Hey folks!
Played a recent campaign game in our local Firestorm campaign.
In this game, I took my Flesh Eaters Courts in an attack against a fortified Stormcast Eternals territory. So, I had 1000pts against 1200pts of Stormcast
My List
Abhorrent Ghoul King (general)
Varghulf Courtier
Crypt Ghast Courtier
X2 units of 10 Crypt Ghouls
X3 Crypt Horrors
X3 Crypt Flayers
100pts of reinforcement points.
Stormcast Eternals
Lord Celistant
Lord Relictor
Lord Relictor
X3 units of 5 liberators (each with a great sword/hammer)
X2 units of 5 judicators
5 Retributors
3 Prosecutors with Javelins and trident.
The mission we played was Scorched earth. Table divided into sixths, and in the middle of each sixth was an objective.
Scoring was 1vp per objective controlled at the end of your turn, and if you control an opponents objecrive you can instead burn it, removing it from the board, but gaining d3vp’s. Game ends at the end of the 5th battle round.
The stormcast’s deployed mostly around their center objective. On each of their flank objectives they placed a liberator unit. Additionally, the left flank had the prosecutors and the right flank had a relictor.
I deployed mostly in the middle too. A unit of ghouls on my left with the Ghast courtier, and the right flank had the Crypt Flayers. Flayers and Horrors in 10” range of the Varghulf, and both ghouls in 10” range of the Ghast.
This will be a hard game. His center objective would be impossible to take. I have speed over him, so my only hope, is to take him off one of his objectives for one turn, and then hold my three the whole game. He is a slow army, so hopefully that’d work. Looking at his deployment, his left flank looked the weakest.
Turn 1
Stormcast go first, the proscutors shoot lighting into my left flank ghouls, killing 4.
On my turn, the four ghouls come back (because of the Ghast). I start re-deploying to my left flank.
Stormcast 3vp, Ghouls 3vp
Turn 2
Stormcasts stay mostly where they are. Prosecutors fall back a bit, Judicators shoot at the Varghulf, dropping four of his wounds. Prosecutors fire into the Horrors, dealing a couple of wounds.
I use my renforcment points to bring on a unit of 10 ghouls in my opponents back lines, on the left flank (with the Ghoul Kings ‘Summon men at arms’ ability. Horrors charge the Prosecutors, and ghouls charge the liberators. The Flanking ghouls fail their charge. Ghoul King cast Mystic Shield on the Horrors. I killed one prosecutor, and a couple of liberators, but have more models on his left flank objective and so I claim it.
Stormcast 6vp, Ghouls 7vp
Turn 3
The Stormcast knows they need to be aggressive now to catch up. He charges my horrors with a liberator unit, while the wounded Horror is killed by lighting from a lord relictor. Retributors advance down the centre, to potentially threaten my center ghouls eventually. Judicators drop the Varghulf with their lighting arrows. The liberators who were fighting my ghouls fall back, to reclaim the objective.
I move in the flanking ghouls (primed back) into the left flank liberators, while the other ghouls unit moves to support the Horrors. Cypt Ghast advances to help support the Horrors and the two Ghouls units (giving deathless courtier and respawning to ghouls). King, who is a chump in melee, just holds back on my left flank objective, casting black hunger on the fully painted ghouls (+1 attack). Crypt Flayers fly up and charge the right flank liberators, in an attempt to threaten the right flank objective. The horrors fail to kill any prosecutors, but the painted ghouls drag down a few liberators. The primed ghouls manage a few wounds too. Crypt flayers kill a dude. I also raze my opponents left flank objective for 2vp.
My opponents battleshock tests were pretty bad, him loosing a liberator, or two, from each unit.
Stormcast 9vp Ghouls 11vp
Turn 4
I win initiative this round. Muah ha ha.
Crypt Ghast advances closer to the action. Horrors finish off the prosectors, and succeed with their feeding frenzy ability and then immediately attack the Liberators too, killing a couple. The painted ghouls drop the squad down to the Prime. Primed ghouls drop the left flank liberator unit to one wounded prime.
Crypt flayers drop the liberators on the right down to one model (prime with greatsword). Center ghouls await an inevitable charge from the retributors.
Stormcasts strike back. Lord celestant and a relictor charge the ghouls and horrors, other relictor charges the flayers. Magic and shooting is pretty effective, dropping wounds on a horror and dropping the flayers to one model. Judicators take fire into my Ghoul King, taking him to one wound. Celistant and relictor are pretty tough for the horrors and Ghouls to chew through, as they have no rend, so I don’t do any damage to them, while they chew up some ghouls pretty well.
Lord relictor on the right, doesn’t hurt the flayer, and vise versa. Retributors charge my center ghouls, and surprisingly doesn’t kill them all. I’m left with five left!
Stormcast 11 Ghouls 13
Turn 5
I go first again this battle round. Centre ghouls fall back onto my center objective, and the crypt flayer falls back onto my back right objective. Ghoul King heals back 2 wounds. Horrors and Ghouls cannot harm the Celistant and Relictor.
My opponents only chance to win this point, is to raze my objective for 3vp, to tie the objective score and then win on points killed. The Retribtors charge my centre ghouls, kill them, and then only raze my objective for 2vps.
End results
Stormcast 15vp, Ghouls 16vp
This game was close. I realised early on, that I needed to be aggressive early to take an objective from him, and then tie him down as long as possible. Due to my lack of rend, it was really tough to chew through his wounds, but I had loads of attacks, and advantage of being able to replenish my ranks, and heal wounds.
With the Stormcast having more points then me, what he should have done was either be much more aggressive T1, or keep some units in azyr to lighting strike in during the game to threaten my weakly defended objectives.
If he managed to tie me on objective points, he would have easily won on victory points, as I only killed three of his units, and at the end of the game I only had a flayer and my Ghoul King left. But, I had to make sacrifices, and play for the objective!
This was my first full game with the Ghouls, and I really enjoy their play style. I’m looking forward to finishing the faction!
Thanks for reading.
