Village of the Damned

I had my first game of Warhammer Fantasy in what seems like ages a couple of weeks ago, in fact it was probably more like a month or so.  However it is fair to say that I've being playing a wider variety of games over the summer, and trying to get more historical games in to the mix.  Still it was nice to dust off the troops once again.

I was playing Neil's revitalised Tomb King army at 1500 points, when I say revitalised, it is fairer to point out that at this point they looked an awful lot more like Skaven than the ancient dead reanimated.  Still they are a work in progress, whereas my Orcs and Goblins have essentially been finished for many a year.

With a village occupying the centre of the battlefield, it was little surprise that we both leaned towards the more open flank of the table, and true to form, the Tomb Kings castled all their forces into one corner of the table anyway.  This seems to maximise their tactical advantages, though it does have it's downsides too.  A ripe target for template spells, war machines and the like, not to mention reducing the ability of the army to manoeuvre or retire safely.

For my part it was a large block of Orc Big un's, a couple of small units of goblin bowmen (with a single fanatic each) and two units of goblin fast cavalry.  With three lords to bolster my key units and a little magic, I was undecided as to how I would do, but the tactics were to outflank and pick off novelty units before the Big un's went in to smash his big blocks.

The fast cavalry were to prove pre-eminent in this stated task, not least as Neil was not used to their flexibility.  Early in the game my wolf riders wrapped round his flank, to respond Neil turned two heavy infantry units to face, assuming I would have to attack one of those head on.  But instead I was able to declare a charge on his exposed Casket of Souls, rolling it over and hitting the flank of the unit next to it.  He hadn't allowed for fast cavalry's ability to change formation any number of times, or for the nine inch move speediness of Goblin cavalry.

Meanwhile the Spider riders took on the forces he thought would tie up the Wolves, with poison.
 

The other thing making life difficult for Neil at this stage was my Goblin wizard, a mere level two, but thanks to  Mushrooms, pumping out his topline spell with staggering frequency.  Much like a released fanatic, even if it didn't hit the enemy, it was enough of a threat to their front that most of his army now remained tied into the corner.

Eventually Neil destroyed the Wolves, but by this point the Spider riders were in to him instead, and having swapped positions the Orcs were bearing down on his Undead phalanx, whilst valiant Goblin bows covered their rear.  Neil was certainly trapped, but fighting hard.

But luck was on my side, the Forest Goblin Warlord surviving everything thrown at him, and few things being able to stand in the way of a horde of angry - armed to the teeth - eight foot tall Orcs.

A final sweeping charge and it was all over for the Tomb Kings.  A game that probably felt closer than the outcome actually was, Neil is a cagey player, but I completely blind-sided him with my well practised use of light troops and mobility.  And so, an army list that failed dismally on it's first outing, with a few tweaks proved rather effective.

One should also add that this was my last game at the LWC.  Not that I realised this at the time...