Hi guys, recently had a fantastic match-up against a mate at my LGS. This is my first battle report and I hope you find it entertaining! I'm not completely sure of his list but here's a shot of my army and a list of what I took:

Thorek Ironbrow – 505 pts.

Dwarf Lord – 286 pts. (DL)
Shieldbearers, GW, MRoSteel, RoResistance, RoStone, MRoChallenge, RotFurnace.

Thane – 142 pts. (ASF)
Shield, MRoSwiftness, RoFury, RoCleaving, RoStone.

BSB Thane – 220 pts. (BSB)
BSB, Strollaz Rune, RoBattle, MRoGrungni.

Runesmith – 147 pts.
Shield, MRoBalance, RoSpellbreaking.

10 Quarrellers – 120 pts.
Shields.

10 Thunderers – 150 pts.
Shields.

10 Warriors – 90 pts.
Shields.

18 Longbeards – 291 pts.
Full Command, Shields, RoBattle, RoStoicism.

18 Hammerers – 289 pts.
Full Command, Shields, RoBattle.

15 Slayers – 165 pts.

1 Cannon – 160 pts.
RoForging, RoBurning, MRoImmolation.

1 Bolt Thrower – 90 pts. (BT1)
Engineer, RoPenetrating, RoBurning.

1 Bolt Thrower – 85 pts. (BT2)
Engineer, PoPenetrating.

1 Organ Gun – 120 pts.

1 Gyrocopter – 140 pts.

TOTAL: 3000 pts.
DP: 9 + 1 Rune

Terrain:

My deployment (my left flank to right):

Thorek in bottom left corner, Thunderers to left of wood, Warriors on other side of wood, Hammerers w/ DL, Longbeards w/ ASF & BSB, Organ Gun up on 12” line, Slayers, Cannon w/ Runesmith, BT1, BT2, Gyrocopter, 10 Quarrellers.

His deployment (opposite my left flank to right):

Lord on Pegasus behind ruins, Trebuchet just inside right of ruins, KE, GK w/ FE, KOTR1 w/ BSB, Mounted Yeoman, KOTR2, Grail Reliquae w/ Damsel, Wood, Paladin on Pegasus behind wood, KOTR3 w/ Damsel, Peasant Bowmen

His spells:

Fey Enchantress – all 6 Lore of Life
Damsel on foot – Lore of life 1 & 6
Damsel on horseback – Lore of Life 4 & 5

Pre-Battle:

Strollaz Rune on BSB allows the Warriors, Hammerers, Longbeards to march a full 6” towards the centre of the Bretonnian line to the left of the central wood. The Slayers also march a full 6” heading to the right of the wood to face off against the Reliquae and perhaps take down a Damsel. These Dwarfs don’t mess around.

Turn One:

Dwarfs win the roll for first turn and opt to go first. The Warriors, Hammerers and Longbeards all move forward 4” – 2” within the charge range of the Bretonnian line. My thinking is that the Lord could exploit the close bunching of the main Bretonnian line by challenging the KOTR1 unit, thereby pulling them across and in front of the other two large blocks of cavalry and limiting their movement. The Organ Gun, out of range this turn, moved up 3” into a better firing lane. The Gyrocopter flies a full 20” towards the wood, heading for the Reliquae ready to steam next turn, or bait a unit. Shooting phase starts with the Cannon taking out a Knight Errant. Thorek strikes the Ancient Power Rune of Wrath and Ruin successfully and rolls a 6, targeting the Yeoman (3 dead), Knights Errant (0 dead) and the Grail Knights (0 dead). At least they’re slowed down. Both bolt throwers open up on the Trebuchet but only manage to kill one crew member. Quarrellers miss the Peasant Bowmen.

The Bretonnians turn opens with the Dwarf Lord challenging the KOTR1 with BSB who proceed to charge the Hammerers in the compulsory movement phase, dragging them (unwillingly) across the front of the Grail Knights who now cannot charge. But the Bretonnians have a trick up their sleeve too. The army sound the Falconhorn of Freddy Something during the charge phase, grounding the Gyrocopter, which is now charged by the KOTR2 unit. Other movement sees the Pegasus Lord flying out from the ruins right next to the Wood near the Warriors, the Pegasus Paladin flies out behind the middle wood. The KOTR3 move towards the war machines on the hill. In the magic phase, his 10 power dice is shut down by my 9 dispel dice. The Chalice casts Second Sign of Amul and nets him 1 re-roll (which he forgets to use). The Trebuchet misfires in the shooting phase and can’t shoot this turn or the next (phew!). The Yeomen miss the Organ Gun and the Peasant Bowmen kill 1 Quarreller. In the combat phase the KOTR2 unit easily beat the Gyrocopter, which is caught between them and the KOTR3 and is cut down. The KOTR2 pursue 7”. In the middle, the more important battle between the Lord/Hammerers and the KOTR1 w/ BSB sees a challenge between the unit champions. The Knight champion is hammered into the floor, the BSB and horses kill two Hammerers and then the Dwarf Lord steps up and shears the BSB into several pieces. The KOTR1 lose by 5, fail their Break test, flee 18” and are pursued 8”. Result!

Turn Two:

So far so good for the Dwarfs but the battle is far from over. The Hammerers follow through and charge the front of the Fey Enchantress’ unit of Grail Knights. The Slayers, eager to start chopping, head towards the Reliquae. The Warriors and Longbeards now position themselves to engage the Knights Errant by manoeuvring around the back of the Hammerer unit. In the Shooting Phase, the Cannon snipes two of the Knights Errant and Thorek repeats his Ancient Rune of Wrath and Ruin again rolling to affect three units. Too eager to get rid of it, (and forgetting its out of action for this next turn) I target the Trebuchet killing only one crew. The rune also targets and kills one of the KOTR2 and targets the KOTR3 who take no loss but are still slowed. The Organ Gun kills two more KOTR 2, while the Bolt Throwers tandem-target the KOTR3, killing one. Quarrellers miss again. Useless. In the combat phase, the Enchantress’ Glance petrified the Hammerer Champion and a further Hammerers. Then, a Grail Knight eager to protect the Enchantress challenged the Dwarf Lord, who accepted. Grumbling as the knight’s attacks bounced off his armour, the Dwarf Lord cut him down twice over, with his faithful Shieldbearers adding a further wound. The Grail Knights fail to wound the unit and lost combat by 4, but held.

The Bretonnians opened up with the Knights Errant charging the small detachment of Warriors and the Reliquae charges the Slayers. The KOTR1 just manage to rally on a 10. The Pegasus Lord flies out towards Thorek, the Paladin flies out towards the gun hill, as do KOTR2, KOTR3 and the Yeoman. Magic sees a Chaliced Forked Lightning killing one Cannon crew and an Irresistible Master of Stone killing another and putting two wounds on the Cannon, meaning it cannot shoot next turn. The Enchantress then miscast but rolled a 7, effectively ending the magic phase. The only shooting saw the Peasants pin cushion one of the crew of BT2 as the Trebuchet still can’t shoot. In the combat between the Slayers and the Reliquae the Slayers kill 2 for no losses and hold. Between the Hammerers and the Grail Knights, the Stare kills off another Hammerer whilst another Grail Knight steps up to defend the Fey but is slain again. The Unicorn kills a Hammerer but the Knights still lose by 2. They hold again. Damn. In the crucial battle between the Knights Errant and the Warriors, the Warriors needed to hold against unlikely odds so the Longbeards could flank and destroy. As the dust settled, 4 Warriors lay slain over the body of one Knight. Losing by 5, but drawing inspiration from the nearby Lord, they passed and held on a roll of 5!

Turn Three:

Still out of range, the Longbeards marched towards the flank of the Knights Errant. The Thunderers reformed into two ranks of five facing the rear of the Pegasus Lord that has swooped down towards Thorek. In the shooting phase, Thorek struck the Rune of Oath and Honour at normal level bringing the Longbeards crashing into the side of the Knights Errant. In the shooting phase, the Quarrellers suddenly find their aim, felling two of the KOTR3 unit galloping towards them. The Organ Gun rolls a 2 twice felling 2 more of the KOTR3. Both Bolt Throwers roll a 1. Panicking, the KOTR3 with the Damsel flee 16” back from the gunhill. In combat, the Slayers lost one but held. Against the Knights Errant, the Combat Thane challenges the champ but no wounds are caused. After all blows are struck, the only casualty is one Knight. His unit loses by 9 (God, I love Runes of Battle), flee 13” and are pursued 10” by the Longbeards and 4” by the Warriors. For a third round, the Hammerer lose one to the Glance. The Dwarf Lord, getting fed up of his bodyguard dying so embarrassingly, butchers the third hapless Grail Knight to challenge him. The Grail Knights with the Fey Enchantress lose by 4, fail their test and flee off the board, pursued a full 11” by the Lord.

This, as it would turn out, would be a fatal error as the now-rallied KOTR1 that had been the Dwarf Lord’s first victim now smashed into the flank of the Hammerers. The Bretonnians, somewhat desperate, go all out. The Pegasus Lord charges Thorek (eep!), the Yeoman charge the Organ Gun, the Paladin charges the Cannon and the KOTR2 charge the BT1. The Knights Errant rally however the KOTR3 with the Damsel fail to rally and continue to flee off the board. The magic phase is once again shut down as he only has three dice now. The Trebuchet targets the Longbeards but misses. The Peasant Bowmen continue to pepper the BT2, bringing down another crew. The following combat phase turns the tide of the battle. The KOTR2 that charged the bolt thrower massacre and overrun 10” just on the board. The Yeoman massacre the Organ Gun crew and restrain. The Cannon crew, knowing their fate is sealed, explode the Master Rune of Immolation doing 2 wounds to the Pegasus and 1 on the hero. Only the Slayers hold. Then the worst happens. The Pegasus Lord is equipped with all sorts of horrendous character-killing stuff and slays Thorek. The Hammerers lose combat by 4 and spectacularly fail their Stubborn Ld 9 test rolling an 11 which sees the entire unit, including the Lord getting cut down. Two Lord Choices gone in a single turn. That hurts.

Turn Four:

Right, desperation time. The Thunderers charge gung-ho into the Pegasus Lord assailing the Anvil, whilst the Longbeards re-charge the dwindling Knights Errant. The Warriors set their sights on the Trebuchet crew and head towards it. My shooting is severely crippled, and as such, ineffective. In combat, the Slayers take five wounds but still hang in there. God bless ‘em. Against the KE, the Combat Thane tries again but fluffs it, and no wounds are caused again. The Knights lose by 7 this time and flee off the board whilst the Longbeards restrain. The Pegasus Lord challenges Kraggi who dies but the Lord loses by 1 and holds.

With no charges available, the Bretonnians begin to take positions – the Paladin heads towards the Lord ready to help, the Yeoman move towards the rear of the Slayers whilst the KOTR2 head towards the rear/flank of the Quarrellers. Somehow a Master of Stone gets through and kills the last of the BT2 crew. The Trebuchet misfires (heh!) and the Bowmen kill another two Quarrellers. In combat, the Slayers slay the Damsel (who has been surviving up until now) and hold. The Thunderers take two wounds against the Lord but their courage remains and the Pegasus Lord loses by 2, failing and fleeing off the board. With that, the last Lord choice character on the tabletop dies.

Turn Five:

No charges. The Warriors head nearer the Trebuchet. The Thunderers turn to face the incoming Paladin and the Longbeards reform to face the centre of the battlefield again. The Quarrellers reform to face the approaching KOTR2. With no magic or shooting, the Slayers hold in combat.

The KOTR2 charge the Quarrellers who elect to stand and shoot bringing down one of the three remaining Knights (come on!) but they pass their Panic. The Squires charge the rear of the Slayers. The KOTR1 – which should have died turn one and are now the bane of the Dwarfs – move up to charge the Warriors. The Bowmen move 8” towards the Quarreller combat. The Trebuchet misses the Anvil. In combat, the Quarrellers lose by 2 but hold whilst the Slayers take three deaths leaving just one Slayer alive. I’m going to call him Colin. Because Colin is a bad a$$.

Turn Six:

The Warriors charge the Trebuchet who hold. In combat, they massacre the crew and overrun 6”. The Quarreller combat is drawn, somehow.

The Paladin and KOTR1 double-team the Warriors who flee off the board before the charge hits home. The Quarrellers lose by 1 but hold. And finally, against blow after blow, Colin the Slayer is brought down into glorious battle-death but no before he sticks his axe in the face of a Reliquae one last time.

With that, the battle is ended.

RESULT:

Bretonnians – 1380 VP
Dwarfs – 1378 VP

DRAW

All told, it was the closest game I’ve ever had, bloody to the max and flip-flopping in terms of battle momentum. We both made mistakes and we both capitalised on each other’s.

Man of the Match:

It’s a tough one considering it was so close. I’m keen on saying the Dwarf Lord as he chopped through two full units, won every challenge faced and effectively killed the Enchantress. However, he got cocky and fled. So the man of the match goes to Colin the Lone Slayer, the best tarpit ever.

Hope you enjoyed the read! More comin soon!

Quannum