Vampire Counts vs Dogs of War Part 2

Turn 1 – Dogs of War

No charges are declared in the first turn. On the left flank, the light and heavy cavalry move forward, the light cavalry staying on the extreme flank. The duellists run into the abandoned Orc village (where do they come from?).

On the centre and right side of the field, the Paymaster’s unit and the Rhinox Riders move forward, Maneaters move forward individually. It’s quite a threat. One pegasus rider moves into the orc village in front of the duellists.

Magic is ineffective, with Guardian Light being cast with a big score, and dispelled with a slightly bigger roll.

Shooting was more effective. The crossbows decided that 5s to hit meant a 50/50 ratio and wiped out the Dire Wolves with ease.

At this point turn 1 was done.



Turn 1 – Vampire Counts

There was a lot of weight bearing down on me like a truck. Like a rabbit, I froze in the headlights and barely moved at all. There was lots of shuffling here and there, but barely any ground was covered, to Aido’s derisive laughter. To move forward was to be charged, and I just wasn’t ready for that yet. The banshees came forward, both moving into the woods.

The Vampire Bats raced forward to land between the heavy and light cavalry on the left.


Now for the big Vampire Count magic phase. 9 power Dice versus 4 dispel dice. Gaze of Nagash was cast at one of the oncoming Maneaters but was dispelled. No worries, let’s Dark Hand of Death that same Maneater. Dispel Scroll. Okay. Now let’s raise a new unit of zombies, since the other necromancer needs to use his two dice. Failed to cast. Right. Doom and Darkness with three dice on the Paymaster’s unit. Failed to cast. Yes, even with the Necrarch +1 to cast. Just perfect.



Turn 2 – Dogs of War

It’s all on now for the Dogs of War. Aido decided to be less aggressive than usual, declaring only two charges. A Maneater charged the unit of zombies on the right side of the Undead general, and on the extreme left flank, the light cavalry charged the Fell Bats. The Maneater charged into combat with ease, but the light cavalry failed their fear test.

The remaining moves were very interesting. A Maneater moved directly in front of the Undead general’s unit of Grave Guard, positioned facing the necromancer, and in such a way that the Vampire Lord would not be able to fight if the unit charged next turn. Aido claims this was accidental, and I believe him….
Also in the centre, the fast cavalry moved forward, and a Maneater moved up to the Black Knights. The last Maneater stayed back, on the far side of the woods from the Undead. The Rhinox riders also held back. For now.

The heavy cavalry unit and a pegasus rider moved into position on the flank of the now-engaged zombie unit.

The Magic phase was nothing short of disastrous. A miscast trying to cast Guardian Light resulted in the permanent loss of that vital spell and a level for the Dogs of War general. There would be no immunity to psychology and auto-rally for the Dogs of War in this battle.

Shooting was more productive, with the crossbows again achieving a 50/50 hit ratio at long range, resulting in three dead Grave Guard. From their position in the orc village, the duellists fired their pistols at the Fell Bats, but only caused one wound.

In combat the Maneater killed a pair of zombies and passed his stubborn test.


Turn 2 – Vampire Counts

Right. Time to do... Something. The Black Knights charged the Maneater in front of them, which involved entering the woods, but movement was no problem since he was only 2 inches away. It was charge or be charged, but overrun would be great if they could just cause 3 wounds on the charge…

The second zombie unit charged the light cavalry in front of them, who fled only 6 inches, but that was enough to escape the sluggish, shambling zombies. The zombies were now showing their flank to the waiting Paymaster and his unit of heavy cavalry. The Fell Bats charged a unit of crossbows who fled rather than be charged in the flank.

In the movement phase the Grave Guard moved back a couple of inches while the general and necromancer swapped places within the unit. The Banshees, now limited to a 6” move, closed with the Rhinox Riders.

Here’s hoping for a better magic phase than last time. Let’s see. A Necromancer casts Vanhel’s on the Grave Guard, failing to make the roll required. Hmm, three dice gone. The second Necromancer tries the same spell on the same unit, and rolls the same score. Grrr. Six dice gone. The general uses his three dice to cast Walking Death on the unengaged zombies and rolls double six. Now the zombies are not such an obvious candidate for a flank charge from the Paymaster’s unit. Finally the Book of Arkhan is used in a final attempt to get the general and his unit into combat with the Maneater leering at them. It is dispelled, but the book is free to be used again.

The shooting phase might just go down as ‘best ever’. The Banshees both rolled well, killing a Rhinox rider and causing the unit to flee. Now the power of the new Panic rules became clear. The riders fled directly away from the Banshees, through a pegasus rider, who also fled, all the way back to the hilltop, near the crossbows fleeing from the Fell Bats. The Dogs of War back line was now filled with fleeing units.

In combat the Maneater kills three zombies and passes his stubborn test. The Black Knights fail to kill their Maneater on the charge, rolling four hits followed by two 1s to wound. In return the Maneater killed the Hell Knight and a Black Knight and held.