SKIRMISH AT ATA MAHLI
PROLOGUE
Tadxi Powli, Priest of the Fifth Spawning, sat motionless upon his palanquin, eyes shut in arcane contemplations.
The ruins of the ancient City of Ata Mahli had been discovered, and the higher priests had dispatched a force of skinks with Tadxi Powli to recover the sacred plaques in its temple vault.
A low croak emitted from the Slaan's throat that those of a lesser race might mistake for a snore. But his attendants, skink shamans Anowli and Ghexo, recognized its deeper significance...
"His Grand Bloatedness surely commands us to go east!", intoned Anowli in her most officious voice. She pointed to a particularly dense section of steaming jungle.
"Nay, His Exalted Corpulence directs us to the west!", squeeked Ghexo with supreme confidence as he motioned to a vast, bubbling swamp.
A terradon rider appeared overhead and waved excitedly to the north. There lay an old, stone path overgrown with lush vegetation. In the far distance, a large mound could be seen. Green figures scurried across the path. Orcs...
INTRODUCTION
This is a battle report for a 2,000pt tournament rules type game between Lizardmen and Orcs. Additional house rules:
- Lizardmen were restricted to 50pt magic items, but Orcs could use up to 75pt items.
- No Forbidden Rod.
- Autokill effects were amended to cause D6 wounds with no armor save. Special saves must save each wound separately.
The lizardman list is the one I introduced a month ago in a report versus high elfs. Since that time, I have had great success with it and thought you might find another report entertaining.
ARMY LISTS
*** LIZARDMAN ARMY: 1997pts ***
(1283 Regiments, 714 Characters)
GENERAL: 190pts
Tadxi Powli, Level 1 SMP, Cloak of Mists and Shadows, Gem of Gnar Drew:
Bless
ANOWLI'S CHARIOT
Stegadon w/Banner of Sorcery: 250pts Anowli, Skink Shaman: 108pts 2 Dispel
Scrolls Drew Protect Spell Skink Hero: 97pts Flail of Skulls, Potion of
Strength
GHEXO'S CHARIOT
Stegadon w/Jaguar Banner: 250pts Ghexo, Skink Shaman: 108pts 2 Dispel Scrolls
Drew Net Spell Skink Hero: 147pts Crown of Command, Ogre Blade
SPITTER: 90pts
Salamander and runners
SPITTER: 90pts
Salamander and runners
HOST OF TLAXCOTYL: 189pts
16 yellow crested skinks, poisoned shortbows Banner, Musician, 2 Kroxigors
HOST OF SOTEK: 189pts
16 red crested skinks, poisoned shortbows Banner, Musician, 2 Kroxigors
WINGS OF CHOTEC: 289pts
5 teradons, poisoned shortbows, spears, shields Teradon champion Jade amulet
*** ORC ARMY ***
GENERAL
Black Orc Warlord riding a War Boar, Shield, Sword of Justice (Ed - err...),
Armor of Protection, Black Amulet
BLACK ORC MOB
16 Black Orcs, Spears, Shields, Light Armor, Banner of Defiance Musician
Boss w/Black Gem of Gnar Big Boss, Extra hand Weapon, Ruby Chalice, Armor
of Fortune
NIGHT GOBLIN MOB#1
12 Night Goblins, Short Bows, Banner, Musician 3 Fanatics Shaman Champion
w/2 Dispel Scrolls Drew: Ere We Go, Mork Wants Ya
NIGHT GOBLIN MOB#2
12 Night Goblins, Short Bows, Banner, Musician 3 Fanatics Shaman Champion
w/2 Dispel Scrolls Drew: Mork Save Uz, Brain Bursta
FOREST GOBLIN MOB
7 Spider Riders, Shield, Spear Banner w/Spider Banner Battle Standard
Bearer w/Gork's War Banner
SNOTLING MOB
2 Stands of Snotlings
GIANT
LOBBA
Rock Lobber
PUMPA
Snotling Pump Wagon
SETUP
We used my favorite setup method for games of 2,000pts and less. It starts with a smallish table, 5 feet long and 30 inches wide. Each side gets a 9 inch deployment zone which leaves the middle 12 inches open. This is perfect for a fast paced game, but doesn't work as well for games over 2,000pts as it becomes very difficult to manuver troops. Initial deployment is critical and a bit of a chess match.
Next, we roll off to see who will begin terrain selection. Each terrain piece is placed anywhere on the player's half of the table as it is selected. Selection and placement alternates until one side declines. The other player may then select and place one additional piece of terrain. If the first player declines to select any terrain, the second player may select and place two pieces. This lets each player select terrain advantageous to their army and makes for much more interesting games than the random terrain generation methods, IMO.
Deployment order of troops uses the tournament scenario method published in the Battle Book. I like this method a lot. The player who finishes deploying first gets to add +1 to his roll to decide who will move first.
I selected a hill which I placed in the middle of my deployment zone to serve as a launching point for my teradons. Since they are always in skirmish formation, they could command a view of the entire battlefield and charge anything within 24 inches of any model on turn 1.
I also placed a house with fencing forward on my east flank to slow down any orc manuvers to that side, or at least induce my opponent to squeeze all his mobs to the other side and limit their manuverability.
The warlord kept selecting and stacking hills on the west flank to make sure his rock lobber was high enough to see over any terrain on the entire battle field. He is a deadly range guesser.
NORTH (Orcs)
/\/\/\/\/\/\ [WARLORD]
/\ LOBBA /\/\ [BLKORCS]
/\/\/\ PUMPA /\ [SNOTS] [SPDRS] [NGOBS]
/\/\/\/\/\/\ [GIANT] [NGOBS]
------[][][]
[SKINKS] [SALLY] [SALLY] [SKINKS]
[POWLI]
[GHEXO] /\/\/\/\/\ [ANOWLI]
/\[TERADONS]/\
/\/\/\/\/\
SOUTH (Lizardmen)
PRETURN
The Banner of Sorcery gathered in 5 cards from the Winds of Magic, including Drain Magic, Mental Duel, and Destroy Spell. Since I was carrying 4 dispell scrolls, I was hoping for more power cards in the banner. But having Drain Magic and Destroy Spell safely locked away in the banner was an advantage.
ORC TURN 1
The giant stomps across the field towards the salamander and its runners. The skinks try to goad the salamander to spit at the charging giant, but it decides to eat one of the skinks instead.
(I use the sally units to absorb initial charges. Notice Ghexo's stegadon on the sally's flank ready to counter-charge? A stand of swarms is a better way to do this, since they cannot be broken, but the salamanders are cool looking models. Salamanders are only worth their points if you manage to spit on expensive knight models, or get them in hand combat with pathetic troops.)
A biff breaks out among the spider riders. They won't be moving this turn while the bosses crack some heads to get them back in line.
The pumpa rattles down the hill and stops well short of the skinks.
The two night goblin units move forward and release their six fanatics. One reaches the salamander but only kills a single runner. Two slam into the skinks on the east flank , destroying an entire rank.
(The skink units can absorb a lot of damage with so many cheap troops. I have used these units to receive dreadful hellblaster vollys and massive bolt thrower casualties without a single complaint. The leadership 9 of the kroxigors almost always prevents them from panicking. So there is a significant advantage to fielding the kroxigors with the skinks.)
A few goblins fire their pitiful shortbows and kill a couple of even more pitiful skinks. The lobba crew wind it up and toss a boulder flush towards Ghexo's stegadon. Thankfully, a sudden wind kicks up and blows the rock harmlessly off course.
Mr. Giant jumps up and down and kills all the skink runners and then runs down the broken salamander. All nearby units pass their panic test.
The night goblin shamans cannot draw on the Winds of Magic since there are not enough ladz to set their heads buzzing. But they swallow the first of their magic mushrooms to get personal cards. Total Power sends 'Ere We Go on the spider riders.
LIZARD TURN 1
The teradons jump off the hill and glide towards the spider riders.
(The warlord must have something tricky in the spider rider unit if he is willing to waste Ere We Go on a unit that isn't likely to see combat for another two rounds. With two standards in the unit, I assumed one must carry Mork's War Banner to blow up the heads of my priest and shamans. I expected the teradons to take a beating, but not before killing many of the spider riders.)
The skinks on the west flank charge the pump wagon.
The giant is just out of the charge arc of Ghexo's stegadon. I wheel it to face the big guy.
Tadxi Powli marches towards the west flank in case the black gem is needed to stop the giant or the warlord, the only really dangerous individual hand combat models.
Anowli positions her stegadon away from any pursuit path the spider riders might take if they break the teradons.
A poison javelin from Ghexo's stegadon crew nicks the giant, and Anowli's crew spears a couple of fanatics.
(Someone was asking if there is really any use for javelins. In most cases, no. But in this case, I didn't march the stegadons, just moved them. So I could throw the javelins with no penalty due to movement. Luckily, some targets were within 8 inches. The stegadon crew come with poisoned javelins and shortbows.)
My teradons drop their rocks on the spider riders and kill two. The Spider Banner is revealed.
(Double attacks for the first round of combat. Ack! Plus Ere We Go, strike first in combat. At this point, I still don't know what the second banner is, but figure it must be Mork's War Banner.)
The teradons take brutal casualties. A few survive and kill some more goblins, but not enough. They break and the spider riders run them down. All nearby units pass their panic test.
(The good news: the Spider Banner is one use only so it is used up, and there are only 3 spider riders left. Teradons are very resilient troops because each model has 2 wounds, one for each of the two riders. The unit has consistently been a top performer for me.)
The skinks kill all the snotlings in the pumpa, and the kroxigor hack the wagon to toothpicks just for the exercise. The black orcs pass their panic test.
Ghexo casts Net on the giant. Instead of burning a dispell scroll, the goblin shaman tries to rebound the spell. A mistake. I boost it with every power card in my hand to force a dispel roll of 6+. He fails the roll and the giant is held.
(Normally, nightgoblin shamans with no waaagh power from a nearby mob would not be able to draw on the Winds of Magic unless they swallow a mushroom. However, they were allowed to retain magic cards from the previous turn and he had retained the rebound card.)
ORC TURN 2
With Ghexo's stegadon poised to charge his magically trapped giant, the warlord orders the spider riders to charge. I turn the stegadon away from the giant so that it is facing the spider riders allowing it to attack them.
(Here is a case where turning the model to face the unit it wants to attack had an important effect. Even if I destroy all the riders, the giant is no longer in my charge arc.)
I congratulate my opponent on his cunning plan, then ask him if my shaman's head blows up. He says no. He has GORK's War Banner (+1S on the charge), not MORK's war banner. >whew<
The warlord joins the black orcs and the whole unit moves towards the skinks. The nightgoblins hold their positions, but the remaining fanatics self-destruct (move off the table, roll doubles or crash into the fence and house.)
The goblins kill another skink or two with their shortbows, and the Lobba crew sends a boulder crashing into Tadxi Powli. The mage priest's ethereal nature is revealed, the boulder passes through harmlessly, and the warlord curses my dastardly trick. <grin>
The spider riders kill but one crew member on Ghexo's stegadon. The stegadon focuses on the Army Standard Bearer and utterly crushes it. After the crew and the skink hero are done their attacks, one spider rider is left. Miraculously, it passes its break test!
Ere We Go ends while the nightgoblin shamans swallow the last of their mushrooms. I use my dispell scrolls to stop a couple of spells. Total Power is then used to cast Mork Wants Ya on... the single remaining spider rider!
(I read the spell card and agree my opponent can cast it on ANY model. I curse the warlord for his dastardly trick. As it turned out, the single rider was held for the entire game, so I was denied the points for the unit.)
LIZARD TURN 2
The skinks on the west flank charge the rock lobber.
I move the skinks on the east flank around the house and within charge range of a night goblin unit. The salamander unit scuttles over the fence and threatens the same nightgoblin unit with a flank charge.
Anowli moves her stegadon right up to the other nightgoblin unit.
Ghexo wheels his stegadon to face the giant still held by the Net spell.
I manuver Tadxi Powli to the west so he has the warlord in his charge arc.
(The warlord was a bit perplexed by my movement towards his warlord. With the magic cloak, I cannot strike hand combat blows, but can be hit my magic weapons. So he could not figure out why I would want to charge him. Of course, I wanted to Black Gem him, but only after my elite troops were poised to charge him so the general could not be used in combat.)
The skinks destroy the lobba crew where they stand. The black orcs pass their panic test.
(The skinks have recovered their own victory point cost by destroying two enemy war machines. The black orcs now had an outside chance of charging the unit's rear, but with the battle drawing to a close and the rest of the orc army about to be destroyed, I could afford to sacrifice the unit to keep the black orcs out of any other combat.)
Dispel scrolls stop my spell casting. I try to dispel Mork Wants Ya to free the spider rider so I can kill it, but fail.
ORC TURN 3
Blackorcs barely make the charge into the rear of the skinks. The nightgoblins try to move outside the charge arc of my troops, but fail.
The black orcs win combat by a huge margin. My skinks break off the board. At least the orcs are denied capturing the standard, since they cannot pursue with their Banner of Defiance.
The shamans cannot draw on the Winds of Magic, but the player can still play a dispel card against the Net spell holding the giant. The giant is freed at last.
(In this case, the orc player must play the cards as if he has no wizards. Therefore, the dispel starts at 5+ and he can use power cards to boost the dispel. Since the spell is already in play, I CANNOT reinforce the spell.)
LIZARD TURN 3
Anowli charges her stegadon into one nightgoblin unit, while the remaining skink and salamander unit charge the other nightgoblin unit.
I decide not to charge the freed giant. Instead, I move Ghexo's stegadon out of the giant's charge arc and position Tadxi Powli for a charge to black gem it.
(The giant had 5 wounds left and has a T6. There was a possibility it would survive my charge and cause all sorts of mischief with its special attacks.)
Most of the nightgoblins are destroyed in combat. What is left breaks from combat and is run down.
Ghexo casts Net again on, you guessed it, the giant. No shamans left to play dispel scrolls. The giant is netted.
ORC TURN 4
The blackorcs reform to face back towards the battlefield. They are on top of the hill in the northwest corner. The snotlings move in front to cover a frontal assault.
(Not really needed since this was the last turn and I had no troops in position to make a charge. Still, it looked impressive to see all those orcs atop the three-tiered hill. <grin>)
A dispel attempt against the Net spell fails.
LIZARD TURN 4
Ghexo charges the netted giant. The stegadon inflicts all of the damage, 4 wounds, but fails the kill the giant. It is left with a single wound. The giant needs snake eyes to pass its break test else it is automatically destroyed (force to flee while magically held.) My opponent rolls.... snake eyes! Drat!
Game ends.
SCORE
Lizardmen: 10
+1, Battle Standard Bearer (you get another +2 if you capture it)
+3, Nightgoblin Mob, Captured Standard, Shaman
+3, Nightgoblin Mob, Captured Standard, Shaman
+1, Rock Lobber
+1, Pump Wagon
+1, Quarter Table Held with unit of 5 or more models
Orcs: 4
+1, Skink/Kroxigor Unit
+2, Teradon Unit
+1, Quarter Table Held with unit of 5 or more models
Victory for the Lizardmen!
By
Carmen.
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