This time I brought a full Clan Pestilens-themed list (which ticks off a Skaven Achievement) fielding Lord Skrolk, 2 Plague Priests with one on a Furnace, 2 units of 30 or more Plague Monks, and 2 Plagueclaw Catapults, plus some assorted support in the form of a Warlock Engineer, some Skavenslaves, and a tiny unit of Giant Rats.
My foes brought some heavies for me to face, one side Empire with two Steam Tanks, and the other side Legions of Chaos, led by The Glottkin. From the start I wondered if the scurrying servants of the Horned Rat would be up to the task.
Painting prep for this game was all about the Plague Monks. I did 10 total, enough for 7 to be a fully painted front row for my Plague Furnace horde unit, and 3 to complete row two of this unit above. I really like how the blues turned out.
Lord Skrolk showed up painted to command everything. I like my other Plague Priests better, but he's a nice model too. I need to take some art pens and get to work on his book and the books of my Plague Monk unit champions.
Being a Triumph and Treachery game, that meant Mercenaries. I chose mine from Storm of Magic, with the Dark Emissary as my Mercenary Captain. I love this model (a Christmas Gift from my friend Kevin, which he painted--I just swapped the base to match mine), as it's one of my favorites from a great campaign way back in the day: the Albion campaign.
The other half of my Mercenary force: Big Cow, the Stegadon. In future games I'll have Clan Moulder Beasthandlers as decoration behind Mercenaries like this. For now he had to roll around doing the heavy lifting as an ally without guidance from Hell Pit.
I see someone hiding behind that building: it's Glottkin!
The battle started with Chaos flooding the board, managing to get into combat on the first turn with some Empire Handgunners, and putting a big unit of Bestigor ambushers right behind my lines. The return charge of the Steam Tanks managed to slow the Chaos down on the Empire end of things, while a deviating shot from one of my Plagueclaw Catapults (the one that didn't misfire and blow up on turn one) managed to still clip the Bestigor herd, cause a wound, and cause them to flee--and to be run down the following turn.
The Warlock Engineer had a cunning plan. Use a Brass Orb on the Steam Tank. Too bad it's got a half-decent initiative! Another failure for Skaven technology!
The Clan Eshin spies had reliably informed my forces of Pestilens that I would be facing not only The Glottkin, but the two Steam Tanks. Thus, Lord Skrolk hired Engineer Gnawfire to bring one of his deadly Clan Skryre creations with him to the battle: the Brass Orb. I thought it would take out either with ease, but I ended up making the wrong call. Steam Tanks have Initiative 3, and nimbly dodged (drove?) out of the way of the throw... Mercifully the slaves unit dodged any Steam Tank reprisal, but Engineer Gnawfire suffered an ignoble death from enemy magic for trying to make his own way across the battlefield after throwing the device.
The newest horror movie coming this Winter: "Steam Tank-Stegadon-Centipede."
The Mercenary Stegadon proved to be a valiant ally for slowing the advance of the Steam Tanks. Catching one in a flank charge, it inflicted some healthy damage on the tank. I dreaded the reprisal on the Empire turn as the other Steam Tank charged in, but it wasn't meant to be. The cunning Chaos force recognized that if the Steam Tanks were in combat with a Mercenary, a bribe unanswered could turn the Stegadon neutral for the combat. Thus the Empire was left unable to affect the Stegadon, as The Glottkin charged into the Empire knights with relative safety.
The Skavenslaves sell their lives dearly to slow the Lizardman Mercenaries of the Empire--keeping them pinned long enough for a unit of Plague Monks to get in position to charge down a scree slope into the Skinks.
Finally my Clan Pestilens forces were able to position themselves and sweep into the remaining forces. Despite taking casualties to their own noxious gasses and a scree slope, one unit of Plague Monks wiped out the Lizardmen, while another managed to get the fresh Steam Tank damaged before the game end.
I ended up winning the game, with a relatively narrow margin, with Empire a close second and Chaos still having a very respectable number of points. Looking back at it, it was the Plagueclaw catapult causing the ambushing Bestigor herd to run off the board with its forced panic test that really won me the match. Not only did it net me a whole bunch of points, but it did two other great things: (1) kept one of my units of Plague Monks out of the initial melees, so later in the game they were fresh and able to take some casualties, and (2) kept my back line from being overwhelmed by the ambush. A lucky shot combined with poor leadership of Beastmen. Phew.
Fully Painted Models
Skaven: 53
Dwarfs: 41
Battles
Total 2015: 2 (Win/Loss/Tie: 1/1/0)
Total 2014: 15 (Win/Loss/Tie: 8/6/1)
Skaven:
3 Wins (T&T Daemons and Dwarfs, Siege Dwarfs and Bretonnians, T&T Daemons and Empire)
5 Losses (Empire 1, Dwarfs 1, Daemons 1, T&T Daemons 1, T&T Dwarfs 1)
Dwarfs:
4 Wins (Dwarfs 2, Wood Elves 2)
1 Loss (Dark Elves 1)
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