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)