Battle of the Chains

Greetings!

Here comes the very first battlereport of the Firestorm II Campaign I announced not too long ago, featuring my Hammerhalian Aelves facing off against the Seraphon under the command of Oldblood Kraq-Nar.

This battle took place at The Chains, a region littered with ancient duardin chainforts that can be manipulated to lash out against any interlopers: army generals within 1" of a Chainfort terrain feature may inflict D3 mortal wounds on any enemy within 12" of the terrain feature. A nasty special rule!

Otherwise the aim of the game was simple, there were three objectives on the board and the player controlling the majority of them at the end of the game would be the victor. However, should either player control all three objectives at any point in the game, at the end of their own turn, the victory would go to him. Overall a very nice and simple scenario, spiced up by the random Twist we rolled for our game: every unit gained +2" Movement as well as +1 to Run and Charge rolls, making everyone painfully fast in a game of take-and-hold!

On with the story!

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Lord Morduviel Dawnspur assessed his troops as they marched by. Mounted Reavers from Hammerhal's outer rim far-ranging patrols, Citizen Archers from the Highborn Quarter garrison, Levy Spearmen drafted from the lowlier aelven population in the southern Craftsmen's Disctrict, a Repeater Bolt Thrower funded from Morduviel's personal coffers and an Archmage of the Eldritch Council with an entourage of Swordmaster bodyguards. A hint of a smile passed across the aelven lord's features, but only momentarily.

Morduviel was very pleased by the enthusiasm and open-mindedness the aelven aristocracy of Hammerhal had shown towards his family's ambitions in sending an armed force to safeguard the peace and tranquility of the Flamescar Plateau. House Dawnspur had received valuable intelligence on the movements of an Anvilgardian fleet making it's way to the plateau through the Bay of the Searing Sea, and they had resolved to stop the usurpers in their tracks. Flamescar Plateau and all its natural resources and ancient treasures were the rightful possessions of the Free City of Hammerhal, after all.

As his legions marched on in lockstep, emerging from their fortified encampment and disappearing into the hazy dawn along the strands of the Coast of Ill Omen, Lord Morduviel cast a gaze at the ranks of Spireguard bringing up the rear of the column. Oh yes, he mused to himself. Just this morn a squadron of sleek, white-flanked Hawkships had sailed in along the murky waters of the coast, landing several cohorts of spear-and-bow Spireguard Marines to reinforce his already considerable army. A courtesy of his family's friends high up in the Swifthawk Agency, no doubt.

Lord Morduviel's legions left the coast and marched south, through the Scoured Forest and into The Chains. It was only then, amidst the ruins of ancient duardin chainforts, that they encountered any kind of resistance beyond some scattered and fleeing locals. A small force of Seraphon.

Drawing his army out into a battleline, Lord Morduviel Dawnspur voiced a command to leave none of the celestial daemons alive; they were trespassing on Hammerhal's colonial ground, and would suffer for their insolence.

The Bolt Thrower was loaded and bows were readied. Morduviel swung his enchanted shield from his back and hefted a magical spear in his hand. It would soon taste the cold blood of these insolent repitilians!

Across the field the Seraphon fanned out in front of their Skink priesthood. Giant, towering Kroxigors screened by their diminuitive cousins, the Skink Skirmishers, held the centre. On the flanks lumbered some larger creatures: a bastiladon with its Skink crew as well as a Carnosaur ridden by Oldblood Kraq-Nar himself!

Beyond this line of fighters stood two Skink Priests, ready to manipulate the fabric of time and space to the benefit of their troops.

The battle begun with just such a display of time-warping power: Kraq-Nar and his Carnosaur disappeared from view in a flash of starlight, reappearing immediately afterwards right in front of the aelven left wing. A searing beam of light snapped out from the golden glove the repitilian leader was wearing, turning one of the Spireguard to a cloud of ashes, followed by the thunderous charge of the Carnosaur. The aelven shieldwall broke like glass, the giant monster ripping apart Spireguard left and right even as the Oldblood himself laid about him with his obsidian spear. Losing over half of their number within mere seconds, the Spireguard cohort broke and ran, leaving only their Watch Captain facing off the beast.

Seeing the peril of their kin, the Swordmasters beside the sundered spearmen moved in to intercept the Carnosaur. Their slender blades danced in the air, landing terrible blows to the monster and drawing blood even through the creature's tough, scaly skin. This was t ono avail, however, as the Carnosaur casually proceeded to bite and rip apart the elite aelves, just as it had done with the spearmen. Kraq-Nar let out a terrible roar from atop his steed as he plunged his obsidian spear through yet another aelf's chest, crumpling the ithilmar okate like paper. The Seraphon were on a mission of their own , and would not be denied by some pesky warm-bloods!

The rest of the Hammerhalian army pressed on, raining shafts and bolts into the enemy ranks in the distance. The Citizen Archers unleashed a volley of arrows that pin-cushioned the Bastiladon, taking it down along with its crew in a single volley. The Bolt Thrower lobbed away a hail of bolts at the Kroxigors, causing terrible wounds but not managing to kill any of the towering beasts!

Meanwhile, Morduviel rode forth with the Reavers and a battalion of Levy Spearmen, the shafts from the mounted archers taking down a handful of Skinks in the distance. Both sides had had a strong start and the battle still hung in the balance...

Kraq-Nar and his Carnosaur laid waste to the Swordmasters as easily as they had dealt with the Spireguard, sending the aelven elite scampering off for their lives. Only the Spireguard Watch Captain held his ground, but received only an obsidian spear to the face for his valiant efforts. This swift Seraphon triumph was cut short as the Citizen Archers turned their bows to the Oldblood, unleashing a volley of shots that took down both the beast and its rider.

At the centre of the field the Levy Spearmen had claimed the central objective, a burial mound of some long-gone hero. Their secure position amidst the woods was further enhanced by a spell woven by the Archmage, a shimmering shield of elemental force that protected the aelves around him.

The combined volleys of the Bolt Thrower and the Reavers scythed down the Skink screen left to protect the repitilian Priests, allowing the aelven Reavers to draw their spears and charge in to catch the enemy leaders. The Kroxigors had surged forward in an attempt to clear the centre and dislodge the aelven spears from the woods, but got intercepted by Lord Morduviel who galloped in to hold them in place!

The Reavers drove their spears into the foremost Skink Priest, wounding it badly as they charged in. Lord Morduviel's spear punched through the scaly hide of one of the Kroxigors, driven by the momentum of his galloping steed. The towering saurus were not so easily scared, however, and Morduviel suffered a nasty blow to the side from a huge obsidian mace.

The aelven advance was so shockingly efficient that the Seraphon decided to cut their losses and retreat, falling back into the ruins surrounding the battlefield. The Hammerhalian Aelven Contingent was left in control of the field and the duardin chainforts! These ancient structures would be partially renovated and then garrisoned by vigilant aelven warriors.

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A victory for Hammerhal!

Even though my opponent got a very nice charge with his Carnosaur early in the game, wreacking my left flank entirely, my Archers saved my hide. By taking out the Bastiladon on the mid-field and then wrapping up the Carnosaur hero, this unit cleared the table enough for my Reavers to ride right across (aided by the Movement-boosting Twist) and capture the third objective through sheer numbers.

It was a swift victory by playing purely to the objective of the battle, which is one of the few good ways for Aelves to win anything; they don't have enough staying power to outlast many of the other factions in combat, or raw power to punch though anything too solid, but their speed, maneuverability and sheer volume of accurate (if not-Rending) shots can often be very useful tools in clearing the field just enough for some of your faster units to get around to objectives and rack up the points!