Matt Gee’s Nighstalkers.
Scenario: Loot
2300 points
Norgrunn had warned them and the day had come, the seeds of fear left by the Twilight Kin had festered into a nightstalker host.
Mimir said they were after something and whatever it is can’t be good, so Mendeleev set out to see how flammable nighstalkers are.
Lists:
Nightstalkers [2300 / 2300]
Scarecrows (Infantry) Horde (40) [125]
Scarecrows (Infantry) Horde (40) [125]
Blood Worms (Infantry) Horde (40) [200]
Reapers (Infantry) Regiment (20) [190]
Phantoms* (Heavy Infantry) Troop (10) [105]
Butchers (Large Infantry) Horde (6) [205]
Planar Apparition (Monster) 1 [165] - Heal (7) [0] - Mind Fog (2) [0]
Planar Apparition (Monster) 1 [165] - Heal (7) [0] - Mind Fog (2) [0]
Mind-screech (Monster) 1 [150]- Lightning Bolt (6) [0] - Mind Fog (6) [0] - Wind Blast (6) [0]
Shadow-hulk (Titan) 1 [225]
Horror (Hero (Infantry)) 1 [105] - Aura (Vicious (Melee) - Infantry only) [30] - Conjurer’s Staff [10] - Bane Chant (2) [0]
Esenyshra, the Wailing Shadow [1] (Hero (Infantry)) 1 [160] - Enthral (7) [0]
Butcher Fleshripper (Hero (Large Infantry)) 1 [110]
Void Lurker (Hero (Titan)) 1 [270]
Stealthy isn’t good for dwarfs, but almost all my shooting in Ra 4+ and mastiffs don’t care.
With generally low De and no inspiring when being shot at, shooting is often better against nighstalkers than people seem to expect. Shooting something with stealthy and in cover is usually a waste though.
The main worry are the fast and flying units; Esenyshra and the void lurker can cause all sorts of trouble.
A major concern for me when playing Loot with dwarfs is units that grabbing loot turn one and covering their retreat before I can respond adequately. Dwarfs are not good at chasing things down.
The flying units and the support monsters are both good for doing just that.
Scarecrows can potentially soak up a lot of my chip damage, which is a problem.
The reapers and butchers can do some damage, I should be able to target one and shoot it down and then keep the other occupied. I’m not sure if the bloodworms are a threat, 30 attacks backed up with bane chant is scary though.
Fool’s Hold [2300 / 2300]
Ironclad (Infantry) Regiment (20) [125] - Throwing Mastiff [15]
Ironclad (Infantry) Regiment (20) [125] - Throwing Mastiff [15]
Ironclad (Infantry) Regiment (20) [125] - Throwing Mastiff [15]
Shieldbreakers (Infantry) Regiment (20) [125]
Rangers* (Infantry) Regiment (20) [185]
Rangers* (Infantry) Regiment (20) [185]
Sharpshooters (Heavy Infantry) Troop (10) [100]
Sharpshooters (Heavy Infantry) Troop (10) [100]
Sharpshooters (Heavy Infantry) Troop (10) [100]
Berserker Brock Riders (Cavalry) Troop (5) [125]
Berserker Brock Riders (Cavalry) Troop (5) [125]
Berserker Brock Riders (Cavalry) Regiment (10) [195]
Ironbelcher Organ Gun (War Engine) 1 [90]
Steel Behemoth (Monster (Chariot)) 1 [245]
Dwarf Army Standard Bearer (Hero (Infantry)) 1 [80] - Diadem of Dragonkind [30]
Berserker Lord (Hero (Cavalry)) 1 [150] - Brock Mount [30] - Gnome-Glass Shield [10]
[Mendeleev] Flame Priest (Hero (Infantry)) 1 [120] - Inspiring Talisman [20] - Fireball (10) [0] - Bane Chant (2) [20]
As above, but note the diadem of dragonkind on my standard bearer.
This has been standard for me at 2300 for some time, but I have been considering Talisman of Silence (mind fog) and extra artefacts on other units lately.
Deployment:
It is important to note here that we did a blind deployment.
Part of why I take rangers and brocks is so that I can threaten loot counters turn 1, like I’m doing here.
The brock riders can charge anything that grabs the loot on the left (dwarf right flank) turn one and the rangers scout onto the hill to do similar on the right (dwarf left flank).
The middle token potentially has a lot of guns aimed at it on turn 1, but will be what we’ll be fighting over in the main.
Nighstalkers chose sides and took cover.
Flyers on the right threaten to claim that loot if unopposed.
A solid centre and most of the threat on the left, meaning my brock riders are in for a rough game.
Turn 1
Nightstalkers:
The battle starts with some advancing and then crackle of lightning, but the left brock troop is not impressed.
The planar apparitions try to confuse sharpshooters and the organ gun crew with mindfog.
They succeed in making an organ gun crewman drop some powder in the pond.
Dwarfs:
Dwarfs step forward and are ordered to target fire into the phantoms at the edge of the woods.
The troop of phantoms are stealthy and in cover, but with De4+ and Ne -/12, it’s worth a shot.
The left unit of rangers does so well that no one else feels the need to contribute, as if they know a double 6 for nerve is on it’s way.
Turn 2
Nightstalkers:
With it’s chaff gone the void lurker does not fancy taking on all those rangers and concedes the right loot.
Esenyshra starts causing problems, but is a little too reckless…
As the organ crew try to find dry gunpowder the rightmost sharpshooter troop are overcome by a sudden and intense feeling of greed.
Dwarfs:
The rangers start monster hunting while the wavered sharpshooters pass their headstrong and go for the loot token on the right (as they can’t shoot anyway).
The brock regiment has a charge on Esenyshra and puts a swift stop to her nonsense.
The right brock troop does something similar to Esenyshra.
Something that surprises my opponents often is that if I target a unit with 3 throwing mastiffs and 3 or 4 units that do 1-3 damage, I have good odds to rout a De 5+ unit with 18 nerve in one go.
Not quite if the unit is stealthy, but the butchers still wavered.
Turn 3
Nightstalkers:
Scarecrows charge up to hold up the centre as the titans move up.
The butcher flesh ripper does similar to the brock regiment.
The brock troops are impressed by lightning and realise that they can be charged by vicious reapers, both go the way of Esenyshra.
Dwarfs:
Here is a tricky decision: I can gang up on the scarecrows flanks and get hem out of the way so that I can go contest the centre loot token, but that will leave two regiments of ironclad badly exposed even if I do rout the scarecrows (dead if i don’t).
I’m playing dwarfs though, so I play it safe and defensive. Will this cost me? Find out below…
The remaining brocks try to get rid of the flesh ripper but roll 4 for nerve! That will certainly cost me.
The sharpshooters grab some loot and everything that see them finishes off the butchers.
The (not great) healing from the planar apparitions means that the organ gun is free to get the attention of the void lurker with a loud bang.
Turn 4
Nightstalkers:
The flesh ripper cracks the brock lord’s gnome glass shield so that the reapers can tear him to shreds and overrun into the brock regiment and do more mean things. This is what berserkers come to the frontier for, right?
The nighstalker line charges in and the ironclad hold (as they usually do).
The organ gun continues to have a bad day though.
Importantly, a planar apparition grabs the centre loot.
Dwarfs:
The Fools need to get the scarecrows out of the way so that we can attack the planar with the loot.
Should be easy, but the scarecrows smell a whiff of fear and hang on despite 5 damage on them.
I’m not sure what to do with the shieldbreakers, so I turn them to face the approaching reapers.
This is not focusing on the objective. I do get a few shots off on the planar carrying the loot though.
The rangers close catch the void lurker and close in on the shadow-hulk.
Turn 5
Nightstalkers:
The bloodworms and scarecrows swarm the ironclad formations and they are forced to withdraw, but the ironclad facing the shadow-hulk remain resolute.
The nightstalkers effectively win the game. the left loot is claimed and the centre loot is carried away into the woods.
The planar apparition no has cover, stealthy, regeneration and healing. The odds of shooting it down for a draw are slim. It’s back to 0 damage to boot.
Dwarfs:
I try though.
The standard bearer is out of range of the planar, so fireballs the scarecrows and removes them.
That frees up the steel behemoth to shoot at the planar along with the rangers.
The shooting doesn’t get it.
The steel behemoth purposefully gives a flank charge to the blood worms, it can take a hindered flank charge, but does not want them in front of it. It’s easy to be brave from the top of a mechanical monster.
The rangers (with bane chant) and sharpshooters gang up on the void lurker and waver it.
Turn 6
The steel behemoth gets wavered and the planar apparitions slips further away.
In the dwarf turn the rangers fighting the void lurker back up and try to shoot the planar with loot, and waver it!
Turn 7
The wavered planar apparition passes it’s loot to the mindscreetch ensuring a nightstalker vistory.
The shieldbreakers finally contribute by finishing off the flesh ripper, but only after the reapers overrun the steel behemoth.
Mendeleev is not sure what the nightstalkers were after. The thing The Fools got from them looks like a rusty dagger, apparently pulled from the back of a skeleton in a shallow grave.
Whatever the nightstalkers achieved will cost The Fool’s Hold, but not today.
First he had the unenviable task of telling Mimir that she had to retrieve and rebuild a steel behemoth.
