Battle Report- Empire Vs Vampire Counts

2000 points @ Plastic Legions HQ 2/26

This was our scheduled game from our 2/19 Mighty Empires campaign at Games Workshop, Oak Park. We decided to play the game a week late mainly so we could both get our VC Spearheads and check out the new book and Bill could run a new list.

ARMY LISTS

VAMPIRE COUNTS

LORD

Vampire Lord
-Dread Knight
-Walking Death
-Master of Black Arts
-Talisman of Protection
-Book of Arkham
-Rod of Flaming Death
-Barded Nightmare

HEROES

Vampire BSB
-Avatar of Death
-Walking Death
-Royal Standard of Strigos

Necromancer
-extra spell: raise dead
-Scepter of noir
- Corpse Cart
-Balefire

Wight King
-Hand of Dust
-Skeletal Steed

CORE

23 Skeletons FC/ War Banner

20 Zombies

20 Zombies

5 Fell Bats

SPECIAL

11 Black Knights
-Champion
-Standard Banner/ Banner of Barrows
-Skeletal Steeds

3 Cairn Wraiths
-Tomb Banshee

RARE

1 Varghulf

total= 2143
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THE EMPIRE

LORD

General of Empire
-Sword of Power
-Holy Relic
-Enchanted Shield
-Warhorse w/ Barding

HEROES

Captain
-Battle Standard Bearer
-Armor of Metoric Iron
-Sword of Justice

Wizard
-Level 2
-Dispel Scroll x2

Priest
-Icon of Magnus


CORE

29 Swordsmen/ FC with War Banner
Detachment 10 Spearmen
10 Free Company

10 Handgunners
marksman w/ HLR

10 Huntsmen (scouts)

15 Flagellants

SPECIAL

2 Great Cannon

10 Knightly Orders /FC
-Inner Circle
-Bannor of Valor

14 Greatswords / FC

Total= 1993

( yes, no rares for me in this list, thou in retrospect I would have rather had the Hellblaster than the Huntsmen)


Mighty Empires disclaimer- Being this a Mighty Empires game there are few things that need mentioned as this is different than the standard Warhammer pitched battle. Bill's list is at 2143 because he has the option of spending gold earned in campaign to increase his army size up to 250 points. In this case he went with 143gp, the are two strategy events that took place that effect deployment. In Bill's case he had "Survey the Battlefield" which allows him to rearrange two pieces of terrain anyway he wants before deployment. In this case we started with a 4x8 table laid out completely even on both ends, he moved a forest and hill (thereby denying my cannons use of the terrain feature). My event is "Espionage" which takes place after the game is concluded and allows me to steal back victory points. We also both control hexes with "special buildings" in them and these buildings effect the game we are playing. I have an observatory, which allows me to have the "scouts" campaign rule, which forces Bill to set his entire army up first, then I deploy and get 1st turn. Bill has a graveyard which gives him a gravestone randomly deployed on the battlefield which is static item with a bound 4 casting of "raise dead" attached to it.



Deployment- Vampire Counts-
Bill deployed tightly on his right half of the table, with his Black Knights on the Left flank and his Fell Bats on the right, There are some Proxies here due to the fact Bill just got some new models, you'll see my Griffon in some photos, which is proxying for the Varghulf and one of Bills BlackCoaches is proxying as the Corpse Cart. Late in the game you will see a lone banshee which is actually a raised spirit host chasing down my wizard thanks to the spell, "Wind of Death".
Bill's got magic heavy list with 8 base power dice and 6 Dispel Dice, his spells are 3 Raise Deads, Van Hels Dance Macabre, Wind of Death, plus Vampires get Invocation of Nehek for free.



The Empire-

I deploy in a much wider line with The Greatswords on the left flank and my Knights on the right, I have gap in my line where both cannon have a wide channel to fire into the VC lines, Bill put zombies there but I still have angles first turn to try to get some better units. My Huntsmen set up in the forests hidden right in front of the Cairn Wraiths. I sent my Handgunners up so they are making a beeline to take the watchtower, which means they aren't going to be able to fire until turn 3 but they will take the focus of a strong unit to dislodge. For Spells I choose the lore of Fire and Roll "Wall of Fire" and choose to take "Fireball" I have 4 Power Dice and 4 Dispel Dice. ok, enough deployment talk-On with game!





Turn 1 The Empire
I cautiously move forward with the exception of my Flanks both My Knights and Greatsword move ahead, I want to bait the Cairn Wraiths with my Greatswords are they are immune to Fear (Icon of Magnus)and Bill doesn't know that yet, My Knights have cover from the watchtower and while it won't until turn three I going to get hopefully get around or flank someone. My huntsment stay hidden because to expose themselves now opens them up to charges from the Wraiths or Varghulf which is sucide, I want them to weed out Zombies so I need to wait it out and hope bills goes for a more dangerous unit. In My Magic Phase I find out about Balefire from the Corpse Cart, I move my wizard forward enough he's within the 24" of the corpse cart and I get -1 to my casting for Wall of fire my difficult to get base "12" is now a "13" and my risky 1 die follow up now needs a "6" ouch, I whiff on both spells. the Shooting phase is equally a dud, as I am short on my first guess and my second cannon "misfires" right off the bat, thankfully I roll a 4 which "may not shoot" so I just lose this turn. Nothing for me 1st
turn, so much for "Scouts"



Vampire Counts

All Bill's troops advance, and of course the Wraiths and Varghulf head straight for the forest and my Huntsmen, I woun't need to take psych test until my turn they weren't charged but are surrounded. The Magic Phase starts off with using the Gravestone to raise some Zombies, I let the 7 zombies take the field and they pop up right infront of my flagellants so they are going to get crushed., Bill cast Wind of Death, which fails, he casts another raise that I dispell with dice. He then breaks out the magic item, "The Rod of Flaming Death" which is a bound item and is as nasty as it sounds, I Dispel that with dice too, he has another Raise Dead and raises another unit of Zombies, not wanting to use my scrolls yet, this time I let 10 Zombie pop up but they are right near my Huntmen, bill uses "Dance" to make them charge my Huntsmen who wisely flee, lucky I roll high enough I get out of the forest and away from the wraiths and Varghulf as well. In the shooting Phase the Tomb Banshee's ranged attack is in range of my Greatswords and one falls to it, it is the games 1st Kill, we both get past the 1st turn unscathed.

Turn 2
The Empire

My Flagellants have no choice (thanks to being Frenzied) then to charge those zombies right in front of them, My Huntsmen Rally and the rest of my troops advance, except for my swordsmen who hold as I dont want to risk getting flanked by one of those fast units bills got on the loose. I use my detachments to block, the Free Company move to block the Fell Bats who came 20" up the left side (obviously headed to my backfield and cannons) but If I dont block them he's got clear charge on the rear of my Greatswords which I definitely dont want., My spearmen move to block the Varghulf, My Knights keep advancing around the back of the watchtower and my Handgunners move and capture the watchtower and will be able to shoot from it 360 next turn. Again Bill's dispel dice in combination with my tough success rolls, mean I get nada out of the magic phase. My cannon do a little bit better, my guesses are perfect but my bounce one is bad and I only kill 1 zombie, second one (aiming at the corpse cart) put two wounds on it. In close combat my Flagellants blow right through those seven zombies and overrun right into the rear of that other unit of Zombies that tried to charge my Huntmen. I Kill 8 zombies that turn, not much. but with the new rules you get 50VP for every raised unit you destoy regardless of size so that's a good thing for the Empire.

Vampire Counts

Bills Black Knights use the ethereal ability to wheel thru the center hill and make along charge attempt at my Flagellants rear, they come close but fail. one of his starting units of zombies charges into the flagellants flank. The Wraiths and Varghulf reposition but dont engage yet. The Wraiths movement causes a terror check on the Huntsmen who fail and are fleeing again. The Fell Bats take another 20 inch move toward my cannons, I am only going to only get one more round of shooting with them unless I intercept. Bill's core unit of Skeleton Warriors led by his General and BSB are currently looking at flank charge from my Knights, so he rotates to face me and holds/ Magic Phase starts off with Wind of Death with a dice roll, it goes off big and I use a dispel scroll to get rid of it, Next up is the bound spell with Rod of Flaming death, Bill has 10 power dice with the bonus 2 from the Vampire Power "Master of the Black Arts" so I only throw one dispel die at the rods bound spell luckily I roll a 3 and get it on the nose. So I am holding my remain three dice for what ever else bill has in store for me which is definitely a bunch of Raises, Dances on the Black Knights and some Invocations to heal but the dice had something different to say as his General casts and its a miscast, he then rolls an 8 meaning among other things the Magic Phase immediately ends, which puts a BIG stick in Bills plans. I lucked out there. In the shooting phase the Banshee tries another Ghostly Howl but this time can't beat my Greatswords Leadership ( 8 with Priest). On to Close Combat, My Flagellants martyr I roll a "6" (3) and get all three bonuses, they shred the unit of Zombies the rear charged and the other unit strikes out and loses combat by 6 so it takes six wounds, I get another 50 points for a destroying a raised unit.


Turn 3
The Empire

My Knights charge the Skeletons, I pass the fear test and am in. My Greatswords charge the Cairn Wraiths they too pass the fear. My General also charges the Cairn Wraiths, I need to succeed as he has the magic weapon needed to destroy them, He fails so no charge. My Huntsmen were fleeing and fled off the table. the free company is too close the wraiths and they flee as well. My other units adjust the positions, my swordsmen rotate away from the Varghulf and face the oncoming black knights. In the Magic Phase I finally get a Wall of Fire off on the Black Knights with high roll, Bills dispel fails with double "1"...unfortunately Bill only loses 1 Knight. The shooting phase starts off with another "misfire" this time one cannon blows up, the other scores a great hit into the Black Knights and Kills 2 more, My handgunners shoot at the black knights from tower, with really strong rolls, I kill 3 more Black Knights. I take down 1/2 the unit in the last two phases...pretty optimistic so far. Close Combat thou goes sideways as despite tons of hits on my charging knights I only end up with 3 kills. This is the VC main unit with two characters, I soon find out he has static CR of +9!!!, on the strike back I lose 1 knight ...I lose combat by "5" and need insane courage, I fail, manage to escape but knights are fleeing and dont go far. My Greatsword cant wound the Cairn Wraiths due to ethereal but I can still beat them due to static bonus, the wraiths fail to kill a single greatsword this round and I win combat by "2" killing one of them. My Flagellants finish off seven more zombies from the unit that was flanking them on the previous turn.

Vampire Counts

If you play Warhammer you know that turn three is always the big turn. I did some damage to Bill last round so it was payback time, and I paid and then bill must of forgot I paid, because I just kept paying. Bills General and his Skeletons charge my fleeing Knight they are 4" of so inches behind after the flee and pursue next move, I don't need to roll more than "5" on the 3d6 to get away. I roll the dice one at a time to add to the drama, 1 die- ONE , (not good), 2 die - ONE, (holy shit) 3 die - ONE !! I roll a "3" on the flee and am caught by the 8" charge and destroyed. Of course I am seriously bumming, although the same thing basically happened to High Elves in the last game I played only it was worse because his General was in the unit. Anyway that kind of shit happens, way to often I laugh it off...but I am crying!!! LOL. The Fell Bats charge my remaining cannon, kill the crew and spike it. The Varghulf charges my spearmen detachment. The remaining Black Knights charge into my Flagellants who are still tied up with Zombies. The magic phase starts of with raising on Black Knight back to life, Bill fails to raise a wraith. I get hit with big wind of death and use my second and final scroll on that, and use my dice to dispel another raise and a dance. out of dispel options I take the rod of flaming death on my Handgunners in the building and am lucky to only lose 3, then Bill reveals the Black Book and the Hand of Dust which give him a free move on his General's Unit and the Hand of Dust take out the remaining Flagellants but fortunately it gets exhausted after one use. In Close Combat the Varghulf crushes my spearmen who break like a twig and get run over, the overrun plows him into the flank of my swordsmen, exactly what I wanted to avoid as I worried about the Black Knights. That also causes my wizard to flee from the Varghulf and he does. The Banshee kills 2 Greatswords this time I still combat (rank, outnumber, standard) by 1 so one the wraiths takes a wound. my casualties are brutal, 9 Knights, (lose Banner), 10 Spearmen, 10 Flagellants, 2 Greatswords, 3 Handgunners, 1 Cannon and Crew . 38 units in one round, and I have two units (free company and wizard) fleeing. that's got to be a record for me....Bill is pretty psyched right now.




Turn 4

The Empire

Despite the massive losses, I still have my best units except for knights still alive so I carry on. My General tries charging the Wraiths again, this time he is in. My Free Company Rallies, but my wizard keeps running. In the magic phase my priest tries a soul fire and bill fails to dispel its bound 4 ( rolled a three or double "1"s not sure) anyway that kills the other other wraith and puts a wound on the Banshee. shooting from the Handgunners takes out three zombies. In close combat my General polishes off the Banshee. Varghulf is flanking but is only US 4..he kills 3 swordsman and I can't hit it but my unit has a static CR of +6 plus another for outnumber so I win by 4 and the Varghulf take four wounds, but because of regeneration it only takes 2 of it four wounds. since I won the combat I get a free turn to face and get my BSB into attack it next turn.


Vampire Counts

The VC General and his Skeletons charge the watchtower, my handgunners are butchered and the VC claim the watchtower, Bill reforms his Black Knights to get into position to use dance to get them to charge the greatswords.(but ends up being too far away) The Fell bats fly off into the far quarter to claim it and score. The magic phase the General casts Wind of Death, luckily I only take two wounds from it but the spell raises a 2 wound spirit host at the end of the spell another unit I have to deal with. Bill then uses a "dance" to have the spirit host charge my fleeing wizard but I roll high and escape. all the rest of Bill's spells fail (3 raise deads)The Varghulf kills a few more swordsmen, my BSB puts some wounds on him and the Swordsmen win combat, bill makes alot of regeneration saves and the Varghulf hangs on with 1 wound.



Turn 5 Empire
Greatswords charge the Black Knights, my general is pointed the wrong direction and can only turn to hope to get in with Black Knights in turn 6. My free company moves up to help either the swordsmen or greatswords last turn. My wizard rallies, I get nothing in the magic phase and I have not shooting left. In close combat The Wight King Issues a challenge against my Greatsword Unit champion. I accept and they fight to a draw...I still lose 2 Greatswords, I do lose combat this time but I am stubborn and I pass the break test. My swordsmen finish with Varghulf with one wound it can't hope to win, it kills couple more swordsmen and while I fail to wound it, it loses combat and can't pass enough regenerations saves to live, and it dies.

Vampire Counts

Spirit Host charges my Wizard, he flees again and escapes (barely), The General and his Skeletons leave the watchtower moving toward combat. Bills holds back his remain zombies and corpse cart trying to conserve points. Magic Phase starts with Raise Deads, I let bill heal up a few Black Knights worries about the other spells I dispel the book, the rod, and a dance, bill fails to get any other dances off to move his Generals unit closer. Combat continues with Black Knights and Greatswords, this time the wight king kills my unit champion, I manage to kill a few knights but lose a few more greatswords, I lose combat and am outnumbered but I am Fearless (icon of magnus), taking the normal break test..I roll insane courage anyway..(go figure)


Turn 6 Empire
Swordsmen charge the Black Knights flank, My General and Free Company Hold. My Wizard Rallies again. In Close Combat the Wight King challenges my BSB, stupidly I accept thinking I can take him or at least hold my own for the round, but I am forgetting about KILLING BLOW, and stupidly I lose my BSB...giving bill some easy points. In the resulting combat I cause a few wounds but the CR loss is what does the Black Knights in, they lose CR by enough to be easily destroyed.


Vampire Counts

Last licks- the Spirit Host charges my Wizard..I have nothing to lose and take the charge, Bill holds all his units back not wanting to give up any more points we know this game is looking like a Draw we both have all our heroes alive my swordsmen are 20 strong with full detachment left, plus I have some greatswords. Bill also has all his heroes, plenty of Skeletons, some zombies, his corpse cart and the Bats way over on the other side of the table. Bill's is going to finish it off by hammering me in the magic phase. He starts off with General throwing four dice for a "Wind of Death", Bill throws the dice and rolls a MISCAST..again oh shit he says...he then rolls his miscast dice and Sigmar steps in and makes them SNAKE EYES....Bill about soils himself the same way I did back in bottom of turn three when I rolled a natural "3". Bills 445 point general dies and units start crumbling after he loses about 15 or so zombies, the spirit host and a few skeletons. (although in retrospect ,writing this I dont think we checked the bats) At that point the game ends there is no close combat (so my wizard lives)


SCORING VAMPIRE COUNTS
Units Destroyed

Captain of Empire BSB- 120
Spearmen - 60
Handgunners- 105
Huntsmen- 100
Flagellants- 150
Cannon x 2- 200
Knights- 330

Units at 1/2 str

Greatswords 85

Table Quarters 1= 100

Capture Banners 1= (Knights) 100

Total Score= 1350


THE EMPIRE

Units Destroyed

Vampire Lord (General) 445
Wight King 157
11 Black Knights 341
3 Cairn Wraiths 175
Varghulf 175
3 units of Raised troops 150
(2 Zombies, Spirit Host)

Units at 1/2 Strength
Zombies 40
Zombies 40

Corpse Cart (2 wounds) 50

Enemy General Slain- 100

Captured Banner ( Black Knights) - 100

Total Score = 1773

Results + 423 EMPIRE, MARGINAL VICTORY.


In the end, without Bill destroying himself and giving me about 600 points all in with the crumbling, it was a draw in his favor at about 200 points. I hate winning that way....but the shitty dice are part of the game...and the back and forth of which made this game very exciting and a total nail biter Huge thanks to Bill for coming over and being a great sportsman...