Vaul's mandatory coverage of TS4

You all know where to find the highly detailed audio/slideshow battlereports that I am reknowned for! Discover the truth for yourself, otherwise read on for my highly biased summaries.

Overall, good event. I was sceptical from day one, believing that the format rewarded people for choosing an army book that wasn't going to need to take a character riding a flying creature in order to avoid the loss of bonus battle points. This was always going to be the downside of the event but it didn't prevent people from having fun. Going ahead with ideas like this will always be preferable to the alternative - either having no event at all or having a normal event, where the few unavoidable complaints are simply directed at something else.

The battle point ratios quoted in this post are from memory and may be incorrect.

Game 1: Patrick & his Wood Elves - Meeting engagement.

I voted patrick favourite army, he won the prize for it, kudos. Bad matchup for him, he had a level 1 wizard against my level 4 +1 to cast gateway spammer, and my chosen had the 3+ ward and stubborn right off the bat. Ground down his treeman with frenzied marauders, his dragon bounced off the chosen, and I directed his 8x treekin until I could fight them on my terms: 18x chosen + BSB to the face when he had been reduced to a few stragglers after the gateways. 16-4 to me.

Game 2: Daryl & his Dwarfs - battle for the pass

The dream scenario for Daryl. But... he decides not to opt for the strategy that I believe would have clearly been the correct one: castle in one corner, 40" or so away from my deployment zone, forcing me to spend about 5 turns crossing the table and setting up my units for a unified final turn charge, and then holding on with steadfast.

No, he deploys right up, waiting for opportunities to out-position me and perhaps win some combats. I keep my lord as safe as I can, inevitably his mount dies to the shooting but the 3+ save preserves him and he is able to avoid the cannon after that, while my chosen and marauders walk up to grind the dwarfs into a mess. 17-3 to me.

Game 3: Dan B & his Ogres

For folks curious about how biased I really am, it might be better to check out the youtube report for this one - although very critical of Dan in my audio commentary I mean him well, he's a really nice guy and hopefully my comments about his poor play are not interpreted as put-downs. He certainly knows how to play warhammer.

But I really out-played him this game - It was blood & glory, so his character bunker had 600 points of lords, another 200-300 points for a BSB, and another 300-400 for the ironguts, plus 500 for scenario? I made my plays in such a way that his other units couldn't interfere with this central combat, while I boxed him in with my marauder bus, knights, 3+ ward/stubbon chosen, and dragon.

He fights through six consecutive rounds of combat, losing all of them, killing every character in each challenge - 2 unit champions, the BSB and then my general, to win the scenario, keep all three characters alive... and all while passing a LD5 break test (with re-roll) and then, unbelievable, an LD 2 break test (on the re-roll) with a double one. 14-6 Loss.

Frustration.

Game 4: The other Dan with his Daemons - Dawn Attack

Dan's unlucky Dawn attack deployment rolls give me the game on a plate. But his disc herald has lore of Metal, so he fires a boosted searing doom at my dragon and rolls a double 6. The dragon takes 3 wounds. I assess the situation and decide that if I charge a fiend protecting his flamers from a flank charge, then overrun into a second fiend that I would be redirected into, and then take a unit of 15 bloodletters in the flank in the NEXT turn, i'll be ok.

This due to the fact that the 15 bloodletters have no champion - they'll throw 8 attacks at the dragon, hit 4 times, wound twice, and I might even save one. Either way, the dragon should live, i'll hit back with the lord's attacks, the dragon's attacks, the dragon's breath weapon, and his thunderstomp.

It doesn't happen that way, I forget my thunderstomp, even though the lord survives three rounds of combat, the knights sent in to rescue him completely fluff their attacks and bounce, the bloodletters rolling insane killing blows on the knights in return, and eventually I lose my lord. 14-6 loss, I was an idiot not to be more conservative.

Game 5: Rich Barby with his Chaos Dwarfs: Watchtower

Barby and I played a game at his house a number of months ago involving the watchtower and WoC vs CD, he beat me soundly and I learnt a few things about how the building mechanics work in the process. I was dead keen to settle the score and also take out my frustration from the last two games.

I did exactly that - playing perfectly and capitalizing on every mistake I could pick up on. Mr Barby ended up leaving the chosen to hold the building instead of holding the golems in positions to repeat charge it, and even left his sorceror lord out in the open after his lame ass U had been gateway'd, thinking he could get a look out sir from proximity with a nearby infantry unit against the next gateway. Not the case though, it isn't a magic missile. If we played this wrong, then sorry rich! I think it's right though.

17-3 to me or something obscene.

Game 6: James and his Dark Elves: Battleline

James took the hardest list at the event, didn't take a gimped flying lord like everyone else, and wound up playing me in the last game although I had prayed hard to avoid him all weekend. I had also placed 5th after game 5, meaning I missed out on the 'masters round' by one single placing.

Still, I played very well against james. My plan was to feed him my marauder blocks first, which would seriously grind down his corsairs and executioners before my chosen had to fight them. He failed to roll mindrazor this one game, but I failed to roll 3+ward/stubborn so I feel we were even there.

I took out as many shades as I could with my lord but they are only 144 points for a unit of 9, what the hell. I didn't roll any IF so he could dispel me and scroll me often while on the other hand he rolled up the double 6's four times. Despite that, his sorceress took 3 strength 6 hits, only two wounded, and the fourth miscast was a 7, not causing her a wound. So despite him getting off all his magic, I didn't get points for his level 4. Bummed.

Some idiot came over to our table (jokes) and called dice down, so after my chosen had beaten off his executioners and failed to catch them, the game ended before I could mop them up and destroy either his corsairs and his hydra. To be fair, I had a 250 point unit of marauders with a single model left, but had the game gone 6 turns he would have taken that whereas i'd have taken a greater number of points in return.

As such I lost 12-8.

On the plus side, ray has agreed to loan me his dark elves for guardcon. I worked out a list and I can easily fit in level 4 shadows, cauldron, 20 black guard, either another 20 black guard or 20 executioners/witch elves, 20 shades, hydra, xbows/dark riders... seriously, I know quite a few other people aren't, but i'm a fan of comp.