1500 Ogre Kingdoms vs Warriors of Chaos

Ogre Kingdoms vs. Warriors of Chaos
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On Sunday morning I had the opportunity to have a quick game with my brother at the 1500 point level.  I just whacked something together that I thought would be fun to play and he turned up with something that all of a sudden I felt like I'd have no chance.

Overview
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Date played: Sunday, 11 May 2014

Ogre Kingdoms
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  (F) Firebelly
      - Ruby Ring, Great Weapon, Level 2, Lore of Fire (Fireball, Flame Cloak)
  (I) 9 Ironguts
      - Full Command, Banner of Discipline
  (S1) Sabretusk
  (S2) Sabretusk
  (MC) 4 Mournfang Cavalry
      - Musician, Standard, Dragonhide Banner, Ironfists, Heavy Armour
  (S3) Stonehorn
      - Harpoon Launcher
  (L) 6 Leadbelchers
      - Musician

Warriors of Chaos
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  (SL) Sorcerer Lord
      - Book of Ashur, Talisman of Endurance, Mark of Tzeentch, Lore of Tzeentch (Pink Fire, Bolt of Change, Firestorm, Gateway)
  (EH) Exalted Hero
      - BSB, Mark of Tzeentch   
  (CW) 18 Chaos Warriors
      - Mark of Tzeentch, Shield, Blasted Standard
  (C) Chimera
      - Scaly Hide, Regeneration, Flaming Breath
  (S) 3 Skullcrushers
      - Standard, Musician, Banner of Discipline , Ensorcelled Weapons

Deployment
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For me the main concern was keeping stuff away from the Sabretusks so they didn't cop a pink flame and panic the rest of the army and also match my fireball throwing abilities up with the Chimera who no doubt would be lurking around.  Warriors won the roll off to go first.

Turn 1 - Warriors of Chaos
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Regardless of the God that answered their prayers the battle was all the same, they would crush the Ogres.  The Skullcrushers slowly moved into position clearly set on antagonosing the Tzeentch general intent on answering to no-one.  With merely a gesture the silent warriors of Tzeentch stepped off towards the Ogres as the Chimera flapped with leathery wings and moved off to inspect a nearby tower.  The Sorcerer Lord begun chanting recited texts of a forgotten age (6 vs 4) and raised his staff above his head and a crackling energy begun to mysteriously pour forth from his eyes towards the cannon carrying Ogres.  The Ogre spell caster however let forth a deep gutted scream and the energy harmlessly collapsed into the desert floor (Infernal Gateway dispelled).  Anger rising the Sorcerer conjured up a long barbed bolt of change and lobbed it towards the same target, the bolt sailed forth at a speed nearly impossibly to register however the bolt struck tempered iron as opposed to the flesh it seeked (Bolt of change - 1 to wound).

Turn 1 - Ogre Kingdoms
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With a deep and powerful belch the Firebelly signaled it was time to meet the enemy head on.  The Ironguts had a chuckle at such disregard of the enemy whilst the Ogre Cavalry and Stone horn started to grow impatient looking for a fight this early in the morning.  With a pointed fist at the Skullcrushers the Ruby Ring's power unleashed (8 vs 5) covering the enemy unit if thick flames however the fire failed to catch and the Juggernauts lava blood simply paid no attention to what had happened (1W).  Frustrated the Firebelly tried again but this time with one of the memorised spells he'd spent all night hammering into his brain.  with a clap and a roar to the gods above his hands spewed forth giant fireballs towards the same target engulfing the Skullcrushers once again yet still unperturbed they continued forth.  This time however the Firebelly couldn't extinguish the flames and eventually stuck his arms into the desert sands to stop the flames (Miscast - Power Drain).  Convinced the Fire God was disgruntled with him the Firebelly resorted to using only his magical trinket for the time being.

The Leadbelchers not waiting for a cue from the general took a very basic aim at the Skullcrushers and covered them in discarded weapons and shrapnel from various battlefields.  Although the smoke was the most impressive part of the display the effectiveness of the crude weaponry could not be denied as a single Skullcrusher collapsed into the sand and blood soon stained the surrounding earth.

Turn 2 - Warriors of Chaos
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The Chaos Warband continued to move towards the Ogre lines.  The Sorcerer Lord shouted continually over the battlefield ambiance at the Khornate warriors to pull back however they either couldn't hear him or more than likely chose to ignore his words.  The Champion of Tzeentch could hardly absorb any magical energy from his surrounds (2 vs 1) but use to adversity he made the best of the situation.  A second bolt materialised in his grasp and he threw it towards the Leadbelchers this time rewarded as a single Ogre instantly dropped to the ground kicking up a plume of dust with him.  More power energised into the Sorcerer and he used the renewed power to spill forth a pink fire however this was more to deter the Ogres than anything else.

Turn 2 - Ogre Kingdoms
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The Mournfang Cavalry realising the Skullcrushers had overstepped their confidence hunched down into their saddles and charged.  With dust kicking up behind them and the very battlefield shaking from tonnes of beast moving rapidly there would be no escape for the Khorne Warriors.  Witnessing the Chimera advancing up the flank the Firebelly re-arranged the lines to face the new threat sure that the enemy general was willing this monster to kill him in front of his warriors.  The Chimera was the target of the magical ring however the enemies powerful counter spells put a stop to this (11 vs 6 magic phase!).  The Leadbelchers however happy to have more target practice unleashed another devastating volley into the Monster approaching and their efforts were rewarded with a ear piercing screech as the beast was now wounded (2 wounds).

The Mournfangs slammed into the unmoving Skullcrushers brandishing weapons and goring each other.  A single red warrior collapsed however the last would not budge screaming out curses and offerings to his god in his polluted native tongue (1 wound from Skullcrushers, 4 wounds in return).

Turn 3 - Warriors of Chaos
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The Chimera reverts to its primal hunting mode and launches itself into the Ironguts intent on tearing the Ogres to pieces.  The Sorcerer Lord ignores the remaining Skullcrusher choosing to follow his own path and guide the rest of the army to glory.  He harnesses the powers of magic (7 vs 3) and begins opening a massive portal near the Leadbelchers.  The unit braces itself trying to prevent the inevitable however 2 Ogres are sucked into the nether, their screams a testament to the pain endured before the portal snaps shut.

The dust and blood continues to fly as the remaining Skullcrusher is beaten down by the sheer strength of the Ogres.  The massive beasts reform to face the flank of the warriors now exposed from the general's arrogance.

The Chimera lands into the Ironguts spilling a few of them over however the Firebelly ignoring its snapping jaws inhales a massive breath before belching forth flames engulfing the beast.  The odour of burning flesh fills up the Ogres nostrils as the creature lashes out slicing an Ogre clean in half before tramping another however it's not long until the massive rusty weapons cleave into it's hide and the wounds are too numerous to overcome.  It would be a glorious feed tonight for the Ogres.

Turn 3 - Ogre Kingdoms
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The Mournfang once again shake the very grounds as they charge into the flank of the Warriors however it's overshadowed by the avalanche like assault of the Stonehorn which head down locks into a speedy shield shattering charge throwing Chaos Warriors like rag dolls.  The assault from all sides unnerves the warriors (failed fear test!) and between the sheer brutality of the charge and the loss of the other elements the Warriors of the north are scattered deep into the desert.

Result - Ogre Kingdoms Victory

Conclusion - Just a fun game with my brother.  It was a bit frustrating about the turn 1 miscast, just glad I didn't take a Slaughtermaster for the same result!  Always fun taking uncommon lists and just running 1 character is something that is tricky to do with the Ogres.  My brother vented his frustrations with his list but it took less than 30 seconds to convince him we should have another game however swap armies.

I do love Warriors of Chaos and purely don't play them because I feel like I'd be treading on my brother's toes so this was a nice opportunity for me to get a feel for them.  Long story short however I set up and kept the units tight, used the signature spell to get rid of Sabretusks, Bolt of Change killed a Mournfang first turn and panicked them off the table turn 2, a combined charge with the Skullcrushers and Chimera dropped the Ironguts, I had to then sacrifice the Skullcrushers to the Stonehorn which killed them via impact hits alone however this allowed the Chimera to charge the Leadbelchers whilst Gateway dissolved the Stonehorn.

Was a great game however and we both walked away smiling.

Always a pleasure to read these Jimmy. I love the precision in your playstyle. It is always good to play with your opponents army afterwards. It makes the weaknesses and strenght of you own army very clear.

Jimmy:

Thanks for putting up the battle report.  I meant to comment on your latest two earlier, but I have been somewhat swamped with this whole "work" thing I've got going.

Anyway, let's take a look at this, starting from the top

Interesting list on your end.  That is a lot of firepower on the one character.  What did you get rid of when you decided to keep flame cloak?  I've been chucking flame cloak for fireball whenever I can, since it can only be cast on the caster's unit.  Then again, it does provide a lot of extra power when you get in melee, and the fireballs are useless once you get into melee...  On second thought, I might need to try it if I ever play a small game again.  Normally the firebellies are support for a maw caster whenever I play them in bigger armies, so I don't use them for buffs.

Also, regarding the firebelly: why have a great weapon?  Wouldn't it be more useful to having him attacking at initiative to strip regen?

I see you have a dragonhide banner on the MFC.  Do you think that was a good choice points wise?  I'll comment again on it after I've gone through the whole report

Yay stonehorn!  I think WoC is the perfect army to play a stonehorn against.  No cannons.

As for the WoC army...wow, that seems kinda small.  I think he put himself at a disadvantage from the word go by not having any redirectors and by only having 3 units.  Also, why didn't he go for the unkillable bsb?

Regarding deployment:  I see no issue with his deployment, but why did you deploy in the fashion that you did?  Since you don't have any units set up to prevent the chimera flying into your flank, it seems like you would be just as safe putting your units more in the middle with the sabretusks on either side of the army, rather than having both on the right side of the map.

First turn, WoC: Why did he move his chimera there?  You don't have any heavy shooting.  Was he worried about a first turn fireball on the chimera?  If so, it seems that the threat of maybe taking a fireball or two to the face was scary enough to remove the chimera from play for quite a while.  I'm not sure that was the best move.  I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it, though.

Also, did that bolt of change buff your units?  If so, ouch.  As if magic wasn't random enough in this game.

First turn, Ogres: Why did you bother shooting the skullcrushers with fireballs?  They are too low of a strength to really have much of a chance of doing anything.  You probably would have been better off shooting the warriors, as they are (slightly) softer targets.  Also, how many dice did you throw at the second fireball?  Sucks about the miscast.

Glad to see the leadbelchers were effective.  Did you forget about the harpoon launcher on the stonehorn?  Also, why did you hide the sabretusks?  Why not move them into a position to intercept and redirect?

Second turn, WoC: Ah, so the chimera wasn't held up too much.  Still, it seems like everyone is just dancing around, which gives you a major advantage.  Good job on his part for taking out a leadbelcher.  Still, sitting around at long range is not conducive to a WoC victory.  They REALLY suck when they aren't in combat.

Second turn, Ogres:  There you go.  Nice charge.  Did the dragonhide banner help you much, or was it mostly a waste of points?  Did you end up using the breath weapon?  Seems like a waste of a good magic phase.  Stupid power drain.  Did you use the harpoon and it didn't hit, which is why you haven't mentioned it, or did you just for get that it was there?  (That happens to me a lot.  You remember the monster and forget the rider)

Third turn, WoC:  Oof, bad move on the chimera's part.  In my opinion, he should have moved around to be in the ironguts flank and taken advantage of his maneuverability.  Especially with how weak he is, he would have been better off using terradon tactics.  Make the ironguts dance around.  It removes the ironguts as a threat and keeps your focus off of his remaining units.  It also prevents supporting attacks from the ironguts.

Third turn, Ogres: Yay stonehorn!

Good game, but I think the WoC really put themselves at a disadvantage from the start.  Your sabretusks did nothing.  You really should have used them for redirecting.

Thanks again for posting!  Looking forward to your responses.

Thanks for the comments guys!

@LG – Damn work getting in the way!! 

On the firebelly lore selection I think it was flame storm that I got.  It was a very on the fly list however purely for fun and games.

With the firebelly his fire breath can be used at initiative step so that wasn’t really an issue, the real issue was the Chimera striking at I2 as well! 

The MFC certainly were a huge points sink but if they hit, my god they hit hard with the banner simply put.

I can’t answer for my opponent unfortunately.

Deployment – MFC to advance and be completely covered charge wise by the tower, stone horn to support them.  Leadbelchers to inflict wounds onto the Skullcrushers quick smart before they get into combat and of course the Ironguts to fireball the Chimera.

First turn – Chimera was out of LOS for Fireball so no damage.  Secondly it’s not uncommon for Leadbelchers to wound monsters fairly easily so he was playing it safe.  Firstly the fireball might be low strength however every wound counts, the warriors weren’t the immediate threat so the Skullcrushers had priority.  3D6 miscast of course!!  :p  Just didn’t mention the Harpoon Launcher, it hit but rolled a 1 to wound naturally! 

The sabretusks were there all game but I didn’t need to re-direct get in the way, this army wins via combat not shooting so there wasn’t a real need for the tusks this time around.

Yes bolt of change gave them a 6+ regen.

Second turn – I completely forgot about the banner to be honest with you!    Chimera was committed way too early, he should have pulled him back knowing I had no flaming threats to speak of and find a flank on the MFC.

As mentioned above, Sabretusks weren’t required, proof of this is simply not losing a single unit wouldn’t you agree?