End-of-the-Year Siege Battle

As I mentioned in my last post, my friends and I decided to cap the year with a giant Siege battle. With a full 6 feet of castle walls, 6,000 points of defending Dwarfs and Bretonnians, and 9,000 points of attacking Warriors of Chaos, Dark Elves, and Skaven.

Slit-Snitch, Clan Eshin Assassin

I owned two Skaven armies prior to this one. The first was my very first army, long since sold off and just a small hodgepodge of units and characters (the way of those early edition mid 90's games). The second was 3,500 points of a Clan Eshin force, which was a massive undertaking to paint--and was also sold off as I started to focus on a different army (an all wolf-rider Goblin Army). I swore at that time that I'd never paint Eshin again. And here I break my vow--because I acquired an old Deathmaster Snikch model in a trade. And my love for the Skaven assassin models--especially this one--took hold again with a vengeance. His poison is blue as it, like everything else in my force, contains the signature blue dyes of those in service of The Blue Rat--my Grey Seer. I'm really pleased with how the model turned out. 

I also managed to paint up four weapon teams to add to my forces for the siege battle. A Warp Grinder and three Warpfire Throwers.

The Warp Grinder led the way for a tunneling team of Gutter Runners to strike behind enemy lines.

This Warpfire Thrower is venting exhaust, struggling to keep the flames in check before belching them out onto foes. 

This classic metal Warpfire Thrower is an old favorite. I always loved the moxie of the rat in the rear--raising his sword to attack even as he lugs a barrel of volatile chemicals on his back. 

This Warpfire Thrower is in the process of blasting a jet of the burning flames from the nozzle. No misfires here (haha)!

Set up for the siege battle, from the defender's point of view. The towers were capped by Dwarf cannon and organ guns, and manned by Thunderers or Bretonnian Bowmen. The walls were held by the sturdier troops, Ironbreakers and Irondrakes--though one unit of Bretonnian Men-at-Arms with a Lady were there to provide magic support. Finally, the castle courtyard held five stone throwers (four Bretonnian Trebuchets and a single Dwarf Grudge Thrower) plus a unit of Bretonnian Grail Knights waiting to sally out the gate into the enemy forces. 

Deployment from the attacking side. The throng of Chaos, Druchii, and ratmen filled the barrens before the castle gates. My force consisted of five blocks of infantry, plenty of weapon teams, a high number of wizards, two Plague Catapults, and a Warp Lightning Cannon. Our plan was to send the big monsters (Charybdis, Abomination, large unit of Chaos Trolls) against the castle gate, while the Chaos Warriors, Witch Elves, and Dark Elf Executioners led the assault on the walls. 

Yet again, the most destructive model in my force proved to be Bishop Vilitch, astride his Pox Rat steed. Twice in this game he managed to cast Cloud of Corruption, which inflicted heavy casualties on all sorts of enemy forces along the walls (and a few Chaos warriors), as well as out-and-out slaying the flying Paladin sent to go monster hunting. The second casting a miscast, ending in his losing all wizard levels, still did not deter him. He turned and charged the sallying Bretonnian Grail Knights, breaking a long grind-fest that had been going for multiple turns between the knights and the Plague Monks and Troll unit. Finally, he turned his attention to the castle gate and nearly destroyed it as the game ended. 

My other superstar of the match was my newly painted Assassin: Slit-Snitch. Arriving in the enemy backfield as soon as he was able to (turn two), he carried out a one-rat flurry of destruction, managing to destroy three Bretonnian Trebuchets and the Dwarf Grudge Thrower before the game ended. 

The game ended with a super-close finish, on a turn six effort by a Dark Elf Dreadlord on a Dark Pegasus finishing off the last remaining unit of Bretonnian Men-at-Arms in the courtyard to secure that point for the attacking forces, giving them a 4 to 3 point victory in an excellent game. I'm looking forward to the next Siege battle!

Fully Painted Models
Dwarfs: 41
Skaven: 37

Battles
Total 2014: 15

Dwarfs:
4 Wins (Dwarfs 2, Wood Elves 2)
1 Loss (Dark Elves 1)

Skaven:
2 Wins (T&T Daemons and Dwarfs, Siege Dwarfs and Bretonnians)
4 Losses (Empire 1, Dwarfs 1, T&T Daemons 1, T&T Dwarfs 1)

A Pair of Battles

A group of local gamers decided to host a siege game to end the year 2014, and in preparation I wanted to practice fielding a couple of lists of Skaven (my force at the siege) to see some new units I added in action. The first game was against the forces of the Empire, the second against Dwarfs--perpetual foe of my Skaven forces.

Bishop Vilitch and his Giant Pox Rat

I've been wanting to paint up this model (the Nurglitch special character) for some time, and I'm pleased with the result. Modified to have a plague censer, the model isn't really all that game-good in most people's sense. I'm going to give him a ward save, and then send him rushing solo into the enemy--hopefully with some of the great up-close plague spells that the Skaven can field.

Chieftan Fleshsnikt

Second in needing a coat of paint was my Chieftan battle standard bearer. Chieftan Fleshsnikt is pretty much a mandatory choice in my armies, because Skaven's unruly leadership needs the support of the banner. Hence the paint job.

 My battle line for game one, featuring a few more painted Skavenslaves. Facing the Empire in a Watchtower game, I needed to focus on the central watchtower of the board--the one who controlled it was the sole victor. 

 The Empire forces fielded two Steam Tanks, which proved difficult to handle. The Skavenslaves held against its initial charge, but couldn't handle being ground under its wheels in the subsequent Empire turn. 

 The other Steam Tank faced my Hell Pit Abomination, which managed to wipe out the unit of Knights before damaging the tank. Good news tho, as the damage to the tank was enough to make it explode under its own generation of steam pressure in the subsequent turn. 

 I had assaulted and shot the watchtower something fierce, but the Empire forces simply kept holding it. At the end of turn four, they had only two remaining from a unit of 30 Spearmen, plus a Battle Wizard manning the tower. Yet, the game ended on that turn--allowing the Empire to snatch a victory despite their heavy losses. 

 Game two deployment against Dwarfs. It was a 3,000 point Dawn Attack game, and I got clustered onto one side of the board--hence the Skaven parking lot deployment. 

 Bishop Vilitch proved to be the rat of the match. His Plague Spell not only was cast on an irresistible force, but spread across SIX Dwarf units and not a single one of my own before it expired (netting me two of my Skaven Achievements in a single casting). Not only that, but he rode bravely into the face of the enemy's guns and cast a Cloud of Corruption spell, which also inflicted horrendous damage to the Dwarfs. While he died to Organ Gun fire, he did a great job in the match. Unfortunately, the rest of the army was not able to weather the shooting as well as I might have hoped and I lost the battle in a very close loss--a mere 365 points behind in a 3,000 point game. 

One final Mousillon Blog note:

I decided to divest myself of my Undead army. I had initially thought of fielding all three: Skaven, Dwarfs, and Undead. But upon reflection, it was just too much to paint and manage (and store). I kept my Nagash model, because I simply love the paint job and look. But the rest went in a trade to my friend Kevin in exchange for a very healthy addition to my Skaven army--a great deal of Clan Skryre forces that I did not have before, plus my next painting focus: an Assassin. So Undead appearing on this page from now on will only be foes, not friendly. But that means more painted Dwarfs and Skaven, so it's all good.

Fully Painted Models
Dwarfs: 41
Skaven: 37

Battles
Total 2014: 14

Dwarfs:
4 Wins (Dwarfs 2, Wood Elves 2)
1 Loss (Dark Elves 1)

Skaven:
1 Win (T&T Daemons and Dwarfs)
4 Losses (Empire 1, Dwarfs 1, T&T Daemons 1, T&T Dwarfs 1)

For the Blue Rat

I fielded my Skaven army in a game last night, so it was a chance to get some photos of my progress thus far with them. First up are some of the characters/units, and then some shots from the battle itself (sort of a micro battle report).

 The Blue Rat

This is the Grey Seer who leads my force conceptually. He dyes his fur blue with the same compound he mixes with the warpstone powders he gives to his forces, all under the illusion of being more powerful (and different). He has built a cult around himself, relying on the drug-addled eyes of the Clan Pestilens to not see through his deceptions and instead preach the gospel of his deeds. 

 Cardinal Fang

Cardinal Fang is chief among the Plague Priests who spread the word of The Blue Rat's holy works in the name of the Horned One. This model is actually the oldest model I own. It's the one surviving Skaven from the prior two times I bought/painted/built/sold off Skaven in the past. I saved it because it was in the original blister of Skaven I bought at the same time I bought the army book 18 years ago. I stripped it, added the staff bits and decor, and gave him a brand new paint job. I picture him as having risen through the ranks after years of campaigning to become a high-ranking Plague Priest now. 

 Engineer Gnawfire

This is the first Warlock Engineer I've finished for this force, and it might remain alone for a while. The army will have much more of a Clans Pestilens and Clan Moulder element than Clan Skryre component. But every army needs at least one Engineer waiting in the wings to try out some fiendish technology. And he was a good test for the look of the blue armor, which I think turned out awesome. Makes me want to get my painting attention to my Stormvermin right away.

Progress on the unit of Slaves. They're going to be the first fully painted unit, because staying motivated on Skaven means putting off all the cool stuff until you finish the core. 

Progress on the Plague Monks, led by Cardinal Fang. I'm trying to make an early milestone of "all front ranks painted" for this force. 

Banshee Mercenary Captain

This game was a Triumph and Treachery game, so it meant fielding a group of Mercenaries along with my Skaven force. So I chose a group of Undead: a Banshee as captain, with 3 Spirit Hosts, 2 Bat Swarms, and 10 Ghouls. I'm honestly not convinced I really like Undead, and while I've been painting some I'm thinking of dropping them as a force to focus on the Skaven and Dwarfs which I enjoy much more in painting and on the tabletop.

 The Skavenslaves proved that painted means fighting better, as they not only held against the Beasts of Nurgle, but won three combats against the nasty toads before they were finally wiped out by the last of them. 

The Banshee moved forward to menace another mercenary company, a group of Bray Shaman assisting the Chaos forces. Yet some deal mush have been reached, as gold changed hands and she refrained from screaming her wail at them for two turns (T&T Mercenary rules bribes). 

A Great Unclean One and Plague Flies assail the last remnants of the Longbeards. Miraculously, the Longbeards managed to survive this fight. 

The Spirit Hosts locked the Iron Breakers and Belegar Ironhammer in place, allowing the Hell Pit Abomination to sneak around the side. The two units ground the Dwarfs down and demolished the unit, but couldn't quite finish off Belegar--who finally escaped the fight and turned his wrath on a Herald of Nurgle to end the game. 

This turned out to be the closest Triumph and Treachery game I've ever played. Kevin's Daemons of Chaos had a paychest of 1100, Tom's Dwarfs had 1200, and my Skaven narrowly won with 1350. Was a great clash! The next game on the horizon looks to be a Siege game on a day around the winter holidays, so I'm excited about that!

Fully Painted Models
Dwarfs: 41
Undead: 18
Skaven: 26

Battles
Total 2014: 12

Dwarfs:
4 Wins (Dwarfs 2, Wood Elves 2)
1 Loss (Dark Elves 1)

Skaven:
1 Win (T&T Daemons and Dwarfs)
2 Losses (T&T Daemons 1, T&T Dwarfs 1)

Undead:
1 Win (Dwarfs 1)
1 Loss (Dwarfs 1)
1 Tie (Dwarfs 1)
1 Loss (T&T Daemons 1)

Skaven Achievements

So I'm totally using this amazing notion of Skaven Achievements from the kind gents and ladies at The UnderEmpire forums. Credit where credit is due to the awesome creators of the list--truly inspiring: Mort, Rageaholic, tr33b0r, Mathusala0, Ratty Gnawtail, Grey Seer Kwokka, Razuli, SkavenDan, tezzmaniak, Thawzz1, Scarr (Reincarnated), Warlock Matik, and Reasaur.

This Horned Rat is for you, oh Council of Thirteen of the online community!

I've modified it somewhat for my own preferences, focusing on the ones I wanted to include. As I play with my Skaven, I'll update this post. Note that the list is split by achievement area in different phases and elements of the game and/or hobby. The Council of Thirteen also divided them into more difficult achievement categories: Chieftan, Warlord, and Council Member. You'll see the higher level feats listed at the end and marked with (Warlord) or (Council Member). I added a lot more, and took out a couple I didn't understand. Also, I played Skaven (twice) long ago in my gaming history. I'm not going to count those games, and focus on games going forward from the start of this blog.

Painting/Hobby

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Getting Started	Play a game of Warhammer using the Skaven army book	X
Going Large	Play a game of Warhammer with a Skaven list over 3,000 points	X
My Favorite	Play 50 games with Skaven
For my Claw-Pack	Paint a Skaven model	X
For my Fang-Pack	Paint a full unit of Skaven models	X
Moulder’s Workshop	Convert and paint a current plastic Skaven model for your army	X
Master Moulder’s Workshop	Convert and paint a classic metal Skaven model for your army	X
Scratchings	Start a blog for your Skaven army	X
More Scratchings	Write a piece of short fiction about one of your Skaven characters and post it
I smell Warpstone	Play Skaven in 5 different venues (Warlord)	(3)
Despite all my Rage	Buy or Build a custom carrying case for your Skaven army (Warlord)
For my Clan	Paint 2,000 points  of Skaven (Warlord)
Ascend the Council	Paint 5,000 points of Skaven (Council Member)

The Magic Phase

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Look Out	Lose a Grey Seer atop a Screaming Bell to a war machine shot
WINDS!!!	Cast Howling Warpgale when your opponent has no flyers or missile units
Saved from Death	Make a successful ward save for a Grey Seer hit by a cannonball
Poisonous Vermin	Cast Blessed with Filth on a unit of slaves every turn in a game
The Usual	Lose 20 or more models to your own spells in a single game	X
Death and Decay	Have Plague affect 5+ enemy units in a single casting	X
Oh No Plague	Cast Plague with irresistible force, have it affect 3+ enemy units and none of your own	X
Burn Baby Burn	Force an enemy unit to flee with a casting of Scorch
My Condenser is Sabotaged	Have a model inflict every wound on itself and die due to Warp Lightning fails
Dead Frenzy	Have a unit completely wiped out by your own Death Frenzy spell
Skaven Witchcraft	Field an army where all 13 spells are known by your casters in a single game	X
Tide of Turd	Cast Vermintide with irresistible force, only to have it inflict no wounds
I’m Corrupt	Lose equal or more models in your own army than the enemy’s with a casting of Cloud of Corruption
We’re Expendable	Lose 50 or more models to your own spells in a single game (Warlord)
Curse of the Horned One	Turn a unit of more than 20 models into Clanrats with the Dreaded 13th (Warlord)
Lucky 13’s	Manage to cast The Dreaded 13th spell on a 13 (two 6’s and a 1) (Council)

A Matter of Morale

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Hold Firm	Succeed on a leadership test when charged by a Terror-causing model
Burn Rubber	Roll a double 6 for the distance a unit flees	X
Panic	Fail two or more panic tests on the first turn of a game
Scared of Rats	Cause a monster to flee from a unit of Clanrats or Slaves
Insanity Courage	Generate Insane Courage rolls (double 1’s) twice in the same game (Warlord)
Inconceivable!	Have a Stormvermin unit break while within range of the general and battle standard, possessing its full rank bonus, and not disrupted (Warlord)
We’re not Cowards	Pass every break and panic test in a single game where you are forced to make at least 5 (Council Member)

The Leaders of Mice

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Bring it On	Have a Warlord kill a monster with the Fellblade
Daemonslayer	Kill a Greater Daemon with the Fellblade
Challenge Accepted	Accept a challenge from an enemy character with a unit champion, and kill that character without dying
More Brass than Class	Kill the enemy general w/the Brass Orb (the model throwing it can’t die too)
Fellbladed	Have a character die to the Fellblade without it inflicting any wounds on any enemy model
Leading from the Back	Must include at least one Warlord or Chieftan as general. Play a game where none of your characters engage in close combat (Warlord)
Cleaning Up the Competition	Lose 3 or more characters in a single game to your own spells/weapons (warlord)
He Looks Suspicious	Accidentally kill your own Vermin Lord with spells/weapons while also fielding a Grey Seer (Council)
Secret Agent	Have an Assassin kill an enemy character worth 500 or more points (Council)

Rank and File

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Out of the Gutter	Field a unit of Gutter Runners and use their “scouts” rule
They came from the Sewers	Field a unit of 40+ Plague Monks
Clan Moulder	Field 3 units of giant rats (at least 10 rats strong), 2 Rat Ogre Units, and 2 Hell Pitt Abominations led by Throt the Unclean in a single army
Clan Skryre	Field 3 Warlock engineers, a unit of Jezzails, a unit of Poisoned Wind Globadiers, 2 Warplightning cannons, and at least one Doomwheel, led by Ikkit Claw
Clan Pestilens	Field 2 Plague Priests (one must be on a Plague Furnace), at least two 20+ units of Plague Monks, and two Plagueclaw catapults, led by Lord Skrolk.	X
Clan Eshin	Field only Night Runners as core, plus field 3 Gutter Runner units and 2 Assassins, led by Deathmaster Snikch.
Rats Rats Rats	Field at least 150 Clanrats in a single army
Who needs Chaff?	Field no units of Clanrats or Slaves in an army
Sharpshooters	Field two units of 5+ Jezzails, and have each kill a character
Day in the Life	Kill more models in your army than your opponent does
Lost	Have a unit of Gutter Runners NOT turn up on a battlefield at all
Spartacus	Have a unit of slaves inflict 13 or more wounds on an enemy unit in combat (Warlord)
Oops, Dropped It	Drop three or more orbs/globes at your own feet in a single game (Warlord)
Slaves Revolt	Have a breaking unit of slaves kill one of your characters (who wasn’t in the unit) when inflict hits for fleeing (Warlord)
The Impossible	Have a unit of Giant Rats make up for double their points (Warlord)	X
What Battle?	Have a unit of 30 or more Clanrats cross into the enemy deployment zone by the end of the game but suffer not a single wound all battle (Warlord)
Banner of Pwaghe	Use the Banner of Plague, but fail to inflict a single unsaved wound on the enemy unit that round (Warlord)	X
Overthrown	Have a breaking unit of slaves kill your army general (who wasn’t in the unit) when inflict hits for fleeing (Warlord)

From the Hell Pit

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Ogre Rampage	Have a unit of Rat Ogres successfully overrun into another enemy unit
Monsters of the Hell Pit	Paint 2 Hell Pitt Abominations, 10 Rat ogres and 20 Giant rats, then field them in your army and get their points cost back
You Tricked Me	Lose your Hell Pitt Abomination in the first turn of the game
Undying Wrath	Have your Hell Pitt Abomination come back to life with six wounds
Too Scary	Have 3+ enemy units fail their fear/terror tests against Rat Ogres and Hell Pitt Abominations in a single game (Warlord)
Rats Revenge	Have the rat swarms released by a dying Hell Pitt Abomination defeat and kill the model/unit that killed the Abomination (Council)

The Engines of Ruin

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Deadly Shot	Inflict at least 1 wound with a Strength 10 shot from a Warp Lightning cannon	X
For Whom the Bell Tolls	Roll doubles on the Screaming Bell chart twice in the same game
Hell Yeah	Kill an unwounded monster with a single shot from a war machine
Driven by Chaos	Have a Doomwheel inflict 25+ friendly casualties in a single game
Apocalypse Kapow	Detonate a Screaming Bell (roll an 18)
I Meant to do That	Manage to kill an enemy character, monster, war machine, or full unit with a Misfiring war machine of your own (Warlord)
Clan Betrayal	Have every one of your war machines removed by misfires in a game where you field 4+ of them (Warlord)
Where are you Going?	Have a Doomwheel go “out of control” and move off a board edge (Warlord)
But… but… You’re Skaven!	Have not a single war machine or weapon team misfire for a whole game in a game where you field 5+ of them
Splash	Fire the Plagueclaw catapult and wound every model underneath the template

Tabletop Successes and Failures

Title	Achievement	Complete?
Children of Chaos	Win against Beastmen
Claim the Tunnels	Win against Dwarfs	X
The Warpstone is Ours	Win against Daemons of Chaos	X
We’re the only Ninjas	Win against Ogre Kingdoms
Gnaw the Roots	Win against Wood Elves
No one Out-Betrays Us	Win against Dark Elves
Poison the Fountains	Win against High Elves
Kill the Man-things	Win against Empire	X
The Red Pox	Win against Lizardmen
Under the Sands	Win against Tomb Kings	X
Gnaw the Bones	Win against Vampire Counts	X
The Underway Belongs to Us	Win against Orcs and Goblins
Burrow North	Win against Warriors of Chaos
Steal the Colors	Win against Bretonnia	X
Undermine the Rivals	Win against Skaven
Represent the Clans	Take Skaven to a tournament
I’m the Chieftan	Win 10 games with Skaven
Traitor in our Midst	Lose 3 games in a row with Skaven	X
I’m the Warlord	Win 20 games with Skaven (Warlord)
For the Under Empire	Win 3 games in a row with Skaven (Warlord)
Massacre	Wipe out an enemy army in 4 turns or less (Warlord)
The Chosen of Morrsleib	Win 10 games against Beastmen (Warlord)
The Kazak is Ours!	Win 10 games against Dwarfs (Warlord)	(1)
Feast on the Tainted Rocks	Win 10 games against Daemons of Chaos (Warlord)	(2)
Greasus Cant’ Catch Us	Win 10 games against Ogre Kingdoms (Warlord)
Collapse the Forest	Win 10 games against Wood Elves (Warlord)
Masters of Deceit	Win 10 games against Dark Elves (Warlord)
Burrow to Ulthuan	Win 10 games against High Elves (Warlord)
Franz shall Fall	Win 10 games against Empire (Warlord)	(2)
Defiance of the Old Ones	Win 10 games against Lizardmen (Warlord)
From Bones to Dust	Win 10 games against Tomb Kings (Warlord)	(1)
Remember, we killed Nagash	Win 10 games against Vampire Counts (Warlord)	(3)
The Eight Peaks are Ours Now	Win 10 games against Orcs and Goblins (Warlord)
In the Name of the Horned Rat	Win 10 games against Warriors of Chaos (Warlord)
Mousillon is Ours	Win 10 games against Bretonnia (Warlord)	(1)
Machinations Complete	Win 10 games against Skaven (Warlord)

I think it'll be a good reason to focus on my Skaven, which despite my pride in my Dwarf army's uniqueness, is really my preferred army. Maybe I'll do a similar list of achievements for my Dwarfs and Undead.