Threw down last Wednesday! Which also means I dont remember a lot of the game! But completeness tho.
BLOODFIRE GAME 12: HERD
Salamanders 2000
Fire Elemental Horde – Brew of Haste
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ankylodon Battle Platform
Herald on Raptor – Diadem of Dragonkind
Herald on Raptor – Healing Charm
Mage-Priest – Surge (8), Heal (3)
Clan Lord on Fire Drake – Banner of the Griffin
Same list for me, still with +1Sp on those fancy elementals. Still toying with BOTOK (because awesome and overextending seems bad) or Pipes of Terror (because brutal is great and keeps happening), but due to flanking being so legit in KOW Im trying to stick with Haste.
The Herd 2000
Spirit Walkers Regiment
Spirit Walkers Regiment
Harpies Troop
Harpies Troop
Lycans Regiment
Lycans Horde – Helm of the Ram
Centaur Longmanes Regiment – Healing Brew
Beast Pack Troop – Fire-Oil
Stampede – Brew of Haste
Chimera – wings
Shaman on Mount – Heal (5)
Shaman on Mount – Heal (5)
Tribal Totem Bearer on Mount – Lute of Insatiable Darkness
Changing things up a bit: no infantry horde(s), even stronger emphasis on speed, all the bane chant.
We diced up COK #12: Eliminate! Bounties went out on my CLOFD, Ankylodon and Fast Elementals; and on his Lycan Horde, Stampede and Chimera. I won first turn (!) and took it, mostly to get closer to the center I suppose.
BATTLE
Ghostdroth!
Roll out! The Herd moves up in response, cautiously across the main battleline but with Lycan beginning to envelope the right Fire flank, as is their want. Salamanders respond by advancing Sprite Screen and breathing all over the enemy chaff / Stampede. Both Harpies and Beast Pack are only wavered ( ), and the Stampedes token wounds will be healed away by Shamans in the coming turn. Speaking of which:
Fighting! I intentionally positioned the Ankylodon so the Stampede could solo into him if they wanted to, but would face some stiff reprisal if they flopped (and even if they didnt). Though frankly I just wanted to see what would happen when the Ultimate Hammer Unit smashed into a Pretty Solid Anvil Monster. While we wait for that, Ember Sprites got batted around, though only the Longmanes actually routed, with the Chimera and Spirit Walkers just wavering their obnoxious swarm friends.
Anyway, the showdown: Stampede thunders into Kylo Don, 30 dice @ 4+ becomes ~28 hits then 26-27 wounds. Holy. Hell. No snake eyes so the big beasty poofs back to the painted table. (Even discounting batshit dice, the Stampede should still do 13 wounds, which is a hard soak for any monster (also I always think its 24 attaks, 30 seems just too crae!))
Wavered Sprites are annoying for me too, and my Fire Elementals are boiling for vengeance. The Fast Horde settles for beating up the Longmanes (routing them!) while the horde to their left bops into the Stampede to at least put some wounds on it / disorder it (success), and the CLOFD flanks into the Chimera and does heavy damage (wavering it). The Diadem Herald and functioning Sprites barf off the Harpies and Beasts on the left flank.
Herd reprisal sees the Spirit Walkers both kill some Sprites, the surviving Harpies on the right flank descend on the Mage-Priest and disorder her (just!), the Lycan continue to menace, and the Stampede countercharge those Fire Elementals. Freshly healed and bane-chanted, they toss out a second two handfuls of dice: 30 attaks @ 4+ @ 3+ does an astounding 17+ wounds! The Fire Horde is reduced to mist and Im personally stunned at how good these pigs are today O_O
Much of the Sally response runs itself, as the Stampede finally has its reign of terror ended by the Fast Elementals in the flank, the CLOFD slaughters the Chimera (with legit Sprite flanker support of course), and annoying Harpies are mashed to pulp by the central Fire Horde. The real conundrum was how to handle the right flank:
To a large extent I had already written off those Fire Elementals, as I had woefully under-supported that flank in favor of a stronger left/central push (which I tend to do too much). So the fact that those fire dudes were still alive this late in the game was novel, however I also wanted to get something out of them, even if that was just to delay the Lycan. As I saw it, my choices were:
- Not charge and cop Spirit Walkers + Lycan Horde in the front, likely dying.
- Charge the Spirit Walkers and do a little damage, then take SW in the front + Lycan Horde in the flank, instantly dying.
- Charge the Lycan Horde and do a little damage (which would be regenerated anyway), then take the (disordered) Horde in the front and Regiment in the flank, instantly dying (if a little further away from my line and with the wolves consolidated). The Spirit Walkers charge into my central Fire Horde then get killed.
I chose #3, and entirely forgot about the 1 pushback when that beleaguered Fire Horde bounced off the Lycan Horde -_-
Yep, Stampede + Chimera are toast.
Yep, Fire Horde is toast.
The other Spirit Walkers head into the Fast Elementals, which is important because that Fire Horde is holding a bounty token (the CLOFD has the other one), and Im currently up 2 to 1. The Walkers do good damage but bounce.
In Sally Turn 5, the Fast Horde counter-charges those Walkers, bashing them up, with a side of healing. The other remaining Fire Horde is faced with the Herd flanking force (Spirit Walkers + Lycan Horde + Lycan Reg), and can no longer rotate to keep them all in the front. It turns to face the Spirit Walkers + Lycan Horde, as I dont have enough faith in my shooting dice. Which is a shame as the CLOFD rolls like a maniac and easily burns down the Spirit Walkers, with an assist from the Mage-Priests fireball.
The wolves descend in Herd 5, gorging on that poor Fire Horde. Meanwhile in the woods the Walkers smash the Fast Horde up to 10+ wounds, but cant land the shaky rout.
Sally 6 and its still 2-1 on bounty markers. I get tunnel vision about keeping the Lycan away from my Fast Horde and charge the Lycan Horde with the CLOFD (who has a marker himself and isnt that tough), who bashes them around (also disorders). The Lycan Reg gets chaffed up by the surviving Ember Sprites, who also manage to waver them with the breath assist from the Diadem Herald. Meanwhile the Fast Horde gets a die of damage removed thanks to Healing Herald + Mage-Priest, then obliterates the Spirit Walkers pestering them and prepares to weather the next turn or two.
With game end looming, the Lycan Horde bites into the CLOFD and rips him for 10 wounds (that bane-chant, so hot right now), possibly wavering him. Shaman and Totem Bearer throw themselves into the Fast Horde but cant land a wound for that rout test.
THE GAME CONTINUES!
Turn 7 Sallies, I slam the bleeding CLOFD into reverse, chaff the Lycan Horde with the surviving Ember Sprites, waver/rout the Lycan Reg with breath attaks, and liquefy the Totem Bearer with the Fast Horde. Healing goes into the Fast Horde but isnt great.
Turn 7 Herd and its literally the last gasps. Lycan Horde flanks and pulps the hero Ember Sprites (RIP), as Shamans charge the Fast Horde and the CLOFD, my two bounty holders. One Shaman lands a wound on the Fast Horde (!) but cant manage the rout roll. The other Shaman sneaks a wound onto the CLOFD (!), then double aces the average roll to rout him, nabbing a second bounty and drawing the game! Respect, lil Shaman!
BLOODFIRE DRAW
BLOODFIRE 