My first battle report, my first 8th edition battle, played against my favorite opposing general, Nick.

(Last time I played was March of 2008; that was also a battle against Nick)

This friendly match saw my Dwarfs facing off against Nick's Night Goblins. To be fair, I begged him to play the Night Goblins, although he has other, larger and more complete armies in his vast collection.

Skarsnik and Gobbla would lead the Night Goblin force from Eight Peaks against my Dwarfs from Karak Hirn, led by Runelord Gjerlof Greymantle.

The Battle
We rolled off and got the Blood and Glory battle. Both of us had a starting Fortitude rating of 7 and a Break score of 3.

The Goblins (2198 pts)
Led by the really great model "Skarsnik and Gobbla"-- the old metal one.

Skarsnik and Gobbla
Night Goblin BSB (Bad Moon Banner)
Night Goblin level 2 shaman (power scroll and opal amulet)
56 Night Goblin Spearmen w/ full cmd, 2 fanatics, netters
60 Night Goblin Spearmen w/ full cmd, 2 fanatics, netters
24 Night Goblin Archers w/ full cmd, fanatic
24 Night Goblin Archers w/ full cmd, fanatic
6 Wolf Riders w/ musician
6 Wolf Riders w/ musician
6 Spider Riders w/ musician
6 Spider Riders w/ musician
10 Squigs w/ 5 herders
Boss on Squig (glittering scales, sword of might)
4 snotling bases

The Dwarfs (2199 pts)
Led by a Runelord and BSB Thane, equipped a la the conventional Bugman's Brewery wisdom. The rest of the force is based on what I like and what I own, flouting said conventions in favor of expedience and personal preference.

One of the things I hold dear is the classic look (all my models are 1990s; most of them metal; all modeled like the pictures on their boxes and in White Dwarf that made me fall in love so long ago...shields all around, hand weapons mostly, no unit fillers, etc. I am an old grumbler).

Runelord Gjerlof Greymantle(shield, Master Rune of Balance, Rune of Resistance, Rune of Preservation, Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Stone)
BSB Thane Snorri Stonehammer (Master Rune of Grugni, Master Rune of Gromril, Rune of Resistance, Rune of Preservation)
Dwarf Warrior Horde (44 warriors with hand weapon and shield, full cmd)
Longbeards (20 with shield, great weapons, full cmd)
Quarreller Rangers (20 with crossbow, great weapons, full cmd)
Cannon (engineer, Rune of Forging, Rune of Fire)
Grudge Thrower (engineer)
Ironbreakers (20, full cmd, Rune of Determination)
Organ Gun

I used the awesome free program Battlefield Chronicler to make the maps below.

The Battlefield
Greyflint Mine, the site of the battle. The large mine structure dominates the left side of the table.

The Deployment
Dwarfs chose the south side. My war machines went on the hill and my warrior horde in front of them. My Ironbreakers and Longbeards flanked the main host. The Rangers were brave, and deployed in a 10x2 max crossbow shots formation way out front (perhaps too close to the enemy, as it turns out).

The Night Goblins placed the two huge blocks of Spearmen (Sp1 & Sp2; 120 total, intimidating to be outnumbered this badly!) in the middle and various support units on the flanks. Archers (Ar1 & Ar2), Spider Riders (Sr1, Sr2), Wolf Riders (Wr1, Wr2), Squigs (Sq), Snotlings (S1-4), and the Sqig Hopper Boss (SH).

Dwarf Turn 1
I went first; after the Wolfs and Spiders made Vanguard moves.

The Warrior Horde moves forward to set the line in front of the war machines. The Longbeards and Ironbreakers move up, grandiose visions of a supporting flank charge dancing in their heads.

The Rangers let loose with their crossbow bolts, killing a couple of Night Goblins in the Sp1 unit. The cannon shoots at Sp2, but the cannonball sails long and misses completely. The Grudge Thrower tries to send a rock into Sp2, but misfires. Thankfully they just miss this turn. The Organ Gun starts what will be a glorious run: it blasts the unit of Spider Riders emerging from the woods. Hitting 8 of them, wounding 7 of them...killing all of them!

Night Goblin Turn 1
Nick rolled very poorly for animosity. This was funny, and basically decided the course of the game. Both units of Archers and both units of Spearmen rolled a 1 and decided to squabble. As the Spearmen were technically close enough to charge the Rangers, both had to try. The Sp1 unit (containing both the Night Goblin BSB and Skarsnik and Gobbla!) made it into combat with a great charge roll. This unit also launched their fanatics (one of the coolest and most characterful units in the entire game!). The Sp2 unit failed their charge and simply moved forward. The Rangers stood and shot as their charge reaction, killing a few greenskins on their way in.

Magic was basically non-existent and my Runelord put the smack down on the Night Goblin shaman for the entire game. I think one minor buff spell was successful total.

The Archers stayed put and fought with each other. And everything else moved forward. Man those Wolf Riders can cross the table quickly! I see my war machines only have so much time left...