Idoneth Deepkin Namarti Reavers

 Time to finish another unit at last for my Idoneth and build towards the 2k goal for this year.

 

And this time, it's a unit of Reavers.

 

Highly mobile, short ranged, archers, they form the core of the most recent Spearhead box, but also a great unit to harass and annoy the enemy on the bigger battlefields of Age of Sigmar.

 

There Whisperbows, unit rules and the tides rules make these soulless warriors play like a group of light skirmishers, think pirate raiders like the Dark Eldar have, or the Wood Elves from classic fantasy battles.  Of course, you don't want to have them get engaged in combat though, because like all Idoneth they will quickly dwindle under the weight of combat.

 

Now to get some more eelriders assembled and into the fire, as the force really needs some serious punch (and points!) added to it!

 

Time to stick and paint! 

Warhammer Underworlds battle report: a double dose of Dromm

 Yesterday evening, I sat down at the club to try out a new concoction for Elathain, featuring Pillage and Plunder with Blazing Assault.

 

Now, this will be far to soon for Alost next week, but I aim to tune it for the Benelux Clash at the end of march tournament.

 

One thing, being the aggessive trigger-happy player that I am, this will be a test of nerves for myself, to resist the all out infiltration into enemy territory, yet also be just a tat aggro to score the other cards...

 

Facing me where the Gorechosen of Dromm with Blazing Assault and Reckless Fury, a warband that when I play aggressive aelven builds doesn't scare me that much, as I can usually run circles around them.  But now I have to let them come and count on defensive cards and such while delving around, and the amount of staggers that will load unto my fighters... 

 

Which soon started happening, as I began the delving works on my half, while the Gorechosen approached. 

 

I managed to keep a relatively safe position in this first round of the game, but the Gorehulk and Dromm himself lingered just on that edge of putting in a charge.

 

Which the Gorehulk duly did, but nobody messes with Duinclaw as the crab blocked the attacks.  Tammael snuck around the hulk and wounded Dromm, who was about to be finished off by Elathain, but of course rolled that crit on his one dice, surviving the strike of the Idoneth.

 

 The round ended as such at 5-4 for the Soulraid as I was on his Ghyranis token, but that leader should have been dead.

 

Instead, he got priority and it was my leader that fell to the smashing attacks of the Shatterer of Worlds instead. 

 

Tammael tried again to take him down.  And you can guess what happened... another 1 dice block as the Thrall managed only a lonely single success on FOUR dice, pushing him but not out of the game. 

 

When Spinefin was then killed, I knew it was game.  His leader surviving twice on Stand Fast was just to much to overcome, and now his three damage dealers could begin their shennanigans as they had inspired.

 

Fuirann managed to push Herax off the token (I made a mistake here by forgetting to give her an upgrade that could have killed him, typical first time playing the deck with the band errors).

 

Herax bravely legged it instead though... but failed to kill Tammael.

 

... and the Gorechosen where now 10-12 in the lead instead.  That's four points that slipped through my fingers by dicerolls and a mistake, doh.

 

 While the Gorehulk took out Duinclaw, Tammael put him down with his spear.  But of course, the beast returned on 1 wound and smashed the thrall to a pulp.  At least he would give up his glory at the end...

 

He charged Fuirann, who survived and struck back with three dice on swords.  FUCK YOU Gorehulk... now THAT I had to roll earlier on the attacks to take out Dromm goddamit.

 But it was not to be, and Fuirann failed to defend against Dromm's slaughter even with her Stand Fast reduction.  The result was 17-17 (had she survived, the Aqua would have tipped the balance in my favor as I couldn't be pushed), but the Gorechosen pulled a minor victory due to being the only ones with a model still on the table.

 

 

As we still had time, we set up for a second game, this time on a Spitewood board as my opponent got to choose. 

 

Now, from halfway round 2 onwards I forgot to take pictures, so I'm just putting all that I have above.  It was a very one-sided affair, the first round ended at 5-5, and then, believe it or not, Dromm AGAIN escaped with a Stand Fast of being killed,  after a barrage by Tammael (who then fell), Fuirann and Elathain.

Elethain was then put down (on 3 defence dice...), and Fuirann eventually followed as I couldn't take his leader down anymore.  He went to hunt for Spinefin to score Unrelenting Massacre as well with his Gorehulk, and after that round 2 had a still do-able 10-12 deficit, I ultimately and heavily lost 13 to 19.

  

Did I make mistakes?  Surely, not in the least that in an effort to keep my normal infiltrating aggression at bay, I played perhaps TO defensively, opting to delve and get staggers to quickly for glory.  In hindsight, I should have gone in more firey, and let the minions do the needed delving instead, going for the medium run instead of the quick gain, like I did before at the Halle event, and that worked out way better.  Well, still got some time to either finetune, or go back to my Synergies / Pillage combo instead, OR even go Pillage / Nexus perhaps before Benelux Clash end of march.

 

With the update, my Shadeborn are royally screwed over, but as this deck needs still to much tuning, I'm kind off going to take them to Alost next weekend.  Hopes are low, and I count myself out of contention for the top spots, let alone the Golden Ticket at that event, where I expect a LOT of elite aggro genre Dromm, Jaws, Ironsoul and Emberwatch... and I lost those re-rolls needed for the surgical strike deck I had build, which can't affort to botch even a single attack against those sorts of warbands.

 

Maybe I'll just take Cyreni along instead... 

 

But for Benelux Clash, we will be prepared, charged up and ready to do a throw to the crown! 

Age of Sigmar battlereport: Idoneth Deepkin vs Slaves to Darkness

 Time for the first game of the new year, and it is an actual Age of Sigmar "refresher" game for the rules.

 

Because due to circumstances, I only played it a few time before... in 2nd edition, apart from some Spearhead.  But now we played 1000 points just to freshen up the rules.

 

I brought my Idoneth Deepkin, and on purpose took something of about everything to have a look at how things worked.  A unit of Legends because I allow them from the go in the Escalation League  and contains a wizard, a Regiment of Renown,  cavalry and infantry, and a monstrous mount.  Guess bar war machines / shooting units and a priest, I managed to cover all bases.

 

My force was organised as follows:

 

Regiment 1: An Akhelian King on Deepmare with the Armour of Cythai and the Form of Fangmora, an Allopex with a Razorshell Harpoon and a unit of 3 Morrsarr Guard with full command.

 

Regiment 2: An Akhelian Thrallmaster (Ghyran version), 10 Namarti Thralls (Ghyran version) with champion, and Cyreni's Razors from the Legends section

 

Regiment 3: A Stumblefoot Giant regiment of renown.

 

And I picked the Akhelian Beastmaster battle formation with Wrathful Cycles and Scouting Force battleplans. 

 

Facing me was Noah with a force of Slaves to Darkness, consisting of two drops.

 

Regiment 1: Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount with Radiance of Dark Glory, a regiment of Chaos Knights

 

Regiment 2: Chaos Lord with Head of the Unworthy, a unit of Chaos Chosen with the Dread Banner and a unit of Chaos Warriors.

 

He had Master the Paths and Intercept and Recover as Battletactics suite, and my Thralls, Taskmaster and Cyreni's Razors carried the treasure. 

 

So with both forces drawn up and ready for action, it was time to begin hostilities. 

 

Cyreni immediatly had herself and the Razors Steed of Tides to the other side of the battlefield (mind you, they actually deployed further to the side edge, but I was still placing them while making the picture), in order to either cause a distraction or go for the objective on the back of his lines.   

 

The rest of the force advanced through the center, to claim both the large objective as well as completing the first step of my Scouting Force battle tactic, where I need three units out of my friendly territory.

 

The enemy however responded to this, and started to advance both over my flank and my center.

 

The Morsarr redeployed, to make the charge range for the Knights over 9" in the hopes they will fail this above average roll to reach me. 

 

However, he rolled a 12 (disclaimer: he only once NOT roll 11 or 12 for his charges in this game), and a big melee erupted in the center, between the Slaves to Darkness hero, warriors, chosen ones and knights on the one hand, and my Akhelian King, Morsarr Guard, Allopex and Giant on the other side.  This didn't look all to good though for the Idoneth...

 

 But while the shark was killed by the Chosen Ones, the line managed to hold on... only to have "Paddy" the Stumblefoot Giant go crazy, stuffing a Chosen One in his bag, and smashing, kicking and headbutting enemies left and right.  Something the Aelves however failed to do so...

 

This resulted in an impressive 17-5 benefit for the Idoneth after the first battle round.

 

In order to try and swing the balance a bit, the Akhelian Thrallmaster and the Thralls moved in to join the fight.

 

As they also entered the melee, hopefully their numbers could tip over the balance and together with the gaint destroy the final Chosen Ones and the knights. 

 

However, the Slaves to Darkness really spiked at this moment.  The warriors slaughtered ALL the Thralls and the Taskmaster due to the ability with the Lord, while even though the Giant put one Chosen in his bag again, both the last Chosen and the Knights spiked on their defence and saved each and every wound inflicted.  This was going to cost me the game, as instead of removing one, probably two units from his side, the freaky dice instead deleted two of mine, which also gave him two treasure tokens for additional VP's.

 

 In his turn, the Giant was finally taken down, soon followed by the last of the Morsarr and my King, as I failed about every saving throw I needed to take.  The battle was as good as over, though I still had a small chance.

 

In the back, Cyreni's Razors kept tagging objectives, and I still managed to be in front 27-17 after this round.  If I could play hide-and-seek for three more turns, I might draw out a small victory, but it would become a close affair.

 

Using both my Steed of Tides and my Tides switching, the Razors kept dancing around the field, trying to escape from the mighty Chaos forces while "lighting up" objectives where able. After round three though, I still was in the lead with 37-27.

 

But the Chaos forces started to disperse and claim more and more of them, so they will be forcing my hand in the final turn for certain, but as the chessgame continued during the fourth round, the Razors managed to still keep it at 45-42, it would be close.

 

Well, so close that I actually needed to charge his last knight in the final round, and I failed to roll a 9... coming out with an 8... TWICE!  Oh bugger, this will cost me the game now as I can't prevent him from scoring more then 8 in the last round.  Had I succeeded in the charge, I could have stolen a few points, and had I remained alive it would have come down to some moves on his part for a very close game, which would probably end with 2 or 3 points in one side or the others favour. However, now the Chosen, who had rallied almost back to full strength, charged in and decimated the Razors on the final moments, grabbing their token and scoring a round of 20, resulting in a 45-62 win for the Chaos force.

 

So this was tense, and I still am in doubt wether I would have needed to move as far forward for that high scoring turn 1 that put me far in the lead until the very last turn, or hold back a bit.  Either decision in my case could have worked out, but what did me in was the "double spike" both offensively and defensively for the Chaos troops in turn 2, which literally broke the back of my full army.  

 

But, fun first game for sure, and now to get some archers painted up for more flank pickings, and reinforce the Thrall unit. 

 

Stumblefoot Gargant

 The list of Regiments of Renown that the Idoneth Deepkin can take is pretty short...

 

... but they can take a drunken giant!

 

Consisting of a single "standard" Gargant, the RoR adds some fun to the force, and as I had a couple of them from the Spearhead box for use in other gamesystems, this one was the last one I had left (though the first one actually painted up). 

 

Not that he will be an integral part of the army I have in mind, but I will use him in the League next year for no other reason then that he can vomit over opponents.

 

And that's always something to look forward to! 

 

 

Akhelian Taskmaster

 Time to paint up some Idoneth to end the year with, even though we won't reach the goal anymore normally.

 

But next year, I'm actually going to field them in a League I'll be running, as well as the occassional AoS event probably.

 

While I'm a Chaos Dwarf at heart and soul, there is something with the Idoneth Deepkin that just checks my boxes, hence why I also prefer to play both Elathain's Soulhunt and Cyreni's Razors so much in Underworlds, the aquatic aelven look just is so unique and fun.

 

Well, apart from the fragile, fiddly bits to assemble, but meh...

 

And the latest addition to the army is an Akhelian Taskmaster, which also received it's own unique "Ghyran" warscroll this year with the General's Handbook.  Looking like a true alpha male with his barechest uniform, and his impressive bident.  He is also accompanied by a nasty looking fish, ready to bite at those approaching it's master...

 

A fun model to paint for sure, and now to see if we can do one or two final additions to the Idoneth force in the remaining weeks of the year... 

Casual Underworlds gaming... at TSA!

 Yes, succes, I got the game at last to the club, as I was going to explain some tips and tricks to Tom (the AoS sensei at the club) for competitive Underworlds gaming now that we got him hooked.

 

And also Wouter and Philip, two members of the Antwerp community (and both now of the club as well) joined as well this evening to have some try-outs for the Halle tournament next weekend.

 

Elathain's Soulraid versus The Emberwatch 

 

So, settling down at the table, I went to play Tom first as such who brought the Emberwatch and his very first Nemesis brew, made from Countdown to Cataclysm and Blazing Assault. 

 

Both bands deployed, ready to battle it out!

 

The Idoneth immediately took the fight to the opponent, attacking Farasa.

 

But soon the Stormcasts started to mingle on the side of the board, and the aelves had to hold on for dear life until reinforcements arrived.

 

Elathain himself joined the fray, and damage was divided over the whole warband opposing them.

 

Farasa sneaked to the back, eager to grab the Aqua Ghyranis token.

 

Which she duly did, after Duinclaw had failed to take her down.  The first round ended as such at 6-6 both.

 

Now inspired, the Soulraid went on the all-out offensive, with Ardorn being taken down by a well placed riptide harpoon to the head.

 

Farasa soon followed for a trip to the reforging, leaving only Yurik to be taken care off. 

 

The crossbowman tried to get away, but the Idoneth, like the rush of the tides, kept following him to take him out.

 

But Yurik telported to the other side, killing Spinefin along the way. 

 

But the Soulraid now had a solid 15-9 lead going into the final turn, and could start consolidating. 

 

Elathain came over, and reaped the soul from the Stormcast who had put down Tammael first.

 

This resulted in the thrall ressurecting on my half though... and cementing a 20-12 victory for the Idoneth as a result.

 

Elathain's Soulraid vs The Emberwatch

 

Time for a rematch, but not really.  I tuned his deck a bit for some more consistency, while trying out a highly experimental deck myself that I actually made for Hrothgorn (but had forgotten to bring his fighter cards, doh!). 

 

Both warbands deployed, the Emberwatch cluttering together again on a single flank, protecting their Aqua Ghyranis.

 

In my well known fashion, the Soulraid immediatly got stuck in, as a big fight erupted in the center.

 

Tammael was put down however, as Ardorn still had something to settle with him from a previous encouter and wanted to prevent a harpoon to the face again.

 

Spinefin however managed to push Farasa to the edge, which would allow me to score Pinned.  Of all brave warriors in the band to do so...

 

But the Emberwatch has scored swiftly, and Ardorn teleported away, leaving the Emberwatch with a 4-7 lead after the first round.

 

 Beginning the second turn, Elathain went over to the opposing leader, taking him down in a swift stroke.

 

And resulting in Tammael reappearing in my half!

 

But then a series of bad defence rolls began on my part, with poor Duinclaw falling first.

 

 Soon after, aided by upgrades and warscroll abilities, followed by Fuirann, which was a big bummer for my battleplan at that moment and probably would cost me the game.

 

Two brave Idoneth and a fish now faced two of Sigmar's finest, even though some minor damage was done to both the armoured warriors so far.

 

 Tammael dispatched Yurik, but Farasa had other plans.

 

She lured Tammael over in melee range...

 

 ... and the thrall was downed a second time this game, leaving the Stormcasts still in the lead with 11-13.

 

The final round began, with Elathain far out of position to attack Farasa.

 

Both sides moved, trying to avoid combat though for the not so noble Emberwatch assassin, and in the end the game ended with an 11-14 defeat for the Idoneth Deepkin.

 

So, conclusion?  This deck didn't work for the Soulraid, who with their minion pushes and Tammael's charge bonus tend to lean forwards.  But I am not unhappy at all with the build, and am going to run Cyreni's Razors with it next time, a band with reach and of course Hammertide which can play the waiting game better... and that might work better with the Hunting Grounds part of the deck.

 

Elathain's Soulraid vs The Sons of Velmorn

 

For the final game of the evening, it was back to the deck for the tournament next week, and faced Philip and his Sons of Velmorn, running Blazing Assault with Deadly Synergies.

 

 His deployment left one of his minions isolated, while Elathain was far enough to the back to outpace him should he advance his way.

 

 As is almost tradition, I kicked off with a wild charge by Tammael, who made short work of Thain.

 

 But using some boosted movement, Jedran did reach Elathain, wounding him gravely, as Tammael sidestepped off the objective to allow Fuirann to go in and delve.

 

Elathain was under pressure at the end of the round, and the Sons managed to Unite while Duinclaw was still en route to help his master.  

 

But the Sons had failed to score anything though, resulting in a 7-0 lead for the Soulraid after the first round.

 

Going in the second round, Elathain managed to become united, and a Great Fortitude and a Healing Potion later was in a good position.  Jedran missed him, before being taken down by the Ill-Fated. 

 

Helmar was taken down, but Thain was raised again by his father.

 

The Soulraid now started closing in on the leader of the Sons though, readying themselves to pounce.

 

 In the meantime, Fuirann had sneaked onto the Aqua Ghyranis in the backfield of the Sons playing field thanks to her Duellist upgrade, even though Thain managed to reduce damage.

 

 But still the Sons hadn't been able to score anything, even with Blazing Assault, and the result was 14-0 after the second round.

 

 In the third round, Thain did the unthinkable and managed to score Get Stuck In, even though he failed to do any harm...

 

 Tammael though took down Morlak himself, leaving only a vunerable Thain on the field now.

 

 Yeah, it was one of those games where you can toss around upgrades just because you can...

 

 Spinefin moved next to Thain, because I didn't want to kill him in my last activation though, allowing me to score Inevitable Outcome instead and get some glory of the raised skeleton warrior.

 

 But the outcome was inevitable, as the Soulraid scored a massive 21-1 victory over the wights... 

 

So this was sort of a non-game, with the Sons missing about every roll they needed to take, both in offense and defence.  Helped by the fact I could pick them off piecemeal, negating their synergies bonus, helped as well, but they never managed to make a fist this game...

 

But, all in all, I think my deck is ready for next week, with two victories that each clocked the 20 glory point minimal.  Guess that solves the slow scoring issues I had with the first build for them, where it tended to stall, as Pillage gave more points per minion then Emberstone did.

 

Now to keep the momentum at the club going and make this a regular thing to play like, once a month or so?