1500 Dwarves Vs Dark Elves: Dawn AttackThe pallid light of dawn spilled over the plateau, causing the thick blanket of snow to shimmer. It was quiet, and the Shades at Ithis Duskwalker's back didn't make a sound as they slipped across the surface of the thick snowbanks. Letting her thick fur cloak pool at her heels, Ithis let the mountain air assault her exposed skin. She didn't feel cold--she never felt the cold anymore--but goosebumps rippled across her taught stomach nevertheless. It was a shiver, yes, but of anticipation.
"Fell for it." One of the Shades hissed. He was referring to the massed ranks of a dawi throng struggling desperately to reform some three hundred yards distant. Ithis couldn't hear their shouts and bellows at this range, but her sharp druchii eyes could pick out the panicked bustle of their war leaders. Their drums and horns soon echoed off the cliffs surrounding the plateau; they knew they had been tricked, and they were struggling desperately to amend the mistake.
It was too late, of course. The diversion party of corsairs Ithis had sent to 'assault' the dawi stronghold had long ago melted into the evergreen forests of the northeastern slopes, drawing the throng away from their walls in pursuit--a typical display of dwarven overconfidence. Meanwhile, Ithis' real assault team had moved quickly from their hiding places to within a stone's throw of the strongholds walls. The dawi had no chance to catch the druchii before they could sieze the undefended castle. The dwarves were going to be placed in the awkward position of assaulting their own castle. Ithis giggled at the irony of it.
"Whatever happens, make certain the corsairs secure the books in the hold. They are not to burn it." Ithis waved one of the shades away to carry the message. To the others, she smiled, "Now, let's to the slaughter, shall we?"So, for the first time in almost a year, I got myself a game of fantasy in. I was tickled pink, let me tell you. My usual opponent Bobby (and I use 'usual' in the loosest sense of the word) decided to slap together a dwarf list rather than bring his usual lizardmen. This suited me just fine (I'm *really* tired of those Temple Guard Slann Bunkers, let me tell you), and we rolled for a mission and got the Dawn Attack one.
Duskwalker's CorsairsIthis Duskwalker, Lv 4 Supreme Sorceress of Shadow, Ring of Darkness, Tome of Furion, Lifetaker
Guarael Blackwing, Master on Pegasus w/Hvy Armor, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak, Lance, Pendant of Khaleth
25 Corsairs w/Full Command, Sea Serpent Standard
10 Dark Riders w/RxBs, Musician
6 Harpies
6 Shades w/Extra Hand Weapons
Cold One Chariot
War Hydra
The Throng of Dwolin PlainbeardThane w/Oathstone
Runesmith w/Great Weapon
Battle Standard Bearer w/Rune of Guarding, Rune of Slowness
20 Ironbreakers w/Full Command, Shields, Master Rune of Grungni
15 Longbeards w/Full Command, Shields, Great Weapons (which Bobby forgot to use all game)
15 Warriors w/Full Command, Shields
10 Thunderers w/Full Commad, Shields
1 Cannon w/Engineer (Handgun)
1 Bolt Thrower w/Engineer (Handgun)
Terrain and DeploymentWe rolled for maximum terrain and placed 8 pieces plus a castle, which we counted as 2 since it was so large. The castle went at about board center. The southern edge had a hill in the east, a lake in the near west, and a wall in the far west. In the center, there was a forest just east of the castle with a large statue there and that was it. In the north there was a wall in the NW (mirroring the SW wall), a forest just east of that, and then a hill in the NE corner.
Since Dawn Attack randomizes deployment, Bobby got a bit screwed with his rolls. He won the roll-off and picked the northern edge, but all of his blocks wound up in the NE corner, clustered around that hill, while his bolt thrower was alone in the center and the cannon was alone behind the wall in the west. My rolling was a bit more balanced, with most of my units winding up in the center. The Shades + Ithis were in the SE corner, followed by the War Hydra, then the Corsairs, then the Harpies, then the Chariot, and then Blackwing. The Dark Riders got stuck on the western flank, but their vanguard move would be good enough to put them in a decent position. Generally, given the mobility of my army, I wasn't too worried about the whole Dawn Attack thing--it actually worked to my advantage significantly, given Bobby's less then stellar rolling. To make things even better for me, I managed to roll a '6' to determine first turn and, therefore, got to go first. Yay! No cannon balls for me!
Deployment:
Turn 1The first thing I did, obviously, was charge the cannon in the east with my dark riders. The lousy engineer with his lousy handgun managed to pick one of them off before they closed and, furthermore, the wall really messed up my rolling. Therefore I only killed 2 of the little hairy bastards and they, being stubbornly attached to their ugly lump of iron, refused to run away. Hmph--looked like those Dark Riders were going to be stuck there for a while.
Elsewhere, Blackwing and the Harpies flew past/over the castle to threaten the bolt thrower and thunderers while the Chariot and Corsairs moved up to just behind said castle. In the east, the Hydra moved into the forest and the Shades scooted NE, giving Ithis a good view of the dwarf lines. In magic, she tried to get off Pit of Shades on the Ironbreakers, but was dispelled. She then sent a pendulum bouncing their way, but it only rolled high enough to smash a single ironbreaker. My final attempt to Miasma the thunderers on one die failed. Crap--pretty terrible magic phase for a basically unopposed Lv 4. In shooting, I believe the shades and Ithis managed to knock down another ironbreaker or two.
Top of Turn 1
In the bottom of turn 1, Bobby opened fire on the harpies with his thunderers, killing 3 and causing them to break and run. In the east, the Warriors moved towards the Hydra and the forest while the Ironbreakers headed for the castle, the Dragon Slayer just in front of them. The battle with the Cannon continued in stalemate (I won with the musician, but they didn't break) while the Bolt Thower shot at Blackwing and he, having forgotten to turn on his pendant, took 2 wounds (sure, I roll a 6 *then*, but at no other time!).
Bottom of Turn 1:
Turn 2In the second turn, my Corsairs occupy the castle while Blackwing charges the bolt thrower (the stand-and-shoot from the engineer fails to penetrate his armor) and kills 3 of them. The Dark Riders drag down another crewmember, and, for a miracle, the Harpies actually manage to rally. The Chariot pokes its head around the corner of the castle, but their RxBs hit nothing. The Hydra scoots to the east in the forest and breathes fire on the Warriors, but only kills about 2 (damned Rune of Grungi!), but another 3 or so are dropped by the Shades/Ithis shooting them. My magic phase continues to fail to impress, as my pit of shades scatters badly and only manages to kill 2 ironbreakers, though I do get off a key Miasma on the Thunderers, dropping their BS to 1. I am wishing, at this juncture, that I had taken Dark Lore and not Shadow--I'd be casting more spells and probably causing more damage at this point.
Top of Turn 2:
In the bottom of the second turn, the Warriors charge into the jaws of the War Hydra; they do no wounds and lose 2-3 guys in return, but don't break (no surprises there). The Hydra Handlers, bizarrely, kill more guys than the Hydra does. The Thunderers, meanwhile, manage to take a wound off the Chariot even when hitting on 7s (the bastards), and the Ironbreakers move closer to assaulting their own castle. The Dragon Slayer heads for the Hydra (but won't get there anytime soon) and both War Machine crews are finally overwhelmed by my assault teams. The Dark Riders reform to face towards the action.
Bottom of Turn 2: