The Elves March To War

Tonight I popped along to the Llangefni Wargamers for the first of the Escalation League games. I ended up playing M's Dwarfs, who had brought a cannon! I needn't have worried, though...

We played the Battle March scenario Close Encounters, with our deployment zones being opposite quarters of the board with a 15" diameter no man's land in the middle. The mission was simple - Kill! We didn't bother with objectives because we both forgot that they existed, but given the Dawi and the Asur don't get on it makes sense that they were foregoing anything useful in preference to getting vengeance for ancient grudges / teaching those smelly Dwarfs how to fight.

M brought:

Dwarf Thane with Gromril armour, shield, hand weapon, and two rune stones
10 Warriors with heavy armour, shields, hand weapons, and full command
10 Warriors with heavy armour, shields, hand weapons, and full command
5 Thunderers with heavy armour and full command
5 Thunderers with heavy armour
1 Cannon (!)

I had:

Commander Aeilliniarie, with shield, hand weapon, Bow of Avelorn, Armour of Caledor, and the Sea Guard honour
9 Lothern Sea Guard, the Tears of Isha, with light armour, shields, hand weapons, spears, warbows, and full command
10 Lothern Sea Guard, the Heart of Isha, with light armour, shields, hand weapons, spears, warbows, and full command
7 Sisters of Avelorn, the Eyes of Isha, with light armour, hand weapons, Bows of Avelorn, and a High Sister

Deployment. I won the roll-off to pick deployment quarter, and I picked the one with the usable hill that would also deny M's cannon a hill too. The Tears of Isha deployed in a single line in front of the hill, while the Heart of Isha set up on the hill to fire in two ranks. The Eyes of Isha deployed ready to move into the woods nearby

Elf deployment from the Dwarf point of view - the Elves are set up defensively, baiting the slower Dwarfs forwards

Dwarf deployment from the Elf point of view - the Dwarfs are set up to swing a unit of Warriors through the village to flank the Maiden Guard, while the Thane and the rest of the Warriors, supported by the Thunderers and fire from the cannon, advance into the teeth of the Elf bowfire

Turn 1, Elves: I won the roll-off and elected to go first. The Tears of Isha moved up to close the range, while the Eyes of Isha marched into the woods, ready to threaten the Dwarf flank. Only the Tears of Isha and the Commander could get any shooting off as the Heart and Eyes had either marched or were out of range. One Thunderer fell, pierced by a red-fletched arrow - first blood to the Maiden Guard!

Turn 1, Dwarfs: The Thunderers on the right of the Thane moved to threaten the Eyes of Isha, while everyone else moved up. The Eyes were, by happy accident, now within 8" of the Dawi, so M's Thane and Warriors could only move, not march. The cannon fired at the Tears of Isha but Misfired and damaged itself, killing one of the crew and preventing it shooting next turn. The Thunderers were entirely ineffective as, having moved (-2 to hit), and firing at skirmishers (-1 to hit) in cover (-1 to hit), they had gone from hitting on 4s to 8s, while the unit by the watchtower managed to land a hit on one of the Heart of Isha... which promptly failed to wound

Turn 2, Elves: The whole force stood still and fired their bows; the Eyes of Isha killed two more Thunderers while the Tears picked off another from M's unit on the left by the watchtower. The Heart missed due to the range

Turn 2, Dwarfs: The Thane's Warriors moved up again, while the other Warrior unit marched through the village street. The Thunderers facing off against the Eyes of Isha fired another volley, but - although they had less of a penalty to hit - continued to be ineffective. The other Thunderer unit also had a go, but the range and cover prevented them from hitting or wounding

Turn 3, Elves: The Eyes of Isha moved out of the woods to try to eliminate the Thunderers, and then hopefully to loop round to deal with the cannon or perhaps get some rear charges in. Their shooting, however, only resulted in one dead Dwarf, leaving a very angry unit champion! Meanwhile between the Tears of Isha, the Commander, and the Heart of Isha, a Dwarf Warrior was killed, and the Thane promptly took their place

Turn 3, Dwarfs: The angry Thunderer champion charged the Eyes of Isha, while the Thane's Warriors, no longer concerned about the Sisters of Avelorn on their flank, marched towards the Tears of Isha. The Warriors in the village, however, within 8" of the Tears, could only move more slowly, working their way around the flank. The cannon got off a shot, but the ball bounced over the Tearsand impacted harmlessly at the foot of the hill, below the Heart of Isha. Again, the Thunderers by the watchtower let off a volley at the Heart of Isha, but either failed to hit, or to cause any wounds. In combat, the Dwarf champion withstood the Elves' flashing Ithilmar blades and in return killed a Sister of Avelorn, pushing the unit backwards

Turn 4, Elves: With the Eyes of Isha locked in combat, there was nothing for it but to loose more arrows. Both the Tears of Isha and the Commander fired into the Thane's Warrior unit, killing... one Warrior. T4 is not to be sniffed at! On the other hand, the Heart of Isha, firing into the Warriors in the village, felled two doughty Dawi. Both Warrior units were now down to just 8 Dwarfs each. The combat between the Eyes of Isha and the Thunderer champion ground on, neither side able to land a telling blow

Turn 4, Dwarfs: The Thane and his warriors charged the Tears of Isha, who stood and shot before reforming into a fighting unit. The Warriors in the village wheeled around the corner, continuing their slow advance. The cannon finally landed a hit, the round ball smashing into one of the Heart of Isha, who fell in a tangle of broken limbs. Inspired by this effort, the Thunderers fired again, and again missed or failed to wound any of the Maiden Guard on the hill. Combat saw the brave Thunderer cut down and the Eyes of Isha making an overrun move that brought them nicely close to the cannon, and the challenge that rang out from Commander Aeilliniarie to her short and bearded opposite number was answered in kind. Ithilmar blade rang against Gromril steel and the Dwarf was bloodied but unbowed - and while the Thane was busy, his Warriors hacked down a Maiden Guard. However the Elves were unmoved, and the combat was drawn...

Turn 5, Elves: Again there was little movement initially. The Eyes of Isha fired their magical bows into the cannon, killing the remaining crew. The Heart of Isha fired again into the Warriors that threatened their flank, killing another. And then, in combat, Aeilliniarie slew her counterpart (M rolled a 1 to save the single wound, which could be re-rolled thanks to the Gromril armour. He promptly rolled a... 1. Of course.) and the rest of the Tears of Isha killed two more Warriors. Beaten, the Dwarfs Fell Back In Good Order 8", and the Maiden Guard pursued... 7". Curses!

Turn 5, Dwarfs: The Warriors charged back into the Tears of Isha, who were too close to Stand and Shoot, while the Thunderers by the watchtower moved to bring the Eyes of Isha into their sights. Over by the village, the second Warrior unit marched forwards towards the Heart of Isha. The Thunderers' shooting was again ineffective - the -3 to hit meant they needed 7s, which they just couldn't achieve. The Warriors tried their best against the Maiden Guard and the Commander, but neither side could land a wounding blow, and the combat continued 

Turn 6, Elves: The Eyes of Isha moved to flank the Thunderers, while the Heart of Isha swung round on the hill to face the looming Dwarf Warriors and their axes. The Sisters of Avelorn fired on the Thunderers and slew one, while the Heart of Isha's bowfire was ineffective - either the arrows failed to wound, or the Warriors' thick armour and shields stopped the deadly rain

Turn 6, Dwarfs, END GAME: The Warriors charged up the hill into the Heart of Isha, whose bowfire as they came felled two more, leaving just five Dwarfs to slam their bodies and axes into the Elves as they reached them. The Thunderers, too, charged the Eyes of Isha, who killed one as they came. In combat, the Thunderers and Eyes of Isha hacked and slashed at each other, with the Dwarfs slaying one more Elf but being unable to break or even drive back the Sisters. The Warriors fighting the Tears of Isha, on the other hand, were soundly defeated and the unit rushed forwards, filled with victory, straining to reach their fellows and trap the Thunderers between them. On the hill, both sides slew one apiece, a bloody draw ending the fighting. The Dwarf survivors broke off and withdrew to lick their wounds...

After six turns of hard-fought combat, the result was as follows:

High Elves: 415VP for units destroyed or brought below 25% strength, 50VP for killing the Dwarf Thane, and another 25VP for capturing the banner of the Warriors in combat, for a total of 490 VP.

Dwarfs: 0VP (sorry M! You didn't deserve that - you fought well and had a good plan; the dice were not in your favour!)

A Crushing Victory to the Maiden Guard on their first outing, which is auspicious. We're using the Path to Glory rules from the Razing of Westerland Arcane Journal, and my various units all racked up enough XP to roll on the Veteran Abilities and Seasoned Commander tables. They all got +1LD, which is fine I guess but I did really want something else. I guess I'll have to save up for that.

No painting today, but that game was really enjoyable. M is a fine opponent and I look forwards to playing him again in future.