ME campaign - Turn 8 - Dark elves vs Dwarfs

Deployment - Dwarfs

The dwarfs have gone to town with a gyrocopter backed up by crossbows on the flank, organ gun and thunderers on the hill, in front of which is a bolt thrower and blocks of hammerers and longbeards. The dwarf lord, suffice to say, leads the hammerers and is mounted on a shield.

The center of the deployment zone is occupied by a small but irritating and very smelly swamp which divides the dwarven forces. On this side of the swamp two blocks of dwarfs are placed; both of them might be ironbreakers, but one of them probably is ordinary warriors. Them we have a second gyrocopter and two warmachines hiding in the woods; one organ gun and one bolt thrower. Hiding in woods is generally a good idea if you are likely to face flyers, because they can't land on top of you.

Deployment - Dark elves

Facing the dwarven left flank is repeater crossbows, a reaper bolt thrower and a block of corsairs with handbows, led by two sorceress...es(?) Obscured by the watchtower is two units of Khainites screened by harpies; witch elves and executioners. Behind those is a pot with boiling blood in it. What's the point of that, I wonder...

Behind the hill is a unit of Xbowmen supported by a reaper bolt thrower. On the flank is another RBT and a big unit of cold one knights; a unit type that has proven to be extremely usable against dwarfs. They kill everything and what they don't kill, they break with fear.

Turn 1

The harpies abandon their screening duties and take position to threaten some war machines. The Khainite center advances while the crossbowmen consilidate on the hill. The cold one knights prepare to charge the iron breakers, a matchup that they have never lost before. Nine hammerers and six longbeards fall to shooting and magic. Ouch!

All the dwarf infantry march on while the warmachines kill an elf here and there. One gyrocopter flies up to marchblock and shoot some steam while the other places itself as a speed bump for the cold one knights. If they charge it, they will overrun into the iron breakers and get flanked by the other dwarf block.

Turn 2

The cold ones have defeated many units of ironbreakers on the charge, and charge in despite the risk of getting flanked. They smash the gyrocopter and engage the ironbreakers. The Khainites continue to advance, more slowly this time as they are matchblocked by the gyrocopter. Which, by the way, gets shot down by handbows, RBT and magic. The longbeards and hammerers take heavy casualties as well as they march onwards.

The dwarf block that was supposed to support the iron breakers panic and flee from the rain of bolts from the hill. Many warmachines have problems finding any targets as harpies land in front of them.

Turn 3

The decimated hammerers and longbeards advance to within "shouting-crap-about-your-mom-and-gesturing-it-in-sign-language-as-well" distance of their enemies while the fleeing block behind the swamp rallies. The witch elves die in droves as thunderers and organ guns let it rip from the hill.

The iron breakers actually had decided to stay around this time and so were equipped with several runes on anti-fear-and-stubbornness-etc. Sadly their support unit was now far behind, but at least they had survived the charge. The organ gun in the forest tried to clear the view from harpies but misfired and would take some time unjamming.

Turn 4

The frenzied witch elves charge the longbeards while the Xbows and handbows on the right flank make short work of the dwarf lord's retinue of hammerers. The executioners move up to threaten the flank of the engaged ironbreakers. The harpies move slightly to keep stuff from firing at the executioners.

Dwarfs turn 5

The dwarf lord (or rather his shieldbearers) runs towards the corsairs and the sorceresses, unharmed by their puny little bolts. An assassin turns out to be hiding in the witch elves unit, so the longbeards have to fight for their lives. They manage to cut all the witches down, and at the end of the turn only the assassin remains. Many longbeards died in the combat, though.

Having managed to survive the charge, the iron breakers break the cold one knights but fail to catch them. The dwarven shooters finally see the executioners and kill most of them with crossbows and bolts in the flank.

Dark elves turn 5

The crossbowmen and corsairs form up to shoot the dwarf lord, and actually kill him. The two elven wizards left the unit just in case the dwarf would survive. The assassin makes short work of the remaining longbeards. The cold one knights (not shown in this picture) rally and prepare to engage the iron breakers again. (a flagellant is in the process of getting a paintjob in the bottom of this photo.

Turn 6

The last few executioners and cold ones get a charge off on the ironbreakers and wipe them out. At this point, the only dwarfs left are the shooters and the decimated warrior unit that was supposed to support the iron breakers.

A reassuring victory for the dark elves, but it was close. If the cold ones had been flanked, things might have turned out differently. The dwarf infantry was supported by a solid gunline, that didn't do much damage on the whole (partly due to harpy terrorism, but still).