Iron vs. Bone

  It took a couple of weeks more than we meant, but stuff came up and kept my wife and I from playing our game.  But we finally got to it.  And it was well worth it.

  To keep it small, we just did a 1500 point battle.  This allowed me to take my Ironjaws army as I only have 1440 points and no battletome to build battalions from, and she chose to go back to her Legions of Nagash with some ghosts splashed in there.

  The Ironjaws force was simple- a Megaboss on Maw-crusher, a Warchanter, a Warcaster, a Megaboss on foot, two units of Brutes, a unit of 'Ardboyz, and some Gore-gruntas.  This force is made from little more than the Start Collecting box, a Maw-crusher, and a couple of blister packs.  I can't wait to get more, but I have other (bluer) priorities right now.

The Ironjaws, ready for krumpin' some skellies!

  Her Legions Army plus allies was led by a Wight King and a Guardian of Souls, leading a mob of 20 skeletons and two units of 10 each, 2 units of Grave Guard, a unit of Black Knights, some Glaive-wraiths, and a couple of those beastly Harbinger things.  She also brought the Black Coach, hoping to give me something hard to have to beat.  The greenskins appreciated it...

Enough skeletons for many Anatomy classrooms!

  I'm still on the 'basic' terrain kick, so we used the standard green mat and just set up some natural features.  My wife then scattered ruins and more in there to look like an ancient, crumbling site of some importance.  After all, why else would we be fighting here?
  The battlefield was split diagonally and we each got to place an objective in our respective corners.  Basically, this mission was a "Capture the Flag" type and whoever controlled both objectives immediately won the game.  That meant that we had to think about guarding our own but also trying to steal the opponent's within five turns.  I like this scenario and it can be found on page 50 of the General's Handbook 2018.

The battlefield...

Deployment

  Our deployment was simple.  I deployed so that my Maw-crusher (heretofore known as the 'bowling ball') so that he could plug up the hole between the woods and the observatory.  The spell-caster deployed atop the flaming platform and oversaw the 'Ardboyz greedily looking at the Realmgate.  The Gore-gruntas deployed on the other side of the gate, basically holding up the flank, while the Megaboss and his Brutes took the woods in the middle and planned where to go.  It was a wall of iron that swung dangerously like a door and nothing would get through...
  She put her massive Black Coach in the middle to be able to lend her magical support to everyone around her.  The Harbingers and Glaive-wraiths flanked the wagon and effectively held that side of the board.  Meanwhile, her Guardian of Souls stood watch over her objective and the nearby gravesites, leaving the Wight King and his skeletal horde bunched up behind the observatory.  The Grave Guard led the way and her Black Knights stood behind the woods on the end ready to dive into whatever came through that pass.  While slow, her force was a sledgehammer ready to just overwhelm whatever came its way...

Turn 1
   Trying to be cunning, I gave her the first turn.  I was hoping to capitalize on the two-turns-in-a-row possibility and smash her with the brutality that is the Ironjaws' forte.  She used her battalion ability to move most of her sketelons forward, then moved them again so that they took up position blocking the approach through the observatory and woods.  Much like the dead would do, they clogged up the passage with bodies.  Well then...  The Black Coach glided into the center of the board and took stock of the enemy while the Harbingers and Glaive-wraiths took up their positions.  A little bit of dread magic in the air and her turn was done.  It was uneventful. but we know that's the worst part of any battle- the wait.
  As we know, Orcs aren't used to the wait and chose to immediately get into battle.  The 'Ardboys and Gore-gruntas simply consolidated around the Realmgate to ensure to funny business was planning on coming through that portal.  The Warchanter got a unit of Brutes frenzied and the Megaboss ordered the Ironjaws forward into battle, where they charged and immediately hacked the ghostly Black Coach down.  With a mighty roar, the first enemy unit felled was celebrated across the battlefield.  Enraged at not getting his chance, the Bowling Ball smashed through a unit of Grave Guard and mowed down almost all the skellies in the unit behind them.  This time, the beast let out the roar of slaughter.  For some reason, the rest of the undead showed no fear after this series of events...

End Turn 1

Turn 2
  So then comes the roll-off for priority in Turn 2...  and I don't win.  Her ghostly dice are making their presence known and steal from me my cunning plan.
  At this point, she sees her only option as swarming the massive Maw-crusher and possibly killing the main bulk of the Ironjaws' power.  Her Harbingers and Glaive-wraiths saw the perfect chance to get revenge and charged into combat with the Brutes aping around the wreckage of their prey.  The Glaive-wraiths and their ethereal form saved them from the Brutes' flurry of attacks, but the Harbingers did not fare so well.  Emboldened by fighting such massive creatures, the Brutes put all their strength into their fight with the Harbingers.  They lost half their number but took the mighty undead down quickly.  The Brutes survived the epic battle, but they gave all they had and collapsed from exhaustion during the Battleshock phase.  The Harbingers still got their prey, even if a little unconventionally.  The Grave Guard that were destroyed by the Maw-crusher were returned from a gravesite the powers of the Guardian of Souls.  The calm that was the undead's last turn was no more...

Legions of Nagash Turn 2

  The Ironjaws are still reveling in the glory of battle but are now a bit slowed down.  The center spearhead is gone and the rest of the vanguard is locked up and can't get away.  The Megaboss ordered the reserve line to consolidate and begin the attack in a different direction.  The 'Ardboyz moved toward the Warcaster and the Gore-gruntas fled off to start putting pressure along the backline.  The Bowling Ball continued to munch his way through all the bodies, killing another unit of skeletons and motivating the Gore-gruntas to finish off the Glaive-wraiths.  But the press of rusty spears and broken lances was starting to take its toll and the Maw-crusha was weakening.  It was at this point that the Wight King realized his tactical error- he never sent the Black Knights to claim the enemy objective and now they were moving back into defensive position.  The Bowling Ball tactic was working, but also unconventionally!

Ironjaws Turn 2

 Turn 3

  Okay, there's still a chance that I can get that two-turns-in-a-row instance going and finish this battle off.  We roll to see how that goes and... guess what.  It happens again.  Those blue dice of hers are way too powerful!

  At this point, the undead legion has little choice but to finish off the fights they're in and get ready for the onslaught.  They no longer have the speed to get to the enemy objective and they've failed to get anywhere near the grave-sites that could have allowed some overwhelming of the defensive line.  And because the Maw-crusha was still there, use of the Realmgate wasn't possible either.  That Maw-crusher had to go.  With buckets of dice representing an impenetrable wall of spears, it showed just how tough its hide really is.  But the Black Knights harassing it from the rear finally found a weak spot in the stone-tough hide and finished him.  The Maw-crusher was no more and the massive horde was now free to advance.  There may be hope yet for the undead...

Legions of Nagash Turn 3

   The battle was obviously in favor of the greenskins, but the objectives were not met.  Losing the Bowling Ball was expected and he served his purpose perfectly.  Now it was time to outsmart the skeletons with some cunnin'.  The Ironjaws and Gore-gruntas in the back line simply moved as fast as they could to the unguarded enemy objective and the 'Ardboyz moved to guard the friendly one.  The Warboss and Warchanter simply linked up and discussed a bet on how many they would each smash.  Now the calm for the Ironjaws suddenly set in...

Ironjaws Turn 3

Turn 4

  Surely I would finally win the roll-off and get my subsequent turn, right?  Right?!  Alas, it was not meant to be on this turn either.  Instead of being able to just smash over the inept undead, I have to trod my way through it, one bone at a time.  Curse those Ethereal dice!
  With her massive horde of skeletons free, they poured around the observatory and saw how long the trek was to their enemy's objective.  Worse, they saw the Warchanter and Megaboss preparing to take them down.  Unfazed, they simply advanced as far as they could.  Meanwhile, the Guardian of Souls summoned up a unit of skeletons to help guard her objective from the oncoming orcs.  It was now just about the waiting game...

Legions of Nagash Turn 4

    Now was the moment for glory!  The Warchanter got his Megaboss frenzied and then charged into combat, waving his bone-sticks and slaying a number of skeletons.  The Megaboss was hollering so loudly that he didn't notice his companion run off and so missed the chance to charge.  And by missed, I mean that I rolled snake-eyes.  No worries, I'll use my last command point to reroll this charge.  Aaaaand, I still fail with a '3'.  Maybe the Megaboss was a little too frenzied?

  The other side of the battlefield saw the Gore-gruntas roll well enough to smash into the newly-raised skeletons, gleefully showing the Megaboss how it's done.  The momentum of their charge was enough that they smashed all the skeletons apart except the champion, only to watch him crumble to the ground in fright (or just failing a battleshock test).  Now only the Guardian of Souls stood between the greenskins and victory. 

Ironjaws Turn 4

Turn 5
  It's the last turn of the game.  The conclusion is obvious, but victory has still not been officially achieved.  The undead had a chance to deny the orcs victory, but the orcs could guarantee it with the win of this priority roll.  I've lost every one of them so far, so surely probability will be on my side.  Surely.  But it wasn't.  Of course.  More trudging.


 In a desperate last bid, the Grave Guard rushed past the combat and tried to cover as much ground as they could to get to the enemy objective.  Unfortunately, undead are very slow and they were feeling it.  It was at this moment that the Wight King suddenly remembered that there was a Realmgate nearby, but his eagerness to kill the enemy and add them to the ranks of the Legion blinded him and it was too late.  The Guardian of Souls fought for her life and some skeletons slowly moved to possibly help out.  Again, it was their lack of speed that kept the undead's hopes down.  It was only a matter of time...

Legions of Nagash Turn 5

  That time was up as far as the Ironjaws were concerned.  They had the skeletons right where they were supposed to be- on the receiving end of a krumpin'!  The Megaboss was finally able to join the fray and his impact was felt immediately.  With the combined efforts of the Megaboss and the Warchanter, most of the horde of skeletons was immediately demolished, leaving only a dozen more to work through.  To the greenskin bosses, this was an easily manageable number and their slaughter would go on.  The Ironjaws that were following the Gore-gruntas rolled amazingly for their charge and roared into the Guardian of Souls, already desperately trying to avoid the blades and tusks of the beast-riders.  With reckless abandon, the Brutes swung until even an ethereal form couldn't protect and the character was destroyed.  With nothing left on the field to power the undead magic, the Wight King called the retreat and conceded defeat.  The Ironjaws owned both objectives and they still had the muscle to smash bones to powder.

Ironjaws Turn 5

  And her Legions of Nagash have lost a game!!!  Whoooo!!!  If you remember, they never lost in first edition.  Now, the new Age of Sigmar has made summoning much easier and the undead are actually top rankings in the tournament circuit.  But my Ironjaws were able to finally take them down!!!

MVP

  Lessons from the game- well, first I have to give it to my MVP.  This model is not only impressive on the tabletop, but he's also a beast in the rules- the Megaboss on Maw-crusher (or 'bowling ball', as we refer to him around here).  I wish that I had two of them because I think a one-two punch from a couple of these could be fatal to whatever I'm facing.  I have to note that he dies in every game that I use him in.  But the influence that he has on the opponent is fantastic.

  My wife has to remember a couple of things.  She's so used to the magical resilience of skeletons and the ability to heal and raise them that she forgets that there's objectives in the game.  If she had used her Knights to 'take the top off', it's possible she could have won the game in Turn 3.  If she had taken advantage of the Realmgates to put that pressure on, she could have probably won the game in the end, if not denied me the opportunity to steal a victory from her.  But she loves the 'recycle nature' of her army so much that she forgot the mission. 

  I'm happy that we got to play this game and I'm always happy when I can pull off a victory.  How's your gaming been going?  Let me know below.  And as always- Happy Gaming!