Escalation League Battle Report: 1250 pts. vs. Vampire Counts

First game of the November round. I was supposed to play Dwarfs, but unfortunately that game fell through, so instead I played Jose who was playing Vampire Counts. He's very new to Warhammer, just starting with this League. With the start of November our point totals have bumped up to 1250. Here's my List:



1 Plague Priest General with Talisman of Preservation and Rat Hound Bodyguard
1 Chieftain Battle Standard Bearer with Storm Banner
40 Slaves
42 Clanrats w/ Spears and Shields
1 Poison Wind Mortar

40 Stormvermin w/ Razor Standard (I forgot about this through the whole game... so, a waste of 45 points! grrr...)
1 Warpfire Thrower
2 Giant Rat units w/ 5 rats and 1 Packmaster each
Total cost: 1250 exactly

Jose had:
1 Necromancer Lord, 6++, a book that casts Danse Macabre, and some Flaming Rod of Fiery Doom thingy
1 Vampire hero on horseback with something that give -1 to opponents Ld
1 Banshee
30 Skeletons w/ hand weapons and shields and the Screaming Banner
20 Skeletons w/ Spears and shields
20 Ghouls

Before we started we talked a little bit and I explained to him that having his hero on a horse with no ward save was bad since, while he could join a unit, he could not benefit from the Look Out Sir! save. He didn't feel like fiddling with his list so he just rolled with it.

Here's our deployment:

The water in the middle was an Earthblood mere, and the swamp in the NE was a mist-wreathed swamp. As always, all positions in Battle Chronicler are not always as they seem.

Skaven Turn 1

Everyone marched up except for the Stormvermin and the Mortar team, the Giant Rats finding that the forest was just a plain ol' forest.
   In the magic phase, nothing was in range. In the shooting phase, the Warp Lightning Cannon fell short rolling a misfire on the bounce. The mortar team 'asploded in glorious Skaven fashion on it's first attempt at shooting. It took 5 Clanrats and a Stormvermin with it.

VC Turn 1

His Varghoul attempted a charge on the Giant Rats but failed, rolling a 3. The rest marched up.
   For magic he 3 diced Gaze of Nagash on the Clanrats and got an IF, killing 2 CR and blowing up 3 skellies with a 7 on the miscast table (S10 hit on all models in BSB with wizard). Invocation of Nehek brings them right back.
   In shooting his banshee wails and kills 4 slaves.

Skaven turn 2

The slaves charge the Skeleton horde, staying away from the Vamp hero. The Giant Rats march up and angle themselves to block the Ghouls and to present a juicy snack for the Varghoul. The Stormvermin and Clanrats move up.
   In magic, Wither was dispelled and Plague failed by 1 stupid point! I hate that.
   In the shooting phase, the Warpfire Thrower roasts 4 skeletons, but fails to wound the Vampire. The Warp Lightning Cannon misfires but the scatter makes it shoot off the table edge to the west.
   In combat, the slaves kill one and lose 1 but manage to win by one, so one more skeleton crumbles.

VC turn 2

The Ghouls and Varghoul charge the Giant Rats.
   In the magic phase, the Necro Lord uses a bound item for Danse Macabre but I dispel it. He casts the one he has and I fail to dispel, rolling miserably putting it on his skeletons. He also casts Invocation, again I fail to dispel. He raises 6 skeletons back. He uses another item called a Flaming Rod or some such on the Clanrats. It kills 1, but if they move before the next VC magic phase it will cause a S4 hit to every model in the unit.
   The Banshee wails and kills 8 slaves this time. Ouch!
   The Varghoul and Rats go simultaneously. The Varghoul squishes all 5 Giant Rats and the Packmaster manages to get a wound on the Varg just before it Thunderstomps him into oblivion. He makes an attempt to restrain, but with a Leadership of 4, it wasn't happening. The Ghouls likewise wipe out the Giant Rats and over run 11 inches into the forest.
   The Slaves whiff and kill no skeletons while they manage to kill 4 slaves with the help of Danse. The Slaves lose, but thanks to being Steadfast and close to the general, they hold even with having to 3 dice their Ld test, dropping the lowest one, and getting -1 from an item on the Vampire. Having won the combat, my opponent reforms his horde to get the Vampire into combat since he wasn't able to Make Way since he's a different size base.

Skaven turn 3

So I made a mistake here. I reformed my Clanrats thinking that they weren't "moving" to face the Ghouls. However, it was pointed out to me that reforming counts as movement and would set off the Flaming Rod effect. Being a good sport, since I had already moved them, I let it be. I figured I had 30 some odd Clanrats left, so the numbers were in my favor, right? WRONG! My opponent rolled insanely well and I loose 24 Clanrats to a flaming doom. Leaving about 8 of them left, but they pass their Panic test on a 5 needing a 5. The Stormvermin charge into the General's unit thanks to the opening created by the horde reforming.
   The Plague Priest casts Wither on the Necro Lords unit and my opponent allows it to go through, fearing Plague more. Plague is cast but it's dispelled.
   The WLC charges up and fires off a S8 shot, plowing through the Vampire and his unit, killing 7 skeletons and the Vampire hero to boot thanks to no Look Out Sir! roll and no ward save. And a 6 on the die for wounds. The Warpfire Thrower decides to throw in the towel, exits stage right and blows up.
   The Slaves kill 3 and lose 3, winning by 1. The Plague Priest makes way so he and the Chieftain are on the Necro Lord. I don't bother challenging because I don't want him to get away to the back row, so I just dedicate my character's attacks against the Necro Lord. Between the two, and a lot of whiffing, I get 2 wounds on the Necro Lord. The Stormvermin take down 6 losing a couple in return, winning combat 14-5. Big crumble.

VC turn 3

The Varg marches, swinging around to go at the slaves from behind. The Ghouls reform to face the Clanrats.
   The Necro Lord IFs Invocation, again getting a 7 on the Miscast table, blowing up 3 skeletons and putting a wound on the Chieftain. The Plague Priest Wards the wound. He loses all but 2 dice from his pool, and the last spell he casts I dispel with all 5 of my dispel dice.
   The Banshee wails and kills off 3 slaves.
   In combat, the Slaves whiff again and lose 3. Having lost steadfast now, they need snake eyes to hold and fail, scattering. But they take one skeleton with them. The Stormvermin kill 5 skeletons and the Plague Priest finishes off the Necro Lord. The rest of that unit crumbles from Combat Resolution. Both the remaining Skeleton unit and the Stormvermin reform to face each other.

Skaven turn 4

The Clanrats charge the Ghouls and the Stormvermin charge the Banshee's unit.
   The Plague Priest casts Wither on the skeletons, again being allowed through to be able to dispel Plague.
   The WLC fires at the Varg, but falls short rolling a 6 then a 2 after starting 10 inches away.
   The Ghouls wipe out the Clanrats with the Clanrats getting 0 kills in that round. The Stormvermin kill 3, the Chieftain kills 1, and the Plague Priest and his Rat Hound completely whiff rolling nothing but 1's and 2's. They lose 2 to the skeletons but still manage to win combat by 4.

VC turn 4

Having no magic users, he begins to crumble. Losing some Skeletons, a few Ghouls, and his Varg completely crumbles.
   The Ghouls charge into the flank of the Stormvermin.
   The Banshee wails and kills 1 Stormvermin.
   In combat, the Stormvermin and characters kill 5 Skeletons and a Ghoul, losing 3 in return. The combat ends in a tie.

Skaven turn 5

No movement, and the WLC has nothing to shoot at.
   The Plague Priest casts Wither on the Ghouls, bringing them down to T3. Plague is dispelled.
   The Stormvermin and characters go on a rampage, killing 11, losing 3 in return. The VC lose combat by 10 and both units crumble to the man on Combat Resolution. Leaving the Skaven Victorious!

A few thoughts. My opponent was very new to the game, so he didn't understand a lot of the in's and out's of list creation. Such as the Vamp on the horse with no other cavalry in the army. It made him a sitting duck. Also, no ward save on the vamp. The Necro Lord had a 6+ ward save but was definitely geared for not getting into combat. He (rightly) wanted to get his Vamp hero in combat, but by reforming he left a doorway to his Necro Lord.
   I got worried when he charged in the flank with his Ghouls. 16 attacks is nothing to sneeze at, and to top it off, it Disrupted my unit so no more Strength in Numbers and no ranks for Combat Res. Fortunately, the Stormvermin were up to the task and made a strong showing at the end.
   All in all an enjoyable game, and it netted me 4 more points, keeping me in the top 5. My opponent had fun even though he lost, and I think some of it came from me letting that Flaming Rod thingy do it's thing. He definitely had a big grin on his face when he got those 24 kills.

Can't wait to play again!