Not down at Justplay this Thursday, visiting Raymond's (Mr Ray) instead to face off against his Baratheons, which he has been playing almost exclusively for the last 18 months. And A Feast for Crows again for scenario...
I would be running Styr as commander, as haven't ran him before, in the list below:
Combat Units • Thenn Warriors with Styr - Magnar Of Thenn • Frozen Shore Chariots • Free Folk Trappers • Spearwives with Cave Dweller Alpha • Spearwives • Free Folk Raiders with Raid Leader • Free Folk Raiders with Raid Leader NCU's: Craster & Mance Rayder
Ray was running an anti Free Folk Baratheon list, consisting of:
Combat Units • Rose Knights with Renly Baratheon - The Charismatic Heir (C) • Thorn Watch • Baratheon Wardens with Master Warden • Rose Knights with Daario Naharis - Reckless Mercenary • Stormcrow Mercenaries with Master Warden
NCU's: Courtney Penrose & Margaery Tyrell
My three wolf chariot with a Spearwife driving from the backseat...
Terrain and Set up: Obligatory 2 corpse piles for A Feast for Crows, wall m side left, bog Raymond's far
my left, spikes centre, Weirwood near corpses on my right
Left to Right:
FREEFOLK: Raiders, Chariot, Cave Dwellers Spearwives, Trappers, Thenns, Spearwives, Raiders
TURN 1
We all moved up, but with horses helping my Raiders took right objective
The tactics board Turn 1
TURN 2
So, I was a bit worried as looked like I was going to go head to head with Baratheons. Hardly what
I wanted but wasn't sure how to whittle down his high armour at this stage and his two "weaker" units
were second and fourth in line with 3+ armours on their flanks!!
Raymond was too slow to get the thumbs up, so here he is looking like he's a shit boogie-woogier!!!
First activation was Raymond's, so he took the Horses to deny Endless horde (which I didnt have) and
ensure on my right, his Wardens were auto in against my objective holders. I took the swords
and did a spear toss at the Wardens as below. But I didnt charge in afterwards as there was no room.
Raymond the declared a charge at the Wives with his Mercs, needing a 4+ as myTrappers hit them with
minus 1 move. He rolled the 4!!!
The Mercenaries managed 3 hits, which I failed...
But passed the panic check, even with the panic token being expended...(with Thenn's Defiance)
I charged in the Thenns, who had Styr's Vengeance so Mercs became vulnerable...
I score 5 hits...
And despite the vulnerable, Raymond passed all his saves!!!
I took the left objective with the Raiders...
Renly and his Rose Knights came storming in to Styr and his Thenns
With all eight attacks hitting with sundering...
So that was eight fails!!!
But I passed my panic check...
and also played Final Strike!!!
Which dropped one Rose Knight. So I had Craster take the bags and heal up as well as use his once per
game ability, as I'd lost another Thenn to some Rose knight thingy. The Wardens killed 4 Raiders and
took the objective with ranks as I passed my morale
and lost 3 more their own attacks trying to get the objective back. I did drop a Warden, but even with
There's Too Many, the Wardens passed with Renly being in short range
The Thornwatch Sentinels moved up and allowed my Trappers to loose arrows...
My dice were under performing!!!
I moved up my Spearwives after the Daario Knights held back ready for Turn 3, and then marched
the chariot up right into the back of the Baratheon line while the Raiders took the left objective...
The right side was not as good from my perspective. One on one with Baratheons!!!
END OF TURN 2
BARATHEONS 1 VP (1 objective)
FREEFOLK 1 VP (1 objective)
TURN 3
So activating off the Swords, the spearwives did a spear toss dropping a Rose Knight before triggering
Chargign Volley to crash into them
Five hits on the vulnerable Baratheons...
That dropped three but There's Too Many, vicious dropped another SIX!!!
Nice roll Raymond!!!
Raymond seized bags and healed up, so I hit them again with a chariot in the rear and managed to drop them to just Daario!!! But they were still there, as I'd hoped to finish them off and free up the Spearwives...
Daario attacked with Renly's card boosting him, and I dropped to seven spearwives!!!
So I used my second Final Strike!!! Eat that, Baratheon boy!!!
 |
Well, no all SEVEN attacks were saved!!! Yeah, you did read that correctly...
|
So I had to activate the Spearwives, using Oerwhelming Assault to allow re-rolls and grant sundering
Of course, they all hit first time...
But the Sundering took the save to 4+ and Raymond managed the one 3 I needed to kill them...
Raymond placed the Corpse pile dead Rose Knights generated behind his Thornwatch. He then took the horses to get them onto it...
And while I activated Raiders on left, Raymond charged the chariot...
I saved 3 of the hits, but failed the panic and took 3 wounds (as Ray should have rolled 4 attack dice)
and I failed the panic for 2...
With Ray going first Turn 4, that was frustrating...
My Trappers attacked the stakes to allow better manouverability...
And in the centre, my troops were getting worn down, with the Mercs beating up on the spearwives and their Master Wardens Hold the Line being nasty...
But I passed the panic check in style...
Less so after the token was expended, but still a pass...
On the right, I lost 3 Raiders to Hold the Line making the Wardens hammer them to death...
This generated a corpse pile I placed behind both my Thenns and wives...
After my Thenns swung and fluffed all 5 dice v the Mercs, I retreated my Spearwives onto the objective (and the invaluable healing card)
END OF TURN 3
BARATHEONS 3 VP's (3 objectives)
FREEFOLK 4 VP's ( 1 unit, 3 objectives)
TURN 4
Courtnay on the swords saw the Wolf chariot shot down by the Thornwatch...
What happened next was a real cut and thrust of battle field and off board tactics. I took the Horses despite Courtnay healing from it, using it to grant Endless hordes to threaten the Wardens on my right. The Thornwatch then charged into the spearwives with cave dweller, easily killing them and moving off to threaten my raiders. I used Diversion tactics to move my Trappers up to bypass Renly and his Rose Knights, to threaten a march totake the objective behind them, but Raymond countered by activating Renly and retreating his Rose Knights back and out away from Styr and his Thenns. So my Thenns attacked the Mercs again...
And again scored ZERO hits...
And was reduced to the Magnar himself when they attacked back!!!
On the right, my Raiders flanked the wardens
with dice rolls to shame the Thenns!!! This caused a wound, and a failed panic but I had to drop the token on the corpse pile and Raymond simply retreated onto it
Styr on his own pass a crown zap from Margery!!!
With me up first next turn, I gambled on a 3+ charge into the Thornwatch with my Raiders and Raid leader, but I failed on a roll of 2 due to the bog!!! I was behind, and the risk had to be taken...
I at least healed 3 Thenns from the objective behind them...
END OF TURN 4
BARATHEONS 7 VP's (2 units, 5 objectives)
FREEFOLK 5 VP's (1 unit, 4 objectives)
TURN 5
I played Regroup and reform to bolster the Thenns as my Endless horde raiders would achieve little against the Wardens...
Activating off the swords, the Trappers dropped the Thornwatch down to a single rank...
but Courtnay had already chosen swords and horses so they managed to heal up five
Not nice to see, I have to say. These thorns grow back as quickly as you weed them out!!!
Renly's Rose knights charged into my Trappers... Oh how I laughed at his eight dice hitting on 2+'s with my weaken and his no reroll for being on the corpse pile...
I then took the horses to retreat my Trappers into a position to hit the Thornwatch again, who had lost 3 men by rolling the 11 required to pass their rear panic with corpse pile. And I charged the Thornwatch but failed to do much of anything.
Margery healed the Thornwatch by changing the crown out to Wealth and Charisma
And although they attack against the Raiders didn't lose much.
The Trappers passed their morale...
The Thornwatch then retreated away out of arc of the Trappers...
The Mercs and the Thenns were still duking it out in the centre....
And just for fun, the Wardens steamed into the last FreeFolk Raiders.
He died and then the Stormcrows attacked
I passed all 4 defence rolls...
Unfortunately, with a vulnerable toke expended, they then failed all hits...
Board at End of Turn 5
The Baratheons were in a stronger position, but there was still a chance if I could drop the Mercs and the Thornwatch...
Well, I stood toe to toe with the Baratheons for five turns and didn't disgrace myself!!! Raymond
END OF TURN 5
BARATHEONS 9 VP's (2 units, 7 objectives)
FREEFOLK 7 VP's (1 unit, 6 objectives)
TURN 6
Raymond activated first, and Margery took the swords...
After some healing shenanigans, the Mercs were at full attacks plus one from a card, scoring five hits...
The Stormcrows had also shifted over
And the Thenns failed the requisite three saves...
It was a long hard slog, but with the Magnar of the Thenns demise, the battle was lost...
I spent next few activations healing up the Spearwives but that didnt stop the Mercs taking six off in their activation charging in, stealing the objective on ranks...
The Trappers and the Thornwatch Sentinels finally stopped dancing around the backfield and got together
with some nice Trapper attack rolls...
Despite knowing what Raymonds last and only card in hand was, the Spearwives attacked killing 3 but the Mercs passed their panic and then played final strike, which dropped the Spearwives
The Mercs had wiped out the Thenns and Spearwives in one turn!!! Nice...
The Thorn Watch retreated out of melee after attacking, healing as they went...
Only the Trappers and the left side Raiders had survived the battle, as the Free Folk were broken in teh final turn...
END OF TURN 6 (& GAME)
BARATHEONS 14 VP's (4 units, 10 objectives)
FREEFOLK 7 VP's (1 unit, 6 objectives)
Well, I stood toe to toe with the Baratheons for five turns and didn't disgrace myself!!! Raymond
as usual fought his Stags well, but at start of turn 3 he was very worried when I went through
Daario's Rose Knights. So many things could have turned this game further in my favour,
so many epic Baratheon armour saves, so many fluffed attacks...
The Thorn Watch were a real thorn in my side, moving and healing andfending off my attempts to swing a left punch but Raymond definitely had the Stormcrows with
the Master Warden as his men of the match. They battered down the Thenns, and the
Spearwives, and the Wardens on the right with the Master Warden also battered down two
units of raiders. Both of the "weaker" units I couldn't get at were the real winners for the
Baratheon force. Having said that there is no denying I had some really bad dice, and
Raymonds were on fire. The Thenns fluffed so badly in battle with the Stormcrows, and
had Daario's Rose Knights dropped sooner, the thorn Watch would have been under far
more pressure. But it was a great game and Raymond deserved the Baratheon win...
Charity Appeal
Kieran "Scaddman" Scaddan is holding a 24hr sponsored wargame of ASOIF in aid of Veterans
mental Health charity on 28th/29th May.
Link to his Justgiving page is HERE
EVENTS IN UK
24 player event at Gaming Figures on Sunday 10th April in Redcar, The Caswell Cup
16 player event, Saturday 30th April at Battelfield hobbies First Sword of Daventry
Gather for War on Sunday May 8th At Board & Swords in Derby Gather for War
Bad Moon Cafe, Great Dover St, London Sunday May 8th , A Prance with Pragons
24 player 2 day event Durham, 14th-15th May, War of the Wall
Justplay Games Liverpool Sunday 29th May
Kieran's 24 hour Sponsored Event 28th/29th May at Imjin barracks
16 player event at Leodis Games in in Leeds, Saturday June 5th War of the White-Rose Cloaks
Saturday June 11th at Battlefield Hobbies, Daventry, Battle of the Bar-Stewards
16th & 17th July Duke's Gaming Welsh Grand Tournament Cymru Grand Tournament
The 128 player 2 day event UK London Grand Tournament (ELO) 30th September Link
16 Player 2 day event 22/23rd Oct at the RIBBLE RUMBLE, ELEMENT GAMES, STOCKPORT, UK LINK
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