One Little Pox

Time again for my slavering ratmen to take the field in a game of Warhammer. Painting progress this week went very well: I finished seven Clanrats. 

Clanrats

I'm trying to balance between painting the rank-and-file of my forces and the special units and characters. I've got a thing for mixing up which characters I field, so I often add those more often in my painting rotation. But for this game, I wanted to get some line troops done. Seven more clanrats to push the Screaming Bell into battle!

This game pitted 3,000 points of my Skaven against 3,000 points of Tom's Lizardmen, in a rematch from last week's game. I kept basically the same units (cutting two Plague Monks, changing a magic standard, and adding a warplock pistol to the Stormvermin Fangleader), and Tom kept basically the same list as well. We got the "Battle for the Pass" mission, where the deployment zones are on the short edges of the table. With sides decided, it was time to deploy and clash again. 

 The Lizardmen battle line... Having retreated after the final battle, the Slaan and Oldblood regrouped with further spawnings for support against the approach of the vile ratmen. They formed together ample blocks of Saurus Warriors to hold the front line, along with a large unit of Saurus Cavalry and a Skink Cohort. The Lizardmen command lurked behind the lines: the Saurus Oldblood on a Carnosaur, a Skink Priest on a Stegadon, and a the Lore of Undeath-using Slaan Mage Priest. 

 The Skaven pressed their attack, their lines mostly intact from the prior battle--swelled by surging reinforcements from behind. The Screaming Bell pushed by a unit of Clanrats remained at the center of the push--the Blue Rat again shouting commands and blasting spells from his high perch. The great Verminlord Corruptor stalked alongside the horde, with rats careful to remain out of his poisonous miasma. Groups of Giant Rats, Rat Swarms, and Skavenslaves were forced to be close to the Verminlord, while the Stormvermin and Plague Monks remained far from his deadly spells. A Ratling Gun, a Warpfire Thrower, a Plagueclaw Catapult, and a Hell Pit Abomination rounded out the force that came crashing into the Lizardmen's reserves. 

 The early phase of the battle showed the two sides being wary, and relying upon magical prowess to build a comparative advantage over the opposite side. The Slaan Mage Priest began with bursts of unholy power, summoning his ability to raise the very dead from the ground. A haunting figure was the first: a Cairn Wraith rose from the ground to terrorize the Skaven.

 However, the Skaven were not content to lose the magical duel. The Verminlord Corruptor successfully cast his deadly Plague Spell on his first turn, which spread a single dreadful Pox across the battlefield. Ranks of Saurus Warriors in the two units perished, along with an (un)healthy number of Temple Guard. However, hardest hit was the Saurus Cavalry--they lost seven of their eleven number from the single spell. 

 A clash of arms quickly followed the magical duel, with the Abomination and Plague Monks crashing into the Skink Cohort. Many (many) Plague Monks were slain between the stand-and-shoot reaction, the poisoned attacks of the Skinks, and the super-deadly Kroxigors' attacks. 

 However, the attacks of the Skaven were equally destructive--the Skink Cohort fled from battle (the first of three times it would flee from combats only to rally again). That left the Abomination crashing into the Stegadon, a combat that would be locked until the final turn of the game. As the two titans clashed against each other, the remaining forces braced for their own combats. 

 As always, the Skaven brought their assault from unexpected directions. The Stormfiends crashed into the rear of the Temple Guard, and slowly set about massacring them. They took a few wounds (one from the Slaan itself), but eventually killed each and every one of the Temple Guard with their deadly grinding fists. The Lizardmen morale held firm, however, as they were not so easily spooked as the Skaven. 

 A block of Saurus Warriors, decimated from the spells of Plague and Scorch in the magic phases managed to reach a small unit of Giant Rats. The rats mounted a most feeble of defenses, failing to stop even a single one of the deadly foes, and they were wiped out to a man... er... rat... um... maybe man-rat. 

 Early losses from magic had disheartened the Lizardmen, but the victories of even decimated units of Saurus Warriors spurred their resolve. While the Stormfiends attacked his last remaining defenders, the Slaan Mage Priest managed to summon a unit of Dire Wolves to the battlefield to give combat to the Skaven foes. 

 The block of Saurus Warriors continued their rampage, this time smashing through a full four bases of Rat Swarms while only losing a single casualty of their own. The Skaven right flank was seriously weakened by this--and by the unit of Slaves and Warlock Engineer (in the foreground of the photo) who fled directly off the table in panic from the nearby destruction of the Rat Swarms. 

 The Saurus Oldblood on his Carnosaur rode to the defense of the Slaan Mage Priest, but it was too little too late. As he approached up the scree slope the whirling Doom-Flayer Gauntlets and Warp Grinder of the Stormfiends found their mark--the spiked and rotating blades tearing the soft flesh of Lizardmen general to pieces. In anger, the Oldblood and his Carnosaur slew one of the Stormfiends right where it stood, and then chased and ran down the other as it fled from combat. 

 The Slaan Mage Priest's last act had not been to protect himself, but rather to aid his own sides' cause. Another unit of Dire Wolves were conjured out of the earth, this time pointed at eliminating the last of the Plague Monks and their vile Plague Priest leader.

 Meanwhile, at the center of the Skaven line the Screaming Bell and the Clanrats pushing it were under assault from both sides--Saurus Warriors on their flank and the first summoned unit of Dire Wolves in their front. The Clanrats held firm, however: managing to survive more attacks than the enemy did. The attacks back proved to be more devastating than expected, and leaving the Lizardmen fleeing and eventually run down by the Bell and its unit, and the Dire Wolves destroyed. 

 At this point, the Skaven had way more remaining than the Lizardmen: the two Saurus characters were all the stood. And the one who had joined the Cavalry was fated to be another casualty. The Hell Pit Abomination had finally finished off the Stegadon (taking five wounds of its own in the process). With renewed vigor, it turned and crashed into the back of the Scar Vet--and was joined by the Stormvermin unit on his side. The weight of attacks tore him down, leaving only the Oldblood on Carnousair left for the Lizardmen forces. 

 The final round of magic saw the Verminlord Corruptor doing his best to destroy the Oldblood and his Carnosaur. Plague, Cloud of Corrupton, and Cracks Call were all leveled at the Oldblood, yet he took only a single wound from the entire onslaught. The Oldblood saw the course of the battle, and knew that the day was lost--but that the war was just beginning. He rode off again, hoping to rejoin other units and finally drive his spear into the heart of the Skaven army and end its threat to the Old World for good. 

As always, an entertaining game against a good player. The two turns of standing off most of the battle line really hurt the Lizardmen, as once they got into the mix--even with highly injured units--they tended to win most of their battles against the Skaven. Though I don't blame him, as that amazing first-round Plague spell resulted in the entire left flank of the force at half or worse strength. Just one little pox was enough to do so much. I won the battle on points, which finally drives my Skaven record to even in terms of wins and losses. There's definitely more tinkering to be done with the force, and sadly (or excitingly) a great deal of painting left as well. Next up: defending in a siege battle with a very different style of Skaven force!

Battles

Total 2015: 22 (Win/Loss/Tie: 14/6/2)
Total 2014: 15 (Win/Loss/Tie: 8/6/1)

Skaven:
9 Wins (Undead 2, Empire 1, Lizardmen 2, T&T Daemons and Dwarfs, Siege Dwarfs and Bretonnians, T&T Daemons and Empire, T&T Dual Undead)
9 Losses (Lizadmen 1, Skaven 1, Empire 1, Dwarfs 1, Daemons 1, T&T Daemons 1, T&T Dwarfs 1, Special Game Nurgle, T&T Bretonnians 1)
1 Tie (Empire 1)

Dwarfs:
11 Wins (High Elves 1, Lizardmen 1, Dwarfs 3, Wood Elves 2, T&T Undead and Dwarfs, T&T Lizardmen and Wood Elves, T&T Chaos Legions and Lizardmen, Team Daemons and Tomb Kings)
2 Losses (Dark Elves 1, Empire 1)
1 Tie (T&T Dual Undead)