3 Battle reports: A Song of Ice and Fire event at Board & Swords, Derby 23rd February

Raymond and I took a short drive down to Derby from Liverpool, to Board & Swords in Derby for a 3 game tournament. It was a well attended event, with 24 players turning out for a grand days gaming.

Board & Swords is a spacious store, with on site parking and plenty of A Song of Ice and Fire Stock, as well as plenty of other systems. https://www.boardsandswords.co.uk/

It was also a good chance to put faces to names from the community that is thriving in the UK, particularly in the Midlands, with Board in Brum having a 26 player event the day before.

Ian Mann and the staff were very friendly, had Dominoes in for lunch and ran a very tidy event with prize support that allowed a wee something for everyone. Excellent, and a very chilled event with both Raymond and I having 3 excellent games with guys who play the game for the game!!!

The battle reports will be shorter than usual, on account of the poor pictures (as I took my camera but I didn't have the battery in it as took it out for recharging and forgot to put it back in) and also that in the cut and thrust of battle, you forget to take pictures and remember things...

I had two lists, both with 7activations, as follows:

List 1

Gregor Clegane (C) in Lannister Halberdiers
Sandor Clegane in Bolton Blackguard
3 x Mountains Men

NCU's: Tyrion and Cersei

List 2

2 x Poor Fellows with Champions of the Faith
Sandor Clegane in Bolton Blackguard
Knights of Casterly Rock
Bolton Bastards Girls with Stormcrow Lieutenant

NCU's High Sparrow (C) and Tyrion

GAME 1 

Ciaran Kelly using Starks in Fire & Blood scenario

Ciaran had the list below:

Umber Greataxes with Brynden Tully (C)
Umber Greataxes with Bran & Hodor
Summer
Tully Sworn Shields with Rickon and Orsha
Shaggydog
Stark Sworn Sword with Syrio Forel

NCU's: Sansa, Arya and Varys

Ciaran's army was nicely painted (bar one unit of Greataxes) and was as much in yer face as my Cleganes (which I'd opted to take for this game)

We randomly generated the terrain as you can see, with a wall the 2D (I didn't bring any)

I marked both Greataxes, while had my right Mountains Men got one as did the Blackguard.

I think Ciaran went first, with Arya on the letters while I had Cersei influence and hit Hodors Greataxes...

Good result, though he did heal up on the money bags...

After much manouvering and jockeying for position, the Mountain's Men failed a charge on Hodor. But Hodor decided to charge back with last activation. My Set for Charge dropped them to 2 models and they failed their panic test.

Although Summer went mad and flanked me, while Syrio's unit had some nasty shenanigans counterplotted on my left, though Shaggydog held them in place.

I think Sansa allowed another charge, and with Syrio, and various other combos, the Blackguard were no more...

Score was 4 VP's to 3 for Lannister, end of Turn 1

 TURN 2

With lots of options, I decided to free up the Mountain with Cersei on the swords allowing a free swing at Summer. However, Varys negated the zone. I have to be honest, I've never really faced Varys and when I gave my opponent would generally roll a  1 or 2...

The Blackfish and his Greataxes smashed into the Mountains Men and wiped them out in one fell swoop. And although I finished off Summer by charging through the spikes with my other Mountains Men, thus freeing up the Mountain and his Halberdiers, I was on the backfoot now...

The Tully Sworn Shields didn't want the Mountain in the flank, so repositioned. When I charged in the front, Set for charge and Orsh really stymied my plans. As did Varys by blocking Tyrion's zone, as I was sitting on Orders to Destroy!!!

As you can see, my ranks were seriously depleted all over, but I had hit the Starks hard too

Shaggydog flanking my Mountains Men gave me some joy at the end when I double sixed the saves...

But going into Turn 3, it was bleak with the Starks 8 - 5 ahead...

TURN 3

Arya gave her free manoeuvre to Bryndens Greataxes to avoid the spikes, but took the swords allowing Syrio to finish off the Mountains Men

I got my Orders to destroy off as Ciaran stopped Cersei from influencing... 

But alas Brynden played Set for Charge and paid me back in spades for killing his other unit, with the panic failure wiping them out...

The Sworn shields then finished off the Mountain, for a 15 - 5 Stark win...

And a complete massacre by end of Turn 3...

Not much to say, we both seemed to do the most damage when we received the charges. 3  Set for charges by the Starks was nasty, but Ciaran was good fun to play against, we were both pretty chilled about things (like forgetting to add with Commander) but we did after the fact as we remembered. A bad satart, bad a great game that was really bloody!!!

So as we broke for lunch, just again to say that Derbys Premier gaming venue is Boards and Swords

It's on a wee industrial estate near the Derby Cricket ground (and to the right of YESss electrical)



And they have plenty of A Song of Ice and Fire stock... And we had Dominoes for lunch!!!

 GAME 2

A Game of Thrones scenario v Dan Jackson with an 11 activation Freefolk list. I opted for the Mountain again...

Dan had the following force:

Harma (C) in Cave Dweller Savage
Cave Dweller Savages
Spearwives with Jarl
6 x Raiders

NCU's: Styr and Mance Rayder

9 Units and a good solid horde list. Figured this might be difficult given their numbers and insignficant and 5 objectives to take...

We set up as below, with all 3 of my Mountains Men setting up left, and the Blackguard and Halberdiers aiming for a centre run to seize the objective and take the fight to the Freefolk. Admittedly, the Freefolk looked daunting by covering the whole horizon...

TURN 1

NCU's first allowed extra cards and a failed panic on my middle of three Mountains Men which cost them a rank, while my Blackguard stole an advance on the centre...

My army marched as the Freefolk marched or advanced en masse...

TURN 2

I got hit again with the panic, losing more men from the mid Mountain Mens unit. But I did get to heal and also get the letters for a good hand of cards (7 as had objective that gives you +1 hand)

As the horde started to encircle, I pushed up aggressively, scoring 4 VP's to 2 at end of turn... But I lost several Blackguard to panic for holding the 2 VPs in centre...

TURN 3 

After the Blackguard got flanked with some card shenanigans, leaving the Hound all alone in the centre, I got Orders to Destroy off with Fury of the Mountain and annihilated a unit of Raiders...

before Overrunning into a second and taking them down to a single rank on the objective...

As the Cave Dwellers finished off Sandor, his brother and his Halberdiers got a second Order to destroy off, clearing the Freefolk from the centre objective...

Nice blurry picture, and the last few activations were the highpoint of the game for me as they did surge onto the centre objective. But the horde was still great than me...

And as they closed in, I lost my Mountains Men on the rear objectives to panic!!! Still, I cleared the objective nearest the Freefolk line

Going into Turn 4, I was ahead 8 VP's to 6 VP's

TURN 4

And despite valianlty charging whiel outnumbered, I coundt kill the last of one unit of raiders and surrounded and alone the Halberdiers and the Mountain were razed from the board

As Spearwives came on at end of turn 3, I needed a miracle...

As the horde spread out onto objectives and spearwives leaving a lone man, it was all over...

Valiant effort, but a 10-9 loss and a good victory for the Freefolk….

Dan was great fun to play again, throwing men away with gleeful abandon and undaunted by the damage I did as he systematically outmanoeuvred me to bring his numbers to bear. Still, losing a whole unit to repeated panic assaults was particularly cruel on me...

I took time out to nip over and see how Raymond was doing. He had won his first game well and was in the midst of some Lannister bashing, and this is just before Renly single handedly fought off a whole troop of cavalry (although succumb in the end against a High Sparrow list)

My last opponent was Johnny, running a Ramsey Snow  neutral army. Raymond played him in game one, and oddly enough Raymond was facing Dan who had just slapped me.

Game 3

A Clash of Kings

I opted for my High Sparrow list, as I had brought it and the Cleganes weren't up for it today so far...

Johnny ran the following:

Ramsey (C) in Bolton Blackguard with Reek
Bolton Blackguard
Bolton Cutthroats
Bolton Flayed Men
Stromcrow Archers with Stormcrow Lieutenant

TURN 1

We both started off with our Blackguard in the race to the centre, but i was supported by Knights of the Rock as opposed to some mercenary Stormcrow archers...

TURN 2

With first activation I smashed into the flank as the Stormcrows repeatedly fired into my cavalry, with a Bolton card, the bags and swords before double crowns from me and their own cards wiped themselves out...

I also took the horses to advance up my Blackguard before charging home. Ramsays unit held

Reinforcements appeared, with teh Flayed men hitting the KoCR in the rear, wiping them out.

My blackguard looked vulnerable, and we ended turn 2 with me ahead 2 VP's to 1

In turn 3, I cant remember exactly the order but I pinned his Flayed Men in place with one unit of Poor Fellows. The Blackguard couldnt finish of Ramsay and Reek, although when they attacked in reply they failed their tests and were wiped out.

I also hit the Flayed Men in the front, while the Blackguard had to face an imminent Cuthroat charge.

The Blackguard held, and with the help of the horses, my Bastards Girls were able to move up, shoot then charge into the flank and wipe out the cutthroats. I failed a charge into the other Blackguard on my left, as the Stormcrows returned and started showering my Poor fellows with arrowfire...

Turn 3 ended with Lannisters ahead 5-2 on VP's

Sadly, my phone charge ran out there... With me holding the centre with a tough unit, and the Flayed Men bogged down, the game really came down to attrition as we recycled units. My Bastards girls flanked and charged the Stormcrows and wiped them out before being hit by the recycled cutthroats. I lost two units of Poor fellows in return for the Flayed men and Ramsay's Blackguard again by end of turn 5, and with objectives the game ended 11 - 9 to the Lannisters

Shame the pictures weren't there, as it was quite tense as we ground each other down and in the end it was close run thing.

So to sum up, a great days gaming. I finished ahead of Raymond by means of alphabetical order, as we both had 1 win and 25 battle points.

The top three are shown below, with the winner fielding the following list:

Lannister Halberds
+ The Mountain (C)

Mountains Men
+ Preston Greenfield

Mountains Men

Mountain Men

KoCR

Cersi & Pycelle NCUs.

Not a million miles off my Clegane list, but I'm obviously just duff!!!

Top 3 from left to right: 2nd Place Carlo Conner-Hill, 1st place Chris Eustace, 3rd place Sam Shaw.

Conquest:The Last Argument of Kings1400pts Dweghom v 100 Kingdoms: Battle of the Ribble Valley

Another game of Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings up at the Ribble Warriors, saw Chris adding some new units to his Dweghom force and a new character for me...

https://www.para-bellum.com/

We played on a 6ft x 4ft board, simulating a wide rocky valley, with the Dweghom defending against a strong interloping force of 100 Kingdom soldiers. The Dweghom had two hills on their half, with a rock copse there, while my humans would be entering the valley where two large, impassible boulders had broken up the valley entrance where another rocky copse stood...


Chris's Dweghom consisted of the following:

Characters: Hold Raegh (warlord), Ardent Kerawegh, Tempered Sorcerer

Units:

1 x 3 bases of Hold Balistae (Light)
1 x 3 bases of Hold Balistae (Light) Tempered Sorcerer Joined
1 x 3 Inferno Automata (Light)
1 x 3 bases of Flame Berserkers (Light)
1 x 5 bases of Hold Warriors (Medium) Ardent Kerawegh Joined
1 x 5 bases of Hold Warriors (Medium) Hold Raegh Joined

My noble and valiant forces of the 100 Kingdoms was made to accommodate my Chapter Mage.

Characters: Noble Lord on horse (Warlord with Arms Master), Noble Warlord on horse, Imperial Officer, Chapter Mage with Ninuah's Tears

Units:

1 x 3 bases of Mercenary Crossbowmen
1 x 3 bases of Mercenary Crossbowmen
1 x 3 bases of Men at Arms
1 x 3 bases of Men at Arms
1 x 3 bases of Men at Arms Imperial officer Joined
1 x 5 bases of Men at Arms Chapter Mage Joined
1 x 3 Household Knights Noble Joined
1 x 3 Household Knights Noble Warlord Joined

 TURNS 1 & 2

With 2/3's of the Dweghom being light troops against, the first few turns saw the Dweghom troops advance forcibly onto the board, with the Hold Ballistae occupying his right heading for the hill and the new units, the Flame Berserkers and Inferno Automata barrelling down the centre...

Led by the Tempered Sorcerer, the Hold Ballistae secure the heights...

With the bulk of his force already on by the end of Turn 2, Chris checks his "special" rules with his Inferno Automata already over the halfway line and bearing down on the right vanguard of the 100 Kingdoms. A small force of Men at Arms was centre left to draw fire while on the left Mercenary Crossbowmen snuck around the boulder there.

The Infernal automata are Light Brute, meaning they are highly mobile and very fast while delivering a real punch...

My Mercenary Crossbowmen had to face down the Dweghom automata, and were hoping for first activation...

TURN 3

While the rest of my force turned up this turn, it didn't help me win first activation and the Dweghom machines crashed home...

Delivering 5 impact casualties...

Before flurrying and wiping the crossbowmen out...

And also delivering the first point for Chris by scoring a secondary objective

With two units of Hold Ballistae to their front, my Men at Arms successfully drew some fire...

However, despite the early loss, my forces were all on, while the Dweghom Hold Raegh was still off board...

Going into Turn 4, my cavalry and Men at Arms were looking good for crushing their opponents...

TURN 4

Again, the Dweghom stole the first activation and the Inferno Automata and their wicked trickery was cruelly revealed, as they declared a charge on my Warlord cavalry and used their fluid formation to reform to fit through the gap in my lines before loosing another charge...

After scoring two wounds by their impact hits, the flurrying automata scored another half dozen, and my 4 or less save proved hard to find...

Fortunately, my other Noble and his Household managed to charge home against the Flame Berserkers...

But disappointingly failed to impress, the Dweghom Berserkers resolve being more than a little fanatical...

To make matters worse, the Ardent Kerawegh cast Dismay on my Knights, breaking them...

And on my left, my Men at Arms diversion attack failed to reach the hill...

Meanwhile, the Flame Berserkers were busy separating man from horse, though the armour saves meant only one knight was lost...

The Hold Raegh and his troops turned up on my left and were valiantly charged by a small unit of Men at Arms

On my right, my Chapter Mage led her Men at Arms up to face off the Hold Warriors led by the Ardent Kerawegh...

While behind my lines, my Noble Lord and his last wounded Knight struggled to hold of the Inferno Automata...

On the right objective, the two large infantry units clashed...

The Dweghom seized the initiative and hit hard...

While the left Men at Arms fought against the Hold Raegh and his superior forces, the Imperial Officer led more Men at Arms up under the Ballistae held hill, over the dead Men at Arms unit that had just been pin-cushioned...

The best units of the 100 Kingdoms force were heavily engaged on the right and centre and it was definitely in the balance...

Surprisingly, my Men at Arms had caused wounds against the larger Dweghom infantry...

End of turn 4 saw the Dweghom ahead 2-0, scoring from scoring Overwhelming b having a largery force at the end of the turn...

TURN 5 

The 100 Kingdoms managed to seize the initiative, with the Warlord and his Knight rolling well...

Sadly for me, the last Infernal (yes, that's my new name for them) Automata held it together on a single wound...

The battle of the central objective was a slog fest, with the Knights armour facing off against the Dweghom's fiery fury and implacable resolve...

There really wasn't much in it between the two...

On my right, the Hold Warriors cut the Chapter Mage's Men at Arms to shreds...

And the badly damaged Infernal finished off my Knight and with him, my Noble Warlord...

The left Men at Arms continued to take the fight to the Dweghom, with some inspired dice rolls causing 6 wounds.  Unfrotunately, the dice below belong to the redoubtable armoured Dweghom, who passed all their saves!!!

I shed some of Nimuah's Tears, healing my Mages Men at Arms back up and then my Mage managed to score two hits despite her decidedly poor clash stat...

My Imperial Officer and his badly depleted Men at Arms also failed to charge home up the hill...

And the Hold Raegh finally stopped playing and started taking Men's arms and heads...

In the centre, no-one could gain an advantage...

While the Infernal twisted his head round to look invitingly on the rear of the Men at Arms with my Mage in them...

Chris again had Overwhelmed, and scored a third Victory point...

TURN 6

I had first activation given my dwindling forces, and Nimuahs Tears were succesffuly cast, healing up more Men at Arms...

While on my left, the Tempered Sorcerer and his Ballistae had no mercy on the trespassing Imperials...

Despite being reduced down to five Berserkers, my Knights were left reeling on one wound as the Noble could only look on...

Despite their gallant attempt, my left flank was reduced to a unit of Mercenary crossbowmen firing relatively harmlessly up the hill...

And the Infernal Automata crashing into my rear spelled the end of my right flank...

The end of the turn saw the Dweghom claiming objectives, ahead 5 to nil...

TURN 7 

Beaten and battered, my troops ceded the first activation and allowed the Berserkers to finish of my wounded Knight, capturing my Noble Lord for ransom...

As my Water Mage restored more Men at Arms, the rising tide was definitely closing in...

And tshe succumbed to the Infernal Automata and the jubilant Hold Warriors. The valley was left in the Dweghom hands, as the Hold Raegh and his Warriors charged home into the final valiant remnanats of the 100 Kingdom force...

Turn 8 began with the Dweghom sitting ahead 7 VP's to nil...

And finished very shorlty after the Hold Warriors activated, annihilating the entire 100 Kingdom force and achieving a 9 - 0 victory...

The Ardent Kerawegh and his Hold Warriors sit on an objective, savouring a sweet victory!!!

 Well, the Ribble valley ended up being a charnel house for my forces, as the Dweghom Light unit superiority allowed them to gain an upper hand and pen me in and take me apart piecemeal.

My main units didnt hit hard enough on the one charge I managed, while I kept being charged and losing out in the battle of attrition. Chris's new Dweghom units were nasty, particularly those Inferno (Infernal) Automata. They had a hand in wiping out my Chapter Mage and her Men at Arms, after chewing up a unit of Crossbowmen and my Warlord and his Household Knights. The Flame Berserkers high resolve kept them in the fight long enough for me to fail too many saves, and Chris certainly enjoyed the role reversal with regard to dice.

As someone who is generally more lucky than unlucky with rolls, it was a bad night for me and a sweet one for him. But I will not forget this massacre, and we shall return!!!