The Elven way: A Tale of Gaming updated 13/10/23 Game 22 v New Twilight Kin

[paulb800]

Battle Report 14

2300pts vs Trident Realms: Control

Narrative Intro:

Eataine slashed at the tentacles coming at him. Again and again his blade Sindarin scythed through all before him. Then horns blew and the vile sea creatures turned and fled. The main Elven host was approaching and the enemy vanguard outmatched headed for the apparent safety of their own lines. It would not last long, however, King Eataine, first of his name, was committed to driving out the sea beasts and spreading civilisation to this wild land.

Game Intro and Lists:

I haven’t been able to play for quite a while as real life has reared it’s ugly head, but as life calmed down I challenged my friend Ben to a game. I’ve been wanting to write a report vs his latest Trident Realm list as it’s a really strong and interesting one.

Elf List:

Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts
King (King Eataine): Horse, Mace of Crushing: 140pts
Dragon Lord (Vandruil): Healing Brew: 310pts

Seaguard Horde: 260pts
Palace Guard Horde: Fury: 280pts
Quicksilver Regiment: Pathfinder: 260pts
Stormwind Regiment: Strider (1): 230pts
Drakon Horde: Staying Stone: 280pts
Seaguard Regiment: 150pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 130pts

2300pts

This is an evolution of a list I’ve been running since early 3rd edition it’s also the one that I’ve had most of my tournament experience with. It’s very low of drops but has high quality units that are quite flexible. Used well it can be devastating but it’s vulnerable to mistakes as there aren’t a lot of units to bail you out once things go downhill.

Trident Realms List:

Eckter: 165pts
Thull Mythican: Torc of Dissonance: 90pts
Thull Mythican: Spellcaster, Barkskin: 115pts

Depth Horror Horde: Healing Brew: 190pts
Giga Horde: Staying Stone: 210pts
Giga Horde: Fury: 220pts
Knucker: 145pts
Knucker: 145pts
Coral Giant: 215pts
Coral Giant: 215pts
Tidal Swarm: 70pts
Tidal Swarm: 70pts

Hidden Ones Formation (Pathfinder):
Thull Mythican: TC 1 Aura, Gnome Glass Shield: 100pts
Thull Regiment: 170pts
Thull Regiment: 170pts

2300pts

Ben has been running this list since Cok 22 came out and it’s horrible to face. Although there’s no shooting it has a great range of combat units when used against their ideal match ups it’s brutal. The 4 individuals in particular are absolute game winners often buying precious time or adding vital wounds to turn a game.

Deployment and Scenario

We played control as the scenario as I wanted to keep thing simple as I hadn’t played in a while.

Ben won the roll to choose sides taking the south side. I deployed mainly in the open ground to the right preventing terrain hindering my shooting or combat attacks. Ben deployed his lower defence units to the left to benefit from cover whilst his higher defence units faced off against the bulk of my army. I won the roll for first turn and gladly took it.

Elves Turn 1

Keen to land damage and threaten Ben’s right the Elves advanced forwards. Shooting was reasonably effective with a Thull Mythican losing it’s Gnome Glass Shield to lightning along with a Swarm and Thull regiment taking some damage.

Trident Turn 1

Ben advanced cautiously on the right as he bought time for his left flank to move up more aggressively. On the right his Knucker was able to advance into charge range whilst avoiding the arc of the Stormwind Cavalry due to my poor placement.

Elves Turn 2

The Elves decided a tactical withdrawal would be wise for the moment backing up to allow their shooting to continue thinning the ranks of the approaching host. King Eataine charged the rear of the Knucker on the right hoping to build some damage before it hit the Elven lines.

Shooting saw the damaged swarm in the wood destroyed whilst a hail of arrows from the Seaguard caused grievous damage on a Thull regiment and lightning added some wounds to another Mythican.

In combat Eataine cut the sea beast several times but the Knucker remained determined to reach the Elven lines.

Trident Turn 2

With a few units in range to charge Ben started the process of pinning me back. In the centre the injured Thulls attacked the Seaguard Horde whilst the Knucker on the right charged the Palace Guard on the hill. On the left flank the Knucker went into the Silverbreeze keen to shut down their shooting. The remaining units moved up ready to engage next turn.

Shooting saw the remaining Swarm shielded by Barkskin and the Stormwind were pushed back by Eckter’s windblast.

In combat the infantry took limited damage but a high nerve roll (and no inspire nearby) meant the Silverbreeze fled leaving the Knucker in a dangerous position as it pivoted to face my flank.

Elf Turn 3

With the Trident King’s forces closing in the Elves struck hoping to devastate Ben’s lines before he could bring his left wing into the battle. Vandruil astride the fearsome dragon Rhugar led the charge flying over the infantry into the Gigas whilst his Drakon Rider Kin charged the injured Mythican hoping to overrun into the Gigas behind.

The Elven infantry was already engaged so looked to finish off the wounded Thulls and Knucker so that they could join the main conflict next turn. Lord Helikaon master of Horse led his Quicksilver cavalry into the wood hoping to finish off the second Thull regiment and buy time for the Elven right flank to swing round. King Eataine with limited options charged the flank of the Giant hoping to distract it.

Shooting was limited but Eldroth summoned the power of his staff directing lightning to cascade over the Thull Mythican standing by the giant on the right it was all to much to bear and the Mythican fled the field. Alenui also cast bane chant enhancing the Drakon’s already potent claws.

Combat was a mixed bag high damage rolls where I didn’t need them were offset by weak rolls where I did. The infantry cleared off their targets and the Drakons successfully killed the Mythican and overran into the Gigas but neither Gigas could be significantly damaged. Worst of all rubber lance syndrome meant the Quicksilver Cavalry were unable to even waver the Thulls in the wood meaning both they and the Drakon Riders were in a perilous position.

Trident Turn 3

With limited success for the Elves the sea creatures were able to unleash their fury on the engaged units. In the wood the Cavalry’s failure to even waver the Thulls meant the Thulls could now flank the Drakons engaged with the Gigas. The Knights themselves were hit on two sides by a giant and a Knucker. The Swarm charged the Seaguard Regiment whilst the few remaining units moved into position for next turn.

Shooting saw the Swarm again boosted by Barkskin. Eckter’s windblast, however, was little more than a puff of air moving the Stormwind bank an inch crucially not far enough to deny them charges.

In combat the Drakons were easily overwhelmed by the combined Gigas and Thulls in the centre. The mighty dragon Rhugar took terrible blows from the second unit of Gigas but readied itself to retaliate. The Seaguard took a single wound from the Swarm as it hindered itself in the forest.

Finally the Quicksilver Knights were hit from front and flank by the Giant and the Knucker causing 12 damage. All seemed lost until the nearby Alenui sung out in his sweet voice a song of hope and courage, steeled by the young prince’s heroic song the elves gritted their teeth and remained on the battlefield (got a waver on the reroll).

Elf Turn 4

The Quicksilver Cavalry holding due to Alenui’s song was a boon as was Eckter’s poor wind blast roll. I set about taking full advantage. Lord Vandruil and the dragon Rhugar had a flank on the Gigas whilst the Palace Guard charged down the hill into the Gigas he had been facing. The Seaguard horde went into the injured Thulls in the centre. On the right the Stormwind and King Eataine charged the Giant whilst the Seaguard regiment on the left pulled back to buy time vs the Swarm and Depth Horrors.

Shooting was limited with lightning doing minimal damage to the Depth Horrors. (I should really have bane chanted the Seaguard and Stormwind here as neither combat was an easy rout).

In combat King Eataine wielding his ancient sword Sindarin cut 4 mighty wounds into the Coral Giant all the Stormwind had left to do was finish the job sadly it was not to be as only a few lances hits home leaving the mighty giant unphased.

The Gigas and Thulls however, presented no issue and were swept away with the Elves having cleared the centre but the Trident Realms held the left and had the giant threatening from the right (I screwed up here not leaving anything major to threaten the giant incase my Cavalry got wavered/routed).

Trident Turn 4

With both sides down to a few remaining units Ben attempted to swing things back in his favour. Eckter and the Giant destroyed the Stormwind Cav (Eckter doing 5 wounds which sadly isn’t at all unusual!). The Quicksilver Cav in the wood also perished to the Knucker but fortune favoured the Elves as both Seaguard units weren’t heavily impacted by the Sea Creatures they faced.

Elves Turn 5

Losing the Stormwind on the right was a mistake of my own making, as was having limited options to deal with it. King Eataine prayed his blade Sindarin could continue to be the Giant’s bane and once more charged in. Vandruil was just in range of the Swarm on the left flank so moved over to try and keep the Depth Horrors busy. The giant in the centre meanwhile was charged by both the infantry hordes hoping to finish off the unharmed monstrosity in one fell swoop.

Shooting was more of a signing phase as both mages sung great songs of valour to the Palace Guard and King Eataine strengthening their sword arms (bane chants).

Combat saw the Dragon reduce the Tidal Swarm to Calamari. Crucially King Eataine didn’t let me down scoring 4 more wounds toppling the Giant. The other Giant was also felled by the combined might of the Elven infantry.

Trident Turn 5

Ben had few options left. The Knucker and the Mythican made a desperate attempt to rout the Seaguard Horde (forcing Alenui to sing a song of epic courage once again to keep them in place) whilst Eckter windblasted the Palace Guard and the Depth Horrors finished off the Seaguard Regiment.

Elf Turn 6

Things were looking good for the elves they just needed to hang on to the central board sections. The Palace Guard charged the rear of the Knucker to clear it off whilst the mages and the Dragon targeted the Depth Horrors. Crucially King Eataine needed to disrupt Eckter from using his windblast on the Palace Guard.

Combined shooting from dragon’s breath and lighting bolts saw the Depth Horrors wavered whilst in combat ever reliable King Eataine landed crucial damage on Eckter disrupting him. The Knucker was easily killed off by the Palace Guard in the rear.

At this point Ben decided to concede as he’d have no way of keeping the Palace Guard out of his central board section scoring 2 points ensuring an Elven victory.

Narrative ending:

Alenui and Eldroth sat in a glade away from the jubilant Elven host. With the vile Sea Creatures vanquished most of the elves could return to their blissful lives. Not so for the two Loremasters, responsibility lay heavy on them as the composed new ballads recording the victory of King Eataine ready to inspire and embolden his host when they next faced peril.

Conclusions and Jubilations:

I was pleased to get a victory again Ben and his list as I’m aware of how brutal it can be. I’m also happy that I wasn’t too rusty with only a few errors on my part (most of which didn’t cost me too badly).

I do enjoy the Dragon list, whilst it has very few drops (only 11 at 2300pts) which makes deployment challenging once the game begins having several powerful units means it feels like you can do a lot with the list.

King Eataine was a clear star of the show landing 3/4 wounds every turn. I’ve been using a more expensive build (Shard blade and Beast Slayer sword) in my other lists to make up for a lack of high CS (as they don’t have a dragon) but it was nice to get back to having a cheaper king used for distraction and flanking vs the endlessly frustrating ensnare.

I was really happy with using the flyers behind my infantry hordes, it gave them significant protection whilst also allowing me to focus my forces on a smaller area reducing Ben’s advantage from outnumbering me.

Things I need to watch for are using my mages to block Eckter’s infernal windblast, choosing the order of my combats and making the right choices between bane chanting and lightning bolt with my mages.

[Boss_Salvage]

Great work vs a very competent looking Trident list! I appreciate how unassuming your toolbox Elves list is, tho you’re right, it doesn’t leave much room to recover from disasters caused by dice or operator.

I am surprised you didn’t keep the Shard Blade on the King, you easily have the points for it (Healing Brew + Staying Stone, for example) and it’s a fantastic upgrade that’s much better than the Mace he currently has.

[paulb800]

Cheers.

Tbh I don’t see shard blade as worth it unless I have another ability such as duelist or blade of the beast slayer. On average you get under 1 extra hit from shard blade which is basically the same as Mace of Crushing (yes, Shard has higher upside). The King’s item is actually the least important item you listed IMO, boosting both Drakons and Dragon are far more important, than the King who’s main role is to disrupt/inspire/block. If I wasn’t using healing brew on the Dragon I’d put it on the King.

[Boss_Salvage]

Fair points, I definitely see stars when I read ‘Hits on 2+’ Healing Brew has no value to me, so I suppose when I read about how happy you were with the King landing wounds, I assumed you’d want him to land wounds better so went cutting. And 2+ is pretty nice for that. 10 pts is a little more awkward for hero upgrades but I’ve been using Brutal of late on my intercept individuals, even if the Torque is always attractive.

I do agree on Staying Stone being a stellar upgrade tho!

[paulb800]

Yeah I love Brutal, anything 5/10pts it’s pretty great tbh. I’d really like Fire Oil on the Seaguard Horde but points are so tight. Healing Brew is a great value item it’s been a regular item in my lists ever since it got added in an 2nd ed Cok.

[paulb800]

Battle Report 15

2300pts vs Trident Realms: Invade

Narrative Intro:

Rhugar’s leathery wings beat heavily against the air as he soared above the cliffs along the coastline. Food was plentiful as the Elven host had pushed further round the coast repeated beating back the Trident forces. Along with the steady diet of deer and buffalo from the fields and forests there had also been plenty of large sea creatures to devour. All of a sudden an image formed in Rhugar’s mind it was Lord Vandruil calling him back the sea folk must have mustered a significant force again. Thoughts of feeding abandoned, Rhugar swept round and made for the Elven camp.

Game Intro and Lists:

Ben and I decided to have a rematch from last the battle report we played.

Elf List:

Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts
King (King Eataine): Horse, Mace of Crushing: 140pts
Dragon Lord (Vandruil): Healing Brew: 310pts

Seaguard Horde: 260pts
Palace Guard Horde: Fury: 280pts
Quicksilver Regiment: Pathfinder: 260pts
Stormwind Regiment: Strider (1): 230pts
Drakon Horde: Staying Stone: 280pts
Seaguard Regiment: 150pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 130pts

2300pts

Same list as last time, it’s well honed at this point but I’ve only played a handful of games with it in its current incarnation so I was happy to get some more practice in.

Trident Realms List:

Eckter: 165pts
Thull Mythican: Torc of Dissonance: 90pts
Thull Mythican: Spellcaster, Barkskin: 115pts

Depth Horror Horde: Healing Brew: 190pts
Giga Horde: Staying Stone: 210pts
Giga Horde: Fury: 220pts
Knucker: 145pts
Knucker: 145pts
Coral Giant: 215pts
Coral Giant: 215pts
Tidal Swarm: 70pts
Tidal Swarm: 70pts

Hidden Ones Formation (Pathfinder):
Thull Mythican: TC 1 Aura, Gnome Glass Shield: 100pts
Thull Regiment: 170pts
Thull Regiment: 170pts

2300pts

Ben’s list was also unchanged although I expect he’ll have a few tactical surprises worked out to test me.

Deployment and Scenario

We decided to play invade which represents an interesting challenge as Ben’s list is very aggressive whilst mine had some shooting which I usually want to sit back and utilise before committing later on.

I won the roll for sides choosing south, this however, meant Ben would have 5 drops after I’d finished deploying. I decided to form two battle groups as I’d need to commit my deployments long before Ben needed to. With a building blocking the left flank I put one force on the right and the other off centre on the left to cover all the main areas Ben could advance into. Ben in turn decided to use his advantage in drops to load up the right flank leaving the left fairly open.

With such an aggressive move by Ben I would be hard pressed. Fortunately my Dragon and Quicksilver Cavalry were both fast and nimble giving me tools to redeploy. With only two Knuckers on the entire left flank Ben wasn’t offering too much threat to stop me swinging round into the flank of his forces. I’d have liked first turn to adjust to Ben’s extreme deployment but Ben won the roll and decided to push his advantage.

Trident Realms Turn 1

Not wanting to overstretch his lines Ben advanced cautiously so that he could screen his units on the right. The knuckers moved to threaten elf units if they moved across the centre. Shooting saw Barkskin cast on one of the swarms providing 3 points of protection.

Elves Turn 1

The left flank of the Elves swung round to face the bulk of the Trident forces. The Dragon and Quicksilver cavalry were able to get out of arc of the Knuckers whilst the infantry instead offered up charges hoping to get the Knuckers to commit.

On the right there was little movement, just the Stormwind turning to prevent Eckter from blocking a charge and the mages moving to get a clear shot at the Thull Regiment. Shooting saw the Seaguard clear off a tidal swarm and the mages combined lightning bolts waver one of the Thull regiments.

Trident Realms Turn 2

Ben continued his advance on the right this time putting me under pressure with numerous charges available to him. On the left his Knucker refused to take the bait and kept threatening the centre. The other Knucker committed to the Seaguard Regiment.

Shooting saw the Silverbreeze pushed out of the wood by Eckter’s windblast along with 2 damage. In combat the Knucker did two damage on the Seaguard.

Elves Turn 2

Ben holding back with the Knucker on the left was causing me several issues as all my charges in the centre would result in exposing my rear arcs. So I decided to pen it in with my Palace Guard horde, King & the building to prevent this. I believe this should also give me a charge on it next turn. The Palace Guard being out of the game after that wasn’t a big problem as it would score me a safe scenario 4pts but I’d have liked the King to have been getting towards the right flank with his 360 degree charges.

In the centre I took the available charges with the Seaguard Regiment flanking the second Knucker and the Dragon and Cavalry going into the Gigas.

On the right my Stormwind had got in a pickle so they bravely spun and fled back out of the wood to hide from the giants. The Silverbreeze moved over to get a clear shot at the Depth Horrors on the hill whilst the Seaguard and Drakons shuffled backwards. Finally the mages split up to make a less tempting target.

Shooting started strongly with the Seaguard turning the Depth Horrors into hedgehogs meaning only 1 mage and the Silverbreeze were needed to finish them off. This left Eldroth free to target the injured Thulls wavering them again.

Combat started poorly as the mighty Dragon Rhugar’s claws were neither accurate nor deadly enough against the Gigas meaning they remained steady despite the knights having done their part. On the plus side the Knucker was skewered by the Seaguard’s spears in its flank.

Trident Realms Turn 3

With a piercing gargle the Trident Realms launched themselves upon the Elves. Alenui the mage found himself covered in the tentacles of a Thull Mythican whilst the Seaguard were double teamed by a Thull regiment and a towering Coral Giant. The Silverbreeze were pinned by a swarm whilst Vandruil and Rhugar (the dragon) were countercharged by the Gigas.

On the left the Knucker continued to evade and frustrate the Palace Guard pursuing it. The second Gigas and giant turned towards the centre threatening the elves sweeping round. Shooting saw Eckter push back the Drakon Riders and the Mythican Barkskin the Thulls facing the Seaguard.

In combat the Seaguard took significant damage but not enough to worry them. Alenui’d blade parried most of the Thull Mythican’s tentacles with only 1 making it through to smite the young elf mage. The Gigas took their toll on the mighty dragon Rhugar but again he held firm. Unfortunately for the Elves the Silverbreeze couldn’t cope with Jellyfish bursting out of the wood and fled the field.

Elves Turn 3

The Stormwind Cavalry bravely decided to patrol the rear board edge as quickly as their little hooves could take them (which was conveniently far enough to be out of range of the Coral Giant chasing them). On the left the King and Palace Guard continued to try and pin down the Knucker.

In the centre with nothing else nearby the Dragon, Seaguard and Quicksilvers converged on the Gigas keen to repay the damage done to Rhugar’s glorious scales by the Gigas’ unsightly claws. On the right Eldroth moved to better target the Thulls whilst the Seaguard and Drakons attempted to take out the Thull regiment protected by Barkskin. Alenui sprinted away from the Mythican he was engaged with, hoping to contribute with lightning bolts later in the game.

Shooting saw Eldroth reach out his staff towards the injured Thull regiment as lighting arced out sundering many Thulls in its path. Dismayed at this devastating onslaught the Thulls ignored the pleas of the nearby Mythican and fled for the safety of the sea.

In combat the Gigas were unable to stand in the face of a thunderous flank from cavalry, steely determination from infantry and the rage of a Dragon unleashed. On the right Barkskin was of little use to the Thulls as a combination of spears, lances and claws tore through the sea monsters leaving none standing. Having Witnessed the obliteration of their kin the remaining fish decided to stop swimming upstream and let the current take them home.

(At this point Ben looked across the board seeing he only had 7 unit strength left whilst I already had 11 in his half he decided to concede. )

Narrative ending:

Rhugar’s claw smashed down on the hard crab like shell of the sea creature, pieces flew off in all directions and the meat inside was satisfyingly tender to the ancient dragon. It was, mused Rhugar a pleasing contrast to the little fire roasted tentacled creatures he’d begun his feasting with.

Conclusions and Jubilations:

Well that was a quick game! I’m not sure how much there is to process. Ben gave me opportunities and the dice didn’t do anything to take them away from me. After Ben’s first turn a quick victory was on the cards as he’d created blind spots for his Knuckers and moved his Mythican in the centre over to the right which combined to give me the freedom I needed on the left. On the right clear firing lanes allowed me to target his low defence units.

I think Ben could have put me under a lot more pressure by deploying across the board, the challenge in this match up & scenario for me is how to get forward whilst still doing enough shooting damage to stop me getting overwhelmed. Allowing me to advance half my army unthreatened solves that conundrum for me.

I could have brought the Palace Guard into play turn 2 by charging the Gigas but I was happier chasing the Knucker and keeping those 4 scoring points safe I’d much rather have the unit strength 1 Dragon face any potential danger. Turn 3 I was 50/50 whether to fly the Drakons over the top rather than double charging the Thulls with the Seaguard, I think the decision in a tournament would rest on what scoring system was being used but here I just went with the option that let me roll more dice.

Discussion

I don’t tend to publish reports on games that are particularly one sided or finish quickly. I decided to put this one out as I think it gives an opportunity to discuss some tactical points including extreme/gimmick/trick deployments.

I’ve witnessed quite a few tournaments games where generals utilise an extremely refused flank (usually in the scenarios Invade, Push, Loot & Plunder). It’s something I think competitive players need to be prepared to face and at times utilise (it’s not my preference but a “trick” is sometimes needed in a tricky situation).

In general I find solely concentrating on a single flank a risky proposition unless it’s an opportunistic reaction to your opponent’s deployment mistakes. The first risk with extreme tactics is you can lose flexibility it’s quite hard to pull off a Plan B if you’ve put all your eggs in Plan A’s basket. I’ve seen a lot of times where the game ended as a contest in the first turn or even deployment. Secondly it means if you make a mistake you may have limited opportunity to recover from it. Thirdly it leaves you exposed to your opponent doing the same thing to you (both armies just walk down either flank avoiding each other).

So how do you deal with the risk of your opponent loading up a flank? Coming back to the game let’s look at my deployment:

On the left there’s a building which pretty much removes the risk of Ben loading up that flank so I know if he’s going to do something extreme it’s going to be on the right flank. Ben has significantly more deployment drops than me so I can’t overly concern myself with reacting to him instead I form two strong mixed battle groups capable of fighting independently.

As the extreme tactics risk is Ben loading up the right flank I want my slower battle group there. The fast nimble units (Dragon and Quicksilvers) go into the left battle group because if I need to redeploy it’s going to be from left to right, their nimble would be wasted pinned back on the right. Note that the right flank still presents a significant threat to Ben so he can’t easily swing his forces round to face the threat from the left.

If Ben had deployed in a more balanced fashion spread across the board I have a refused centre with both flanks covered so there’s nowhere easy for him to exploit. It’s important to note my deployment didn’t win me the game it only prevented me from losing it. If Ben had executed his plan slightly differently or a few dice rolls had gone differently the end result could have been very different.

[paulb800]

Big Red Book Elf changes Initial thoughts

Basic Infantry - not really a change which is both surprising given the other changes and depressingly not surprisingly given infantry tend to get the short end of the stick. Based on what I use regularly spearmen are probably the unit in the entire list that was most justified in deserving a small points drop IMO. Outside of that there’s a lot of the other infantry options that definitely required a points drop if you want to see them on a table. I can’t fathom why infantry units (not just elf ones) that are rarely taken and clearly underpowered/over pointed when compared with other options are just left to rot.

Anyway on to actual changes.

Gladestalkers - the big bad boys of the last update. Rather than pair back their abilities which would have been my preference RC have gone with a points increase. Oddly it’s the same increase for both troops and regiments which seems strange given increases tend to be proportional and regiments seem to be the optimal and most frequently taken choice.

Are Gladestalkers less attractive now? A bit. The combination of points changes to them & Silverbreeze in particular aren’t insignificant and I’ve always believed Seaguard (hordes especially) were also stiff competition. Internal balance seems better but I don’t think non elf players will feeling that happy at the end of the day.

Stormwind Cavalry - a small points drop is welcome as they can be a frustrating unit. Is it necessary? Not really they’re a far more popular unit than many in the elf list that haven’t been buffed. Across my 3 regular lists I’ve been running 2 regiments or 1 regiment and 2 troops the troops probably do deserve the slight drop imo.

Chariots - I’ve been an advocate for chariots gaining the rampage rule they clearly needed something to drag them out of irrelevance. With a points drop I think players from late 2nd Ed with a lot of chariots in their collections may now be willing to try some out. I’ve used the regiment in the past and felt it was 10-15 points too expensive so on paper these changes feels about right. I hope we don’t see a return to the chariot spam of late 2nd Ed but it feels like there’s a lot of competition from the rest of the elf list that should prevent this.

Silverbreeze - I was fairly surprised to hear these were changed especially the troop. Even then I thought it would be a minor points drop to try and balance them better with Gladestalkers. A big drop was completely unjustified IMO, troops especially are very cheap for a 10 inch move, nimble unit with decent shooting. A small drop for regiments would have been fair enough I think but not a large one. I really don’t understand why this unit has got so much attention when so many other options were ignored.

Bolt Throwers - I was intrigued by rumours of a new rule. Null Void bolts seem a nice quirky little buff especially nice for times when you pour damage into def 6 units only to see it all get healed back by druids and a jealous lady. A points drop is welcome it’s a touch more than I’d have done but given the other changes I don’t see it causing any issues. Hopefully we’ll see a few bolt throwers on the table now.

Noble on Chariot - as a fan of the very old school GW Tiranoc Chariot hero model I was glad to see this guy get some love. I think he’s a decent piece now compared to other armies US 1 options. I don’t think we’ll be seeing 3 in every tournament list now but I wouldn’t feel penalised for taking one now.

I think that covers the specific changes to the elf list I’m not that familiar with the living legends so haven’t checked them against the prior rules.

Overall thoughts - there’s nothing major here a few tweaks to improve internal balance between some of the better options in the list. I think any loses due to Gladestalkers points increase can be made up elsewhere. I felt last years update really put Elves at the top table and unless there’s major upheaval elsewhere I don’t see that changing.

[DarkBlack]

Thanks for the thoughts.
I think the stormwind and silverbreeze changes are part of the wider points drop for cavalry in general.
I’m not sure gladestalkers would be what they were intended to be without all thier special rules, so a points drop might be the only viable change.

[Sceleris]

At least with Silverbreeze being irregular there aren’t going to get spammed as the unlocks, unlike gladestalkers

Agree that with gladestalkers it was the regiment that was the potential problem, not the troops - which never seemed particularly prevalent anyway.

Bolt throwers are slightly situational but a viable choice (in KoM three of them are only 180pts and aren’t simply 3rd choice after you’ve bought cannons then siege artillery!)

[paulb800]

Yeah I just don’t see why Cav needs a buff more than infantry tbh if they did both I’d get it.

I think Gladestalkers work if you drop their attacks back down. Mel 3+ elite makes them a tasty all rounder without being overly shooty anymore. US3 and not being irregular would still be good buffs.

[Elvenspears]

Can you elaborate on Null Void for bolt throwers

[paulb800]

Gives the enemy unit spellward so harder to heal or babe chant for instance.

[Swordmaster]

HI Paul,

Thanks a lot for the summary! I don’t have the book yet so I really appreciate it.

It looks to me that the changes in the Elven list are really minor. It does not seem that they would enable emerging of some new Elven armies/play styles at all. Any point changes to the existing list would only result in some very minor updates.

If one had Gladestalkers, they would need to adjust for a point increase. If you happen to field units that got cheaper, you are most likely buy a few new magic artefacts. Nice to have but hardly major change to the way you have played so far.

Would that be correct assumption?

Thanks!

[paulb800]

Pretty much I think Silverbreeze will get used more and chariots will be tried out by some.

[Swordmaster]

Thanks Paul!

It is tempting to use more Silverbreeze units as I like the fast cavalry a lot. And yes, I would love to fit in Chariot Regiment and Chariot Nobles. If only to finish painting them

[paulb800]

Elf List Changes

With the new Big Red Book released it seems a good time to switch from my Dragon list back to one of my other main lists. My Seaguard list hasn’t been impacted much by the new book whereas my 3rd list (I tend to call it classic or Red Era as I’m painting a completely new army for it) has seen a big points drop as I already took several of the units which benefited from changes. So the new and improved version of the list looks like this.

Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt, Celestial Restoration: 170pts

Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts

King (King Paweldran): Horse, Shardblade, Blade of the Beast Slayer: 170pts

Drakon Lord (Amarynth): Pipes of Terror: 170pts

Spearmen Horde: Brew of Strength: 270pts

Palace Guard Horde: Chalice of Wrath: 280pts

Quicksilver Regiment: Jesse’s Boots: 250pts

Stormwind Regiment: Brew of Sharpness: 245pts

Silverbreeze Troop: Piercing Arrow: 125pts

Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts

Forest Guard: Skirmisher Boots: 115pts

Forest Guard: 105pts

Bolt Thrower: 80pts

Bolt Thrower: 80pts

2300pts

This is a list I’ve been running since the very start of 3rd ed there’s only been a couple of minor tweaks since then mainly through new options via the various CoK updates.

The new Big Red Book made 2 major changes 1) the pathfinder item was no longer available so I’d need to find a new option for one of my Cavalry units as the automatic default item had been removed. 2) I had 60 extra points available from various points reductions.

The first change was which item to pick on the Stormwind Cavalry (I moved Sir Jessie’s booties to the Quicksilver Cavalry for the odd occasion I wanted to use pathfinder). Stormwind are a solid unit but have numerous weaknesses my main thoughts were that I either boost their damage potential or add some waver protection. With extra points to burn I decided to go with Brew of Sharpness as I could Bane Chant the unit I had the potential to hit in 2’s re-rolling misses and wound on 2s against def 5 and below. It also helps reduce the impact of being hindered given I no longer had access to pathfinder.

That change spent 15 of my 60pts. I’m currently painting up my list and wasn’t keen on the idea of trying to squeeze and extra or bigger unit on to my painting schedule. A piercing Arrow on the Silverbreeze has always worked out as a good value so I was happy to add this back in. Then finally I wanted a big spell to add some variety to my list to counter an area of weakness either the lack of healing or something strong against defence 6 units were my main concerns. I decided Alchemists curse would obviously work well so decided to try Celestial Restoration first so that’s I could judge how impactful it would be.

Further Changes

Having had one game with the list above I learned that Celestial Restoration was indirect meaning it can’t target within 12 which would frequently be a problem so that’s definitely getting dropped. Rather than adding Alchemist Curse in its place I decided to go another route and swap out a Forest Guard troop and Piercing Arrow for a Regiment of Seaguard mainly to add some more unit strength and survivability to the list.

Another change I’m contemplating but not yet pulling the trigger on would be swapping Brew of Sharpness for Wine of Elvenkind on the Stormwind Regiment as this would make both units nimble which would be amazing for flexibility and manoeuvrability but it does cost me the raw power of getting 15/16 hits every time.

Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts

Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts

King (King Paweldran): Horse, Shardblade, Blade of the Beast Slayer: 170pts

Drakon Lord (Amarynth): Pipes of Terror: 170pts

Spearmen Horde: Brew of Strength: 270pts

Palace Guard Horde: Chalice of Wrath: 280pts

Quicksilver Regiment: Jesse’s Boots: 250pts

Stormwind Regiment: Brew of Sharpness: 245pts

Seaguard Regiment: 150pts

Silverbreeze Troop:: 115pts

Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts

Forest Guard: Skirmisher Boots: 115pts

Bolt Thrower: 80pts

Bolt Thrower: 80pts

2300pts

[Sceleris]

The ‘Master List’ elf Stormwind can get the quicksilver lancers (nimble upgrade) and still take an artifact - does (potentially) expensive but nasty?

[paulb800]

Pretty much always going to have an item on the Cavalry regiments you’re likely to get good value out of it.

[paulb800]

Battle Report 16

2300pts vs : Forces of Nature

Narrative Intro:

Feanor entered into the circular chamber, descending the steps he was joined by the elderly Loremaster Eldroth whose staff of office rapped against the marble upon which they strode. Feanor’s eyes fixed upon the dancing flames in the centre of the room, the Sacred Flame of Raloris a pure red fire unlike any fuelled by wood or oil. This would be Feanor’s test.

Pulling his eyes away from the flame Feanor scanned the chamber seeing the Lords of the great houses of the city, the King’s Council and finally King Paweldran his cousin. Paweldran did not return his gaze and Feanor realised Eldroth had come to a halt, the final step must be his alone.

Pain erupted as Feanor crossed the threshold, a living flame engulfing his body. Doubt seeped into his thoughts, the arrogance of his youth stripped away, his fragilities laid bare. Hate, jealousy, vanity threatened to overwhelm him, clinging on to the disciplines he was taught from an early age Feanor fought to retain his composure. One word held his weaknesses at bay, only this simple word kept his mind in check through the hours of agony: Duty.

Feanor staggered, his confident stride mere seconds before a distant memory. Only an outstretched arm saved him from falling. Looking up Feanor saw his cousins Alenui and Amarynth as they helped him regain his footing. Descending the steps in front of him was King Paweldran carrying the double crested Helm of Yandruil only to be worn by the Master of Horse.

Game Intro and Lists:

Ed and i had tried to schedule a practice game before he headed off to the Clash of Kings the premiere Mantic run tournament m. Unfortunately our schedules wouldn’t allow this so instead I am to serve as lab rat to whatever Ed has schemed up on the journey home from the event (where all the most evil ideas are hatched).

Elf List:

Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts
King (King Paweldran): Horse, Shardblade, Blade of the Beast Slayer: 170pts
Drakon Lord (Amarynth): Mace of Crushing: 170pts
Chariot Noble (Feanor): 100pts

Spearmen Horde: Brew of Strength: 270pts
Palace Guard Horde: Chalice of Wrath: 280pts
Quicksilver Regiment: Jesse’s Boots: 250pts
Stormwind Regiment: Chant of Hate: 230pts
Seaguard Regiment: 150pts
Silverbreeze Troop:: 115pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts
Forest Guard: Skirmisher Boots: 115pts
Bolt Thrower: 80pts

2300pts

I’ve tweaked a few bits since I last discussed the list. I wasn’t really sold on buying an expensive extra spell on my mages and really liked the idea of getting a Seaguard regiment into the list as it’s a reallly good tool for scenario play. This gave me an extra hero unlock and as this army is a painting project based on classic Warhammer 4th edition “red era” styles I wanted to include the iconic Chariot Hero model. This was also a great opportunity to test out the improved Noble on Chariot rules following the Big Red Book’s release.

Forces of Nature List:

Keris: Surge: 110pts
Unicorn: Lightning bolt, Host of the Shadow Beast, Torc of Dissonance: 150pts
Gladewalker Druid: Crown of the Wizard King, Ring of Harmony, Surge, Mind Fog: 170pts
Hunter Regiment: 140pts
Hunter Regiment: 140pts
Fire Elemental Horde: Brew of Sharpness 265pts
Fire Elemental Horde: 220pts
Scorchwings Regiment: 120pts
Scorchwings Regiment: 120pts
Earth Elemental Regiment: 130pts
Earth Elemental Regiment: 130pts
Beast of Nature: Extra Attacks, Fly: 205pts
Greater Air Elemental: Lightning: 200pts
Greater Air Elemental: Lightning: 200pts

2300pts

I really liked Ed’s list, it’s got lots of my least favourite things to face from the Forces of Nature list and he’d added a nice amount of shooting and speed whilst retaining the durability I’ve become accustomed to him taking. I’m not that used to facing much shooting in 3rd so my squishy elves would need to be careful whilst I neutralised it.

With 2 regiments of Earth Elementals and Hunters of the Wild Ed had some really effective screening units to block me up whilst his Greater Air Elementals and Fire Elementals manoeuvred for the coup de grace.

Deployment and Scenario

We rolled up loot as the scenario which is challenging for both of us as both our armies like to play a patient game jockeying for position before committing. We spread the tokens evenly across the board.

Ed won the roll for sides, he chose the north which had clearer firing lines. We both committed fairly early on to having our main combat threats on the left side followed by our lighter support units going on the right. I was looking to use my longer line to allow me to defeat Ed on the right before turning in to face Ed’s main column on the left. Ed won the roll for first turn and he took it, keen to put pressure on the tokens and get a head start on shooting war.

Nature Turn 1

The foul forest dwellers advanced out of the terrain cautiously keen to disrupt the magical artefacts that lay in front of them. Only their craven fear of the glorious Elven host ahead of them preventing them for moving up more aggressively.

On the right the Scorchwings unloaded their flaming missiles at the proud Bel-Valdarian Navy, despite significant damage to ancestral pendants and soft silken robes the proud warriors were unmoved and readied themselves to return fire. In the centre two lightning bolts struck at Alenui his mystic shield protected him but deflecting the blows greatly drained his magic reserves.

Elf Turn 1

With Ed’s main column on the left not pushing up too aggressively I decided to use the space to swing my flank round to limit Ed’s options when advancing towards my Spears and centre.

On the right I took the opportunity to charge the Forest Guard into the Hunters hoping to pin them in place or draw in the Beast of Nature giving my other units follow up charges letting me win the flank quickly and then turn towards the centre.

Shooting saw limited results on the right with a combination of arrows, bolts and lightning only managing a waver on a unit of Scorchwings. Lady fortune smiled on the left, however, with significant damage on the exposed Hunters coming from the Silverbreeze bows and Eldroth’s staff.

Nature Turn 2

With the Elves threatening his column from the left flank Ed split his column with both Greater Air Elementals moving to the left and the Hunters charging the Silverbreeze on the hill. On the right the Scorchwings dropped behind the hill wary of the Elven shooting and chariot’s charge range. Finally the unicorn charged the isolated Bolt Thrower in the wood.

Shooting saw limited damage on Amarynth (Drakon Lord) as the Greater Air Elementals tried to clip his wings with lightning. Keris also blinded the valiant Seaguard with his staff but their spirits remained strong regardless of what the uncivilised beasts threw their way.

Combat saw the bolt throwers crew decide to head home rather than deal with the unicorn and its rather menacing shadow. The hunters, however, were less successful only wavering the Silverbreeze on the hill and not even managing that against the Forest Guard.

Elf Turn 2

With Ed now committing his forces the Elves wasted no time in striking back. Lowering their lances the Elven knights charged headlong into the formidable Earth Elementals each supported by a mighty hero of the Royal house. With the cavalry providing cover the Spearmen charged up the hill into the Hunters of the Wild as the wavered Silverbreeze got out of the way.

On the right the Silverbreeze drew their blades and charged into the Beast of Nature, hoping to ground it buying time for the infantry to clear the Hunters who were hit with a combined charge from the Palace Guard in one flank and the Seaguard in the other.

Shooting saw Feanor’s atop his chariot draw back his bow and send 4 arrows arching towards the Scorchwings. As planned the Scorchwings easily evaded these arrows but in doing so they moved right into the path of Alenui’s lightning bolts leaving only charred remains.

Reciting the ancient spell Eldroth blessed the Quicksilver Cavalry’s lances their red blades turning a brilliant white as along with Lord Amarynth they banished the evil demons possessing the stones before them (this was immediately followed by a bit of dressage to avoid any unfortunate surge charges next turn).

Assailed by King Paweldran’s mighty blade Yahdra from the flank and Stormwind’s lances from the front the other Earth Elementals fared no better. Both Hunter regiments were easily dispatched by the Elven infantry and crucially the Beast of Nature was disordered by the brave charge of the Silverbreeze.

Nature Turn 3

With the Elven Cavalry in the open and Ed eager for vengeance the Fire Elementals both went into the two Cavalry units with one Air Elemental joining in on the Quicksilvers while the other decided to duel Amarynth.

The revenge against the cavalry tour continued as the Unicorn and Beast also charged the Silverbreeze units. On the right Keris and the remaining Scorchwings scattered to avoid the Elven infantry’s wrath.

Combat kicked off with the Unicorn routing the Silverbreeze but the Beast wasn’t so successful only landing limited damage. The key combats on the left began poorly for the elves with the Stormwind failing to hold against the Brew of Sharpness Fire Elementals. Things quickly improved, however, as the Quicksilvers were only wavered and Lord Amarynth held steady.

Elf Turn 3

With the cavalry on the far left holding, the spear horde was free to charge off the hill into the Fire Elementals with King Paweldran in support. On the right the pinned Beast of Nature was hit by the combined might of the Palace and Forest Guard units.

Shooting saw Alenui focus his energies on lightning bolting the unicorn but couldn’t even manage to land a hit on the majestic beast. Sighing at the folly of his young apprentice Eldroth channelled his power through his Loremaster’s staff searing deep gashes along it’s flank. Meanwhile the Scorchwings fled the field fearing all was lost as the Seaguard and Feanor rained arrows down on them.

In combat the momentum off the hill was enough for the spears to break the Fire Elementals and Amarynth landed a few biting blows on the Air Elemental with his blade. To the right the beast of nature was easily cut down by the combined axes and swords of the Elven infantry.

Nature Turn 4

With most of his units pinned down Ed focused on finishing off the Cav and Drakon Lord on the left and the Unicorn routed Alenui. Keris meanwhile cleared off the Forest Guard with his solar staff.

Elf Turn 4

The Fire Elementals had just left their flank exposed and the Spearmen gleefully took it whilst King Paweldran charged the closest Air Elemental to prevent any surge tricks. The Palace Guard now free marched into the centre to take the middle loot token. The Seaguard and Chariot Noble moved to try and better deal with the Unicorn and finally the Silverbreeze charged Keris hope to disrupt him.

Shooting was uneventful but combat saw the Spears dispatch the Fire Elementals in the flank and a lucky nerve roll mean the Silverbreeze wavered Keris. Paweldran drove his blade deep into the heart of the Air Elemental which remained unphased.

Nature Turn 5

Things were looking tough for Ed he needed to gamble on getting some luck to somehow hold the loot token on the left and stop me from adding the token from the right to the one already held by my Palace Guard.

The unengaged Air Elemental charged the mage Eldroth whilst the other continued it’s fight with King Paweldran. On the right the unicorn moved up to lightning bolt the Seaguard.

The Unicorn targeted the injured Seaguard with its lighting finally breaking the unit which dropped the loot token. Combat saw Eldroth hiking up the skirt of his robes and running for the hills rather than facing the Greater Air Elemental’s wroth. Meanwhile Paweldran remained steadfast in his battle with the other Air Elemental.

Elf Turn 5

Feanor spied that the unicorn had just strayed into his chariot’s charge range and seeing an opportunity to put an end to a big threat charged down the hill. On the left the spears charged the injured Air Elemental picking up the token at the same time. Meanwhile Paweldran went after the Gladestalker Druid to shut down any surge tricks.

The Spears comfortably saw off the Air Elemental and turned to face the final one. Keris was disrupted and the Druid wavered. Feanor aided by the momentum from the hill landed several blows on the unicorn but failed to even waver it.

Nature Turn 6

Little of note happened as Ed just tried to spare his remaining units from the elves wrath.

Elf Turn 6

Little took place as the Elves had few targets available. A further wound was caused on the unicorn through shooting and the Gladestalker Druid was wavered by King Paweldran again.

With that the battle was over and the Elves had won 2-0.

Narrative ending:

Feanor leap from his chariot landing softly by the glowing amulet. Fortunately the evil Lord Keris had fled without getting his claws on the protective charm. Though not blessed by mage-sight Feanor could sense the energy emanating from the jewel as it fought to keep the Elven realm safe from harm. Staring out towards the forest Feanor knew Keris would not be stopped by just one defeat. With a heavy heart he mounted his chariot and drove towards his liege King Paweldran.

Conclusions and Jubilations:

Always nice to get a victory against a player of Ed’s calibre. This feels like an odd game to evaluate, the scenario and our lists made us both play quite aggressively. As neither of us gave the other much time deployment was important and it felt like we both deployed how we wanted and the game quickly played out from there.

I think there were two big moments that led to the Elven victory. One was the Quicksilver Cavalry surviving the double charge from the Air Elemental and Fire Elementals. It was likely one of the cavalry regiments would survive that turn but the odds favoured the Stormwind which would have been far less favourable for me as the Quicksilvers holding blocked up two units. The other was rather unfortunate, Ed was operating under the impression he hadn’t bought fly for his Beast of Nature, this error meant I picked the up a key piece in his army cheaply as he was trapped after getting disrupted. It’s a real shame when things like this happen but we couldn’t work out a sensible way take back any moves so ended up playing through.

Ed’s Unicorn caused me a lot of trouble with Host of the Shadow Beast results in 7 strong attacks on a speed 10 pathfinder unit is a nightmare to deal with. If other armies can utilise similar options it’s definitely something to watch out for. I may need to revisit putting duellist on my King.

I liked the Noble on the chariot whilst he’s fragile and speed 8 isn’t great, a cheap scoring unit/flank threat is really valuable and adds more flexibility to the list. I liked being able to pair him up with the Seaguard as they compliment each other quite nicely and worked well on an isolated flank against other light units. I’m keen to see how he would perform in a more central role alongside my bigger combat units.

[paulb800]

Battle Report 17

Game introduction

Every now and again I like to try out a more unusual list moving away from my generally balanced approach to list building. The urge has struck me again and I thought it would be interesting to take a full combat elf army with zero shooting or magic (well actually there is a dragon’s breath attack I hadn’t thought about but I’m going to give myself a pass). I have run something similar a few years ago with 2 Dragons 2 Kings and all Stormwind Cavalry. This time, however, I would go for a broader mix of units.

(Note: regular fans of the blog I haven’t done any narrative this time. Apologies for those who miss it and less scrolling for the rest of you)

Elf List

Dragon: Healing Brew: 310pts

King: Noble Elven steed: 135pts

King: Majestic Stallion: 135pts

Palace Guard: Staying Stone: 270pts

Palace Guard: Chalice of Wrath: 280pts

Drakon Horde: 275pts

Drakon Horde: 275pts

Quicksilver Regiment: Strider (1): 250pts

Stormwind Troop: Nimble: 145pts

Stormwind Troop: 135pts

Hunters of the Wild troop: 90pts

2300pts

I started off by selecting several big hitting units to make up for the limitations of not having magic or shooting. A Dragon, 2 Palace Guard Hordes, 2 Drakon Hordes & a Quicksilver Regiment gave me a core of the best Elven combat units available (IMO).

With the big hitters set I added two mounted Kings to make up for some of the some flexibility I’d lost by sticking to combat as well as something to perform chaff roles and importantly add inspiring. Along with this I wanted more fast support units, as I had no shooting to deal with enemy chaff I wanted something that could win a chaff off so went for two Stormwind Troops. After a few items I had around 100pts left which I used for a troop of Hunters, whose scout would help them get ahead of my army and an extra item for the Dragon.

Trident Realms List:

Eckter: 165pts

Naiad Centurion: Trident: 140pts

Thull Mythican: 80pts

Depth Horror Horde: 185pts

Giga Horde: Staying Stone: 210pts

Giga Horde: Fury: 220pts

Knucker: 145pts

Knucker: 145pts

Coral Giant: 215pts

Coral Giant: 215pts

Tidal Swarm: 70pts

Tidal Swarm: 70pts

Hidden Ones Formation (Pathfinder):

Thull Mythican: TC 1 Aura,: 90pts

Thull Regiment: 170pts

Thull Regiment: 170pts

2300pts

Ben had for the first time in a long time changed his list (albeit only slightly) and had scored some big wins recently. In a bid to get a second shooting option and a second tough individual in the list he cut back on items and a Thull to bring in a Naiad Centurion with Trident. This guy is pretty tricky to deal with as mighty, ensnare, def 5 and regen 4+ causes a lot of issues. Added to that his Trident causing disruption is a real pain for an army with lots of flyers and cavalry.

Usually when I play against Ben’s list my shooting is extra effective due to his low defence and the game tends towards me buying time and him trying to pin me down. This time I wouldn’t be able to exploit his main weakness. Ben has quite a lot of extra units in his list compared to mine but mine were punchier and quicker which I’d need to bring into play.

The main issues I see facing Ben are:

a) his tidal swarms are really good at screening units preventing charges, as I had no shooting to clear them off I’m hoping to use my Stormwind Troops to go head to head with them forcing Ben to commit into the cavalry allowing my bigger units to get the charge.

b) Ben’s army usually has to play aggressively but when he can use it defensively it’s absolutely brutal as ensnare and the high number of units he has allows him to absorb charges whilst setting up brutal reprisals.

Deployment and Scenario

We rolled up Dominate as the scenario meaning we’d both be aggressive and have to fight in the centre of the board. Ben won the roll for sides and took north.

Ben decided to deploy in across the width of the board with his Gigas to the left and his Thulls to the right. I spread my units out evenly as Ben had 3 extra drops after I had finished deploying so I didn’t want to leave him any gaps to exploit. Scout saw the Hunters of the Wild move up in front of my Palace guard on the right Ben’s tidal swarms responded by moving up to face my hunters. I won the roll for first turn, it felt like an even choice so I went second for a change as I usually go first where possible. My thinking was Ben might push up some units too aggressively stretching his lines creating opportunities also going second would give me the last turn hopefully helping me late game.

• Trident Realms Turn 1*

Ben decided not to overstretch his lines by moving aggressively so it was a cautious start by the sea creatures.

Elves Turn 1

I decided I wanted to try and be aggressive before Eckter and the Naiad Centurion could bring themselves and their shooting attacks into the game. I needed to clear some of the Tidal Swarms that can screen Ben’s bigger hitters so charged both the hunters and a Stormwind troop into one.

My remaining forces pushed up just out of Ben’s charge range but within mine. I also put both King up into Ben’s charge ranges as bait. Ben would now need to decide whether to try and back up in which case I’d try to pick off a few units he couldn’t retreat far enough with or he’d engage and hopefully I could take control with a massed charge.

Trident Realms Turn 2

Ben remained cautious but started to commit several units, the Stormwind troop and Hunters were charged by Thulls and Depth Horrors respectively. The giants screened by a Thull Mythican and the remaining tidal swarm pushed up in the centre of the board.

The remaining units hung back ready to counter my assaults next turn. Shooting saw Eckter target the Quicksilver Regiment causing a 4 wounds and only just missing out on wavering them.

In combat the Depth Horrors hindered by a pond were only able to waver the Hunters but despite little damage from the Thulls the Stormwind troop lost their nerve and fled the field.

Elves Turn 2

I now had charges available to me. We were using the optional withdraw moves which meant my wavered hunters could just pull back far enough to let the Drakons charge the Depth Horrors in the front. The king went in the flank to support.

The Dragon and other Drakons went into the Thull regiment hoping to break through. Meanwhile the Palace Guard in the centre charged the blocking Mythican in front of the giants. In a gamble I decided to try and pick off Eckter my King charged in first turning Eckter’s flank to my Quicksilvers who went in hoping their lances could strike true.

Combat saw the Depth Horrors and the Mythican go down but the combination of the Dragon and Drakons could only waver the Thulls and the Cavalry only managed to waver Eckter.

Trident Realms Turn 3

The Quicksilvers cavalry were now exposed to a rear charge from the Knucker and a front from the Gigas. Ben charged his Thulls and Knucker into the Drakons who had killed the Depth Horrors and his individuals into the other Drakons and Dragon. Finally the Swarm charged the Palace Guard in the centre.

Combat was brief and bloody as the Two double charged saw the Drakons and Quicksilver Cavalry go down and a few wound distributed elsewhere.

Elves Turn 3

I’d taken some losses but was hopefully now in a good position to finish off the right flank and be in a decent position to cope with Bens troops coming in from the left.

My Drakons counter charged the Mythican with the aid of a king in the rear. Hopefully I would rout him and then get an overrun into the Thulls flank. The Stormwind flanked the Knucker on the right with the hunters going in the front. The Dragon went into the front of the Thull regiment he had wavered last turn. Finally my King on the left charged a Giant as I didn’t want anything in charge range of Eckter and the Gigas as both were stuck on half move due to sitting on the fence.

Combat went well for the Elves, the Mythican was demolished by the Drakons who swung like a wrecking ball into the Thulls’ flank breaking them as well. The Dragon took down the other Thulls whilst the Stormwind skewered the Knucker. The Palace Guard also finished off the Tidal Swarm whilst the King got lucky and did 3 damage on the giant (reduced to 2 after Iron Resolve).

Ben’s Giants were about to come in but it has definitely been a good turn for the Elves.

Trident Realms Turn 4

Ben needed to do some big damage this turn, so praying to the Dice Gods for some high rolls on his 2d6 extra attacks (d6 normal plus d6 slayer) his Giants charged the Dragon and Drakons. The Palace Guard in the centre had left their flank exposed to the Knucker in order to face the giants so Ben took the opportunity to build up some damage on them. Other movement saw the Naiad Centurion move to block the other Palace Guard from retaliating vs the Giants and his left flank starting moving round to the centre.

Combat started ok for Ben as the Knucker landed 7 damage on the flank of the Palace Guard. It went down hill from their, however, as the Giants failed to even waver either of their targets (an awful roll saw only two damage added to the already weakened Drakons). The giants were now in a lot of trouble and if they went down Ben be in a tight spot.

Elves Turn 4

With the Giants pinned the Elves gleefully charged (they were definitely singing as they went in). The Dragon was able to use a withdrawal move to charge the flank of the Giant that was facing the Drakons this would be a dicey charge so I sent both kings in to support. The giant that charged the Dragon had its rear exposed to the Palace Guard so I took that opportunity.

The Naiad Centurion was annoying but there wasn’t much choice in what to do so I charged in the Palace Guard hoping to get a bit lucky and maybe take him off or at least waver him. The other units repositioned hoping to cover any potential threats.

Combat saw both giants easily vanquished. The Centurion, however, was only wavered after the Palace Guard only landed 5 damage but at least this prevented him from targeting my damaged units.

Trident Realms Turn 5

Ben’s turn started well for me as he only regenerated 1 of the 5 damage on the centurion giving me a good chance of finishing him off next turn.

Eckter managed to waver the Dragon with his windblast and the Knucker caused a few wounds on the Palace guard. The Gigas moved into position for next turn.

Elves Turn 5

Ben’s Gigas were finally in the game so I decided to throw the injured Drakons into one unit to either make them an easy kill next turn or maybe even get lucky as they were out of inspire range.

The Stormwind Cavalry went into the wavered Cebturion’s flank along with the Palace Guard in the front. One King charged the flank of the Knucker along with the Palace Guard whilst the other moved to block the Gigas from charging (assuming the Drakons didn’t kill the Gigas).

Combat saw the Palace Guard hordes break the Knucker and Centurion whilst a good roll also saw the Drakons rout the Gigas as well.

At this point the game was up and Ben conceded.

Conclusions and Jubilations:

This was my second game (first one didn’t last long) with this list and I am really bored of it. All you do is charge and do combat reforms there are very few decisions to make especially when facing more numerous drops in deployment (meaning I deployed in a fairly pre ordained fashion to maintain flexibility). You’re just pushing stuff forwards and trading units. I badly miss the varied options a balanced list gives me.

Tactically I was able to keep Ben’s left side held back, in particular one of his Gigas was stuck on a fence for several turns. This meant I could bring my army to bear on his right flank clearing it entirely for the loss of a Cav troop and a Drakon Horde. From that point it should have been a matter of trading units but then Ben got unlucky with his giants not killing anything.

The Elven speed allowed me to take advantage of Ben spreading his forces out letting me choose my battles. With longer charge ranges I was able to threaten him with a lot more units at any one time. Anyway I thought something different might be of interest hope you enjoyed it.