the Ankylodon, the Cursed Vampire and the Perfidious Revenant King assault the beast and leave it wounded but with courage the Anylodon resists the attacks and fights back, trying to crush the powerful Vampire into dust helped by the brave Mage-Priest that runs fearless into the rear of the dragon, sadly despite powerful attacks of the Ankylodon the supernatural nature of his foe is too strong.

ENDING

With a glimpse of sunlight in the horizon the Vampire has to flee, a roar of frustation echoes in the distance, he knows the battle was sentenced but time is a cruel mistress, the secrets of the Salamanders temple will remain out of his reach, at least until he can summon his army again. Despite her treason on him this time, he knows that ultimately, time will always be on his side.

A figure crowned in feathers puts a tired hand on the horned snout of the huge monster in front of him, today all his powers weren't enough. Yes, he repelled the attack but the cost was too high, it always is. He softly caresses the head of the wounded beast. At least this magnificent creature will live, his wounds will be taken care by the other Mages, that is not his speciality. He has rituals to make, he must talk to the Flames again, he knows his enemy will return.

 

[Bowser]

Wow! Sounds like it was a fun and epic game! The best ones are those close calls where it ends in a draw!

 

[Itepixcauh]

ARMY ANALYSIS

This is probably the game I used the Skylords the best. I'm really happy with their performance, but I can only think on how much they could have done if I faced them against the low defence units in the first place. I really like them a lot, but I miss having another Inspiring character in my lines.

The FE and the Tyrants sublime as always, too bad my Nerve rolls were so bad in the most crucial moments. That being said I always have the feeling that having two units of FE might give me more options tactically.

The Hunters where so badly used I will not draw conclusions. Next game we will see.

Mage-Priest was amazing as always, his Inspiring was key and that Fireball with Elite is always very useful.

The Ghekkotah Warriors did what they were meant to do, wouldn't make a list without them. Chaff is great.

The Ankylodon was the reason I got a draw, he survived and helped kill three units, including the Wraiths. Some games he underperforms but this time he was amazing. Only mistake with him was to sure forward instead of reforming or staying put after killing the Revenants, he stayed one turn just turning around, If I would have to choose again, a flank charge from the zombies is better on the Ankylodon than on the FE, but who knows...

Right now I'm really happy with how I played the game, not so much with my deployment. That was a mistake I carried for the whole game, if I placed the Ankylodon and the GFE and FE on the side of the Dragon and castled with the rest of the army the game might have been different.

I will play at least another league game with the same army before changing anything but right now I really think I need some healing and some Inspiring so maybe changing one of the Skylords with a mounted Herald with the Healing Charm might be a good idea, that will also give me enough points to equip the Blade of the Beast Slayer to the Skylord so he can be useful against monsters.

Thanks for reading as always!

 

[Itepixcauh]

Wow! Sounds like it was a fun and epic game! The best ones are those close calls where it ends in a draw!

Thanks it was a great game with a great opponent, and that draw was really sweet, at some point I really thought I was going to loose.

 

[Crowsfoot]

Sounds like a good game and you write a good detailed report, after reading that I'm defo adding some werewolves into my undead army and I love that undead dragon model.

Your right on one point, painted models are bad ass, fact so get that army painted and you will never lose

 

[Itepixcauh]

Sounds like a good game and you write a good detailed report, after reading that I'm defo adding some werewolves into my undead army and I love that undead dragon model.

Your right on one point, painted models are bad ass, fact so get that army painted and you will never lose

The Werewolves are just amazing, speed 9, nimble and with 18 attacks (Horde) that hit on 3s and CS1 is for me an auto include in every undead army.

I'm working on the army, slow but steady... Next on the line is a batch of Ghekkotah.

 

[BAE]

Interesting battle, thanks for sharing! One question - how come when you moved the Skylord forwards in turn 1 your opponent didn't pivot 90 degrees with his wraiths, move to within 1 inch and then use Surge from his Vampire on Undead Dragon? There is no chance your Skylord would have survived (he would cause an average of 12 wounds from the rear charge) and he could then about face after the combat. I can't see that there would have been any disadvantage for him doing so and yet he completely ignored it.

 

[Itepixcauh]

Interesting battle, thanks for sharing! One question - how come when you moved the Skylord forwards in turn 1 your opponent didn't pivot 90 degrees with his wraiths, move to within 1 inch and then use Surge from his Vampire on Undead Dragon? There is no chance your Skylord would have survived (he would cause an average of 12 wounds from the rear charge) and he could then about face after the combat. I can't see that there would have been any disadvantage for him doing so and yet he completely ignored it.

It was a big mistake on my part and I didn't realise that vampires have Surge too until I finished moving. But I think he was so concentrated on attacking with him or getting to my rear that he forgot too.

Also don't know why He was too concern on exposing his flanks to my Hunters...

 

[Warden]

Great battle report, it was a pleasure to read.

Also nice pictures, despite the unpainted undead shenanigans!