Volker, his head bowed in shame and guilt, knelt before Karl Franz.
Between them lay the Solland runefang which the bard, turned unsuccessful
general, had once been given by the Emperor.
        “Your Grace, I must return this gift, and the post which goes with it.
It was great honor to receive it, and a demonstration of your greatness
to give, but it was undeserved. My skills as an individual combatant,
meager though they are, far outweigh my skills as a general as has been
amply proven. I can no longer be responsible for so many deaths.”
        “Volker, I once saw that you would become a general and so named you.
As the Emperor, I am never wrong and to allow you to step down from your
post would be admitting that I was. That cannot be. However, as a man I
can make mistakes, so tell me of your latest battle and I will judge, as
Emperor and man, what is to be done. Now, when was the battle lost?”
        “Some would say before the battle proper had begun, and in a way they
would be correct. As the Cathain philosopher Zhang Yu once said, if you
know your enemy and yourself, you may fight one hundred battles and
never be in peril; if you know yourself, but not your enemy, you will be
in peril in half your battles, and if you know neither yourself, nor
your enemy, you cannot go to battle without being in peril. This was an
example of the 50% of the second case. While my knowledge of the
treasure we sought in the sands was fairly accurate, my knowledge of its
defenders were sorely lacking. Having few contacts with the White Dwarf
due to the excessive prices he charges for information, my knowledge of
the defenders of the pyramids was sketchy at best. The scouts had
reported from left to right a squadron of chariots, a small unit of
skeletal cav., a unit of foot skeletons armed for melee, a large mummy
in another chariot, and another unit (20 strong) armed with bows on a
hill. Behind this group were two catapults and three undead vultures. A
lone cactus grew in the centre of the field, and a crumbling tower was
near us, across from the hill. As we
(my army- characters are listed with regiments they accompanied
1 * General @ 169.0 pts - Volker the Mad Fiddler
     Flail; Shield; Warhorse
     Runefang [30]
     Crimson Armor of Dargan [25]
     Jade Amulet [5]
8 Knights of White Wolf @ 421.0 pts
     Standard Bearer; Two-Handed Weap; Heavy Armor; Warhorse
     Dread Banner [50]
     1 Champion @ [38] pts

1 * Hero @ 98.0 pts
     Lance; Heavy Armor; Warhorse
     Parrying Blade [20]
     Charmed Shield [5]
10 Kislev Winged Lancers @ 338.0 pts
     Standard Bearer; Lance; Light Armor; Shield; Warhorse
     War Banner [25]
     1 Champion @ [38] pts

9 * Kislev Horse Archers @ 144.0 pts

4 Outriders @ 150.0 pts
     1 Champion @ [38] pts
 

1 Wizard Champion @ 172.0 pts (drew Curse and Teleport Self)
     Second Weapon; Warhorse
     Dispel Magic Scroll [25]
     Rod of Power [25]
7 Pistoliers @ 154.0 pts
     Two Pistols; Light Armor

1 Wizard Champion @ 182.0 pts (drew Blast and Move Unit)
     Second Weapon; Warhorse
     Dispel Magic Scroll [25]
     Skull Staff [35]
6 Pistoliers @ 172.0 pts
     1 Champion @ [40] pts
 

Total Army Cost: 2000.0)
 

approached the field of battle, the wizards informed me of a strange
field emanating from the mummy in the chariot, who is properly called a
Tomb King. They assured me that it was different than the field normally
by necromancers to animate the dead, but they could not tell me how. It
was not until I returned and spoke with a representative of the Collages
that I discovered the field was generated by a magic item called the
Tomb King’s Crown. This allowed the skeletal archers to shoot more
accurately than most elves and was what foiled my approach. Not knowing
of this item, I deployed under the assumption that their archers would
be only slightly more effective than a similar sized group of our
archers, with their inferior skill and weaker bows being off-set by
their tireless rate of fire. This would prove a major error as entire
units disappeared under their barrage. The pistoliers were set on the
right flank to deal with the archers with the White Wolves just behind
the tower, able to go either way. To the left of the tower were the
horse archers and Outriders screening the Winged Lancers and Pistoliers
(with champion) respectively. Both the pistoliers and the White Wolves
were killed by the arrows of the skeletons on the hill. A bad set up
considering the Crown to be sure, but not unrecoverable.
        Our men proved faster than the dead and the pistoliers on the right
flank spurred their horses straight towards the archers, with the White
Wolves coming behind them to destroy the (right, for those of you
wondering) flank of the enemy. The horse archers marched forward, with
the Winged Lancers coming more slowly behind them. This was a mistake,
again caused by my not knowing of the Crown, as I assumed the Tomb King
in his chariot would charge them and did not want him to be able to
re-direct onto the Lancers when the horse archers fled.
        The Outriders moved forward and lowered their weapons at the chariots
(who I was greatly afraid of not knowing they only did d3 str 4 hits
rather than d6 str7), while the pistoliers swung out wide to attack the
left flank. The guns of the Outriders provided lots of smoke, fire and
noise, but do damage. The Winds of Magic were barely a breeze (5 cards-
2 power and Drain Magic. Normally great considering he got 5 cards in
his BoS, but using MOAB rules, Drain Magic does not end the phase, or
Drain stored cards, it simply dispels any spell starting on a 2+. TP
simply provides enough power for any spell, but it can be dispelled,
starting on a 6+).
        To my surprise, the Tomb King did not charge, and the horse archers
were instead charged by the foot skeleton block. They fled and ended up
right in front of the Winged Lancers (damn!). The Outriders fled the
skeletal cav.’s charge, leaving the Pistoliers a few options as the
chariots advanced. The vultures left their perch on the hill to become
nothing more than dark specks high above the field. Two skulls flew from
the catapults, but missed the Lancers. (Points question- Screaming Skull
catapult Str 7. d3 wounds, cause a panic test with any wounds- 74 points
VS. Empire mortar str. 7 d3 wounds 100 points. Why?) Then the archers
fired and the pistoliers on the right vanished into the sands (18 hits,
10 wounds, 3 saves), but the wizard made his panic test, though he was
looking decidedly nervous. The winds of magic then roared across the
field (he rolled 12 for what he says is the first time ever, I received
5 power and rebound). Raise the Dead was rebounded into Move Unit and
here was the second major mistake made. Instead of continuing the plan
and using the Move to get to the flank, the pistoliers tried to move
across the field to deal with the wizards. Van Hels which would have put
the skellie horse into the Pistoliers flank was then scrolled. A second
Van Hels allowed the foot skellies to interpose themselves between the
Pistoliers and the archers. Total Power Curse of Years was countered by
Drain Magic, then Summon Undead Horde was scrolled as I had no more
dispels.
        The Outriders failed to rally and flee the battle. I ordered the horse
archers to continue out of the Winged Lancers charge path. (Can I make a
flee move first, then attempt to rally?). The pistoliers charged the
front and the Winged Lancers the flank of the skellie spears. The lone
wizard decided to charge the skellie bows (possibly a mistake in any
case) only to discover to his horror that the skellies have time to load
and fire at him (8.5” away). He died. The Winged Lancers obeyed their
training and aimed their lances at the centre of their enemies’ chests,
but without the vital organs to slide into the, the technique proved
that it needs refining against the dead as of their 5 hits only 1
wounded as the trooper, who will be promoted to a champion, aimed higher
and took one skellie’s head clean off (4 1s to wound, bloody hell). The
pistoliers showed an appalling lack of accuracy and managed to blast
apart only one skeleton. The undead struck back and killed three
pistoliers. The combat was not a successful as we had hoped and only 3
skeletons fell as their magic weakened. The White Wolves moved up to
charge the archers next turn.
The winds settled down to about their average (7 cards, 1 Power, 2
dispels, escape- great on my phase). The wizard was confused about one
of his own spells and instead of moving the pistoliers out of combat, he
attempted to blast the skeletons, but in his confusion, lacked the
concentration, and the spell was dispelled.
        The vultures dove from the sky, causing the horse archers to flee
the battle. Arrows and screaming skulls then filled the sky dropping 5 of
the 8 white wolves, who stood firm. The chariots and skellie cav. began
wheels to charge the rear of the pistoliers. In HtH, the Lancers and
Pistoliers proved more effective and besides those who were killed, 4
skeletons crumbled. The winds were again average (7 cards- dispel,
destroy, power). We managed to destroy Van Hels, at which point, the
Liche pulled out a damned staff which had the same effect as the
aforementioned spell on the majority of his army. The last of the White
Wolves fell to the arrows, leaving me alone. Then 13 more skellies
clawed their way from the sand to join the battle with the pistoliers
and winged lancers.
        At this point, I sued for peace (MOAB rules say 4 turn game, so I could
not possibly have won as the skeletal units would not break and I did
not have the capability to deal enough damage to destroy anything but
the Skull Chuckers), which the Tomb King was kind enough to grant with
conditions.”
        “Ah, so that is why you commissioned the strange gold statue upon your
return.”
        “Yes, I had to beggar myself to pay for it, but the men would have died
otherwise, so it seems a small price indeed, for their lives, and the
bodies of our dead. With the negotiations complete, the Tomb King
retired and we waited for the wizards to bring in a small relief force
for the march back. As we returned, we were attacked by a Tomb King
commanding an army for the first time (trying to recruit a new Japanese
player who has the Japanese rulebook, stopping the possibility that
everyone attacks on the left because all the rulebooks are in languages
that write right to left, though as a note to any GW employees there did
seem to be a few important rules, like marching IIRC that were not
translated.) I almost managed to lose that battle too, (but I will not
bore you with the details as it was a training game.)
        “You did not lose the second battle then?”
        “No sir, though many again fell to the asp arrows of the skeletons.”
        ‘Well, there you have it. You learn from your mistakes and simply lack
experience. Take back your Runefang and your post then get yourself to
the Library at the Collages so that you may know all your possible
enemies and will be prepared next time you take the field.”
        “As you command, your grace.”

Thanks for reading, comments are appreciated. Here are some lessons learned.

1. Do not abandon a plan without a better plan in mind. In other words,
try not to panic and stick to the game plan even if you get behind.
2. Read all the army lists and magic items so you know what you might be
facing.