2500 Strigoi VC vs. HE

[meowser]

*** NOW UPDATED WITH SCREENCAPS ***

Hey guys,

I played a really fun 2500 Pitched Battle against The D on universalbattle the other night. Screenshots are at home and to follow, which will help me remember what happened when exactly!

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VC: Strigoi-fearbomb theme

Strigoi Ghoul King (Red Fury, Sword of +2A, Cursed Book, Dragonbane Gem) [Invocation of Nehek, Cursed Book]
Master Necromancer (Level 4 Wizard, Lore of the Vampires, Master of the Dead, Dispel Scroll) [Invocation of Nehek, Vanhel's Danse Macabre, Hellish Vigor, Curse of Years]
Vampire (Level 2 Wizard, Lore of Shadows, Quickblood, Fear Incarnate, Biting Blade, Dragonhelm, Talisman of 5++) [Miasma, Pendulum]
Cairn Wraith

35 Ghouls
29 Skeletons (musician, standard bearer, the Screaming Banner)
20 Zombies (standard)
2 x 5 Dire Wolves

8 Crypt Horrors
5 Hexwraiths
1 Corpse Cart (Balefire)
2 x 1 Spirit Host

Terrorgheist

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HE: One of his units had Banner of Sorcery [WL or SM]

Prince (Elven steed [barding?],1+AS[reroll?],?++, great weapon)
Mage (Level 2 Wizard, Lore of Shadow, Staff of +1 Spell) [Miasma, Withering, Pendulum]
Mage (Level 2 Wizard, Lore of Shadow, Dispel Scroll) [Enfeebling Foe, Pit of Shades]

~12 Archers (std? mus?)
50 Spearmen (standard bearer, musician)

5 Dragon Princes (Full Command, Magic Item of Magical Attacks for unit) [Is this combo a common build?]
6-8 Ellyrian Reavers
21 Swordmasters (std, mus?, chmp?)
21 White Lions (FC)
2 Tiranoc Chariots (no Lions)

2 Great Eagles

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Terrain: I set up the board beforehand in a fairy generic and near-symmetric way. 2 houses were placed at the N-S midline, dividing the table in thirds along the E-W axis. Directly above and below the east house were large, ~150mm-wide bridges, covering rivers that were only visible running N-S or northeasternly (on the north side of the board) in the deployment zones (the bridges and house-over-the-riven covered the central portion of the river). In the western third of the board were two forest opposite each other, with ~5" buffers between each other and the western house.

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Rolling Spells: I was really dismayed when I rolled a 4 and a 6 for spell selection on my Lore of Shadows Vampire. Those elves weren't going to be failing many I tests. I figured I'd be more likely to get pendulum off than the 18+ pit with my L2, so I swapped Pit for Miasma. I was happy with MN spell rolls. I figured Raise Dead wouldn't be much use, as the elves would chainsaw through any roadblocks, and that between my ethereals and Terrorgheist I wouldn't need the MM from Gaze of Nagash to clean up chaff. Curse of Years could really help me whittle down that Spearman deathstar as well.

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Deployment: He plays his DPs on the extreme west flank, in response to my hexwraiths just to the west of the western building. I knew he would try and tie them up since he has the 2++ versus flaming, but I never knew HE had a magic-attacks-to-unit item, although I asked my opponent which units COULD have champions take magic items before the game. As per usual, my central deployment of my blocks was pretty haphazard and a bit of a clusterf**k.

VC [west to east]: Dire Wolves, Spirit Host, Terrorgheist, Wraith, Ghouls [SGK] right behind west house, Terrorgheist behind Ghouls, Crypt Horrors, Zombies behind Crypt Horrors, Skeletons [dead middle-ish], Dire Wolves and Spirit Host on eastern 'island' [effectively I'm trying a denied western flank]

HE [west to east]: Dragon Princes, Great Eagle, Ellyrean Reavers [Prince], 2 Chariots [behind house], Spearmen [L2 with 3 spells, dead middle-ish], Archers [L2 with 2 spells, behind eastern house], SM, WL, and GE all on eastern 'island'

Vanguard: Dogs move up cautiously, trying to bait DP/WL/SM to edges of board and away from battle. Hexwraiths try and ensure they will get march move next turn, hoping to get with Prince or Chariots.

http://i.imgur.com/7TXkX.jpg

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HE Turn 1:

MOVEMENT:
- DP move up western flank to face HWs & TG, pass 1 difficult terrain
- SM, WL move up eastern flank
- Eastern Eagle jockeys for position against Wolves
- Chariots commit to middle lane of board
- Archers march into base contact with eastern house

MAGIC:
- Banner sees him have ~11v5
- I scroll the first spell of the game, a Pit of Shades he cast on 21 with 5 dice targeted on my Terrorgheist, wanting to ensure I am able to shut down Withering/Enfeebling on Horrors, lest his Chariots munch them
- I manage to shut down both Withering & Enfeebling, but a -2 M Miasma goes off on Horrors

http://i.imgur.com/XW90N.jpg

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VC Turn 1:

MOVEMENT:
- Eastern Wolves back away from blocks, making the charge non-trivial for them
- I screw up my movement ordering with respect to my General, and the Terrorgheist is unable to march, losing an opportunity to scream at his General [or anything this turn!]. The Terrorgheist positions to eat a DP charge, and threaten eagle/general [house protect flank from general and chariots]
- Hexwraiths between Terrogheist DPs, temping a charge that would cause DT on the whole unit.
- Main blocks try and push forward as best they can
- Crypt Horrors really push ahead, threaten chariots
- Wraith is behind Crypt Horrors to threaten general / mage in spearmen

MAGIC:
- 11v6!
- Cursed Book eats 3 dice, puts a Curse of the Midnight Wind on Spearment or DPs [need to check]
- 4 dice boosted VHD from MN goes off with a total of 18, which he scrolls
- MN IoN shut down with dice
- SGK miscasts on 2 dice IoN, putting a wound on the Shadow Vampire and Master Necromancer. 4 Zombies are raised for his trouble!
- Lacklustre result to a potentially big magic phase

SHOOTING:
- TG cant scream at anything, what a waste

http://imgur.com/H68j4

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HE Turn 2:

MOVEMENT:
- Chariots dual charge Crypt Horrors. BRING IT ON
- Dragon Princes into Hexwraiths. 1 Dies to DT.
- WL into eastern Wolves
- Archers into eastern building
- West Eagle into Wolves
- Spears move up a bit to be in hex range of western flank
- General in 12" of chariots, spears, and DP, southwest of west house, out of wraith and horror charge arc

MAGIC:
- He rolls well for winds but poorly for banner. He fails to cast both big hexes with his wizards, poor luck

CC:
- DPs savage my poor, delicate HWs. Overrun into Terrorgheist.
- Much to my joy, chariots fluff their impact hits, and cause 2 wound total! The big guys put 3 wounds on a chariot, and the undamaged one breaks as he is out of the General's LD10 bubble. *Evil Joy*
- WL savage my Wolves, reform to face bridge
- Eagle kills a wolf, crumbles 2 more

http://i.imgur.com/5s73G.jpg

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VC Turn 2:

MOVEMENT:
- Western spirit hosts flank charge DPs to support Terrorgheist
- Mid-eastern spirit host assaults eastern house with Archers in them
- Wraith moves around chariots to threaten spearmen, wizard in there
- Ghouls and SGK reform to face west and take possible overrun from DPs
- Clusterf**k of blocks and slow-ass chariot in the middle shuffle about as per usual

MAGIC:
- I channel twice giving me 9v4
- SGK destroys magic phase my failing to cast 12" IoN (on 4 dice!)

SHOOTING:
- My only used shooting phase. TG's voice cracks as he begins to warm up his vocal folds, and the DPs feel their ears ringing a bit, but that's it, thanks to me fluffing and rolling a 4, and him getting Inspiring Presence from his Lord.

CC:
- West Eagle and Wolves trade a wound and tie; down to 1 Wolf
- DPs put 2 wounds on TG and. I kill 1 in return, and lose by 2 (my wound, flank, versus his 2 wounds, flank, banner).
- Horrors SMASH the remaining chariot, run it down, and overrun into Spearmen horde. This is where I learn whats really nice about a 4-wide MI unit: infantry hordes cant hide squishy characters on the edges from them
- Hosts assaulting archers in the house put a wound on him, but he holds on his stubborn LD.

http://i.imgur.com/H8o0E.jpg

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HE Turn 3:

MOVEMENT:
- His SM and WL on the east are now near/on the eastern bridge, threatening my mainline
- East eagle moves 1" from Spirit Host; blocking access to house.

MAGIC:
- I think it ends up ~9v5, although it could be worse as his Banner roll was not great
- His first spell is another huge Pit of Shades, this one hitting Terrorgheist and 2 Ghouls, and would hit SGK if it scatters to the east at all. I know I'll be hexed to hell and back if I let it off. Of course, the TG fails and dies, and the 2 ghouls pass (it didn't scatter). I manage to shut down his hexes.

CC:
- DP bring SH to 1 wound remaining, reform to face it
- Hosts break eagle, catch it and redirect into house

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VC Turn 3:

MOVEMENT:
- Main blocks all reform to face eastern flank, including ghouls giving DP their rear

MAGIC:
- I jinx myself, as I comment about how our really high magic rolls so far warrant us playing a Storm of Magic rematch. I promptly roll snakeyes, fail to channel, and he channels.
- I get off IoN with my MN, giving me ~10 zombies and ~8 skellies, and giving all my blocks ASF from the Corpse Cart

CC:
- Wolf takes no wounds from Eagle, puts one on him, and breaks him! Eagle is run down in the woods.
- Remaining Chariot is broken and flees through Spearmen, who pass panic; Horrors pursue to fail to overrun into Spearmen, leaving me ~7 inches from them
http://i.imgur.com/7FqFh.jpg

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HE Turn 4:

MOVEMENT:
- SM charge skeleton warriors
- Chariot rallies behind spears
- WL move up to threaten zombies, support SM flank
- Archers leave bldg behind SM, mage leaves to hide on east flank
- General charges into Crypt Horrors
- Spears charge into Crypt Horrors

MAGIC:
- He rolls snakeyes, gets 2 dice from the banner, and proceeds to roll 1,1,1,1 for withering on the Horrors! *Evil Joy*

CC:
- SM taste the combination of ASF + fearbombing. They fail fear without General or BSB, rolling on 3D6 and re-rolling successful tests. Suddenly, hitting on 4's with no reroll really punished their damage capacity. I lose by ~10, and hold with my vampire intact and 8 skeletons
- DPs pop SH, reform to face Dire Wolf. Don't know why he bothered.
- Horrors down to 5 models after crumbling, Spears at 42

http://i.imgur.com/O3Xbi.jpg

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We decide here we will end at the end of turn 5, due to time constraints.

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VC Turn 4:

MOVEMENT:
- SGK charges out of ghouls into SM! *Evil Joy*
- Spirit host charges archers
- Zombies back away from WL
- MN transfers to ghouls to maximize spell radii

MAGIC:
- 7v4
- Book eats 3 dice; puts CotMW on SMs
- Necro gets off 12" IoN; heals 5 wounds on Horrors and skels/zombs

CC:
- SM may or may not pass fear this turn, either way they kill a few more skellies, SGK kills ~6, and they are RUN DOWN. Skels and Vamp overrun into Archers. SGK restrains and reforms to face spears *Evil Joy*
- Horrors continue to grind with Spears and Prince. Spears are down to 34, Horrors are down to 5 models

http://i.imgur.com/yDZXL.jpg

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HE Turn 5:

MOVEMENT:
- WL charge Skeletons in combat with Archers on bridge

http://i.imgur.com/TJd7M.jpg

MAGIC:
- Shut down completely

CC:
- WL get fearbombed. WL Champ challenges and I have no skeleton, so Vamp accepts and overkills by 1. He only manages to kill a single skeleton between WL and archers (thanks to ASF). I kill another 2 archers, and win by 3. WL hold on stubborn, archers break.
- Horrors and Spears grind. I am down to 4 models

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VC Turn 5: [FINAL TURN]

MOVEMENT:
- SGK makes 14" charge into Spears *Evil Joy*
- Corpse Cart charges into WLs, for the lulz
- Master Necromancer positions to get everyone in 12"

MAGIC:
- ~7v4
- Book eats 3, puts CotMW on Spears
- Big IoN is shut down; no ASF!

CC:
- WL fail fear! Lose again with ~10 models left but hold on Stubborn. Chariot does good and kills 4-5 on charge, only taking 2 back.
- Spears down to ~16-17 models, Horrors at 3. SGK kills a healthy 9 spearmen. Spears do nothing thanks to needing 6's to wound and CotMW. Spears hold on LD10 Steadfast.

GAME OVER.

VICTORY POINTS:
HE: ~570 [5 Dire Wolves, 1 Spirit Host, Terrorgheist, 5 Hexwraiths, 1 Cairn Wraith, +50pts for DP Champ killing Hero Wraith in challenge)
VC: ~900 [2 Tiranoc Chariots, 2 Great Eagles, 21 Swordmasters (std,mu,Banner of Sorcery), L2 Mage (Dispel Scroll)]

Solid victory for the VC.

Post-Game Thoughs:
- Depolyment: I need to learn how to do it better.
- Corpse Cart: AMAZING against HE. Must-take. Balefire actually cost him a whole magic phase, pretty much.
- Crypt Horrors: MAN OF THE MATCH. Grinding down 50 spearmen + prince in the flank, mostly unbuffed/hexed, no mean feat.
- Fearbomb Combo [Supernatural Horror, Screaming Banner]: Even against high-LD HE, this was incredible. #2 unit of the match
- Ethereals: I was just stupid here. First time with Wraith, need to try him more
- Terrorgheist: Fluffed this game, but not going anywhere
- Ghoul King: Clocked in at 400pts with Cursed Book and kitted for RnF grinding, did the job nicely. 10/10 would ******
- Cursed Book: I got unlucky with it eating lots of dice, but it still worked nicely for me
- Lore of Shadows: Will probably drop for LoV so I can ensure I get Corpse Cart aura off. Cursed Book seems enough for hexes, as I can usually only afford to cast 1 non-LotV spell a phase

C&C welcome as usual!