August 4 Brikwar @ Brickfair: Round 2 [Complete]
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 9:39 pm
Note: Life at the office has been pretty hectic. I've just returned from a full vacation, we are training a new hire, and I've got three out-of-town training events upcoming. Nevertheless, I do not want to keep the brikwars peeps hanging.
The battlefield of Thairm is a mystical, chaotic plane. Few know from whence the ruins came; few know the ruins' true destiny. Adventurers far and wide know this place as the dwelling of Aurora, one of the four mystically imbued swords. Aurora sits at the crest of a celestial waterfall whose streams appear to bring arcane life to the barren surroundings.
Warlords across the eons, across the reaches of Medivo, across the Astral, ABS, and negaverses have vainly sought to possess these swords. Aurora, it seems, has stood the test of time, witnessing the coming and going of great armies at the foot of her falls. Aurora's custodian is the humble Guardian, an esoteric figure who keeps his eternal vigil over the sacred blade. His one great desire is to seek Aurora and her magic free from anyone's grasp.
G.R. 2013 is a time of great upheaval in the regions around Thairm. At least one bloody battle vied for supremacy over the blade. Unfortunately, the Dragon Guard's expeditionary force was massacred by a Mythic Order scouting party. For some reason, Arycelle's forces did not seek immediate possession of the blade, instead taking word of the Dragon Guard's presence to the heroes of the Mythic Order. Since the skirmish, both forces had ample time to array themselves in battle lines for a truly epic clash. Great murderbeasts were to be unleashed upon the hapless Dragon Guard. For their own part, Darius--newly appointed grand marshal of the Dragon Guard--forged swift alliances with a Leoncor detachment and a cadre of wood elves in hopes of evening the odds (not to mention the mustering of his own war machines).
Turn 0/Battlefield Array
For the first time ever, the entire Dragon Guard force hits the table together. You can procure pictures of the battlefield in the other brickfair threads; I won't reproduce them here. The left flank of the Dragon Guard is dominated by flying and galloping steeds, a squad of archers and of elves, a spear shieldwall, a ballista, and the wyrmfire cannon. The heavy doses of cavalry are a result of this side of the board possessing the most open terrain. Granted, one could only assume Lord Mercat will also go cavalry heavy on this flank...
The right flank is more problematic for the side of the board I've chosen. A swift flowing river severely hampers movement, and my previous battle demonstrates just how precarious it can be to march across a bridge! Nevertheless, I swarm my infantry to this side: spears, fireblades, dual-wielders, a squad of archers, the griffon, and a ballista. I'm not pleased that so many feet are going to have to make due with the river, but I could not have rightly put my cavalry over here either...We'll see how this pans out.
Mythic Order forces on my left flank are faced with an interesting dilemma too. That side has a river that cuts off a full 1/4 of the deployment zone without any bridge way. The floating platform in the back left corner is actually a teleporter that will send any unit that touches is a random (1d20) set of inches forward. Lord Mercat assembles various infantry near the teleporter, sets up his uber-lance cavalry on the proper riverbank, and backs it all up with a champion murderbeast
.
On the right flank, the Mythic Order assembles various degrees of infantry: rangers, crossbowmen, werewolf berserkers, paladins, swordsmen, halberdiers, you name it. Heavy hitters on this side include a large ballista and another murderbeast. This side of the field contains another floating platform that leads to the sword of Aurora. There is also a large boulder field that makes non-minifig maneuverability quite a challenge.
Turn 1
Mythic Order
The Mythic Order begins its turn with a spirited charge across the field. I should note that I'm a pretty poor judge of estimate distances; In both games, Lord Mercat was able to jump his horses into a sprint and secure first blood. In this case, two archers and one spearman are greeted by lance-tips.
Here you can begin to see the effects of Lord Mercat using the teleporter to reposition his infantry on the left flank. Many simply plop themselves in the river. A goodly amount of others zoom right up nearly into the Dragon Guard's face. Also note that the Mythic Order is STAUNCHLY anti-peach. Two elves are slain by ranger fire.
Left flank overview where you can see the remainder of Mythic Order movements and teleportations.
On the right flank, Dragon Guard officer Volkaire decided to lead the charge, accompanied by two of his very own Grimfang Guard. I mean, heroic leaders always urge their lessers on from the front lines right? Or had Darius order Volkaire to the front lines after their squabble? At any rate, Mythic Order rangers place Volkaire in their sights and shoot him DOWN!
A cadre of Mythic Order crossbowmen (and a ranger) utilize the hovering platform to gain range advantage.
Gestalt - a roguey Mythic Order hero known for his multiplicity of knives and blades - sneaks up on one of his own men and steals a sword, which he deftly intends to launch at some shmuck of a target on Dragon Guard lines (A grimfang? I don't remember...). The sword, however, is destined only for the river...
Dragon Guard
"Enough of this Insolence!" Seeing his men so wastefully dispatched by the brazen charges of Mythic Order knights, Darius dismounts and swings his mighty warhammer at a nearby stone pillar. The shockwave either incapacitates or slays a barded steed and disrupts the rider.
Nearby, two dragon knights dispatch the other MO knight.
Darius remounts, and his soldiers begin their own bouts of carnage. A Dragon Rider burninates several Rangers on a ledge, a dragon knights charges into a warg outrider, and a spearman and swordsman mutually slay each other.
Another angle of the dual charge.
Along the far left edge where the Dragon Riders had initially deployed, one rider foolishly charges three set-pikemen. The Dragon Mount is no more.
On the right flank, the Dragon Guard have learned from their previous mistakes! The squad of dual wielders easily sprint the bridge, while spearmen and fireblades choose to swim to the other side. Frescka and the griffon fly forward, and archers begin to line the riverbank.
Volkaire's death weighs heavily on the minds of his remaining guard. They sprint forward in attempts to be the first to clash on this side of the field. Dragon Guard arches have eliminated to rangers on this side as well.
The Dragon Guard balllista also sends an explosive canister into the magic pillar onto which four Mythic Order ranged units had ascended on Lord Mercat's turn. Sadly, the damage is pitiful and the platform does not collapse...yet...
Turn 2
Mythic Order
Gestalt begins humping another one of his swordsmen, either in an attempt to steal another sword or to get some height to launch a dagger and snap the chains of the nearby Dragon Guard ballista. Sadly, another feat failed...
To their shame, the Mythic Order ranged units on the floating platform are only to make one kill this turn . The magisters will not be pleased by such numbers...
As a result, Ragnel, the hero on the murderbeast, gives a grim nod to the Mythic Order ballista crew. They load up a massive bolt and launch it into the floating platform!
All four of the MO units on top, as well as four Dragon Guard soldiers, are crushed under the colossal weight. Two more Dragon Guard are trapped underneath drowning (I believe one will eventually swim out).
Another shot of the carnage.
While dragon guard dual-wielders look on in disbelief, feeling quite lucky that they had hopped the bridge instead of swimming!
A grimfang soldier is bolted.
And the halberdier makes short work of the other grimfang. Somewhere across the battlefield, Darius smirks under his golden helm.
Another archer or two are taken out by Mythic Order Rangers.
Back on the left flank, more carnage is ensuing. Shots from bows and crossbows are being fired left and right.
In the upperleft corner, the dismounted dragon rider is successfully wasted. Another dragon rider finds himself in the middle of an assault, and a lone swordsman crosses blades with a peachy elf.
The dismounted Mythic Order knight smacks a spearman with his hammer.
Carnage overviews at the bottom of Turn 2.
Which is also the time when...
Trollface appears!
Trollface, singing his iconic song, dunks a couple of fire blades in the water and crushes one into ABS bits.
Dragon Guard
"If I cannot have a hammer, then I will have the sword!" Frescka wings her griffon into the skies in an attempt to barrel down the sword's guardian. I think the charge damage was ok, but the Guardian's defense roll (including some supernatural input) was unreal!
"Get those monstrosities!" With a warcry, the dual-wielders leap into the fray, dodging through the stone field in order to put the pain to the werewolf berserkers.
A well-placed ballista shot takes care of a few Mythic Order infantry.
Meanwhile, attacks are being flubbed on the left. Archers so ineffectually shoot at an outrider that he catches one of the arrows in his hand.
Two Dragon Knights charge in only to whiff their attacks and damage.
A peachy elf, however, slices a swordsman in half.
And the second ballista takes out another Warg Outrider.
"Victory will not escape our grasp!" Darius can sense the trouble his troops are having beyond the stone wall on the left flank. He hefts his glistening lance and throws in an attempt to pierce the wall and pin an adversary on the other side. His aim goes awry, however, and the only thing now pinned to the wall is a Dragon Guard spearman. Darius simply shrugs...
The Guardian
In the skies, the Guardian retaliates and puts a wound on the griffon.
The battlefield of Thairm is a mystical, chaotic plane. Few know from whence the ruins came; few know the ruins' true destiny. Adventurers far and wide know this place as the dwelling of Aurora, one of the four mystically imbued swords. Aurora sits at the crest of a celestial waterfall whose streams appear to bring arcane life to the barren surroundings.
Warlords across the eons, across the reaches of Medivo, across the Astral, ABS, and negaverses have vainly sought to possess these swords. Aurora, it seems, has stood the test of time, witnessing the coming and going of great armies at the foot of her falls. Aurora's custodian is the humble Guardian, an esoteric figure who keeps his eternal vigil over the sacred blade. His one great desire is to seek Aurora and her magic free from anyone's grasp.
G.R. 2013 is a time of great upheaval in the regions around Thairm. At least one bloody battle vied for supremacy over the blade. Unfortunately, the Dragon Guard's expeditionary force was massacred by a Mythic Order scouting party. For some reason, Arycelle's forces did not seek immediate possession of the blade, instead taking word of the Dragon Guard's presence to the heroes of the Mythic Order. Since the skirmish, both forces had ample time to array themselves in battle lines for a truly epic clash. Great murderbeasts were to be unleashed upon the hapless Dragon Guard. For their own part, Darius--newly appointed grand marshal of the Dragon Guard--forged swift alliances with a Leoncor detachment and a cadre of wood elves in hopes of evening the odds (not to mention the mustering of his own war machines).
Turn 0/Battlefield Array
For the first time ever, the entire Dragon Guard force hits the table together. You can procure pictures of the battlefield in the other brickfair threads; I won't reproduce them here. The left flank of the Dragon Guard is dominated by flying and galloping steeds, a squad of archers and of elves, a spear shieldwall, a ballista, and the wyrmfire cannon. The heavy doses of cavalry are a result of this side of the board possessing the most open terrain. Granted, one could only assume Lord Mercat will also go cavalry heavy on this flank...
The right flank is more problematic for the side of the board I've chosen. A swift flowing river severely hampers movement, and my previous battle demonstrates just how precarious it can be to march across a bridge! Nevertheless, I swarm my infantry to this side: spears, fireblades, dual-wielders, a squad of archers, the griffon, and a ballista. I'm not pleased that so many feet are going to have to make due with the river, but I could not have rightly put my cavalry over here either...We'll see how this pans out.
Mythic Order forces on my left flank are faced with an interesting dilemma too. That side has a river that cuts off a full 1/4 of the deployment zone without any bridge way. The floating platform in the back left corner is actually a teleporter that will send any unit that touches is a random (1d20) set of inches forward. Lord Mercat assembles various infantry near the teleporter, sets up his uber-lance cavalry on the proper riverbank, and backs it all up with a champion murderbeast
.On the right flank, the Mythic Order assembles various degrees of infantry: rangers, crossbowmen, werewolf berserkers, paladins, swordsmen, halberdiers, you name it. Heavy hitters on this side include a large ballista and another murderbeast
. This side of the field contains another floating platform that leads to the sword of Aurora. There is also a large boulder field that makes non-minifig maneuverability quite a challenge.Turn 1
Mythic Order
The Mythic Order begins its turn with a spirited charge across the field. I should note that I'm a pretty poor judge of estimate distances; In both games, Lord Mercat was able to jump his horses into a sprint and secure first blood. In this case, two archers and one spearman are greeted by lance-tips.
Here you can begin to see the effects of Lord Mercat using the teleporter to reposition his infantry on the left flank. Many simply plop themselves in the river. A goodly amount of others zoom right up nearly into the Dragon Guard's face. Also note that the Mythic Order is STAUNCHLY anti-peach. Two elves are slain by ranger fire.
Left flank overview where you can see the remainder of Mythic Order movements and teleportations.
On the right flank, Dragon Guard officer Volkaire decided to lead the charge, accompanied by two of his very own Grimfang Guard. I mean, heroic leaders always urge their lessers on from the front lines right? Or had Darius order Volkaire to the front lines after their squabble? At any rate, Mythic Order rangers place Volkaire in their sights and shoot him DOWN!
A cadre of Mythic Order crossbowmen (and a ranger) utilize the hovering platform to gain range advantage.
Gestalt - a roguey Mythic Order hero known for his multiplicity of knives and blades - sneaks up on one of his own men and steals a sword, which he deftly intends to launch at some shmuck of a target on Dragon Guard lines (A grimfang? I don't remember...). The sword, however, is destined only for the river...
Dragon Guard
"Enough of this Insolence!" Seeing his men so wastefully dispatched by the brazen charges of Mythic Order knights, Darius dismounts and swings his mighty warhammer at a nearby stone pillar. The shockwave either incapacitates or slays a barded steed and disrupts the rider.
Nearby, two dragon knights dispatch the other MO knight.
Darius remounts, and his soldiers begin their own bouts of carnage. A Dragon Rider burninates several Rangers on a ledge, a dragon knights charges into a warg outrider, and a spearman and swordsman mutually slay each other.
Another angle of the dual charge.
Along the far left edge where the Dragon Riders had initially deployed, one rider foolishly charges three set-pikemen. The Dragon Mount is no more.
On the right flank, the Dragon Guard have learned from their previous mistakes! The squad of dual wielders easily sprint the bridge, while spearmen and fireblades choose to swim to the other side. Frescka and the griffon fly forward, and archers begin to line the riverbank.
Volkaire's death weighs heavily on the minds of his remaining guard. They sprint forward in attempts to be the first to clash on this side of the field. Dragon Guard arches have eliminated to rangers on this side as well.
The Dragon Guard balllista also sends an explosive canister into the magic pillar onto which four Mythic Order ranged units had ascended on Lord Mercat's turn. Sadly, the damage is pitiful and the platform does not collapse...yet...
Turn 2
Mythic Order
Gestalt begins humping another one of his swordsmen, either in an attempt to steal another sword or to get some height to launch a dagger and snap the chains of the nearby Dragon Guard ballista. Sadly, another feat failed...
To their shame, the Mythic Order ranged units on the floating platform are only to make one kill this turn
. The magisters will not be pleased by such numbers...As a result, Ragnel, the hero on the murderbeast, gives a grim nod to the Mythic Order ballista crew. They load up a massive bolt and launch it into the floating platform!
All four of the MO units on top, as well as four Dragon Guard soldiers, are crushed under the colossal weight. Two more Dragon Guard are trapped underneath drowning (I believe one will eventually swim out).
Another shot of the carnage.
While dragon guard dual-wielders look on in disbelief, feeling quite lucky that they had hopped the bridge instead of swimming!
A grimfang soldier is bolted.
And the halberdier makes short work of the other grimfang. Somewhere across the battlefield, Darius smirks under his golden helm.
Another archer or two are taken out by Mythic Order Rangers.
Back on the left flank, more carnage is ensuing. Shots from bows and crossbows are being fired left and right.
In the upperleft corner, the dismounted dragon rider is successfully wasted. Another dragon rider finds himself in the middle of an assault, and a lone swordsman crosses blades with a peachy elf.
The dismounted Mythic Order knight smacks a spearman with his hammer.
Carnage overviews at the bottom of Turn 2.
Which is also the time when...
Trollface appears!
Trollface, singing his iconic song, dunks a couple of fire blades in the water and crushes one into ABS bits.
Dragon Guard
"If I cannot have a hammer, then I will have the sword!" Frescka wings her griffon into the skies in an attempt to barrel down the sword's guardian. I think the charge damage was ok, but the Guardian's defense roll (including some supernatural input) was unreal!
"Get those monstrosities!" With a warcry, the dual-wielders leap into the fray, dodging through the stone field in order to put the pain to the werewolf berserkers.
A well-placed ballista shot takes care of a few Mythic Order infantry.
Meanwhile, attacks are being flubbed on the left. Archers so ineffectually shoot at an outrider that he catches one of the arrows in his hand.
Two Dragon Knights charge in only to whiff their attacks and damage.
A peachy elf, however, slices a swordsman in half.
And the second ballista takes out another Warg Outrider.
"Victory will not escape our grasp!" Darius can sense the trouble his troops are having beyond the stone wall on the left flank. He hefts his glistening lance and throws in an attempt to pierce the wall and pin an adversary on the other side. His aim goes awry, however, and the only thing now pinned to the wall is a Dragon Guard spearman. Darius simply shrugs...
The Guardian
In the skies, the Guardian retaliates and puts a wound on the griffon.
...Two iconic heroes in one trip... 
). We've still plans to meet up again next year with a better sense of how much time will be required for the battle.
