08 Jul 2014
2500 Pts vs Vampire Counts (Ghouls theme)
Ran a friendly game vs a Ghoul-themed Vampire Count army at 2500 points last night. It was the first of two games for the night. I had never played Vampire Counts, nor did I know he was bringing a themed list. So here is what I brought:
SM Lv 4 (Bone Crusher, Bullgorger, Toothcracker, Trollguts, my ideal spell roll); Fencers Blades, Glittering Scales, Dispel Scroll
BSB Greedy Fist, Biting blade
Firebelly Lv2 (Fireball, Fire-cloak spell); Hellheart
8xOgre Bulls (O) (Full Cmd); Firebelly here
10xIronguts (IG) (Full Cmd) Standard of Discipline; SM, BSB here
6xLeadbelchers (LB)
3xYhettee (Y)
4xMournfang(MF) Mus, std(Dragonhide Banner)
Sabretusk (S1)
Sabretusk (S2)
Sabretusk (S3)
Ironblaster (IB)
Vampire Army:
Strigoi Ghoul King Red Fury, Dark Majesty(-1Ld) and (I think) Fear incarnate (force reroll of made Fear test)
Vampire BSB Unsure of loadout
Vampire Unsure loadout
Crypt Ghouls 1 (G1) Massive unit with SGK and BSB
Crypt Ghouls 2 (G2) Massive (horde formation) with Vamp
6 Crypt Horrors (CH)
Varghulf (V1)
Varghulf (V2)
Terrorgheist (TG)
We roll for scenario and get the line up and fight roll (1). I know he has no shooting, so the advantage there is mine, and he wants to get in combat, so I deploy at the back of my deployment zone, except the Cats (one on each flank and one in the middle) and the Yhettee, which I place center front as a redirector/screen.
My opponent wins the roll-off and takes the first turn.
Turn 1
Vampires: My opponent moves everything forward, lands the Terrorgheist in front of the Leadbelchers. He casts Raise Dead (9 zombies) right in front of S2 and the Yhettees, who are both in either side the new Zombies flanks.
Ogres: S2 and the Yhettee charge the flanks of the new Zombie unit. In retrospect, this was a bit of overkill, the Yhettees -1WS tore the Zombies apart (auto hits, 2s to wound this would be the best the Yhettee have ever done or would ever do in my experience). Magic is all dispelled. The IB scores a nice hit/wound on the TerrorG, but he makes his save. The Leadbelchers have better luck, getting 28 shots between the 6 models. End result is 4 wounds ticked off the big scary monster.
Turn 2
Vampires: The Terrorgheist charges the leadbelchers, and both of the Varghulfs attempt to charge the Mournfang (One makes it, the other fails by an inch). Everything else moves forward. In magic, everything is dispelled. The Terrorgheist screams at the Leadbelchers and scores and 11(roll + wounds remaining), resulting in only 2 wounds on the Leadies due to the Generals Inspiring Presence. In close combat, the Terrorgheist causes a 3 more wounds, killing a leadbelcher, but the remaining cannon-wielding ogres smash and bash the gheists remaining wounds away. Over on the other side of the table, the unsupported Varghulf scores 2 wounds against the Mournfang, but he is easily dispatched by the giant, angry beasts.
Ogres: Charges across the board. The Ironguts, S1(Flank) and S2 charge the crypt Horrors (IGs roll a 10 for big impact hits); on the right, the Mournfang charge the remaining Varghulf, set for an overrun into the G2 unit, and the Yhettee charge the G2 unit with the expectation that the MF will overrun and fight a second round of combat in support. Shooting kills a few of the unengaged G1 Ghouls. Magic goes quite well, resulting in both toothcracker (+1 T) and bullgorger (+1 S) cast on the Irongut unit. I start combat on the right with the MF in hopes that they get to fight twice this turn, but my plans fail on a lucky wound caused by the Varghulf, taking the last remaining wound and killing a model. And although the offending Varghulf was ripped apart with ease by the remaining 3, it meant my overrun would no longer be clipping the G2 unit or able to support the Yhettee. Crap. So they reform, facing down the opponents line, anticipating a future flank/rear charge. However, this will not come to pass, since the yhettee turn in such an abysmal performance and are torn to shreds by the ghouls and the vampire. Double Crap. This in turn is just barely within 6 inches of the waiting Mournfang who FAIL their ensuing panic test and turn to flee! Triple Crap!
Things go better on the far side of the table. All told, the Crypt Horrors lose 3 models (9 wounds), but the ghoulish bastards pour as many wounds into the Ogre BSB as possible, just barely killing him. Luckily, they could not manage any other wounds, and as a result, the remaining 3 models crumble from combat resolution (9 wounds + Charge + Flank Charge + Standard + 2 ranks vs 4 wounds so close, we had to do the math twice!). Knowing I dont want to overrun out of the battle, but not wanting to get charged next turn, the Ironguts reform while both of the Sabertusks overrun, bringing S1 into the flank of the big Ghoul unit with the Strogoi Ghoul King, pinning them in place.
Turn 3
Vampires: Things are not looking good for the Ghoul army. He is stuck in place, thus sets to receive the worst. He rolls well for the winds of Magic, 10 dice, potentially able to through complications into what is shaping into a massive victory. At this point, I did something that was probably not necessary, and I regret in retrospect as it was a friendly game (and I did not expect as good of results as I achieved I only was aiming to negate the magic phase): I set off the Hellheart. His Strogoi Ghoul king rolls snake-eyes on the Miscast table boom goes the massive unit of ghouls. Luckily, the SGK avoids being sucked into the void. His BSB loses his wizard levels, and the other Vamp has a mini-detonation killing a bunch of ghouls in G2. My opponent is upset and about to call the game, but he is a good sport overall so we decide to finish out the turn and see how the SGKs ensuing combats will workout. He and the BSB dispatch the flank Cat with ease and set for the charge.
Ogres: The Ironguts charge G1, and the Ogres and IB charge G2. The MF rally, and at this point, I realize I had totally forgotten about S3 kitty behind a hill. In magic, my opponent dispels my Str and Toughness buffs, and I miscast on 3 dice looking for Trollguts on the Irongut unit. The SM detonates (small blast) and fails to any Ogres (thanks to the regen), but still takes out a few more Ghouls. Everything is going in my favor. SGK wants revenge badly at this point, and so he issues a challenge to the SM, which I accept thinking that I will not do well against a blender build. But, I do, as both fail to wound each other. The Ironguts clean up the remaining ghouls in the unit, and the Combat Res crumbles the BSB and the SGK. At this point, my opponent calls the game, and the ogres rejoice, although they probably felt unhappy at the lack of good food found after defeating a likely poor-tasting and spoiled undead army not a lot of good meat, even for ogres renown for eating nearly anything.
Afterthoughts:
-I expected things like the Terrorgheist and SGK to be much more of a factor in the game, slaughtering ogres through screams and in close combat. This was not the case, the ogres held their own. Granted, I had some good luck and, against the SGK, some buffs, but I gathered things wouldnt have been much different with average rolling and no buffs.
-Fencers Blades and Glittering Scales on a T5 slaughtermaster who is immune to poison is a pretty darn hard model to kill. Having never tried it, I decided to try it knowing I would likely face a very killy opponent lord, and I did. And I dont think I will run it again in a friendly game.
-The Hellheart is like bringing a nuclear bomb to a knife fight against VC.
-Yhettee make their 3rd appearance in my army and although where amazing against WS1 creatures, they otherwise whiffed again. I brought them expecting to see Ethereal, which I did not.
-Vampire Counts really need to bring a Level 4 caster to be effective; similarly, in an army that is supposed to have some very dangerous stuff supported by never-ending masses of cheap rank-and-file models, taking so many Ghouls at 10 points apiece just doesnt fit, although theme/fluff-wise it was cool. It doesnt have the casting power to sustain the force that is present, and it is in general lacking the masses of cheap rank and file. Poison is cool, but it doesnt win games.
-I found myself apologizing for how well my army was playing, and luckily I was playing a very veteran player who, besides being a good sport about it, wouldnt allow me to apologize for the army; as well as some very, very veteran on-looking friends who felt the same way. Sometimes, things just go too well, but there are some things I tried this time that worked a bit too well and I think are better left for competitive play. I did not think I was running a Win At All Costs army, nor did I think I played in a sneaky/underhanded manner (maybe the hellheart, as I was caught up in the moment and didnt realize how things were shaping up, was a bit unnecessary when things were clearly in my favor). The game is not fun in lopsided victories, even when you are just playing your army the way it is supposed to be played.
On a positive note, my first run with Ogres against Vampires went quite well. Now, I know this was a themed army, and not the Spammed Leadership Death or endless hordes with ethereals that I could potentially face. Overall, we had fun, I tried some new things that I wanted to try, and that was the point.
Ran a friendly game vs a Ghoul-themed Vampire Count army at 2500 points last night. It was the first of two games for the night. I had never played Vampire Counts, nor did I know he was bringing a themed list. So here is what I brought:
SM Lv 4 (Bone Crusher, Bullgorger, Toothcracker, Trollguts, my ideal spell roll); Fencers Blades, Glittering Scales, Dispel Scroll
BSB Greedy Fist, Biting blade
Firebelly Lv2 (Fireball, Fire-cloak spell); Hellheart
8xOgre Bulls (O) (Full Cmd); Firebelly here
10xIronguts (IG) (Full Cmd) Standard of Discipline; SM, BSB here
6xLeadbelchers (LB)
3xYhettee (Y)
4xMournfang(MF) Mus, std(Dragonhide Banner)
Sabretusk (S1)
Sabretusk (S2)
Sabretusk (S3)
Ironblaster (IB)
Vampire Army:
Strigoi Ghoul King Red Fury, Dark Majesty(-1Ld) and (I think) Fear incarnate (force reroll of made Fear test)
Vampire BSB Unsure of loadout
Vampire Unsure loadout
Crypt Ghouls 1 (G1) Massive unit with SGK and BSB
Crypt Ghouls 2 (G2) Massive (horde formation) with Vamp
6 Crypt Horrors (CH)
Varghulf (V1)
Varghulf (V2)
Terrorgheist (TG)
We roll for scenario and get the line up and fight roll (1). I know he has no shooting, so the advantage there is mine, and he wants to get in combat, so I deploy at the back of my deployment zone, except the Cats (one on each flank and one in the middle) and the Yhettee, which I place center front as a redirector/screen.
My opponent wins the roll-off and takes the first turn.
Turn 1
Vampires: My opponent moves everything forward, lands the Terrorgheist in front of the Leadbelchers. He casts Raise Dead (9 zombies) right in front of S2 and the Yhettees, who are both in either side the new Zombies flanks.
Ogres: S2 and the Yhettee charge the flanks of the new Zombie unit. In retrospect, this was a bit of overkill, the Yhettees -1WS tore the Zombies apart (auto hits, 2s to wound this would be the best the Yhettee have ever done or would ever do in my experience). Magic is all dispelled. The IB scores a nice hit/wound on the TerrorG, but he makes his save. The Leadbelchers have better luck, getting 28 shots between the 6 models. End result is 4 wounds ticked off the big scary monster.
Turn 2
Vampires: The Terrorgheist charges the leadbelchers, and both of the Varghulfs attempt to charge the Mournfang (One makes it, the other fails by an inch). Everything else moves forward. In magic, everything is dispelled. The Terrorgheist screams at the Leadbelchers and scores and 11(roll + wounds remaining), resulting in only 2 wounds on the Leadies due to the Generals Inspiring Presence. In close combat, the Terrorgheist causes a 3 more wounds, killing a leadbelcher, but the remaining cannon-wielding ogres smash and bash the gheists remaining wounds away. Over on the other side of the table, the unsupported Varghulf scores 2 wounds against the Mournfang, but he is easily dispatched by the giant, angry beasts.
Ogres: Charges across the board. The Ironguts, S1(Flank) and S2 charge the crypt Horrors (IGs roll a 10 for big impact hits); on the right, the Mournfang charge the remaining Varghulf, set for an overrun into the G2 unit, and the Yhettee charge the G2 unit with the expectation that the MF will overrun and fight a second round of combat in support. Shooting kills a few of the unengaged G1 Ghouls. Magic goes quite well, resulting in both toothcracker (+1 T) and bullgorger (+1 S) cast on the Irongut unit. I start combat on the right with the MF in hopes that they get to fight twice this turn, but my plans fail on a lucky wound caused by the Varghulf, taking the last remaining wound and killing a model. And although the offending Varghulf was ripped apart with ease by the remaining 3, it meant my overrun would no longer be clipping the G2 unit or able to support the Yhettee. Crap. So they reform, facing down the opponents line, anticipating a future flank/rear charge. However, this will not come to pass, since the yhettee turn in such an abysmal performance and are torn to shreds by the ghouls and the vampire. Double Crap. This in turn is just barely within 6 inches of the waiting Mournfang who FAIL their ensuing panic test and turn to flee! Triple Crap!
Things go better on the far side of the table. All told, the Crypt Horrors lose 3 models (9 wounds), but the ghoulish bastards pour as many wounds into the Ogre BSB as possible, just barely killing him. Luckily, they could not manage any other wounds, and as a result, the remaining 3 models crumble from combat resolution (9 wounds + Charge + Flank Charge + Standard + 2 ranks vs 4 wounds so close, we had to do the math twice!). Knowing I dont want to overrun out of the battle, but not wanting to get charged next turn, the Ironguts reform while both of the Sabertusks overrun, bringing S1 into the flank of the big Ghoul unit with the Strogoi Ghoul King, pinning them in place.
Turn 3
Vampires: Things are not looking good for the Ghoul army. He is stuck in place, thus sets to receive the worst. He rolls well for the winds of Magic, 10 dice, potentially able to through complications into what is shaping into a massive victory. At this point, I did something that was probably not necessary, and I regret in retrospect as it was a friendly game (and I did not expect as good of results as I achieved I only was aiming to negate the magic phase): I set off the Hellheart. His Strogoi Ghoul king rolls snake-eyes on the Miscast table boom goes the massive unit of ghouls. Luckily, the SGK avoids being sucked into the void. His BSB loses his wizard levels, and the other Vamp has a mini-detonation killing a bunch of ghouls in G2. My opponent is upset and about to call the game, but he is a good sport overall so we decide to finish out the turn and see how the SGKs ensuing combats will workout. He and the BSB dispatch the flank Cat with ease and set for the charge.
Ogres: The Ironguts charge G1, and the Ogres and IB charge G2. The MF rally, and at this point, I realize I had totally forgotten about S3 kitty behind a hill. In magic, my opponent dispels my Str and Toughness buffs, and I miscast on 3 dice looking for Trollguts on the Irongut unit. The SM detonates (small blast) and fails to any Ogres (thanks to the regen), but still takes out a few more Ghouls. Everything is going in my favor. SGK wants revenge badly at this point, and so he issues a challenge to the SM, which I accept thinking that I will not do well against a blender build. But, I do, as both fail to wound each other. The Ironguts clean up the remaining ghouls in the unit, and the Combat Res crumbles the BSB and the SGK. At this point, my opponent calls the game, and the ogres rejoice, although they probably felt unhappy at the lack of good food found after defeating a likely poor-tasting and spoiled undead army not a lot of good meat, even for ogres renown for eating nearly anything.
Afterthoughts:
-I expected things like the Terrorgheist and SGK to be much more of a factor in the game, slaughtering ogres through screams and in close combat. This was not the case, the ogres held their own. Granted, I had some good luck and, against the SGK, some buffs, but I gathered things wouldnt have been much different with average rolling and no buffs.
-Fencers Blades and Glittering Scales on a T5 slaughtermaster who is immune to poison is a pretty darn hard model to kill. Having never tried it, I decided to try it knowing I would likely face a very killy opponent lord, and I did. And I dont think I will run it again in a friendly game.
-The Hellheart is like bringing a nuclear bomb to a knife fight against VC.
-Yhettee make their 3rd appearance in my army and although where amazing against WS1 creatures, they otherwise whiffed again. I brought them expecting to see Ethereal, which I did not.
-Vampire Counts really need to bring a Level 4 caster to be effective; similarly, in an army that is supposed to have some very dangerous stuff supported by never-ending masses of cheap rank-and-file models, taking so many Ghouls at 10 points apiece just doesnt fit, although theme/fluff-wise it was cool. It doesnt have the casting power to sustain the force that is present, and it is in general lacking the masses of cheap rank and file. Poison is cool, but it doesnt win games.
-I found myself apologizing for how well my army was playing, and luckily I was playing a very veteran player who, besides being a good sport about it, wouldnt allow me to apologize for the army; as well as some very, very veteran on-looking friends who felt the same way. Sometimes, things just go too well, but there are some things I tried this time that worked a bit too well and I think are better left for competitive play. I did not think I was running a Win At All Costs army, nor did I think I played in a sneaky/underhanded manner (maybe the hellheart, as I was caught up in the moment and didnt realize how things were shaping up, was a bit unnecessary when things were clearly in my favor). The game is not fun in lopsided victories, even when you are just playing your army the way it is supposed to be played.
On a positive note, my first run with Ogres against Vampires went quite well. Now, I know this was a themed army, and not the Spammed Leadership Death or endless hordes with ethereals that I could potentially face. Overall, we had fun, I tried some new things that I wanted to try, and that was the point.
(unless it's assumed with the writing of the list).