15k Dark Elves vs 15k OK/LM/Brets

     Stephan Hauser tried to still his nervousness as his guide led him and his guards through the camp.  He was an experienced envoy, and during his time in the Empire's service he had dealt with all manner of races successfully.  Still, dealing with the Roamin' Legion, a mercenary army of ogres always made him nervous.
Perhaps it was that very experience which contributed to his nerves whenever he dealt with this particular band; they just didn't act like other ogres.  His guide was a prime example; wearing not in scraps and furs but in rough-spun breeches and full lorica armor.  His group had been challenged by guards stationed on the perimeter, in pairs and at regular intervals.   The camp he was being led through was composed of orderly lines of bedrolls, equipment, and cook fires.  Such discipline from such a famously undisciplined race left him feeling unsteady.
     They arrived near the center of the camp, and Stephan was ushered into one of the few tents in the camp.  Inside was one of the band's wizards, a 'slaughtermaster' by his guess.  The Roamin' Legion preferred to leave their negotiations and contracting to be handled by their magic-users.  The ogre's massive bulk was wrapped in a white robe with enough material for a good-sized tent, and his staff of office glittered with gromril and bronze.  It was fashioned to look like a long-handled ladle, though the tines on the end meant it could probably double as a pitch fork.
     "Ah!" the ogre boomed.  "Welcome!  I be Glutonius Mawximus, an I speak for da Legion.  And you bring an offer of work!  Speak, who duz Tyrant Franz want us to be eatin now?"
     Stephan tried not to wince at 'Tyrant Franz;' he understood it was intended as a courtesy.  "My name is Stephan Hauser, Imperial envoy sent on behalf of the Emperor, and yes; we want to commission the Legion for service.  A great fleet of Dark Elves will be making land-fall soon, to the west of Bretonnia.  The Bretonnians already march to meet the raiders, and have called upon the Empire to honor their treaties of assistance.  But this could not have come at a worse time for the Empire; our armies already march to the North, to meet foes there.  The Legion is the only organized force in the south lands that we can call upon that might make it there in time to aid our allies."
     "So, you be wantin us to eat some of da angry elves, and you want us to be helpin da tin-horse boys too." the enormous ogre made a great show of looking thoughtful.  Of course, it may have been a genuine effort to BE thoughtful, Stephan thought; in addition to be disciplined, the Legion had a reputation for at least attempting to be deliberate.  The ogre looked back at him.
     "And just how much o' da Legion do you want to be marchin?"
     Stephan looked back, trying to appear more calm than he felt.
     "You march on behlf of the Empire, to help us honor a call for help from a staunch ally, against a great and terrible foe."  Stephan swallowed.
     "We want all of it."



This game is taking place this sunday.  I'll have lists and a battle report up over the next week.  Just a teaser

The allied lists:
Ogres
Lords
Slaughter Master - Lvl 4 Maw, Fencer's Blades, Glittering Scales, Greedy Fist
Slaughter Master - Lvl 4 Beast, Great Weapon, Trickster's Helm, Talisman of Preservation, Rockeye
 
Heroes
Bruiser -BSB, Great Weapon, Look-out Gnoblar, Runemaw Standard
Fire Belly - Lvl 2 Fire, Hellheart
 
Core
9 Ironguts - Full Command, Standard of Discipline
9 Bulls - Full Command, Look-out Gnoblar, Ironfists
9 Bulls - Full Command, Look-out Gnoblar, Ironfists
10 Gnoblars - Standard
10 Gnoblars - Standard
10 Gnoblars - Standard
10 Gnoblars - Standard
10 Gnoblars - Standard
 
Specials
1 Sabertusk
1 Sabertusk
1 Sabertusk - Scouting
1 Sabertusk - Scouting
1 Sabertusk - Scouting
1 Sabertusk - Scouting
8 Leadbelchers - Musician
7 Leadbelchers - Musician
6 Maneaters - Standard, Musician, Brace of Pistols, Poison, Sniper
4 Mournfang Cavalry - Standard, Musician, Heavy Armor, Ironfists, Gleaming Pennant
 
Rares
Ironblaster
Ironblaster
Ironblaster
Stonehorn - Harpoon Launcher
Stonehorn - Harpoon Launcher

Bretonnians
Lords
Bretonnian Lord - Barded Warhorse, Shield, Sword of Swift Slaying, Gromril Great Helm, Virtue of Heroism
The Fay enchantress
The Green Knight

Heroes
Damsel - Lvl 1 of Beasts, Bretonnian Warhorse, Dispel Scroll
Damsel - Lvl 1 of Beasts, Bretonnian Warhorse, Silver Mirror
Damsel - Lvl 1 of Beasts, Bretonnian Warhorse, Prayer Icon of Quenelles
Paladin - Barded Warhorse, Shield, Lance, Virtue of Duty
Paladin - Barded Warhorse, Shield, Lance, Virtue of the Impetuous
Paladin - Barded Warhorse, Virtue of Confidence, Great Weapon, Questing Vow, Gauntlet of the Duel
Paladin - Barded Warhorse, BSB, Enchanted Shield, Shrieking Blade, Dawnstone

Core
15 Knights Errant - Full Command, Errantry Banner
15 Knights Errant - Full Command
12 Knights of the Realm - Full Command, War Banner
12 Knights of the Realm - Full Command, Banner of Chalons
12 Knights of the Realm - Full Command, Banner of Swiftness
12 Knights of the Realm - Full Command
12 Knights of the Realm - Full Command

Rare
Field Trebuchet
Field Trebuchet
Field Trebuchet
Field Trebuchet

Special
3 Pegasus Knights
12 Questing Knights - Full Command

Lizardmen
Lords
1 Slann Mage-Priest - Lvl 4 Loremaster of High Magic, Book of Asur, Egg of Qurango, Jaguar Standard
* roll 3 dice for channelling
* re-roll first failed dispell attempt each turn

Heroes
1 Tetto'eko - Lvl 2 Loremaster of Heavens
1 Tiktaq'to
1 Skink Priest - Lvl 1, Beast magic, Cube of Darkness, Ironcurse Icon
1 Skink Chief - Ancient Stegadon, Stegadon Helm, Biting Blade

Core
3 Jungle Swarm
44 Skink Cohort w/ Poison
24 Skink Cohort / 3 Kroxigor
24 Skink Cohort / 3 Kroxigor
20 Skink Cohort w/ Tetto'eko
11 Skink Skirmishers
11 Skink Skirmishers
10 Skink Skirmishers

Special
1 Bastiladon w/ Solar Engine
1 Stegadon
10 Chameleon Skinks
4 Kroxigor
36 Temple Guard w/ Slann
5 Terradon Rider w/ Tiktaq'to

Rare
3 Salamander Hunting Pack
1 Ancient Stegadon - Engine of the Gods
1 Troglodon

The Battle Report (work in progress, pictures pending)
for the record, fluff descriptions will be in bold italics.  Feel free to skip it.

It was a fine sunday morning when we descended on a local gaming store to kick this thing off.  The playing field was 16x6 ft, with a nice big temple of skulls in the center, scattered forests on the eastern flank, a river cutting north/south on the west flank, with the occasional patches of marsh or rubble.

Deployment was blind, with big foam dividers blocking any kind of view.  First side to finish deploying got choice of  first turn, and right away we had planned with malice a-fore-thought.

Knowing that we were 'hampered' by a Bretonnian player and therefore certain to take second turn, the DE team was deploying slowly and carefully, inter-mixing their armies for mutual support.  We had two strings to our plan: first we raced to deploy, keeping our armies largely independent.  Second we hugely denied a flank; deploying nothing but some skirmishing skinks, terradon riders, and one scouting saber tusk (thank you, Storm of Magic) on the west flank on the far side of the river, leaving almost six full feet bare (and concentrating 15000 points into 10 feet of space!  take about crowded!!).

We called done, and declared we would like first turn.  The blinds were removed, and we placed scouts (since they didn't have any); four SoM kitties (with a measely +2 ppm upgrade) and two units of camo skinks then served to shut down every vanguard move they had.  We then walked through our lists, where the Bret player revealed that he had the Fey Enchantress, and that his army received the Lady's Blessing anyways!  Across from us stretched a huge, dark line of models, at least half-a-dozen hordes of various types, the center held by a massive 50+ unit of witches with a cauldron of blood and lead by none other than Malekith.  Helebron lead a unit of Executioners east of him, and three sorceresses (sorceressi?) on dark pegasi flutter around there.  On the far west flank, nestled in a mound of rubble were 5 or 6 bolt throwers, facing 6 feet of empty board, along with more hordes and lots of their cavalry, and Hydras and Charybdises sprinkled the board.

     The Roamin' Legion marched onto the battle field, breaking into battle formation on the flank of the Bretonnians.  The great, glittering host of knights were in tight formation, facing the pale invaders, and Glutonius frowned thoughtfully at the lot of them before sending for the Legion's Maneaters.  Beyond then a dark, unnatural cloud dominated the sky, and pressed against the Slaughtermaster's magical senses.
     "Get ova der an tell da Tin-Tyrant dat we'll lead wit da gunz.  Den he can charge."  The Maneater nodded before turning back and leading his band over to the knights.  Glutonius tried to see if the Maneater was wearing any Bretonnian trophies openly, but the ogre was already gone; Maneaters had the most experience dealing with other races, but prior work-experience occasionally got in the way.
     He actually saw one of the lance formations start to rush forward before being restrained; one of the units of plainer, less pretty knights.  Glutonius harumphed at the sight, but a glance about showed him the Legion in good order, and the guns had been unlimbered.  He thumped his younger brother Gluteus on the paldron, and bellowed loudly as the Legion's banner was snapped up into the wind.
     "FIRE!"

My flank was occupied by no more than a regular army's worth of points (maybe a bit less), and it was facing almost my full 5k; only my maneaters and a few sabers were elsewhere.  Magic was a tense affair, made worse by Tetto'eko, causing our side to reroll 6s, and resulted in little happening (at least on my end of the table).  Shooting was another story: two cannons put paid to a Charybdis, which caused a large unit of Corsairs to panic and flee off the table, complete with a level 2 wizard.  A unit of Harpies also ran off, and then the Maneaters killed a second level 2 of beasts.  The DE turn was marked by a general advance, but almost no magic (having a Slann with the book of Ashur that gets to reroll dispels is awesome), and ineffectual shooting (two thirds of their bolt throwers were out of range of our main forces).

Turn two was a turn of charges: my MFC charged a Charybdis (who fled), a stone horn charged a unit of 10 warlocks (who also fled), and my Ironguts pushed hard up the center, stopping a bare 7 inches away from 40ish Black Guard.  My Bretonnian ally asked the LM player to suicide-charge some camo skinks so that he could triple charge a unit of executioners.  This proved to be a huge mistake.  The lances were too close together, allowing minimal wheeling.  Two of the charging lances had to fail after the first made it in; one of them was the lance containing his General, BSB, and the Fey Enchantress. 

In a clear sign of the Lady's favor, the single unit of Errant knights passed a massive number of 5+/5++ saves, won combat against a unit of 40+ executioners with a blood shrine, broke it, and chased it almost to the end of the table (missing over running it by a single inch).

Tetto Eko succeeded in buffing our magic phase, which resulted in my beast master rerolling triple 1s into triple 6s and getting Curse of Anraheir off on the black guard in front of my Ironguts (and resulted in me forgetting the spell AND Kadon's ).  My lead belchers then assisted in killing 15 of the the BG AND another Charybdis.

DE turn two saw a unit of BG, fresh from reforming after killing those camo skinks, make a perfect flank charge into the Bret's exposed command lance.  This and a charge by the massive unit of witches with malekith were the highlights of the turn.  The witches overran into a skink-krok unit near the temple of skulls, and the BG, buffed by sword of rhuine, slaughtered the command lance (costing us 4 fortitude; ouch!) and overran into the flank of another lance.  The BG in front of my ironguts, unwilling to accept the charge, charged dispite Curse, made it (losing another 9 in the process), and the were slaughtered down to the champion, causing only a single wound to the IG champ in the combat.

The copse of trees the maneaters had been sheltering in had a strange scent, and Biggus shook his head to shake off the soothing effects.  A horde of dark elves, sprinting far faster than the humans around them, overwhelmed the tin-tyrant right in front of the Maneater's eyes, before crashing into another formation.  With a bellow, Biggus and his boys charged in after them.

The maneaters crashed into the rear of the king-killing unit of BG, with an Ironblaster slamming into the front.

Looking forward to reading how this battle finished up. Sounds like the Brett player managed to swing things the DE way after you guys won the deployment war in a landslide!

Wow, sorry about the delay (silly holidays).  I'll go ahead and finish the report and give some high-lights.

Sadly, the maneaters and ironblaster that charged into the SoR-buffed unit fluffed their impacts and wound rolls.  They managed enough combat res for the lance to reform and tie the unit up for another 2 combat phases, but the DE player's dice were red-hot, and my Bretonnian brother's were not.  The maneaters died and the ironblaster fled.

The errants recharged the executioners, broke them, and ran them off the table, but then got dual charged by a Charybdis and a hydra and eventually died to a man. 

The loss of my maneaters also cost me the ability to safely kill Helebron, and so I lost track of her.  Which is why I failed to warn the Bret player when he charged two lances into a unit of executioners that had her in it.  She slaughtered 9 knights by herself, though two of the remaining three managed to kill her in return (point of fact it was an angry horse kicking her in the head that killed her).  The exutioners did for the other lance, so that was even more fortitude down.

The Stonehorns finally charged the crossbowmen on my side of the table, and eventually killed them and the warlocks that had been dancing around them.

The giant witch unit that over ran into a skink-krok unit then got charged by two more skink-krok units AND took a unit of temple guard in the flank.  Of course, the temple guard took a sorceress (or something; might even have been Morathi) on a chimera in the rear, and even had some cold ones and a hydra charge in eventually.  This combat was amazingly epic, the LM player masterfully holding the center line against 3 or 4 THOUSAND points.  The combats in it were pretty awesome too.

Malekith miscast, got knocked down to a level 2, and killed two skink champions in a challenge, then got into a challenge with a Skink Chief.  He broke every magic item the Skink Chief had, but couldn't kill him in a challenge that lasted till the end of the game (3 or 4 rounds!).

A unit of DE spearmen, buffed by Glittering Scales, charged the last lance of knights.  3+ infantry vs 2+ knights, but the spearmen pushed through 2 wounds and only took 2 of their own.  With more ranks, even wounds, and a charge, the spearmen broke the lance and ran it down.  This happened just as the center finally caved in, though in the Lizard's defense, they died fighting.  No one ran. 

Sadly, that was the final straw, and our fortitude was broken.  The Dark Elves were free to invade the South Lands.

    Gluteus planted the army standard and took a moment to survey the surrounding battle.  The Roamin' Legion had swept their flank with barely any casualties, though the Maneaters his brother had sent had not returned.  He cast his eyes further afield and frowned.
     Glutonius' eyes opened as he released another burst of magic, his stomach rumbling as the spell went off.  His younger brother nudged him.
     "We'z supposed to be 'elping da Tin-Boyz, right?"
     "Dat's whut we wuz payed for." Glutonius replied.
     "Well, dere ain't any more Tin-Boyz left."  Gluteus gestured.
     Glutonius glowered.  They controlled the landscape around them, but wouldn't be able to stand against the combined might of what was left.  Still, they had a contract to fulfill.  But there was no reason to be stupid about filling it.
     "Pull back, and set the lads to marchin.  Guess we're gonna hafta work a bit 'arder for our supper."

Doing a great job

I cant wait to see some pictures

Any updates on this?