Back in Battle

Let's keep the ball rolling with a somewhat abbreviated battle report.  My most recent game of Warhammer nonetheless.  My Vampire Counts took to the field against 2000 points of Dwarves.  Their commander, tom, fielded a large unit of Warriors, a unit of Hammerers, Trollslayers, Thunderers a Cannon and an Organ Gun.  Deploying mostly to open ground either side of a ruined Oathstone.

By comparison I fielded exactly the same list I had in my previous game with the VC, a Deathstar of 38 Grave Guard protected their Vampire master and Battle Standard.  Ghouls, Wraiths and token forces of Skeletons and Dire Wolves made up the rest of the army.

My tactics were simple, to rush headlong at the enemy; hopefully the Dire wolves would outflank the Thunderers; and indeed managed to largely do so.  They were shot down during turn two, but had sidelined the unit enough that it made no contribution to the game.

Meanwhile the combined thrust of the Wraiths and Ghouls was smashing the Trollslayers.  It's fair to say that Tom's gambit that I would not use much magic if facing Dwarves had not paid off.  He had took no Runesmiths or lords on the grounds he expected little magic; but as a Vampire lord led my army, it was essential to my plans and so I dominated the magic phase, creating roadblock units of Zombies and disrupting his plans with impunity.

Latterly, Tom had Miners arrive, but as the battle had advanced fast from my lines, and I had no rear echelon troops for them to threaten.  They arrived for Tom as a lacklustre reserve.

Instead his Hammerers charged and eventually destroyed the small unit of Skeletons, whilst my Ghouls moved on to attack the Dwarven Warriors, supported by Wraiths and some Zombies.  Once their initial foe was destroyed the Hammerers found themselves in great peril; but faced it with courage and turned to charge the Grave Guard.

This of course was the point at which my massive unit, well led by two mighty heroes, was able to undo his last desperate throw of the dice.  Tom issued a personal challenge to my Vampire, and did wound her; but in the second round of combat he was cut down and losing the ensuing melee by 17 points! was cut down in a brutal pursuit.

There the game concluded.  The scenario was run by Fortitude points and with the loss of his General, Battle Standard and key unit, Tom was beaten.

A brutally simple plan was effectively executed by my Vampire lord, the Dwarven general will rue the day he let the Runelords guard the hearths and brought Miners instead of more Thunderers.