The Crew of the Embers Dance

One of the special formations available to the Lizardmen armies is a band of pistol totting pirates under the command of Firebrand. I'm not sure they are worth the points but the modelling options are fun so I've had a go at the full compliment - 3 Troops of Corsairs and Firebrand herself.

The modelling involved was not very complex - most of the figure was Northstar's Snakemen. I added pistols harvested from Warlord Games ECW cavalry and hats from infantry their range.

The completed Crew of the Embers dance is a small formation with decent short-range firepower from its many pistols.

One Troop is based separately do that an Embers Dance themed Vanguard warband can also be fielded.  

Finally Firebrand herself bristling with pistols.

The Wards of Agnih-Bhanu - game 2

The second battle of the Wards of Agnih-Bhanu saw the Abyssals and the Lizardmen fighting for control of the Shield, an item granting Regeneration to the bearer. The scenario was Loot, where you have to capture and control 3 loot makers for the whole game. Loot markers exiting the table are safe.

The Lizardmen went for a fairly balanced formation with Tyrants and Ancients in the centre. The right had Rinosaurs, and the shooty Skyraiders. The left had the second Rinosaurs and a Fire Drake making its first appearance. They intended to contest all the loot markers, then pick two for the big effort.  

The Abyssals deployed with a hard-hitting centre of Molochs and Succubi. On their right was the Hellhounds, heavy cavalry and Arch Fiend. Their left has the Lower Abyssal horde and Flame Bearers. A strong attack from the mobile right was on the cards.   

A couple of models made their first appearance of the campaign. For the Lizardmen the Fire Drake was deployed instead of the Sky Lord and for the Abyss the newly completed Mantic Arch Fiend.

The Lizardmen moved forward cautiously in the centre hampered by some rough terrain, surged forwards on the right capturing a loot counter and manoeuvred on the left in the hopes of some shooting in turn 2. The Abyssals indulged in some fairly ineffective shooting from their Flame Bearers  but pushed forward along the line with the rest looking to use their greater range to get the first charge.

Turn 2 saw the Abyssals launch an attack against the Lizardmen lines. This was proceeded by some desultory shooting from the Fire Drake that caused a mere 2 wounds on the Abyssal Horsemen.

On the Lizardmen left the firedrake wilted under assault of the Horsemen, but the Rinosaurs and Lekelidon held firm to stabilise the flank. Centrally Abyssals mostly bounced-off but some good nerve rolling (10 then 11) blew away the Ancients anchoring the line and opened-up a flank.

Punch and counter-punch left the centre pretty empty as both sides destroyed the other in a blood bath that left the Molochs in control of the Shield. On the Lizardmen left the Rinosaurs finally routed but took with them the Archfiend and Abyssal Horsemen. This left the Spear of Agnih won in the last game unattended and it was scooped-up by the Hell Hounds.

In turn 6  the Lizardmen launched a final assault that captured the Shield from the Succubi. The final result was 2-1 to the Lizardmen with them securing the Shield but loosing the Spear.

Finally a few pictures of the new Mantic Archfiend model. at over 10cm tall he's a suitable centre-piece for the army.  

 

The Great Game - the final battle

Game 7 of our Northwest Frontier finally brought the Russian and British forces into direct conflict for control of Burphistan. As both had won the same number of battles (one) they received the same number of allied units - a Tribal Horse, a Tribal Foot and an Irregular foot. The battle centred on a small village with 1 VP awarded for each enemy routed and 2 VP for holding one of the three objectives on the table.

Both armies deployed with infantry in the centre and  cavalry on the flanks. The Russians had a slight numerical advantage and so could deploy two cavalry on their right opposite the Bengal Lancers.

Russian right

Russian centre

Russian left

British left

British centre

British right

The opening action saw some preliminary artillery bombardments while the infantry cautiously advanced onto the hills and towards the village. The Bengal Lancers easily routed the Russians Burpha cavalry but were themselves caught and wiped-out by the Cossacks - a good swap for the Russians.

In the centre and on the Russian left their rifle and especially artillery fire proved much more effective than the British and so casualties began to mount in Her Majesty's ranks. They bravely threw forward some Burpha's  to soak up the punishing Ivan's fire but sensing the  ploy they promptly routed after a single casualty.  

The Russians then occupied the village and quickly fortified their position. From this hard cover they were able to pour close-range fire into the British units stranded in the open.

As the British casualties mounted it was clear they had no hope of achieving a victory and so back leaving Burphastan to the Tsar's men.  

So victory in the campaign goes to the Russians. The games were certainly very attractive and pretty quick once we learnt the rules, although we did simplify the unit commander rules as we had about 12 units a side most weeks.

The main tweak we made was to allow volley fire in open order to improve the western forces shooting. This was a necessary change given the scenarios to give them a chance to win.
     

The Wards of Agnih-Bhanu

Given the success of our first few weekend games of Abyssals vs Salamanders we've decided to run a short min-campaign of  4 battles using a familiar template. In the first 3 games both sides battle for control of the 3 wards - the Spear of Agnih (Elite in melee), the Shield of Agnih (Regen 6+) and the Banner of Agnih (Inspiring). In the forth battle the players try to release and control the Fire Elemental Agnih-Bhanu herself. The games are 2500 for the Abyssals and 2250 for the Salamanders.
The first game is Invade, in which the player getting the most unit strength across the half way line wins the game. The Spear waits in the centre to be captured.

Both sides decided on a similar plan - attack on the right and hold on the left. Both centres were solid cores of infantry supported by casters and heroes.  

View from the Lizardmen right

From the Abyssal right 

For the Lizardmen the flank attack was a familiar combo of 2 units of ancients of Rhinosaurs, the Clan Lord to boost moral and some Skinks for chaff / support.  

The Abyssals flank was the Unleash the Hounds formation of Hellhounds, Abyssal Horsemen and a Blood Masque hero.  Some Despoilers lurked in support.

Both lines advanced rapidly with the faster Abyssals cresting the rise first and charging into the waiting Lizardmen. I missed the Archfiends attack but you can see the hole where he was on the Lizards right flank. This central action was very bloody with both sides taking heavy losses.  

On their right the Abyssals flank attack crunched into the Lizardmen, routing the flank guards with fairly light loses and looking to turn the flank.

The Lizardmen returned the favour on their own right routing the infantry units guarding the flank and out flanking the Abyssals.

Molochs vs Ancients in the woods

So it all rested on the central action but my Turn 6 it was clear neither would be able to rout the other. The Lizardmen captured the Spear by sacrificing  their Mage Priest to prevent a charge up the hill be the Abyssal Horsemen.

Abyssals last stand in the centre

The two sides had roughly equal numbers if units in the enemies half but the Lizardmen won as there surviving units were mostly Hordes but the Abyssals were Regiments and Troops. A bloody encounter for both armies though.      

Abyssals fall just short

Its always nice when a brand new units takes a staring role and that was certainly the case for the Abyssals Horsemen who were only based-up that morning. They led the Abyssals flank attack well and as knights hit hard on the enemy.