As darkness falls, the citizens of the Empire shutter their doors and windows. An eerie mist begins to roll in from the east. Albrecht Hexenjaeger steps to the top of his War Altar. Chains go taught as zealots, invigorated by their holy fervor, pull the machine past lines of soldiers. The Arch Lector stares out into the gloom where flickering balefires, like rows of candles marching ever closer, begin to appear through the haze. A fluttering, screeching din fills the sky, as clouds of fell creatures descend upon the battlefield...
This battle report is broken into three parts:
The
game was played at my friend Steve Stiefel's house on his beautiful
terrain. You can see more of his finished Empire Army and
works-in-progress over on the Warhammer-Empire.com forum.
The Battle
With our armies deployed, Steve and I rolled-off for first turn. He won, but elected to let me move first.
I sent my lines of dire wolves forward. They would not be able to charge in the first turn, but they would give the Imperial artillery something to think about.
Turn 1: Vampire Counts
My battle line advanced forward. My General Dimitri Von Koss was positioned to allow the black knights on the right flank their full march move. I then shifted him to the left do allow the center to catch up in the following turn. The wolves and varghulfs were poised to charge in the following turn if they could survive the Empire shooting phase.
Using the Storm of Magic rules, I generated 13 power dice. The black coach had a chance to siphon some of them for its Evocation of Death ability, I rolled all 13 dice, hoping for 6's, and it got exactly zero. Take that, mathematical probability! The magic phase was otherwise uneventful; My only offensive spells were Marduk's Gaze of Nagash, and Dimitri's Curse of Years, both well out of range. With literally all of my skeletons and zombies on the table, I didn't have any spare models to raise, so it was on to Steve's turn.
Turn 1: Empire
I wasn't expecting Steve to move out of his battle line so early, but he surprised me with two charges: The halberdiers and Knights of the White Wolf surged forward to engage my wolves in the center.
In the magic phase, The War Altar used Banishment to obliterate one of my dire wolf units. Hieronymous Bosch augmented the White Wolves using Birona's Time Warp, but rolled double sixes! There was no chance for me to stop the spell, but the resulting miscast resulted in a magical feedback which wounded nearly all of his wizards and warrior priests!
That was a bit of luck for me, but in the shooting phase I could only sit and watch as his artillery line blasted my wolves to bits. His steam tank on my right flank misfired, but the a cannon in the center bounced a cannonball right through Seth and his zombie dragon. They each took two wounds. On the left flank another cannon nearly killed one of my varghulfs.
As expected, Steve's units eliminated both dire wolf units in combat. The Halberdiers held their ground, but the knights overran, right into the flank of my black knights.
Turn 2: Vampire Counts
Those Knights of the White Wolf were right in front of my Red Guard skeleton unit, so they charged into the knights' flank. There was no room for Seth's dragon to fit in the fight, so I shifted him behind a building for some cover. The black knights on my right galloped into the steam tank.
The remaining wolf unit, varghulf and the fell bats engaged some of Steve's missile troops on the left flank. I attempted a charge with the Crimson Reaper skeletons in the center, followed up with a bat swarm, but the skeletons fell short, leaving the bats high and dry.
As the rest of my battle line shambled forward, the wounded varghulf fell back into range of my necromancers. In the magic phase, I was able to heal one of its wounds as well as a few bats and skeletons. The black coach siphoned 4 dice toward it's Evocation. It would now hit a little harder in combat.
In combat, the varghulf slaughtered Steve's cannon crew, and overran into the flank of his swordsman unit. The dire wolves, on the other hand, were unable to break the line of handgunners.
The fell bats were wiped out by the Outriders on the hill, but they managed to take one down with them. The lone bat swarm, on the other hand managed to hang on; no blows were struck by either side, so the halberdiers won on combat resolution alone. That wasn't enough to break the swarm, however.
The main fight was the one between the skeletons and knights. The skeletons were unable to penetrate the White Wolves' armor, but the black knights manages to kill two. The White Wolves brought down two of my knights in return and, despite losing the combat, held fast.
Against the steam tank, my other unit of black knights only inflicted two wounds. The unbreakable tank kept them locked in place. I should have known better than to assume I'd be able to crash right through a steel behemoth with 10 wounds and a 1+ armor save.
Turn 2: Empire
Steve had pretty effectively stalled my advance; both of my large units of knights were locked in combat, and my screen of wolves was all but gone.
He decided to press his advantage by having his Inner Circle knights, The Obsidian Order of Sigmar, charge the black knights in the center. They fell short, which meant the White Wolves would have to fend for themselves against the overwhelming odds. The free company pressed forward into my Hellfire Knights engaged with the steam tank. Their ranks and banner could turn the tide of that fight.
The warrior priest with the free company was able to bestow them with a 5+ ward save, but the rest of the magic phase was uneventful. Likely his wizards were still reeling from last turn's disastrous miscast.
In the shooting phase, the Helblaster volley guns and Outriders did a number on my troops. The smaller unit of black knights had their number cut in half! Then steve pulled out his laptop, pressed play, and The Ride of the Valkyries began to fill the air. His Engineer had unleashed a pigeon bomb, dozens of the tiny birds soared through the air toward my battle line. As Steve rolled the artillery dice to determine the airborne attack's result, a "misfire" came up. The birds, likely diverted by the swarms of bats and flies in the sky, arced back on their master and detonated their deadly payload. The Engineer survived, but a few crossbowmen and an artillery crew member were killed.
Cannonballs flew toward my still-wounded varghulf, but missed or bounced harmlessly off his regenerative hide.
In combat, the lone bat swarm finally crumbled, but the White Wolves held fast. With the free company, the warrior priest's blessing didn't prevent him from being cut down by a black knight's killing blow.
Over on the left flank, the vargulf finished off another warrior priest, but the unit of swordsmen held fast, thanks to the resolve of their captain. The handgunners engaged with the dire wolves also held, and reformed to face them.
Turn 3: Vampire Counts
The Crimson Reapers and the corpse cart charged the halberdiers on the hill. I tried to get the bat swarm to their right into the fight as well, but they didn't make it.
On the left flank, however, the charging bat swarm rolled high enough to reach the fire wizard lord Argyle Von Flamme.
My general continued his move to the left, which would allow the infantry to march next turn.
In the magic phase, Marduk the Ghoul King cast Gaze of Nagash on the Outriders, killing six of them! The unit tested for panic, but held fast. Dimitri cast Curse of Years on a unit of handgunners. The spell came off with irresistible force (I would get to use my new counter after all!) but the spell also miscast. I rolled the same result Steve got in the first turn and all of my wizards, save Marduk, were injured by the magical feedback! Unfortunately, this was the final wound for Seth Von Koss, who fell from his mount in a smouldering husk! The dragon stood fast over his fallen master...
The combat phase went a little better for me– The varghulf broke the unit of swordsmen and chased them right off the battlefield. Similarly, the dire wolves broke the unit of handgunners, and persued right into the cannon behind them. As Steve's left flank crumbed, the nearby Outriders panicked and fled.
Overpowered by the bat swarm, and weakened from his feedback injury, Argyle Von Flamme fell. The bats surged past and into the Witch Hunter Joachim Schadel.
The skeletons and corpse cart also broke the halberdiers, pursued and caught them, stopping only inches from Steve's main line.
Turn 3: Empire
Steve's Inner Circle knights were finally able to connect with my black knights. The crazed flagellants also charged the bat swarm. The Cursed handgunner unit were also ordered forward to engage the approaching grave guard horde. Behind them, the broken Outriders fled the field and Steve reformed his main battle line.
The remaining Fire wizard Erlich Karlz cast Cascading Fire-Cloak on the himself and the Greatsword unit he'd joined. This would damage my grave guard unit if I engaged them next turn if I could not dispel it. His Light wizards also shut down my Curse of Years and bolstered the free company with Binona's Time Warp and Speed of Light.
I'd done a number on Steve's gun line, but the remaining volley guns and cannons blew away my corpse cart and killed the wounded varghulf. They also reduced the black knight unit on the left flank to a single wight.
In the combat between the grave guard and the handgunners, wight king Oren Koth, my battle standard bearer, killed the warrior priest, and the rest of the grave guard killed the handgunners to a man.
The witch hunter held the bat swarm at a draw, while the dire wolves killed the cannon crew and overran into the other cannon.
The Obsidian Order of Sigmar was able to finally crush the black knights fighting the White Wolves. They reformed alongside the victorious flagellants. The Knights of the White Wolves, themselves, used a combat reform to face the skeletons they were fighting.
Similarly, the steam tank and free company ground down the last of the Hellfire Knights on the right flank.
At the halfway mark Steve and I were both in high spirits and it could still be anybody's game.
My 40 Hellfire Knights have been reduced to a single man, I have a now-useless zombie dragon standing guard over my dead vampire lord, and the only thing holding up my right flank is a well-invigorated black coach. I've also lost one of my varghulfs, but the other one, along with a few dire wolves, has wreaked havoc on the left flank. The bulk of my infantry has yet to reach the fight, and Steve still has both steam tanks and a couple Helblasters to whittle them down.
The fight in the center could go either way, but I have no idea how I'm going to stop those Inner Circle knights. Maybe the black coach can tie them up for a few turns...
Part three, featuring the exciting conclusion, is up now!
'Til next time!
On Geheimnisnacht, when both moons are full, Dark Magic stirs the restless dead in their graves. On this unholy night, necromancers and vampires work their foul magic while the citizens of the Empire bar their doors and pray for the dawn to arrive quickly.
The Legion of the Infernal Skull, led by the vampires of family Von Koss, marches across the land. Their ranks swell with every graveyard pass. The entombed dead, drawn by necromantic energies, take up rusty weapons and join the horde.
In their way stands The Roving Provence of Sigmarheim. The Arch Lector Albrecht Hexenjaeger, leading one of the largest assemblies of faithful Sigmarites ever recorded, is determined to stop the undead tide at all costs.
Last weekend, Steve and I got together for the largest game either of us has ever played. 6500 points per side and more than 600 models in total, the game took almost 20 hours from setup to cleanup.
This battle report is broken into three parts:
We played at Steve's house on his beautiful terrain. (You can see more of his finished Empire army and works-in-progress over on the Warhammer-Empire.com forum.) I took a ton of photos as we went, to document the battle and capture some "action vignettes." So, without further ado...
The Armies
The Legion of the Infernal Skull,
Vampire Lord Dimitri Von Koss, Commanding
The vampire Seth Von Koss has scoured the land, searching for the remains of warriors that had once served him at Blood Keep, and with every barrow and mass grave uncovered, his ranks of wights grew. Countless dire wolves and fell creatures flocked to Marduk. Together with Dimitri Von Koss, his magical prowess ever increasing, on the eve of Geheimnisnacht they would lead the Legion of the infernal Skull on the greatest campaign of slaughter it has ever seen.
It has been decades since the the vampires took control of the Legion. The necromancer Nieman Kimmel had been powerless to stop them. But every year on this night, when the Winds of Magic were strongest, he has practiced a dark ritual in an effort to regain some of the magical energy he'd lost. Perhaps his many years of patience and subservience would finally bear fruit.
LORDS (1351 pts)
476 Dimitri Von Koss (Vampire Lord, General)
Wizard Lv 4, Heavy Armor, Hand Weapon,
Master of the Black Arts, Book of Ashur
480 Seth Von Koss (Vampire Lord)
Wizard Lv 1, Heavy Armor, Lance, Enchanted Shield,
Zombie Dragon Mount
395 Marduk the Ghoul King (Strigoi Ghoul King)
Wizard Lv 1, Red Fury, Talisman of Preservation, Sword of Strife,
HEROES (605 pts)
155 Oren
Koth (Wight King Battle Standard Bearer)
Armor of Silvered Steel, Hand
Weapon
180 Sepulchral
Sentinels (Wight Kings)
x2 @ 90 points each, Great Weapon,
Heavy Armor
60 Korak
the Grim (Cairn Wraith)
Great
Weapon
65 Nieman
Kimmel (Necromancer)
Wizard Lv 1, Hand Weapon
80 Toht
Nhemisis (Necromancer)
Wizard Lv 1, Nightmare, Hand Weapon
65 Samus
Garz (Necromancer)
Wizard Lv 1, Hand Weapon
CORE (1628 pts)
210 The
Crimson Reapers (31 Skeletons)
Full Command, Hand Weapon, Shield,
Light Armor, Screaming Banner
180 The
Red Guard Skeletons (30 Skeletons)
Full
Command, Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armor
180 The
Red Guard Skeletons (30 Skeletons)
Full
Command, Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armor
155 25
Skeletons
Full Command, Spear, Shield, Light
Armor
260 The
Shanks (25 Ghouls)
Ghast, Hand Weapons
73 Nameless
Rabble (21 Zombies)
Standard, Musician, Hand Weapon
70 Nameless
Rabble (20 Zombies)
Standard, Musician, Hand Weapons
500 The
Doom Hounds of Marduk (5 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf)
x10
5-man units @ 50 points each
SPECIAL (2371 pts)
420 The
Hellfire Knights (15 Black Knights)
Full Command, Lance, Shield, Heavy
Armor, Barded Skeletal Steeds
420 The
Hellfire Knights (15 Black Knights)
Full Command, Lance, Shield, Heavy
Armor, Barded Skeletal Steeds
290 The
Hellfire Knights (10 Black Knights)
Full Command, Lance, Shield, Heavy
Armor, Barded Skeletal Steeds
360 The
Inferno Guard (30 Grave Guard)
Full Command, Hand Weapon, Shield,
Heavy Armor
486 The
Execution Guard (38 Grave Guard)
Full Command, Great Weapon, Heavy
Armor
80 5
Fell Bats
210 Bat
Swarms
x3
2-base units @ 70 points each
105 Corpse
Cart with Balefire
RARE (545 pts)
175 Varghulf
175 Varghulf
195 Black
Coach
TOTAL: 6500 points
This army utilizes nearly everything in my collection aside from the wraiths, banshees, bats, and a couple retired models. I wanted to squeeze in as many models as I could, but I took a few key magic items and vampire powers like Master of the Black Arts and the Book of Ashur to give me that edge in the magic phase, and I tooled up Marduk for maximum combat efficiency. Otherwise, I didn't go too heavy on the magic items. (I didn't even leave room for the Banner of the Barrows!)
My plan is simple: Cross the field get stuck in! In order to fulfill my core requirements I had to break my dire wolves into minimum units and upgrade each with a Doom Wolf. Those would form a screen which I could then Vanguard move forward. I would run the wolves across the field as quickly as possible. The wolves would either make it in and tie up his missile units, or draw fire from the heavier units like the black knights and grave guard. If I could get the majority of my main battle line, intact, into combat I was confident that my numbers could carry the battle. But in an army this size, the general's limited march radius would mean my line would advance slower than usual.
The Roving Provence of Sigmarheim,
Arch Lector Albrecht Hexenjaeger, Commanding
“Praise Sigmar and pass the Ammunition!”
Pious and powerful, yet arrogant and rash, bristling with a power of faith unseen in even the most notable of the Sigmarite creed, a young warrior priest named Albrecht Hexenjaeger, set forth from Altdorf many years ago with a single purpose in mind– to raise an army of the faithful the likes of which the Empire had never seen. Unburdened by the Emperor’s tempered hand and the bickering politicians, unshackled by the constraints of the Church of Sigmar, he would take it upon himself to reclaim the lands that had fallen into the hands of the enemy. The evil. The weak. This would be done in Sigmar’s name, and His alone, as foretold by the twin tailed comet seen above Albrecht’s boyhood home and the voice in his head all those many years…
LORDS (760 pts)
360 Albrecht Hexenjaeger (Arch Lector, General)
Armor of Meteoric Iron, Talisman of Protection, Great Weapon,
Mounted on War Altar of Sigmar w/ Horn of Sigismund
200 Hieronymous Bosch (Light Wizard Lord)
Wizard Lv 4, Hand Weapon
200 Argyle Von Flamme (Fire Wizard Lord)
Wizard Lv 4, Hand Weapon
HEROES (1315 pts)
65 Louquacious the Naysayer (Light Wizard)
Wizard Lvl 1, Hand Weapon
100 Erlich Karlz (Fire Wizard)
Wizard Lvl 2, Hand Weapon
142 Ludwig Vann (Captain, Army Standard Bearer)
War Banner, Barded Warhorse, Full Plate
105 Joachim Schådel 105pts (Witch Hunter)
Van Horstmann’s Speculum, Seed of Rebirth, Great Weapon, Light Armor
276 Warrior Priests of Sigmar
x4 @ 69 points each, Heavy Armor, Additional Hand Weapon
72 Warrior Priest of Sigmar
Heavy Armor, Great Weapon
88 Warrior Priest of Sigmar
Barded Warhorse, Heavy Armor, Great Weapon
88 Warrior Priest of Ulric
Barded Warhorse, Heavy Armor, Great Weapon
144 Captains
x2 @ 72 points each, Full Plate, Great Weapon
85 Engineer
Pigeon Bombs, Hand Weapon
75 Engineer
Repeater Pistol, Hand Weapon
75 Engineer
Repeater Handgun, Hand Weapon
CORE (1996 pts)
264 Volkssturm (39 Free Company Militia)
Full Command, Additional Hand Weapons
240 666th BierStube Schwerter (30 Swordsmen)
Full Command, Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armor
233 420th Alten Garde Schwerter (29 Swordsmen)
Full Command, Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armor
210 415th Halberds (30 Halberdiers)
Full Command, Halberds, Light Armor
450 Handgunners
x3 12-man units with Marksman @ 150 points each
Handguns, Hochland Long Rifle
126 Tilean Levy (14 Crossbowmen)
245 Obsidian Order of Sigmar (8 Inner Circle Knights)
Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame, Lance, Shield, Full Plate, Barding
228 9 Knights of the White Wolf
Full Command, Great Weapons, Shield, Full Plate, Barding
SPECIAL (1419 pts)
349 Liebstandarte Hexenjåeger (29 Greatswords)
Full Command, Great Weapons, Full Plate
220 10 Outriders
Musician, Repeating Handgun, Hand Weapon, Light Armor
370 30 Flagellants
Prophet of Doom, Flails
480 x4 Cannons @ 120 points each
RARE (990 pts)
130 Celestial Hurricanum
360 x3 Helblasters @ 120 points each
250 Steamtank Gotterdamerung
250 Steamtank Weltuntergang
TOTAL: 6480 points
Since I began collecting the Empire roughly thirteen years ago, this
is by far the grandest army that I’ve ever mustered at any one single
time. I’m finally in the position to pick a force that is tailored to
almost any opponent, and while close combat is the meat and potatoes of
Warhammer, having played (ie: lost to) Rob countless times over the
years, I knew I needed to do my best to whittle his army down as far
away from my battleline as possible. I chose as big a gunline as I
could, with as many war machines as I can field; sometimes it is best to
smite the foes of Sigmar from afar. Black powder would not be my only
weapon however.
Against veteran players, detachments are
useless. These smaller units will just get steamrolled, and the enemy
will end up on the flanks of the parent units or worse, behind them, and
facing a fast moving army that can resurrect casualties and heal wounds
makes this possibility an even greater threat. Large blocks of State
Troops strengthened by characters, including my lords and battle wagons,
would form my center, while thirty flagellants, a horde of militia, and
the hardened steel of a steam tank would bolster my left flank. The
right would be a massive firebase with thirty-six handgunners, ten
Outriders, a Helblaster, two cannon, and a second steamtank. Two units
of knights would serve as a fast reaction force to help out where
necessary. That was my plan, and I was sticking to it…
The Battlefield
We played the game on a 4'x8' battlefield. I set up the terrain and gave Steve his choice of table side. He elected for the far side and we began deploying. As far as rules for the terrain, there's nothing fancy. The hills are all open terrain, and the field is just a field (no spider-blood man-eating crops or anything). We decided the buildings would be impassable so we wouldn't have to worry about garrisoning them; the citizens had likely barricaded the doors and windows, anyway.
To represent the power of Geheimnisnacht (and to accommodate the sheer number of wizards on the field) Steve and I decided to use the Rules from Storm of Magic to generate power and dispel dice (four dice rolled for the casting pool, with a maximum of 24 power dice). The scenario was a simple meeting engagement. Could the forces of Sigmar hold back the undead horde long enough to see the dawn?
Deployment
The roll-off had me deploying first. I began with a unit of dire wolves. Then another. And another. Steve countered with his own units, and by the time I got to my 10th and final dire wolf unit, I could tell he was getting a little annoyed. My units outnumbered his by almost two-to-one, so he was finished deploying by the time I got to my heavy-hitting units.
Steve set up a battle line, and I could tell it would be a long, hard slog through all that artillery fire just to reach the enemy. The general, Dimitri Von Koss was close to the right flank to give the black knights a first-turn march move.
The dire wolf screen stretched across the board, with my regiments ranked up behind them. You can see Seth Von Koss, atop his zombie dragon, deployed behind a house to screen him from cannon fire.
The varghulfs, being Vampiric and thus able to march on their own, were deployed on the left flank with some fell bats.
Across from them was the majority of Steve's artillery: three cannons, a volley gun, the steamtank, outriders, and plenty of handgunners.
His center, made up of State Troops and knights, stands ready.
Both armies stand ready. The dice are cast for the first turn...
I welcome your comments on our army lists and deployment strategies. Parts two and three, featuring the battle itself, are up now.
'Til next time!
