Fantasy Thursdays: DoW vs DoC Battle Report

Snow covered the fields as the mercenary warband approached the quiet village of Grayslake. The citizens were mostly huddling inside their cabins and businesses, preparing for the coming holiday. At the direction of the paymaster, the warband unpacked and prepared to resupply their caravan and rest. As the paymaster handed his list of supplies to the store owner, one of his clerks ran up to him and whispered into his ear.

The air filled with the smell of sulfur and brimstone as a chilling wind blew in from the south. Fear and panic began to spread among the locals, the danger about to visit upon them something familiar and yet foreign. The store owner quickly returned the list and stated that the general store was closed for business this evening.

Stepping outside to assess the reason for the panic, the paymaster's view fell upon the eerie lights that were coming from the south. Flickering flames and flashes of other unearthly illuminations signaled the approach of something otherworldly. As they stepped into the village limits, the paymaster could make out the distinct outline of the daemonic forces that were gathering.

In this battle report, my Dogs of War army played a 1000 point game versus Dominique and his Daemons of Chaos.

Dominique's Daemons of Chaos

Skulltaker
19 Bloodletters w/ full command

15 Bloodletters w/ full command

9 Fleshhounds of Khorne

Karanak

3 Flamers

My Dogs of War Army

(The Hireling Wizard should be noted as a level 2, not a level 4.)

The Battlefield
The game the Dawn Raid scenario played on a 4'x4' table.
Recap

The demonic forces of Khorne and Tzeentch moved across the landscape, hungry for the souls of those in the village. As they marched across the snowy fields, the heat from their presence boiled away any tracks that would have been otherwise left behind. This was the coming of evil, and the paymaster knew it.

“What do you have in terms of wealth?” declared the paymaster to the villagers huddled inside the store.

“Not much, but we can fill your list of supplies and provide you with shelter,” responded the clerk hiding behind the counter.

“You just hired the Coin Collectors” responded the paymaster.

At 1000 points, the first turn was not one of grand moves or subtle tactics. My opponent moved all of his forces forward as much as possible. Sitting back could only hurt his chances at a victory, and without a lot of options for attacking at range there wasn’t a more obvious strategy. I used this opportunity to fire a round of crossbow bolts into the closest regiment of bloodletters. To my joy, three of them were killed in the volley.

This was not the kind of fight that Vespero wanted to find himself in. Daemons were not the usual target of the hitman and his band. As he moved between the shadows of the town, he spied the alluring figure of a young woman barricading the windows to the cabin she was taking shelter within. It was at that moment that Vespero realized that there may be something in this town worth saving.

The second round was similar to the first in that nothing of particular note took place. The daemons continued to advance, and I was able to kill a few with a cannon ball and some crossbow shots. The thing that stood out to me in this round was that I knew the next one was going to decide the fate of the game, and I didn’t like my odds.

“It’s a kind of magic…” (Queen)

The third round saw the daemons hit my lines. Vespero was able to kill a few hounds before his regiment was dragged down by them. Since they overran the regiment on the charge, they were able to move forward into the paymaster. The flamers were also in range and fired upon the Cursed Company. Only a single skeleton was destroyed, so I was not particular worried about them. The big moment of the round was my wizard casting a spell and being able to swap positions with the paymaster. Not the most useful tactic, but it allowed me to experiment with how the Lore of Shadows works.

“It’s over. It’s all over…”

The game ended in the fourth round with the bloodletters destroying the Cursed Company and my crossbowmen running of the board. Again, not the most sound tactics, but I was curious to play out how charge reactions work. In the end, the daemons slaughtered my forces and I was left with a sense of motivation that I have not been feeling for the past few weeks.

Lessons Learned…
1) Overall, I really need to spend some quality time with the rule book. 8th edition is a different beast from 7th edition, and I need to do my homework if I have any chance of winning with DoW.
2) I should have swapped one of my two spells for the signature spell.
3) I need to bring more crossbow units and remove the Cursed Company from this list. I love the CC, but I need to dominate shooting and magic if I plan on winning any games at this point level.

Special Thanks to Unique Gifts and Games for providing the gaming space.