This month’s tournament was set for the standard 2500
points, meaning that our games would likely be indicative of the current WHFB
meta—at least I hoped. To that end, I decided to take a conventional Dwarf
list. I have also been asked if I could do more battle reports using a standard
Dwarf army, so I had a two-fold motivation to do so.

Runelord (General): Shield; RoStone, RoResistance;
MRoBalance, RoSpellbreaking

Thane (Battle Standard Bearer): MRoGromril, RoResistance;
MRoChallenge

Dwarf Warriors: x40; Great Weapons; full command

Hammerers: x41; full command; MRoGrungni

Grudge Thrower: Engineer; RoAccuracy, x2 RoPenetrating

Cannon: RoForging, RoBurning

Cannon: RoForging

Organ Gun

My first game was against a Lizardmen army. This army
sported two Slaan a big unit of Saurus Warriors, a big unit of Temple Guard,
and nearly 80 skirmishing Skinks, mostly in units of 6 or 10! After one look at
that army, I knew my Organ Guns had to do some damage. Since war machines
aren’t immune to poison, I also assumed they wouldn’t last long, since they
posed the greatest threat to the Lizardmen army. I had to either eliminate
enough Skinks to preserve my war machines and pull off a win through
points-denial, or I had to get into combat with his big units and wipe them out
to make up for losing all my war machines. Either way, it was not going to be
an easy battle. The scenario was a meeting engagement: 15 points for a win, 10
points for a draw, 5 points for a loss, an additional point for slaying more
characters than your opponent, an additional point for taking more banners than
your opponent, an additional point for killing the enemy general, and an
additional point for taking the enemy Battle Standard Bearer.

I was
fortunate enough to have all of my units on the board from the first turn. I
was also fortunate enough for my opponent to not steal the first turn from me.
Here is our deployment.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11768]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11769]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11770]

DWARF TURN ONE: Reeling
from the last time I faced Lizardmen, I decided to try to take out my
opponent’s Salamanders first. I took a shot at the unit of Salamaders on my
left flank with the Cannon on that flank, killing a handler… I couldn’t afford
to waste my Cannon shots like that. I suppose in hindsight, though, that all I
needed to do was to hit it and not roll a 5-6 for the hit randomization so that
I could put wounds on the monster. It probably would have been a better bet
than trying to get his Slaans to fail a “Look
out, Sir!” roll. My second Cannon shot hit the Temple Guard, but only
killed a couple as the Slaan passed his “Look
out, Sir!” roll. My Grudge Thrower hit a unit of Skinks near the middle of
the table, killing several. He had deployed his Skink scouts just out of range
of my Organ Guns, so with that, my turn was done.

LIZARDMEN TURN ONE:
My opponent moved his troops up as you can see.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11771]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11772]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11773]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11774]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11775]

During the magic phase, he was able to get Throne of Vines off. I knew he was
looking at casting something else more devastating, and I could always dispel Throne of Vines during my magic phase,
so I let it through. I was able to stop the rest of the magic from the
double-Slaan ridiculousness. The shooting phase was just as happy for me. One
unit of Chameleon Skinks shot at my left-most Cannon, dealing a wound.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11778]

Another unit of Chameleon Skinks did a wound to the other
Cannon, but I was able to save it on my Light Armour!

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11779]

Everything else was out of range to shoot at my Dwarfs.

D2: I again had
no movement to do, but I wasn’t about to forget to dispel Throne of Vines. I did so, by just enough, and moved on to my
shooting phase. My first Organ Gun opened up and slaughtered the left-most unit
of Chameleon Skinks.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11780]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11781]

My second Organ Gun slaughtered the right-most unit of
Salamanders, for which I was quite appreciative (I rolled a 2 on the artillery
die, rerolled, and got a 10!).

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11782]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11784]

My Grudge Thrower landed a stone on a unit of Skinks again,
killing a few.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11785]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11786]

L2: The Lizardmen
again surged forward, getting as many of the blowpipe-wielding Skinks into
range as possible and moving his remaining Salamanders over onto my left flank.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11787]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11788]

The magic phase was rough. I felt like I couldn’t stop
anything. He got Throne of Vines off
again, which I let go through, followed by Flesh
to Stone on his Salamanders. Last, he cast The Dwellers Below. He used six dice, hoping to get Irresistible
Force, hoping to wipe out a unit of Dwarf Warriors (the unit on my right
flank). He failed to roll two sixes, still casting it successfully on a 26, and
I threw all of my remaining dispel dice at it to dispel it, getting exactly a
26! Crisis averted!

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11789]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11791]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11790]

The shooting phase was less perilous but more damaging. His
remaining Chameleon Skinks eliminated my right-most Organ Gun. My Dwarfs were
otherwise fortunately unscathed.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11793]

D3: My Dwarf
Warriors on the right flank charged his Chameleon Skins, who fled, so they then
redirected into the next unit of Skinks, who also fled. My Dwarf Warriors on
the left flank then moved forward, followed by my Hammerers.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11794]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11796]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11795]

I dispelled Throne of Vines once again and moved on to the
shooting phase. My Organ Gun misfired, losing this turn’s shot and next turn’s
shot. Not good.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11799]

Then, my Grudge Thrower misfire, rolling a 1 and blowing
itself to smitherines! Definitely not good. I was running out of war machines
fast…

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11797]

My left-most Cannon shot at the Salamanders, but it only
succeeded in killing a single handler—again.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11798]

My right-most Cannon shot at the reinforcing Chameleon
Skinks who had finally made their way forward. I used grapeshot, but I failed
to do any significant damage. I think I was at 6+ to hit, so I would have been
better off taking a normal shot at something else…

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11829]

L3: The Lizardmen
advanced once more, moving elements around my flanks to get into good positions
to harass my combat units. My opponent rolled low for the Winds of Magic, so I
was able to dispel everything he tried to cast, except for Regrowth on a unit of Skinks, bringing that unit back up to seven
models. Shooting was painful. The Salamanders could have done worse, but they killed
quite a few Warriors. The Skinks finished off my Cannon on my left flank.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11800]

The Skinks on my right flank finished off the Cannon over
there, as well.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11801]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11802]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11803]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11804]

D4: My Dwarf
Warriors on my right flank charged the Slaan with his unit of Skinks, who fled,
so they redirected into the front-most unit of Skinks, who also fled. My Dwarf
Warriors on the left flank charged the Saurus Warriors in an attempt to get
into close combat where they would not be able to be shot to pieces, but they
failed their charge. My Hammerers then moved forward to support the Warrior
units.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11805]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11806]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11807]

My only remaining war machine was my Organ Gun, but because
of last turn’s misfire, it could not shoot this turn, so my turn was over.

L4: My opponent
declared a charge against my Dwarf Warriors on my left flank with his unit of
Saurus Warriors. I held. I didn’t know really what the Saurus Warriors were
capable of doing in close combat, but I figured they had a better chance
against them than they did against the Skinks and Salamanders who would just
run circles around my slow-moving Dawi. He then moved his Skinks in behind my
lines, ready to shoot at my back and take out the remaining Organ Gun.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11808]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11809]

And, of course, his fleeing Slaan rallied, as did his other
units.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11810]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11811]

The Saurus Warriors made their charge against the Dwarfs.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11812]

Again, my opponent rolled low for the Winds of Magic, but
this time I think I stopped everything. He was really hoping to buff the Saurus
Warriors, but it just didn’t happen. Shooting took out some more Dwarfs, along
with the last remaining war machine.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11813]

Combat was a blast! The Saurus Warriors killed a few Dwarfs.
They didn’t do badly, probably just about odds (5 wounds, I think), but then my
Warriors hacked through them like they had a grudge to settle! They killed 16
of the Saurus, who were then on double ones to pass their break test. They fled
and were cut down by the pursuing Warriors. This actually worked out great,
since on my turn, I would then be able to get a flank charge onto the Temple
Guard with that unit of Dwarf Warriors.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11814]

D5: My unit of Hammerers
charged the front-most unit of Skinks, who fled. They redirected into the next
unit of Skinks, who also fled, and my Hammerers were left stranded for the
third turn in a row. My Warriors on the left flank charged the Temple Guard and
rolled high enough on their charge roll to make it into combat! My Dwarf
Warriors on the right flank moved forward as far as they could.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11815]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11816]

My Warriors trounced the Temple Guard, though the kills weren’t
nearly as impressive as they had been against the Saurus Warriors. I think they
killed six, which isn’t shabby. The Temple Guard, Stubborn as they were, passed their break test and reformed to face
the Dwarf Warriors.

L5: I used the
MRoChallenge on the Salamanders in order to keep them from shooting their S3
and -3 to Armour Saves templates of death down the line of my Hammerers. They
were very near the edge of the board, so they would automatically go off the
edge if they fled, so they opted to charge the Hammerers.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11818]

The rest of the Skinks moved around to shoot at my unengaged
units, or rallied, as the case applied. The magic phase saw another low roll
for the Winds of magic, and I was able to dispel everything my opponent tried
to cast, despite the Rod of Power being used to add 3 or 4 dice to the power
pool (which killed his Skink Priest). I think I finally had to use my
RoSpellbreaking this round, though. Shooting dealt minimal damage to my
unengaged units, thanks in large part to the MRoGrungni. That rune made its
points back threefold this game! In combat, my Dwarf Warriors beat the Temple
Guard once again, while my Hammerers made short work of the Salamanders.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11819]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11820]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11822]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11823]

D6: My Hammerers
charged the Temple Guard in the flank. My Dwarf Warriors on the right flank
charged one unit of Skinks, which fled, followed by another unit of Skinks,
which also fled. In combat, my Dwarfs demolished the Temple Guard, cutting them
down in great swathes! Still, they were Stubborn,
and they passed their break test.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11824]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11827]

L6: One of the
units of Skinks that had fled my charges last turn failed their rally test and
fled off the board, while the other unit of Skinks rallied. I was able to stop
all my opponent’s magic, which was very helpful. My opponent didn’t have enough
shots to do anything significant, so we went straight to close combat to see
how the Slaan would fare. Long story short, my units made short work of the
remaining Temple Guard. The Slaan was on double ones to pass his break test and
failed. Since the Slaan was the Battle Standard Bearer, it was slain
automatically. I had won the game!

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11828]

A win netted me 15 points. I took more banners, killed my
opponent’s BSB, and killed more characters than my opponent had. The Slaan was
also the General of the Lizardmen army, so I came away with maximum points (19)
for the battle!

I apologize again for the lines in the pictures. I don't know what to do about them. They aren't in the original pictures. They come in when I upload them to the gallery. If anyone knows what I can do about it, please tell me.

My second game was against a High Elf player with a list
right out of the brand-new High Elf army book. I was a little nervous about
this match for two reasons: 1) I had not had a chance to look over the new High
Elf army book, so I was not sure of the various tactical capabilities of the
army, and 2) despite small units (none larger than 20 models), this High Elf
army had handed a hard Skaven list its own head on a platter, so to speak, in their
first game, a matchup usually fairly difficult for High Elves. I knew one thing
for certain, though, which did end up helping me out during the magic phase: my
opponent was fond of six-dicing The
Dwellers Below, hoping for Irresistible
Force, which he got at least once in the prior game, killing over 50 Skaven
models in a single cast.

The scenario this time was Blood and Glory. Besides the
other bonus tournament points possible, there were 5 more up for grabs for
breaking the opponent’s fortitude. This scenario and the next would be
evaluated on a graduated points differentiation rather than a simple
win/draw/lose system. My opponent won the roll-off to decide which side of the
table on which to deploy. I was stuck with two pieces of terrain in the most
annoying places, but I suppose it could have been worse.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11830]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11831]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11832]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11864]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11833]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11835]

Despite finishing deployment first and getting a +1 to my
roll for first turn, the High Elves won the roll. Damn my luck!

High Elves Turn One:
He decided against moving most of his army. At the time I was a bit surprised,
since I assumed I had ranged superiority. He did move his Phoenix and Skycutter
forward, however. During the magic phase, despite my best attempts to stop his
magic, he was able to cast Flames of the
Phoenix (if I remember right) with Irresistible
Force on my Dwarf Warriors on my left flank, killing only about a third of
them (so it could have been worse, though it still hurt) and wasting my
remaining dispel dice as he drained his power pool with the miscast.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11836]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11837]

The shooting phase was a little more dangerous than I had
anticipated. My opponent killed several more Dwarfs, including picking on my
war machines. Once again, that MRoGrungni paid for itself in the first round of
my opponent’s shooting!

Dwarfs Turn One:
I was still under the impression that I had the ranged superiority, so I
shuffled my units just slightly and moved on to the shooting phase. My Grudge
Thrower killed a few High Elf Archers, who panicked but failed to run off the
table.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11839]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11838]

My left-most Organ Gun misfired, losing its shot this turn
and next.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11840]

My Cannons were able to eliminate the Skycutter between the
two of them.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11845]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11841]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11842]

My Organ Gun on the right flank shot at the White Lions,
only rolling a 4 on the artillery die, but all 4 wounded, and my opponent
failed to save any with his modified Armour Saves, killing 4 of them.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11843]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11844]

HE2: My opponent
charged my Cannon on the far right flank with his Phoenix, rallied his Archers,
and barely shuffled around a couple of his units. I think we were both
beginning to sense that I didn’t have the ranged superiority I had assumed I
did going into the game. The High Elves were obviously feeling no hurry to get
stuck in close combat.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11846]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11847]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11848]

My opponent rolled low for the Winds of Magic, and I was
able to dispel everything important. I’ll tell you, though: that rule that
gives the mage and the unit he’s with +1 to their Ward Save for every spell
successfully cast and not dispelled really makes for some ridiculousness! His
Phoenix Guard unit was just almost impossible to do any damage to all game… The
shooting phase saw several more Dwarfs picked off. Fortunately, I was making
saves from armour or the MRoGrungni about as often as odds would suggest I
should, so my Dwarfs were dying slowly. In combat, the Phoenix whiffed his
attacks, and my Cannon crew actually put a wound on the Phoenix, against all
odds! The combat was a tie!

D2: I started by
reforming my Dwarf Warriors on the left flank. Horde formation would be wasted
on them with the numbers they had lost. I then moved my Hammerers and my other
unit of Warriors forward just a little, jockeying for position in order to get
the matchups I wanted. During the shooting phase, my Grudge Thrower got the
round off on the wrong foot by once again blowing itself to Kingdom Come!

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11850]

Yeah. It used to occupy the space dead center in that
picture… Oh, well. I moved on. My Organ gun on the left would be able to shoot
next turn if it survived. My Cannon nearby shot and eliminated one of the High
Elf Repeater Bolt Throwers.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11851]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11852]

My other Organ Gun also blew itself up… Not a great turn for
shooting… In combat, my Cannon on the far right flank lost a crew member to the
Phoenix’s attacks, but succeeded in holding its ground.

At this point, I forgot to take pictures for a spell,
because the game got fairly tense for me. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping
that I had not already lost the game.

HE3: With no
charges, my opponent shuffled his units around again to counter my moves. It
was becoming ever more apparent to me that this was a standoff, and I was
losing. Mostly due to bad misfires, which was frustrating. My Dwarf Warriors on
the left were losing models fast from the High Elves’ shooting, and it was only
a matter of time before they were completely wiped out. Once again, the Phoenix
whiffed its attacks, and my Cannon crew held their ground.

D3: I was too far
away from the High Elves’ units to risk failing a charge, so I moved forward
with my Hammerers and my Warriors on the right flank. I moved those units up
aggressively enough that my opponent would be reluctant to try charges on them
but not in a position to any longer play cat-and-mouse, either. He would have
to commit something.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11853]

During the shooting phase, my Cannon on the left shot and
destroyed another High Elf Repeater Bolt Thrower.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11854]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11855]

The fight between the Phoenix and my Cannon continued.
Finally, however, it did enough wounds to eliminate the Cannon.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11856]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11857]

HE4: Before my
opponent could declare charges, I used the MRoChallenge to force his
Swordmasters to charge my Hammerers or flee. He opted to declare a charge, as
the Swordmasters’ flight would have carried them through the White Lions, who
would have had to make a panic check, not to mention it would have meant that
the Phoenix Guard would have had to face off against the Hammerers alone.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11861]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11862]

With my Warriors hoping to get into the building where they
would be somewhat better protected from the onslaught of the High Elf missile
weapons, the Spearelves found them too close to resist the chance to engage the
seriously weakened Dwarf Warriors unit.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11858]

So, they fled. I was fairly confident they would be
demolished in close combat at this point.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11859]

The Phoenix that had finally made an end of my far right
Cannon flew over my other unit of Dwarf Warriors, killing 4.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11860]

He moved his Seaguard over behind the building in the middle
of the table to bring them into position to help out the Phoenix Guard. The
White Lions then moved forward a little, to threaten the flank of my right-most
unit of Warriors in the event they might charge the Swordmasters who were
pulled out of position now, whether their potential charge succeeded or failed.
The High Elf magic once again gave me a run for my money, but I was able to
stop everything important with a good sense of anticipation of what my opponent
wanted to be able to cast and when he was merely bluffing. The shooting phase
was not as bad, now that there was only one remaining Repeater Bolt Thrower and
the Lothern Seaguard had moved into a position that gave them no viable targets
at which to shoot.

D4: Now that the
Swordmasters were out of position, I took the opportunity to charge them with
my Hammerers. I was confident my Hammerers would beat them handily in close
combat and be able to overrun into the Phoenix Guard. My opponent chose to
hold, probably thinking his Swordmasters would outclass the Hammerers and kill
more than I anticipated, though I am speculating as to his intentions. On the
left, my Warriors rallied. I forgot that I wanted to use my Cannon to shoot at
the Phoenix, so I reformed them in a less-than-wise position to give my Cannon
line of sight to his last remaining Bolt Thrower. My Warriors on the right
flank moved up just enough to threaten the White Lions if they tried to charge
my Hammerers. My Cannon proceeded to hit and wound the remaining Bolt Thrower
but only rolled a 1 for the number of wounds, leaving it still intact on the
field of battle… and leaving the Phoenix alive and well, too. My Hammerers sent
the Swordmasters fleeing away, but they failed to be able to chase them down,
leaving three alive to preserve the unit’s points… for the time being. The
Hammerers then overran into the Phoenix Guard.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11863]

HE5: From this
point on, I forgot to take pictures again, so bear with me. The White Lions
shuffled forward (I’m not sure why) on my right flank, while the Spearelves
moved up to threaten the now-crippled unit of Dwarf Warriors and the Cannon on
my left flank. The Phoenix charged the Cannon as well. I knew my left flank was
about to go the way of the Mohicans. The Swordmasters rallied and reformed to
face the Hammerers. The magic phase was uneventful, and shooting took out a few
more Warriors from the already-crippled Dwarf Warrior unit on my left flank. In
combat, the Phoenix wounded with three attacks, eliminating the Cannon and
reforming to face the rear of my Hammerers. The Phoenix Guard killed a few
Hammerers, and even though the Hammerers inflicted 13 wounds, only a few
actually died after their Ward Saves. The Hammerers won combat by a lot, but
the Stubborn Phoenix Guard held their
ground.

D5: The Dwarf
Warriors on the right charged the White Lions, while the Dwarf Warriors on the
left charged the Spearelves. There was no place else the Warriors on the left
flank could move in order to escape a charge from the Spearelves, so I decided
to at least get the +1 to combat resolution from the charge. All of my war
machines had either been eliminated or self-destructed. In combat, all but my
Veteran and Standard Bearer of my left-most unit of Dwarf Warriors were killed
by the Spearelves, and even with two dead Spearelves in return from their three
attacks, they needed a 5 to pass their break test, I think. Of course, they failed
their break test and were run down by the Spearelves. On the right flank, the
Dwarf Warriors lost a few models to the White Lions but decimated the High
Elves in return, breaking them but failing to run them down. There were still
five left, enough that they could rally on their normal leadership… In the
center, the Hammerers and Phoenix Guard saw a repeat performance. I was really
getting frustrated at this point, because it seemed like I just could not kill
those damn Phoenix Guards! I was dealing more than a dozen wounds each round,
but only a few Phoenix Guard would fail their Ward Saves… not even close to the
50% odds. Anyway, the Hammerers won combat again, and the Phoenix Guard passed
their Stubborn 9 Leadership test
again.

HE6: The
Swordmasters charged into the Hammerers, as did the Phoenix. The White Lions
rallied. The magic phase saw the Spell that moves a unit cast. I had to let it
through, because I had to keep dice in case my opponent six-diced Flames of the Phoenix again or The Dwellers Below. He then cast The Dwellers Below, which I was then
able to dispel. The problem, though, was that the Phoenix Guard now had a 3+
Ward Save and would be even harder to kill! In combat, my Hammerers put three
wounds on the Phoenix, wiped out the remaining Swordmasters, finished off the
mage in the unit of Phoenix Guard, and killed 2 more Phoenix Guards. In return,
my Hammerers lost several more Dwarfs. The Hammerers won combat by 1 or 2, and
the Phoenix Guard and the Phoenix both passed their break tests.

D6: My Dwarfs
charged the White Lions again, who fled, leaving the Warriors with nothing to
do and preserving the points of the White Lions unit. In the center, My
Hammerers put down the Phoenix and killed another Phoenix Guard—just one,
losing a couple more models in the process. The Phoenix Guard once again passed
their break test. That ended the game.

This game actually frustrated me, but not because anything
that happened in the game itself, so to speak. The entire game, my opponent’s
dice were on fire. I don’t remember a single roll that he made that he didn’t
roll at least slightly better than odds—except for the Phoenix’s combat against
my Cannon on my right flank! My dice rolled just about exactly odds the whole
game, but that couldn’t make up for my opponent’s tremendous fortune. Makes me
suspicious, but I of course do not want to wrongfully accuse anyone of
anything. In hindsight, I should have moved my Warriors back sooner on my left
flank as soon as they were no longer combat-effective. Losing them cost me the
game. I only lost by a few hundred points, so had I been able to preserve that
unit’s points, I would have pulled off a marginal win. As it happened, the game
ended 15-7, a loss for the Dwarfs. Going into my third game, I was just below
the middle of the pack in terms of tournament points: 26 out of 48 possible.

My last game was against Nate’s Vampire Counts. His army
continues to harden. This scenario was a Battleline with the same possible
additional tournament points as the previous two scenarios. Natewon the
roll-off for choosing the side of the table he wanted and for deploying the
first unit. Here’s our deployment:

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11865]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11866]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11867]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11868]

Vampire Counts Turn
One: Nate won the roll-off for first turn, despite me again having +1 for
finishing deployment first. He moved everything forward as fast as it would go.
The magic phase saw an empowered Purple Sun of Xerus cast on a 27. I had to use
my RoSpellbreaking on the very first turn. The chances of failing to dispel it
were too slim, and the chances of the spell doing some significant damage were
too great.

Dwarfs Turn One:
My Grudge Thrower shot at the Grave Guard but scattered away, hitting nothing.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11869]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11870]

My first Organ Gun misfired, losing its shot both this turn
and next.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11871]

Between my two Cannons, I was able to kill a whole Crypt
Horror!

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11872]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11873]

VC2: The Dire
Wolves charged my right-most Cannon.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11874]

The Bat Swarms charged my other Cannon but failed their
charge.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11875]

Nate moved the rest of his army forward. Notice that his
whole line is exactly flush. That becomes very important in a moment.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11876]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11877]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11878]

In combat, the Wolves killed two Dwarfs, but the Cannon
survived.

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D2: I declared
charges. My Dwarf Warriors on the left charged the Crypt Ghouls, also hitting
the Grave Guard. My Hammerers charged the Crypt Horrors, also hitting the Grave
Guard on the other side. My Dwarf Warriors on the right flank charged the other
unit of Crypt Ghouls. All of my units made their charges, which was awesome! I
only needed a 5 or 6 on the dice, I think, but still…

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During my magic phase, Nate
reserved 2 dice to use during his next magic phase. I started my shooting phase
with a devastating shot from my Grudge Thrower on Nate’s unit of Zombies
bunkering two Banshees and two Vampires. It killed 20 Zombies! This was
important, as you’ll see shortly.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11881]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11882]

My unengaged Cannon then took a shot at the green-clad
Vampire, and since he was not close enough to get a “Look out, Sir!” roll, the Cannon shot killed him outright! My
Organ Gun on the left flank put several wounds on the Bat Swarms on the right
flank. During combat, my Dwarf Warriors on the right flank massacred the Crypt
Ghouls, killing the rest through combat resolution. Since the FAQ was FAQed, I
was able to overrun, coming to within two inches of the remnants of the
decimated Zombie unit. My Hammerers and left-most unit of Warriors each lost a
few models but in return obliterated the Vampire Counts units! More were
eradicated due to combat resolution.

VC3: The Zombies
behind the now-gone Crypt Horrors charged my Hammerers. The decimated unit of
Zombies charged my Warriors on the right flank. The Bat Swarms on my left flank
charged into the Warriors on the left where the Crypt Ghouls were cut down to 2
remaining models once was. The remaining Bat Swarm on the right flank charged
my other Cannon.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11884]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11885]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11883]

During the magic phase, Nate used his Power Stone and some
other item that gave him additional power dice. Even though he rolled low for
the Winds of Magic, with the two dice he held over from my magic phase, he
ended up with something like 10 power dice! I only had 4 or 5 dispel dice. I
was able to stop all but one spell: Purple Sun of Xerus, empowered! It ripped
through my units, killing 25 Dwarfs!

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11886]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11887]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11888]

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11889]

The miscast turned him into a Lv. 1 Wizard, which at least
helped ease the hurt a little. In combat, my Dwarfs shrugged off their
bewilderment and set themselves back to the grim task of slaughtering the
Undead without the crutch of magic. They killed the offending mage (not
actually the special character the model depicts), and enough other Undead to
eradicate the rest of the Undead facing them. The Dwarf Warriors on the right won
combat, killing the Vampire and putting wounds on the Banshees.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:11890]

The necromancer had been the General, so after crumble
rolls, all my opponent had left on the table was a solitary unit of Zombies. We
called the game. It was a total massacre in the Dwarfs’ favor.

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The tournament score for this game was 23 to 0. I missed out
on the last bonus point, because the VCs didn’t have a BSB for me to kill. That
brought my total for the tournament up to 49 out of a possible 72 points,
putting me in 2nd place overall!

I was very happy with this army. With a little less bad luck
with my shooting, I imagine this list would be really scary. Devastating, even.
It is a really hard list: an optimized, lean, mean, killin’ machine. I highly
recommend this army for anyone looking to build a 2500 point list or for anyone
looking at playing more competitive games.