News: No news is good news...

Login  |  Register

Author Topic: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords  (Read 3849 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Wyddr

  • Author Eminence: Hereticus Liber Daemonica | Fio'shas Shi
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5254
  • Country: us
    • My blog about SF/F stuff
  • Armies: Daemons, Imperial Fists, Tau, Ksons, Vostroyans
Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« on: December 5, 2019, 09:12:50 AM »
Path to Glory Campaign, Round 2, Battle 1: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords

Admiral Riprock clung to the stony crown of the hill, spyglass held over one eye. What he beheld was a rocky, wind-swept pass, winding and staggering down into the valley below. The bite of winter was in the air - gales of supernaturally frigid air, hurtling down from imposing stormclouds. Bad weather for flying. Bad weather for mechanisms. Bad weather for visibility. But also bad weather for goblins.

The little gobbo warband his fleet had been tracking since their encounter in the Forest of Fangs would be headed up this pass any minute, bound for the cavern entrances a few miles to the north where the wretched little greenskins would seek shelter from the frigid weather. There had been no way to catch the slimy bastards in the swamps or forests, but here - under the open sky - they'd be his. As would their prisoner - a Deepkin Prince worth a hefty ransom to the Courts of Iphesis.

Riprock spotted them first - an ugly mob, led by a trio of stinking troggoths. They were headed straight up the pass and right into his trap. He gave the signal to the frigate
Understated Elegance, which rose from behind the peaks.

This would be almost too easy.


For the first battle of the Path to Glory's second round, my Moonclan Grots (and their hired trolls) face off against the greedy Kharadron Overlords for a second time. Last time I was basically blown off the map. This time, hopefully, I will do a bit better.

My list was as follows:

Loonboss w/Giant Cave Squig ("Gloama," General: Cunning Plans)
Madcap Shaman (The Hand of Gork, Artifact: Moonface Mommet)

20 Stabbas w/Spears, Bad Moon Icon, 3x Netters
20 Stabbas w/Spears, Bad Moon Icon, 3x Netters

5 Boingrot Bounderz
5 Boingrot Bounderz

3 Fellwater Troggoths

Meanwhile, the Karadron's had expanded their forces, too:

Admiral w/command ability allowing re-rolls to hit
Aether-Khemist
Aether-Navigator

Arknaut Company w/3x Light Skyhooks
Arknaut Company w/3x Light Skyhooks

3 Endrinriggers w/Rivet Guns and Pneumatic Saws

Frigate w/Cannon (Artifact: The Last Word)

Mission, Terrain, and Deployment
The terrain was dominated by two large hills - one topped with a rocky top (with the "Commanding" trait: +1 CP per turn if the general is within 1") and the other with a ruin ("Arcane" trait - bonuses to cast and unbind). Between these two hills, running roughly north-south along the middle of the board, was a fairly narrow pass through which ran a ridge of rocks and trees. The mission we rolled up was Take and Hold - one objective at the center of the northern DZ, one at the center of the southern DZ which, as luck would have it, situated them at either end of the pass. The mission stated that any force that held both objectives with two units of more than 5 guys apiece at any time from the 3rd turn on would win the game. If that wasn't achieved, whoever killed the most by the 5th battle round would win a minor victory.

The Realm rule this game was frigid winds that meant no weapons would Rend for the entire game. This hurt the Karadrons a lot more than it hurt me, but it would still suck for my main combat units - the trolls, bounderz, and Loonboss. So, come to think of it, it sucked for me pretty badly. Ah, well.

I deployed in the north this time. Remembering how spreading out had killed me last time, I resolved not to make the same error. The troggoths anchored the center of my line, just in front of the objective and at one end of the pass. They were flanked by the two groups of Bounderz. The Stabbas held down the flanks - one group in the west by the ridge through the pass, the other behind the big hill with the ruins. Gloama the Loonboss and his giant squig, Gitgobbla, deployed behind the trolls and close enough to provide Inspiring Presence to anyone who needed it. The shaman deployed closer to the eastern stabbas. This was all part of my Cunning Plan. The Bad Moon deployed in the SW corner, reading to place the Clammy Hand upon the arrogant duardin as soon as possible. 

The Overlords dropped a Company of Arknauts at the other end of the pass, flanked by their Navigator. The Aether-Khemist took up the other side of the company while Admiral Riprock stood atop the Commanding hill to suck up more CP. The Frigate, with the other Company and the Endrinriggers deployed behind the Admiral. Their plan was fairly obvious: shoot me to death. It worked before, no reason it shouldn't work again.

Deployment


The Goblin Center
The Goblin West Flank
The Overlords wait to unleash hell.

Turn 1
The Overlords were entitled to first turn, but they gave it to me (which I found moderately surprising). Pleased, I attempted to cast Night Shroud on the Troggoths to increase their odds of living to see the next turn. I, of course, promptly rolled a 4 on 2d6. This kind of rolling was to be fairly standard for me during the remainder of the battle.

Okay, so fine, if my magic wouldn't work, I may as well move as fast as possible. I used a Command Point to accelerate the trolls a full 12" towards the dwarven lines, flanked by the Bounderz who moved a solid 10" and 14" respectively. The stabbas in the pass also moved up, though not quite as fast, and Gloama traveled in their midst. In the east, those stabbas got a very respectable run roll (thanks Gong-bashers!) and seized control of the Arcane ruin. The Shaman followed them, lurking just behind the ruin and safely out of sight.

Top of Turn 1


The Gitz close rapidly
I'll give you *one guess* who gets shot to death first.

In the first dwarf turn, the Navigator doesn't manage to harness the winds, so that's good. Then the second arknaut company disembarks and the Frigate cruises forward. The Admiral targets the troggoths for deletion (GASP!) and he fires all skyhooks and the Frigate at them. Thanks to him rolling near-maximum damage with everything that wounded, I lost all three trolls almost right away. So, yeah - so glad I spent a glory point to hire those guys, for sure. It's okay, though - it all fit with my Cunning Plan.

Then the Frigate...charged the western group of bounderz? Ummm...okay? It doesn't do a lot of damage, but I manage to strip 4 wounds off of it. While unexpected, this is also part of the Cunning Plan.

Bottom of Turn 1


The Understated Elegance sets...sail? Blimp? Hoists balloon?
We're Being Charged by a Boat!

Turn 2
I win initiative for the round, thus staving off the dreaded double-turn. The Bad Moon zooms onto the board and turns two Akrnauts into mushrooms (in the unit closest to the southern objective) and Gloama used his magic fork to shoot another one dead, but the Admiral's Inspiring Presence nullified the need for a battleshock test.

The Shaman throws Mystic Shield on the unengaged group of Bounderz and they (along with Gloama the Loonboss and his trusty squig) charge into the Frigate, essentially surrounding it. It fires The Last Word as I'm charging in and does...1 wound. I take no other damage in the round. My goblin knights struggle to damage the ship (bad, bad rolls and my opponent was making his 5+ save a full half the time), but the squigs make up for it, running amok on the decks and rooting through the holds of the mighty ship, devouring every dawi they find. In the end, it took the last attack of Gitgobbla to do the two remaining wounds to kill the ship, but it happened. Also, since the ship was entirely surrounded, the Endrinriggers couldn't disembark and, thus, went down with their benighted vessel.

Elsewhere, the stabbas inched forward a bit more, not overly eager to commit to combat just yet.

Top of Turn 2


In the Overlord turn, the damaged bunch of Arknauts and the Aether-Khemist shoot and charge the closest bunch of Bounderz and kills three out of 5 and only lose one themselves (lousy dice!). The other company and the Admiral do their best to shoot down Gloama, but he's a slippery fellow and takes only one wound.

Bottom of Turn 2


The Flower of Goblin Knighthood is slain

Turn 3
In turn 3, the Overlords win initiative! Oh calamity! So, any plans I had of getting to charge anybody with anything basically evaporate as the Aether-Khemist and Arknaut Company shoot down the last two bounderz in the front group and then the Company charges the back group while the Khemist joins the Admiral in charging Gloama. My bounders acquit themselves better this time, killing 2 Akrnauts to losing 1 bounder. Gloama takes three wounds--one from the Admiral's pistol and two from his hammer. The Loonboss orders Gitgobbla to eat himself an Aether-Khemist, but the dwarf is crunchier than anticipated and he only takes 1 wound.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Bad Moon skips the center of the board entirely and zips to the NE quadrant (not ideal, but I'll take it) and the other company and the Navigator shuffle here and there in the backfield.

Top of Turn 3


In the bottom of turn 3 - my turn - I enact my Master Plan. You thought I was losing this battle, did you? DID YOU? You thought to yourself "man, Wyddr's goblins are getting slaughtered and bogged down at the center of the pass!" Indeed, this is what the Overlords thought as Admiral Riprock thumped Gitgobbla on the head and knocked Gloama sprawling (though not before the giant squig did, in fact, eat the Aether-Khemist whole). Even as the last of the Arknauts fighting the bounderz were killed (at a loss of two of their own numbers), the Overlords thought to themselves "there's no way they'll get our objective!"

I even cast Nightshroud on the goblins in the ruins - a coward's move (which the Navigator tried to dispel but could not). But then the Shaman popped himself some madcap mushrooms and cast the Hand of Gork! Suddenly twenty goblins in a ruin atop an irrelevant hill are now a mere 9" away from the dwarves' objective! I daisy-chained the transported unit back to the Shaman so that I could use a command point re-roll the charge on the Navigator. If it goes off, I win.

So, of course it doesn't, because my dice are garbage, but now the plan is revealed. The dwaves weren't bogging me down; I was bogging them down! And now it's too late. TOO LATE! The maniacal laughter of Gloama echoes through the burning wreckage of the Admirals downed ship. "You stupid dawi!" he cackles. "You stupid, stupid dawi, thinks to set a trap for Gloama on his own mountain! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Bottom of Turn 3


SURPRISE!
Daisy chain formation! (to no avail)

Turn 4
My opponent at this point still hasn't quite understood what happens if I score that objective (he was working under the assumption it was "by end of game," despite my cackling glee). He doesn't move his remaining Arknauts their full distance to close with my troops encroaching on the southern objective. In point of fact, it really wouldn't matter if he did--I outnumber him 2:1 and will score that objective over him regardless. They shoot at the stabbas, but the nightshroud insulates them from the worst of the damage and I lose only two gobbos.

In a final act of defiance, the Admiral uses one of his sky-ports statutes to charge in the hero phase and his double attacks wipe out the rest of my bounderz. Considering that they were the diversion this entire time, I really couldn't care less.

Top of Turn 4


It gradually dawns on the Admiral that he's surrounded and this was all for naught

In my turn, the Shaman tosses an Arcane Bolt at the Admiral and does three wounds. This is just for spite, though. The main show is that the Stabbas advance onto the southern objective, the other stabbas have already retreated to claim the northern one, and that's it--I have both objectives. Game over.

Bottom of Turn 4


GOBLINS SCORE!

MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE GITZ!

Current Glory for Campaign:
Overlords: 7
Gitz: 5 (spent 1 on hiring the Troggoths, for all the good that did)
Deepkin: 2

Post-Mortem
That was a fun game, despite my fairly terrible dice. The weather nullifying Rend was huge for me, allowing the Bounderz to last a lot longer than they would have otherwise. Of course, they would have *also* chewed through the Akrnauts faster, so who knows what might have happened? I'm tempted to say the Troggoths were a waste, but they also sucked up a lot of shooting on that first turn, so that's probably worth it. My opponent even got lucky there with high damage rolls and me failing to cast Nightshroud on turn 1.

The real key here was that, ultimately, my opponent didn't play the mission (and didn't properly understand the mission) and focused on killing my guys, which didn't really matter much. I deliberately set up a diversion and it worked like a charm. Charging me with his ship was a bad call, too - another mistake on his part that I doubt he'll repeat. He certainly did a good job of wiping out my key combat units, but at the cost of totally ignoring my major *scoring* units which, frankly, are way more important.

I am currently loving my Madcap Shaman and wish him all the best for the future. Underhanded tricks and rank cowardice are why I'm playing this army, and it hasn't disappointed.

Thanks for reading and thanks, as always, to my opponent!
   

Offline Roboknee77

  • Ork Boy
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Junior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 240
  • Country: us
  • Armies: Orks, Sisters
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #1 on: December 5, 2019, 10:28:28 AM »
I completely made a mess of this battle.  My brain was thinking a lot of 40K rules, not Sigmar rules.

For example, the Endrinriggers disembarking off a destroyed vehicle.  In 40K they would have been okay since they only need to be more than 1'' away from enemies after disembarking.  There were spaces between the Goblins that would have let 2 or 3 Riggers survive, just not in Sigmar where you need 3''.  Won't be making that mistake again.

Same goes for the scoring rules, completely misheard/misunderstood. I thought the game went the full 5 rounds before determining who won.  Again, won't make that mistake again, hopefully.

I also need to be more familiar with my opponents abilities.  I will remember to save my Aether-Navigator's dispel attempts for the Goblin version of Da' Jump, Hand of Gork, and not waste it on a shroud spell or anything like that.  Especially since the Goblin can onc per battle cast a second spell.  Oh those sneaky gits.

Despite the mistakes, it was still a fun game.  I got to charge with a Frigate, something I won't every do again.  Overall the Frigate really is just a transport.  It doesn't have enough shooting attacks, even the cannon can be a dud if it rolls 1 for damage.  In close combat it's practically worthless too.  It's good to reduce my number of drops and get units to an objective.  But otherwise my units performed well enough.

Offline Myen'Tal

  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3058
  • Country: 00
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #2 on: December 5, 2019, 05:29:12 PM »
Hey guys, great game! A shame that there was some confusion on the rules. Would have been much more of a tight-rope game otherwise ;D. I'm still surprised how hard the Overlords are seeming to hit in their games. I guess I've listened to too many players complaining about how noncompetitive they are (though they'll definitely be more menacing contenders when the new tome drops).

Cannot wait to see more of the campaign unfold. :)
JohnMaloneBooks website - Blog #3 - From Novella to Novel

- 5/5 Reader's Favorite Review!

A Sanctum of Swords: Embers Edition is coming soon w/ audiobook!

Offline Wyddr

  • Author Eminence: Hereticus Liber Daemonica | Fio'shas Shi
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5254
  • Country: us
    • My blog about SF/F stuff
  • Armies: Daemons, Imperial Fists, Tau, Ksons, Vostroyans
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #3 on: December 5, 2019, 05:59:26 PM »
We need to remember the scale of these games when it comes to Overlords firepower.

I am prevented by taking any large units--minimum size only. Also we aren't working with a points limit, which means the Overlords are fielding about 70-80 points more than I am (and I think an even greater deficit for the Deepkin).

From what I can see, the Overlords are crazy vulnerable to a double turn charge from a melee-oriented army. Also, higher point limits and freed-up army construction would allow me to field a lot more tools.

As for the game itself, I wonder how it might have changed if Roboknee *were* aware of the sudden-death nature of the mission. He didn't have enough stuff to keep me from claiming the objective and it took all his firepower to stall my attack units - it wasn't like there was that much to spare to shoot Stabbas.

I think the *real* killer in that case was neglecting to disembark the Endrinriggers and charging with the frigate.

Offline Myen'Tal

  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3058
  • Country: 00
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #4 on: December 5, 2019, 08:06:11 PM »
I did forget some of the factors in how a Path to Glory campaign works. What you say make sense. It sounds like the Frigate could have taken out some gobbos, had it not charged. But it would definitely have had to take out a good chunk to make a difference.
JohnMaloneBooks website - Blog #3 - From Novella to Novel

- 5/5 Reader's Favorite Review!

A Sanctum of Swords: Embers Edition is coming soon w/ audiobook!

Offline Lord of Winter and War

  • The Cause of Diabetes -Captain- Necrontyr Immortal - KoN Veteran - Master of All Diplomacy | Wi-Fi Nomad |
  • Ancient
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8901
  • Country: ca
  • Armies: Harlequins, Spiderfang, Bonereapers, Space Wolves
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #5 on: December 6, 2019, 07:38:07 AM »
Hey guys, great game! A shame that there was some confusion on the rules. Would have been much more of a tight-rope game otherwise ;D. I'm still surprised how hard the Overlords are seeming to hit in their games. I guess I've listened to too many players complaining about how noncompetitive they are (though they'll definitely be more menacing contenders when the new tome drops).

Cannot wait to see more of the campaign unfold. :)


Kharadron Overlords are a very good army competitively right now. They won the large aos tournament in Ontario this summer. Two of the main (and more popular), competitive armies right now are slaanesh, and flesh eater courts, and kharadron kill them really well.

They really only have a tough time against Nighthaunt (who ignore rend), and Deepkin (whose characters can't be targeted).
Harlequin Army Blog

That's not blatant, this is blatant: I'm super happy that I'm playing Austria, the greatest nation in all of Diplomacy!

Azore of Austria

Offline Roboknee77

  • Ork Boy
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Junior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 240
  • Country: us
  • Armies: Orks, Sisters
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #6 on: December 6, 2019, 10:56:53 AM »
While competitive, I'm viewing the path to glory as a learning experience and I definitely learned a lot in the last game.  I tend to learn and remember more by doing than by just reading the rules.

We're both limited from taking larger units.  Believe me, I'd love to be shooting 9 light skyhooks twice a turn in a 30 man unit instead of just 3 in one 10 man unit.

As for points, Uncle Tungstens Deepkin were only about 40 points less than my army when he added in the Thralls and 2nd Character for our battle.  Your first battle may have been closer if he had them.

If I were to do it again, I think I would have castled up both Arkanaut companies around the objective, with the Khemist and Admiral.  I'd have moved the Frigate forward enough so you'd have to move around it to get to the Arkanauts.  Then I'd probably have used the Riggers to go for the one group of Goblins not on your objective, followed by the Navigator to try and stay within dispel range.

That said, the next Battle may have entirely different objectives and that won't work.  I will definitely be paying more attention to the winning conditions though.  ;)

Offline Wyddr

  • Author Eminence: Hereticus Liber Daemonica | Fio'shas Shi
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5254
  • Country: us
    • My blog about SF/F stuff
  • Armies: Daemons, Imperial Fists, Tau, Ksons, Vostroyans
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #7 on: December 6, 2019, 12:45:13 PM »
We're both limited from taking larger units.  Believe me, I'd love to be shooting 9 light skyhooks twice a turn in a 30 man unit instead of just 3 in one 10 man unit.

This is a slightly incongruous comparison when we're talking about goblins. My Bravery is so low and my unit abilities are literally predicated on having more than 20 guys in one mob. If I didn't have to split them, I'd be running all my Stabbas as a single group right now, since then they'd actually function, whereas I'd never combine the Bounderz, since doing so would give me no reasonable advantage.

I really don't think you combining lots of Arknauts is even a good idea, let alone a comparable one.

Offline Roboknee77

  • Ork Boy
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Junior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 240
  • Country: us
  • Armies: Orks, Sisters
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #8 on: December 6, 2019, 01:08:45 PM »
I really don't think you combining lots of Arknauts is even a good idea, let alone a comparable one.

At the level we're playing at right now, you're right.  In match play, I'd want one large group of Arkanauts and two smaller groups to fill out my battleline requirements.

Offline Uncle Tungsten

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 34
  • Country: us
  • I *LOVE* 40k Online!
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #9 on: December 7, 2019, 06:48:15 AM »
I think the argumeny for combining the arkanauts is to maximize the effectiveness of the khemist's firepower buff, since he can only augment one unit a turn.  That said, it's a lot of dorfs in one basket.

What was the thinking on the frigate charge, Roboknee? My guess was to prevent a bounder charge on the arkanauts, but not sure.

Thanks for the read, Wyddr, and congrats on the victory. I'm going to stick with the fish elves for a while, but if I go for a second army, Tzeeentch has been calling to me.  If so, does that mean we both get to declare that everything is going exactly as planned?
« Last Edit: December 7, 2019, 07:26:52 AM by Uncle Tungsten »

Offline Wyddr

  • Author Eminence: Hereticus Liber Daemonica | Fio'shas Shi
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5254
  • Country: us
    • My blog about SF/F stuff
  • Armies: Daemons, Imperial Fists, Tau, Ksons, Vostroyans
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #10 on: December 7, 2019, 09:46:38 AM »
I can see the Aether-Khemist thing, yeah. But it also makes that whole unit much easier to stop shooting - just charge it with something with a quickness and that's a lot of firepower wasted for a turn on a throwaway unit. I'd prefer keeping them separate, myself, and throwing Khemist buffs where most needed.

I'm going to stick with the fish elves for a while, but if I go for a second army, Tzeeentch has been calling to me.  If so, does that mean we both get to declare that everything is going exactly as planned?

No. So far as the Gitz are concerned, Tzeentch cheats so it doesn't count.

Offline Roboknee77

  • Ork Boy
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Junior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 240
  • Country: us
  • Armies: Orks, Sisters
Re: Path to Glory, Round 2: Gloomspite Gitz Vs Kharadron Overlords
« Reply #11 on: December 9, 2019, 10:23:49 AM »
What was the thinking on the frigate charge, Roboknee? My guess was to prevent a bounder charge on the arkanauts, but not sure.

Basically trying to tie up his fast assault units and screen the Arkanauts.  Overall it was a pretty bad idea since the Frigate has so few close combat attacks and a pretty low save.

 


Powered by EzPortal