Conquest: 1500pts Spire v 100 Kingdoms

The Spire v The 100 Kingdoms

So after last week's inaugural battle, my 100 Kingdoms force faced off against Andy and his dreaded Spire. Difficult to assign any "fantasy" description to The Spire faction, but essentially their troops are made and consists largely of drones and clones. Think Ants and Hive mind and you're not far off...

Like all the Conquest models, they are very nice and like me, Andy has three starter boxes worth of his force.

SPIRE FORCE:

High Clone Executor (Warlord) with 12 Marksman Clones (Medium)
Mimetic Assassin with 24 Force Grown Clones (Light)
Pheromancer with 12 Force Grown Clones (Light)
Pheromancer with 12 Force Grown Clones (Light)
12 Force Grown Clones with Catabolic Node (Light)
12 Force Grown Clones with Catabolic Node (Light)
3 Brute Drones (Medium)
Abomination (Heavy)
Abomination (Heavy)

This gave Andy a whopping 13 activation cards

In comparison, I fielded 7 units, with two characters but I had beefed up my forces from last outing

The 100 Kingdoms force:

Noble Lord (Mtd Warlord) with 5 Households Knights (Medium)
Imperial Officer with 20 Men-at-Arms
24 Men-at-Arms with leader
24 Men-at-Arms with leader
12 Mercenary Crossbows
12 Mercenary Crossbows
12 Mercenary Crossbows

Not my most flattering picture...

We played a simple straightforward mission again, with control of central objective giving 2 points, 1 for each flank objective. The buildings are an excellent fit for the larger models, from the 4grounnd Mordanburg range https://www.4groundpublishing.co.uk/fabledrealms/mordanburg  and were garrison terrain limit 12, with a hill and two woods.

TURN 1

We rolled for our light units, with Andy holding off his large unit with the assassin. I got all 3 Crossbowmen on, while Andy got 3 of his force-grown clones and we marched up as below.

TURN 2

Andy got his 4th light unit on (still keeping his assassin off) while I got one of my 4 mediums on, electing to have my Imperial Officer on board. One of the force-drone clone units took the larger house, while my Crossbows secured the smaller, and I took the hill...

TURN 3

I had my whole force arrive, while Andy finally brought on the Assassin with his large clone unit. Turn 3 saw a lot of crossbows strike down clones centrally but the Pheromancers worked overtime to heal up the slain...

However, on my right flank, the highlight of the game for the 100 Kingdoms was the 12 shots requiring 3 or less, and lucky me scoring 10. Andrew then failed all his saves, and his whole unit was wiped out, scoring the first point as I had the Wind of Death secondary objective card...

"10 Little Spire Clones, just below the hill,
 12 aiming crossbowmen, with their iron will,
10 silly Spire clones, want to climb the hill, 
Never gonna happen, they're all now lying still..."

It has to be said, I do get some lucky dice at times. Whereas on my left, the other small unled clones failed to charge home against the garrisoned house...

TURN 4

Andy managed to get the Brutes on automatically, and both Abominations. Having got the first activation, and feeling Andy would look to heal again from the inevitable crossbow volleys, I managed to outplay him. I charged home after advancing up my Imperial Officer and Men at Arms. (This meant I would forego attacking, but had gotten into melee and stymied Andys plans.) My logic was to bust through his skirmishers and free up the field for my Knights next turn...

Sure enough, with his orders mixed up my crossbowmen decimated his right Clones who then charged home triggering their node which only killed two crossbowmen while leaving two clones. On my right, the Mimetic assassin repeated my Imperial officer and led a charge into the crossbowmen, foregoing melee to close...

At this point, the field was clearly controlled by the Kingdom of men. However, the cunning Spire had not put out its full might...

The beasts arrived, both on my left (Andy's right) where two clones were all that was there...

With the High Executor and his multi-limbed Marksmen advancing up to close range and make their volleys more effectual, and the brutes moving up behind the large house, I realised with horror the trap my men had been lured into...

TURN 5

The score was now 1 to the Spire (card objective), 3 to the Kingdom of Men (controlled centre, 1 card)

Andy got first activation, and his Warlord triggered his supremacy trait with devastating results. One abomination charged my left Men at Arms.

And butchered them!!!

The second Abomination flanked my Imperial officers Men-at-Arms...

And butchered them twice as badly, wiping out the whole unit in a flurry of massive claws...

And as my Warlord's dreams of glory was being torn limb from limb in front of him, the Brutes flanked his cavalry at the run, neglecting melee but pinning them in place, where they would be subjected to repeated volleys from the Marksmen Clones...

Still, my crossbowmen still held the small house and finished off the clones there...

My Warlord was in a pretty pickle, but successfully reformed in melee to lash out at the Brutes...

Well, I was leaving an Abomination in my rear and several Clone units in my flank, but I had ridden into the trap and had to try and fight my way out of it...

The Crossbowmen on the hill, died quickly, between multiple spears and an Asssassins blades...

Barely one turn ago, the field looked totally different...

The scores had closed 2 to Spire, 3 to 100 Kingdom...

TURN 6

With first activation, I charged into the large clone unit on the hill...

While the second Node detonated, killing two of my knights...

The Abomination was valiantly attacked by my Men-at-Arms, who took half its wounds...

before the enraged beast trampled them underfoot and claw and proceeded to engage the crossbowmen...

Clone Marksmen at close range decimated my Knights, but the Noble Lord hung in there...

The Clones sit at the rear, with the High Executor directing fire into the armoured horsemen...

While the second Abomination smelled the Crossbowmen behind him and went hunting for them...

With light units unable to claim objectives, turn 6 ended with the 100 Kingdoms still 3-2 up. But the tide of battle had decisively turned for the Spire...

TURN 7

The Crossbowmen amazingly took a few wounds from the Abomination, but were slaughtered in return...

It's twin reduced the garrisoned crossbowmen down to a single mercenary, who knew he was doomed but stayed to await his fate, bloodied and broken and unfit to contest the objective...

The Men-at-Arms fought on, bringing more clones down...

While the Warlord's nobility left him (along with his bodily fluids) as he fled in ignominy from a small force of Clones, that finished off his bodyguard (scoring a card objective for the Spire)

And the Mimetic Assassin singlehandedly cut the Men-at-Arms to pieces...

The sole Brute advanced to score off the centre objective...

The game was all but over now, with the Spire leading 6 to 3...

TURN 8

5 humans against an entire army...

The mimetic assassin took a man-at-arms down with each sword swing...

While the last man standing saw his dagger bounce off...

And was torn from the buildings in a frenzied orgy of violence...

The game ended with a mighty Spire victory, 9 points to 3

The forces (well, force) left at the end of the battle...

The battle seemed to start very well for my forces but I could not get through in time before the Abominations slaughtered my entire left flank. The rain of arrows from the Marksmen was devastating when they'd closed up, and the supremacy ability allowed the Spire to cave me in before I could strike back. All in, a very bad day to be a human as the Spire dominated...