2400 Beastmaster vs Tomb Kings

“After feasting on the very bony and fat free limbs of the Dark Elves the Ogres still hungered for more.  They travelled deeper into the desert realms intent on finding a food source that would not only aid their recovery from previous battles but for once and for all sate their grumbling bellies.  Before too long the Desert Kings themselves stood defiantly blocking the Ogres from passing.  Much to the disappointment of the Ogres there was zero meat to be found on the new enemy, however there were rumours that the Slaughtermaster knew several worthy soup dishes....”

I was lucky enough to have a second game over the weekend with a great opponent.  He was keen to learn a thing or two from me about the Tomb Kings as I had spent all of 2013 playing them and was ranked once upon a time the top general in the country with them.  However interestingly enough this would be the first time I’d be playing opposite them, although I had all the knowledge of the Tomb Kings there was still some key threats that needed to be dealt with.

Ogre Kingdoms vs. Tomb Kings
============================

Overview
--------
Date played: Saturday, 5 April 2014

Ogre Kingdoms
-------------
  (S1) Slaughtermaster
      - Gold Sigil Sword, Earthing Rod, Armour of Destiny, Level 4, Lore of Beasts (Wyssan's Wildform, Savage Beasts, Curse, Transformation of Kadon)
  (B1) Bruiser
      - BSB, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation
  (B2) Butcher
      - Forbidden Rod, Lore of the Great Maw (Spinemarrow)         
  (B3) Butcher
      - Armour of Fortune, Ironcurse Icon, Dragonbane Gem, Lore of Beasts (Wyssan's Wildform, Amber Spear)
  (I) 6 Ironguts
      - Standard, Musician, Standard of Discipline,  Look-Out Gnoblar
  (O1) 6 Ogres
      - Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Look-Out Gnoblar
  (O2) 6 Ogres
      - Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Look-Out Gnoblar
  (M) 6 Maneaters
      - Standard, Muscian, Brace of Pistols, Banner of Eternal Flame, Stubborn, Poison Attacks
  (MC1) 4 Mournfang Cavalry
      - Standard, Musician, Ironfists, Heavy Armour, Gleaming Pendant
  (S2) Sabretusk
  (S3) Sabretusk
  (S4) Sabretusk

Tomb Kings
----------
  (K) Khatep (Loremaster of Nehekara)
  (TP) Tomb Prince
      - Armour of Destiny
  (R) Rhamotep
  (SA1) 10 Skeleton Archers
  (SA2) 10 Skeleton Archers
  (SA3) 10 Skeleton Archers
  (TG) 39 Tomb Guard
      - Halberds, Shields, Full Command                     
  (NK) 5 Necropolis Knights
      - Full Command
  (H1) Hierotitan
  (CoS) Casket of Souls
  (C) 6 Chariots
      - Standard, Musician
  (HA) 5 Horse Archers

Not a bad list from my opponent however I was bit stunned when I discovered my opponent opted to run the Tomb Guard 6 wide as opposed to horde formation.  He didn’t want to invite more charges into the wider frontage against this particular army but it was the usual ‘death starish’ build common with the Tomb Guard.  If I could keep them out of combat and dispel any desert wind attempts to prevent them getting into a better position that would go a long way to ensure they were kept out of combat.

Taking on a Loremaster is never fun and I haven’t been on the received end of the Casket of Souls but I’ve practically seen it win games going off at the right time and just decimating armies.  I wasn’t concerned about the small arms fire at all and the initial threat I picked out was the Chariots, a single charge would really be horrendous to any of my units except maybe the Mournfang with some augments.  Second to that the Necropolis Knights needed to be dealt with.

Deployment
----------
 



Tomb Kings steal the first turn.  Ramhotep grants the re-rollable save to the Necropolis Knights.

Turn 1 - Tomb Kings
-------------------
 

The ancient Tomb Prince signalled his Chariots and Knights into better positions to challenge the invaders.  Their stupidity for trespassing would be paid for with their lives.  The winds from the north blew fairly weakly however the Casket of Souls combined with Khatep’s intimate knowledge of magic ensured the buzz of arcane energy could be heard across the desert (8 vs 5).  The Casket Guards heaved and raised the lid of the ancient weapon unleashing souls towards the Mournfang (6 D6 – Fail to dispel by 2!), the damage was intense and the souls hungered for more and continued on the warpath jumping from the Ironguts to the Maneaters before finally dissipating whilst dragging the lone Sabretusk to it’s doom! (4 wounds MFC, 4 wounds IG, 4 wounds Maneaters, dead tusk).  The Ogres shook off the cold feeling lurking in their stomachs whilst the Slaughtermaster was then powerless to stop the Incantation of Vengeance from clawing at the Mournfang Cavalry from below.   



Turn 1 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
 

The Slaughtermaster signalled the advance whilst the Sabretusks moved further away from the threatening horse archers coming down the flank.  The Maneaters spotted the lurking Hierotitan and were ever keen to chip the golden treasures and gems encrusted over its body for their personal gain.

Seemingly drained from the Tomb Kings magic arsenal the Beast Butcher summoned a heavy Amber Spear (4 vs 2) in his palm and launched it into the Casket of Souls, the spears aim was true skewering one of the Casket Guard surveying the battlefield however this was not the result desired by the Butcher.

The Maneaters needed to dispatch the Chariots in order to close with the Titan, unleashing a volley of shot into the nearby chariots splintered one of the vehicles into kindly realising they’d need more wood for the epic soup dish on tonight’s menu anyway.



Turn 2 - Tomb Kings
-------------------
 

The Tomb Prince cuts the air with his sword as the Skeleton Chariots from a long distance gallop off towards the Mournfang however the distance is far too great and the magical animation begins to slow down ceasing the motion all together.  The Tomb Guard race ahead to assist whilst the Hierotitan sensing the danger from the Maneaters withdraws into a better position.

Khatep draws the power of the Casket of Souls once again infusing himself with magic (12 vs 6).  The remaining casket guard unseats the lid of the ancient device (6D6 IF) once again however the Mournfang Cavalry playfully swat the unleashed souls like buzzing flies before the souls get the same reception from the Ironguts.  Finally a single wound is opened up from the Maneaters as one of the souls bites into the shoulder of an Ogre before vanishing into the desert air.  Khatep mutters ancient words and the desert winds begin to blow strongly before (1D6 Desert wind) the Slaughtermaster waves his hands in some ancient gesture accompanied by words of the Ogre language and the winds immediately cease.  Incantation of Vengeance once again effects the Mournfang Cavalry in an effort to aid the now stranded chariots as undead limbs grab at the Ogres from below.  Lastly Khatep drives his staff into the ground granting him massive power to cast Incantation of Smiting however it’s not enough and the Slaughtermaster puts a stop to the spell whilst accompanying it with a deep abdominal laugh.

Turn 2 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
 


Without waiting for word from their General the Mournfang Cavalry sink into their saddles and crash into the Chariots oblivious that that magical intent of the Tomb Kings pulls as their very souls.  The Maneaters take the tower carefully taking up firing positions onto the Hireotitan.  The Sabretusks however smelling strange undead odours move closer to investigate.

The winds of magic barely effect the battlefield (2 vs 1) however the Maw Butcher infuses himself and his fellow magic users with extra power (+4 PD @ 2W).  The Slaughtermaster and the Beast butcher immediately use the extra power unsure when it may next aid their cause infusing the Mournfang with extra strength (Wildform x 2 on MFC).

Combat is quick and brutal with the Mournfang Cavalry taking no damage and smashing apart the Chariots in a epic display of carnage.  The dust raised from the combat continues to follow the Ogre Cavalry as they keep heading towards the Tomb Kings lines (11” Overrun).





(note – my epic Sabretusk annoyance positions are fast becoming a signature move!)

Turn 3 - Tomb Kings
-------------------
 

Furious at the loss of his father’s chariots the Prince signals the Tomb Guard to reform to face the Mournfang Cavalry whilst the Titan limbers into position.  The other elements of the Tomb Kings force shuffle into various positions.  Khatep summons a skullstorm to unleash at the Ironguts however he misreads the winds of magic and the vortex tears apart 4 Tomb Guard.  Light of Death is once again unleashed on the Mournfang killing a single beast however the remaining Ogre is unperturbed by his kin’s death and holds fast.  The Horse Archers pick off the lurking Sabretusk hiding behind the Rocky outcrop.

Turn 3 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
 

The remaining Mournfang not keen on dealing with the Tomb Guard charges forward into the Undead Archers keen on escaping to fight another day.  The remaining Ogres move into position to charge the constructs whilst the Sabretusk moves in to gain a better understanding of the age of the old bones in front.  The Maneaters sensing the Hierotitan is out of range turn their attention to the Horse Archers attempting to get into the back lines of the Ogres.

Winds of Magic blow forth and another Amber Spear (IF) materialises into the hands of the Beast Butcher launching it at the dreaded Casket of Souls however a deafening metallic screech is heard across the battlefield as the spear fails to yield any damage is stuck into the lid before vanishing from view.  The magical feedback however grasps as the ogres wounding the Slaughtermaster and the Beast Butcher.

The Maneaters unleash an accurate volley of fire into the Horse Archers leaving a sole soldier remaining.

Predictably the Mournfang tramples upon the Skeleton Archers making sport of the chew toys hoping he’d be out of range of the nearby enemy units.

Turn 4 - Tomb Kings
-------------------
 

The Tomb Prince cut the air with his weapon once again signalling his Tomb Guard and the Hierotitan to charge into the Mournfang Cavalry however their magical energies were being spent rapidly by Khatep and their ancient animated bones couldn’t hope to close ranks with the long Ogre.  The Necropolis Knights however crashed into the Sabretusk and the animal was reduced to a bag of meat and shattered bones.

Khatep chanted towards the skies allowing magic to course through his corpse (7 vs 5).  Light of Death was once again unleashed against the Mournfang however the Slaughtermasters powerful cantrips were enough to stop the magic from touching his last remaining cavalry.  This allowed Khatep however to cast the Incantation of Protection onto the Necropolis Knights whilst Incantation of Vengeance effected the Ogres.



Turn 4 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
 

The Ogres content that the Sabretusk has held up the Knights for long enough charge into the constructs whilst the second unit engages the nearby Skeleton Archers.  The Maneaters turn to face the Titan once again whilst the Mournfang continues off in search of the enemy in the distance.

Only a light magic breeze touches the Ogres as the Beast Butcher attempts Wildform onto his Ogres however Khatep focuses all his will on stopping the spell.  Apparently spent the Slaughtermaster then overcomes the Undead magical defences and casts the spell successfully onto the unit.

The Maneaters once again focussing on their original task unleash more firepower into the Hierotitan chipping more delicate paint work of the magical beacon (2 wounds)

The Skeleton archers are turned to powdered bone as the Ogre reform to face the Necropolis Knights.  The Knights however kill a single Ogre before the Ogres themselves begin to chip away at the animated constructs (3 wounds taken, 2 wounds get through after a 5+ re-rollable then a 5+ ward!).  The Knights reform to a wider formation to inflict more damage onto the Ogres and to protect the Casket of Souls from the second Ogre unit.



Turn 5 - Tomb Kings
-------------------
 

The Tomb Prince sensing the last opportunity to capture the remaining Mournfang signals the charge however the all but spent magical animation binding the wills of the Undead appears to be spent as their shuffle barely kicks up dust from the desert floor (both fail charges and shuffle forwards 4”).

Magic infuses the battlefield and Light of Death unleashes towards the remaining Mournfang however now being a veteran against the souls he bravely swats them aside with ease.  Khatep then unleashes the power of his staff once again attempting the Incantation of Smiting to effect the Necropolis Knights holding up the flank however the arcane syllables escape him as the magic slips from his fingers.  The nearby Hierotitan attempts to destroy the soul of the Mournfang via Spirit Leech however the Ogre magical defences overcome this attempt and the last Mournfang avoids the ill effects of the spell.

The combat continues between the Ogres and Necropolis Knights with neither side particularly gaining purchase.  The fight continues but the Ogres had help on the way.....(I lose another Ogre whilst I only inflict a single wound onto the Knights)



Turn 5 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
 

The scales are tipped into favour for the Ogres as the second unit crashes into the Knights.  The remaining Mournfang sights his enemy and bashes his mount in their general direction intent on collecting the spoils for his very own pot of bone soup.

The winds of magic aren’t particularly strong (7 vs 4) however the Slaughtermaster wastes no time sensing that Khatep’s power is on the decline.  With an enraged roar of arcane power he powers up his fellow Butchers with the Savage Beast of Horros immediately swelling the Butchers in size and ferocity (6D6 IF – nil damage).

The Maneaters line up the Hierotitan once again over the rising heat haze and clip it again adding to the damage the lumbering giant as endured (1 wound remaining!)

With the magical animation appearing to seep out of the constructs the Necroserpents hiss and bite dropping a single Ogre right before the Butchers now prowling on all fours as nightmarish beasts completely tear apart the Knights inflicting enough damage that the remaining constructs simply crumble into dust littering the desert sands.  The Ogres reform to face the Casket of Souls intent on presenting it to the Slaughtermaster as a soup bowl.



Turn 6 - Tomb Kings
-------------------
 

Sensing their doom the Tomb Prince withdrew all forces whilst Khatep begun chanting ancient texts.  The Casket of Souls unleashed its Light of Death for the last time however the Slaughtermaster would have none of it dispelling the and destroying the souls before they would taste the Ogres.  Incantation of Protection went up onto the Hierotitan immediately beginning the healing process.



Turn 6 - Ogre Kingdoms
----------------------
 

The surviving Mournfang Cavalrymen charged the remaining archers whilst the Ogres on the right flank crash into the Casket of Souls.

The Slaughtermaster apparently spent after his last spell efforts wastes no time with magical augmentation (I figured I wasn’t going to entertain the thought of another miscast and there wasn’t much I could do to really effect anything).  The Maneaters line up the Hierotitan for their last shot however all of their shot bounces harmlessly from an invisible shield protecting the titan.

Combat is predictable as the Ogre Cavalry ride right over the Archers position splintering and crushing bone into dust.

However misfortune strikes the Ogres as they tear apart the Casket Guard.  The Butcher however intent on presenting the Casket to the Slaughtermaster begins to bicker with the Ogres knocking the lid off to the desert floor.  Without the correct incantations and ancient texts muttered the souls cause a cataclysmic explosion shredding the nearby Ogres (6 hits, 5 wounds) and they panic and flee from the battlefield.

The Slaughtermaster would have to find a suitable alternative to consume his pot of Nehekaran Bone Broth....

Result – Ogre Kingdoms Victory

Conclusion:

Well the third game with the Beastmaster list and I’m still finding some hidden gems with it.  The plan seemed to go really well and I wasn’t expecting my opponent to continue after the Mournfang taking his Tomb Guard out of my threat radius meaning I didn’t have to deal with them.  Shame my Maneaters couldn’t ping the final wounds off the Hierotitan and I’ve still got it in the back of my head to try out the 2 x 5 Leadbelchers instead however then I lose more than just shots.  Good use off the Sabretusk allowed me to get the Knights into a position they didn’t want to be in and deal with them effectively.

Although I won the game, it wasn’t for me a sensational performance of epic proportions.  Everything did what they had to do with no unit really rising above and beyond.  Summaries/Breakdowns:

Beastmaster – I need to focus on getting Wildform off onto the Mournfang, now this is a general comment not particularly applicable to this battle as they took most damage from the Light of Death which doesn’t care for targets toughness values.  Also I keep forgetting the +1 to cast onto that target not that it’s made a difference in any of the games but I’m disadvantaging myself by not remembering it.  The Beastmaster and Ironguts stayed out of combat the entire game but because the Tomb Guard and co weren’t in combat either, I didn’t feel that bad.  I 6 diced Savage Beasts to dismantle the Knights and I think it was the right choice indeed (alternatively could have possibly double wyssans) and probably saved me from sitting there for another turn even though I’m confident they would have crumbled away.

Ogres – worth a mention because they pinned the Knights in place and dealt with them effectively.  I know from experience that Knights can go all day against S3/4 models however they start falling apart fairly quickly against anything else.  The problem in this case of course was the re-rollable armour saves and the ward save, that made them like rocks.

Sabretusks – Once again the stars of the show.  Well one at least.  Dictated the Knights in terms of where they were going.  Hands down my saviour in each game so far.  So bloody annoying for opponents that I’m surprised people don’t target them immediately with everything they have.  A handy side note as well is that these guys will benefit from +1 to cast with wildform if I ever needed to run the gauntlet with them and ensure they survive as it will make the small arms fire that much less threatening.

Maneaters – Good old hindsight.  It’s been a few days after the game and that’s fast becoming my favourite way to reflect and write a better quality battle report, especially the summary parts.  On the Maneaters for me it’s always the fact that I don’t feel like I’m using their multi role capabilities effectively.  Perhaps sitting them on the right hand flank to put damage on the casket would have been the much better way to go.  Supported by a Sabretusk to prevent them from being charged by the Knights they could have advanced peppering the Archers/Casket with fire and then either engage the Knights (hopefully gaining a flank) and with their poison and S5 and striking at the same time it would be an interesting fight.

Mournfang – They are the main priority for enemy shooting and rightfully so.  Heavy handed wrecking balls in a nutshell of Ogre covered goodness.

Anyway I thank you once again for reading the third installment of the Beastmaster series of battle reports.  Very fun to play and produce.    No clue when the next game will be or who it will be against but stay tuned.

Awesome battle report once again Jimmy!  Mournfang did what Mournfang do (draw fire, smash things to a pulp).  I agree with you about the Maneaters, having them largely left out of the fight hurt, but clearly you didn't need them (so you didn't need to risk handing over their points).

I thought 6 dicing the savage beast was a good move (but as we've seen in our games, I always think 6 dicing is a great move.  It's the 2 dice spells that get me sucked down the rabbit hole).  Making sure that that unit of Necro Knights was proper dead and that your Ogres could get in and smash the Casket.

Looks like the Beast magic is working well for you though!  Looking forwards to facing the list soon for some Ogre on Ogre action (or Ogre on Tinned Food)

Great battle rep and story to go with it.
It's a shame that the ogre unit fled off the board after destroying the casket and that you couldn't get that last wound off the titan...but that's the way things go sometimes I suppose.
How do you think things would have gone if he committed his TombGuard and you committed the Ironguts?

I think you post the pic of the two sabretusks circled red under the wrong turn by the way.

Awesome job yet again and shows that beasts works well with Ogres.

-GL

Thanks for the comments gents and for spotting the error in sequence Gutlord, fixed that up right away!

That would have been an interesting battle, on paper with no augments of any kind he would have blitzed me, however my army isn't designed to take on units one on one and especially not a death star such as that.  I'm not ever sure I would have engaged it to be honest - maybe send the Maneaters in to destroy Khatep/Rammie and then get to work?