WARRIORS OF CHAOS versus Dark Elves

Game: Warhammer Fantasy Battle 7th edition
Opponent: Gary
Scenario: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Dark Elves
Points: 2000
Background: I bought the new Warriors of Chaos book earlier the same day that we played this game. To keep things simple for me I chose the same list as I played in my last game using the Hordes of Chaos book. I figured that it was the best way to find out how much my force had changed, as well as that of the emo elves with their new army book.

The photos aren't great in this report because I forgot my camera and had to use my mobile phone.

Warriors of Chaos

• Sigurt Volsung, Lord on Daemonic Mount, Armour of Damnation, Golden Eye of Tzeentch, shield
  
• Thaer, Exalted with Book of Secrets, Sword of Battle, Shield (Steed of Shadows spell)
• Angur, Lvl 2 Sorcerer with Black Tongue (Dark Hand of Death and Doom and Darkness spells)
• Boda, Lvl 2 Sorcerer with Infernal Puppet and Talisman of Protection (Fireball and Burning Head spells)
  
• 12 Warriors full command, Blasted Standard
  
• 10 Warriors full command Banner of Wrath
• 16 Marauders, full command, shield and light armour
  
• 5 Knights full command, Warbanner
• 5 Marauder Horse, musician, flails
  
• 5 War hounds
• 5 War hounds
• Chariot

Dark Elves

• Level 4 sorceress with sacrificial dagger
  
• Lvl 2 Sorceress
  
• Lvl 2 Sorceress
• Assassin
  
• 2 Repeater Bolt Throwers
  
• 10 Repeater Crossbows
• 16 Spearelves full command
• 5 Dark Riders
  
• 5 Dark Riders
  
• 19 Executioners full command Banner of Murder
• Hydra
• Chariot
• Chariot
  

Terrain and Deployment
Gary had already set the table up before my arrival. He asked if I wanted to change things up but I was happy enough with the table. I determined to choose the side with the single hill if I won the roll off which I duly did. I then knew Gary would bunker around the hill and therefore I could array my full force against it.


From left to right I had the Knights, 10 Warriors with Banner of Wrath, Exalted and Sorcerer Boda, Marauder Horse, 12 Warriors with Blasted Standard including Lord, Chariot, 5 Warhounds, 5 Warhounds and finally the Marauders with Sorcerer Angur.

The Dark Elves (from my left to right) were Dark Riders, Executioners with Sorceress, Chariot, Bolt Thrower, Crossbows with Sorceress, Bolt Thrower, Spearelves with High Sorceress, Hydra, Chariot and Dark Elves.

The game
Despite my +1 for completing my deployment first the Dark Elves kicked off the game.

The two Dark Rider units pushed forward on either flank, the nearest to my Knights dangerously so, I thought. The Executioners followed up behind. In the middle of the battlefield the Hydra and Spearelves moved up. The Chariot went stupid and stumbled forward. His magic took out four or so Warriors from the Lord's unit.

My Knights charged the Dark Riders near the rocky column. Gary was convinced they were out of range so held but the Knights were a good inch close enough. The light cavalry were slaughtered in short order so the Knights overran into the Executioners.

I marched the Warhound units into the centre of the board trying to tempt a charge from the Chariot and Hydra. The Marauder Horse angled off against the chariot under the hill. My Marauders on foot faced off against the Dark Riders to their right. Thaer, my Exalted, used his steed of shadows spell to land behind the chariot under the hill, threatening the Bolt Thrower.


The Assassin revealed himself in the Executioner unit but all his attacks only killed my champion. In return the rest of the Dark Elf front rank died. The Elves held on with a five on their break test.

The chariot on my left charged my Marauder Horse who fled right through my Lord's unit and out the other side. The nearest Bolt Thrower on the hill turned and skewered my Exalted with a single shot. The Hydra's breath weapon killed three Warhounds from one unit while other shooting killed two from the other unit. Magic whittled down more of the Lord's Warriors but then a Sorceress failed to cast a spell. My Black Tongue turned this into a miscast but the Elves rolled a seven so the best I could do was change it to an eight and end the magic phase.

The chariot on the right moved toward my Marauders on foot and the Dark Riders set up a side charge.

My Marauder Horse rallied and angled themselves in front of the Chariot. The Marauder foot turned to face the Dark Riders. The Sorcerer moved out of the unit and tried to cast Doom and Darkness on the Chariot. I got the spell off but Gary dispelled it.

My Knights butchered more of the Executioners and this time their morale failed and they were run down, Assassin, Sorceress and all. The Knights ended up alongside the hill, flank on to the Bolt Throwers. Gulp!

My Lord charged out of the 12 Warriors at the Chariot along with my 10 Warriors. The Chariot fled behind the Spearelves, leaving the Lord in a vulnerable position.

The Dark Elves won the game in this turn. One Bolt Thrower shot killed three of my Knights with a single shot. The other killed my Lord in a single shot. Spectacular magic and crossbow shooting decimated my Warrior and Warhound units. My Warriors with the Banner of Wrath and containing Sorcerer Boda failed their panic test and ran. Even my Chariot took a flukey wound.

On the right the Chariot charged my Marauder Horse which fled. The Chariot carried on into my Marauders who were also front charged by the Dark Riders. The shattered unit outran their pursuers. Sorcerer Angur was understandably unsettled and panicked toward the table edge.

The game was all but over but I soldiered on until turn six. I lost the last Knight because I forgot to move him (he was in amongst Gary's deadpile - I have forgotten to move so many units and missed so many enemy units that I call this deadpile camouflage). I got a charge off against the Spearelves with my depleted Warrior unit but the craven Dark Elves fled. Unfortunately for me they rallied before they hit the table edge. They eventually ended up fighting the rallied chariot instead. No-one got anywhere near the hill. The repeater crossbows were reduced to just three models but they never failed a panic test in the whole game.


I lost my Chariot to another single Bolt Thrower shot. My Marauders did not rally and ran off the table. The Sorcerer was mashed by the Chariot.

Result: Loss

Learning points

• The Dark Elf army book is stronger while the Warriors of Chaos are weaker. I just never put any pressure on the Elf sorceress who ran amok for the whole game. The Sorceress never came close to failing to cast a spell, never mind miscasting. The DE chariots are better and I missed my Furies.
• We got lots of rules wrong in this game. Gary was holding his units back which I later discovered he can't do but he was also forgetting to re-roll his missed hits. I forgot most of the extras I had added to the list like the Blasted Standard and the Talisman of Protection. Additionally we are both shaky on the basic game rules and we had a stop start game while we scoured the rulebook. Practice makes perfect I guess.
• I now have a week or so to read the book before our next game so my list and tactics should be better. The only thing I can't do is change the models for the time being.