Ghost vs. Greenskin

  My wife has been asking for a larger game in Age of Sigmar for some time.  She has everything for the Death allegiance, including the Lord-god himself- Nagash!  I unfortunately, do not have updated rules or even enough modern units in most of my armies to stand up to that.  I've been using my Ironjaws because they are simple and I don't have to worry about constant re-dos (looking at you, Bloodbound).  Unfortunately, I only have 1440 points of Ironjaws, but I DO have some regular Orcs from the old Warhammer days kicking about.  Adding that bit of extras, upgrading the Maw-crusha to the special character version, and following the 'allies' rules, I brought my Ironjaws force up to 1980 points.  Now I can give my wife the 2000 point game that she wants. 
 

  She had the brilliant idea to lay out the board as though it was near a drying-up or low-tide coast.  With a mausoleum nearby and a shipwreck not too far away, it made sense for the spirits of the deceased to consider this their territory.  It was a fantastic table and an even neater little narrative that added to the game. 

The battlefield

  Finally being able to bring some toys, her force was led by Reikenor and included a couple of unit of Hexwraiths, some Spirit Hosts, a battalion of Chainrasp Reapers, some special Banshees, and then a Mourngul.  Following the 'allies' rule, the Nighthaunt force is able to bring this Forgeworld-created monstrosity of unkillable horror.  Great...

  My army list was really just adding some stuff to this list I normally use- this time led by the Gordrakk Ironfist or whatever that main character's name is (a super-Megaboss on Maw-crusher), a Warchanter, a Warcaster, a Megaboss on foot, all tending to a unit of 'Ardboyz, two units of Brutes, some Gore-gruntas, and now including a mob of 20 orc choppa-boyz and a mob of 10 orc arrer-boyz.  To top it all off, an Aleguzzler Gargant followed along...

  The undead had more command points than the Ironjaws due to including a battalion.  It would be interesting to see how they get used.  Remember that the Ironjaws do nothing but call their buffing command ability every turn, so theirs is simple to predict.

  We rolled up a mission from the General's Handbook 2018 (if I remember correctly and I'm not real sure...) and came up with Border War.  There were four objectives on the table, one in each players' zone and two on the centerline.  The players gain points by controlling objectives, each worth more depending where they are on the table.  Simple- kill and control.

  The Ironjaws deployed in a line across the battlefield.  The Mega-Megaboss on Mawcrusher stood in the center of the line, flanked by a giant and Gore-gruntas to one side and Brutes on the other.  To the far left mobbed the Choppa-boyz, ready to leap forward and take the centerline objective, while the Arrer-boyz guarded the right flank while hiding in the woods.  In between those woods and the Brutes stood the 'Ardboyz, ready to answer the charge of super-quick ghosts. 
  The Nighthaunt forces also deployed in a line, from the other woods to the shipwreck, nearly tracing the old coastline.  To their left flank was placed the Spirit Hosts and terrifying Mourngul, with cavalry and Banshees screening Reikenor in the center.  To his right was the mob of Reapers and the Dreadblade Harrow to sweep the flank if needed.  More, they kept a unit of Reapers in reserves.
  Both armies had their generals planted atop their own objectives, and each mirrored units to move and take objectives in the middle.  This was going to be a tug-of-war at this point. 

Deployment

Battle Round 1

  The Ironjaws wisely chose to hold the line and allow the Nighthaunt to go first.  They would need to understand how the ghosts were going to stretch to get those objective points before unleashing their rage.  Plus, the option of the back-to-back turn is the goal on every first turn (unless you're a ranged army)!

  The Nighthaunt forces started their turn by rushing everything foward to take the objectives and set up for charges when they became possible.  The final unit of Reapers turned up just in front of the Choppa-boyz, but chose not to charge so they could instantly claim that middle objective.  The cavalry formed a wedge right up the middle toward the 'Ardboyz, and the Spirit Hosts moved up to take the other middle objective.  With control of her and both of the middle objective points, the Nighthaunt army immediately gained 5 victory points.  Plus, her army had to solid waves of invulnerable ghosts to wade through- this was going to be hard...

End Nighthaunt Turn 1

  The morning mist still clung to the wet and rocky landscape, and this was further sullied by the incorporeal warriors floating above it.  But the greenskins simply licked their teeth, eager to see just how similar 'incorporeal' is to 'unkillable'. 
  Gordrakk bowled forward and crushed a unit of Hexwraiths nearly to death, which allowed the 'Ardboyz to get into a frenzy and charge both the Spirit Hosts and the nearby Hexwraiths, nearly wiping out that second unit with the help of the Arrer-boyz garrisoning the woods.  The Choppa-boyz happily took the bait from the Reapers and charged into combat, which then urged the Aleguzzler to stop all the way around and charge the rear of the enemy line.  The Dreadblade Harrow counter-charged and invited the attacks of the giant, only to fail all the way around.  The giant just wanted his presence known for the moment...
  While those units of mayhem wreaked their havoc, the Brutes and Megaboss firmly held their objective, and the 'Ardboyz had maneuvered in just such a way to steal control of one of the middle objectives.  This only gave the greenskins three points this turn.

End Ironjaws Turn 1

Battle Round 2

  The all-important die roll to get initiative in the turn resulted in the Ironjaws getting a back-to-back turn.  Taking full advantage, Gordrakk continued his rampage and destroyed the Banshees, but was then locked up by that unnoticed survivor from the last charge, keeping the orc Lord from getting to Reikenor.  Brutes quickly caught up and charged alongside the Gore-gruntas into the second unit of Reapers, locking them up and keeping them from reinforcing the flank. 
  The Choppa-boyz hacked down most of the first unit of Reapers while the giant kicked and 'eadbutted the Dreadblade Harrow, almost killing him.  The other side of the Battlefield saw the Mourngul lazily attack and fail to kill many of the 'Ardboyz, while still losing most of the unit to the frightful touch of the Spirit Hosts. 
  With clever maneuvering and timely casualties, the Ironjaws were able to take control of both middle objectives and gain five points this turn.  That put the greenskins clearly in the lead and in position to obstruct the undead in every direction. 

End Ironjaws Turn 2

  The Nighthaunt were now stretched too thinand had too many combat-oriented beasts to deal with.  Unfortunately, the magic was very weak again and the resurrection of ghosts was minimal.  The back unit of Reapers was completely wiped out by buffed Brutes and Gore-gruntas, while the first unit was nearly destroyed as they killed a few Choppa-boyz in return.  The Dreadblade Harrow actually hurt the giant, forcing him to turn and 'eadbutt the undead officer to death.  The center and right flank of the Nighthaunt line just completely vanished.
  In desperation, Reikenor charged into Gordrekk, hoping to severly wound the big monster.  Instead, his ethereal weapon somehow bounced from the impenetrable hide of the Maw-crusher, which then noticed and stomped him into the ground.  An irritated beast had just effortlessly killed the Nighthaunt general and now the home objective was open to Brutes and a barely-distracted Mega-megaboss on Mawcrusher. 
  Luckily, the Mourngul and Spirit Hosts exerted their power and killed all but the champion from the 'Ardboyz, retaking control of that objective.  This act of defiance would get the undead three points, tying up the game. 

End Nighthaunt Turn 2

Battle Round 3
  Unfortunately, this game mirrored last week's game in that the final turn would be determined by the priority roll.  And again, that irony came in whether my wife won the roll or lost it and the timing issues it would create.  If she won, then my models would finish off their combats and have their next turn to destroy the rest of her army.  If I won, then I would have to waste my turn finishing combats and she can then move her survivors and attempt to salvage the situation.  After all, that Mourngul is insanely powerful and can easily kill the orc general.

  So we roll the die, hoping for an orc priority for any chance of victory, and...

  The Nighthaunt wins the roll-off.  That's it- the game is over.  There's no conceivable way, based on numbers of models and units and simple order, regardless of perfection of tactics and miraculous dice, that the Nighthaunt would be able to pull it out now.  This was an Ironjaws victory. 

  This was a very intense game right from the beginning, but everything went really well for the Ironjaws.  Besides missing out on the opportunity to use the general's 'bowling ball' trait, every charge roll was made and priority always fell in their favor.  Rather than the strategic errors from the last battle, this one was simple luck.  And Ironjaws like luck too!

Any good but way too one-sided in the blessings games lately?  Please leave a comment below and fill me in- I always dig a good story.  Otherwise- Happy Gaming