Karak-Krag Dwarfen Expedition vs. Wood Elf Patrol of Athel Tharnlui - 2,000 Points
Hey Dakkanauts! This week I played my first game with Jacob, a resident dwarf player,
DM, and all-around great guy. This report is a collaboration between him and I. I did the fluff bits, he did the report proper, and we both took pictures. After getting absolutely trounced by a different dwarf player twice, I decided to tweak my list a bit to see if I can handle the gunline and armored shieldwall nature of the dawi. My opponent took a very fun dwarf list led by Gotrek (demonslayer) and Felix (giantslayer) bent on felling some trees.
Rough Outline of Lists
Dwarfs
Anvil of Dooom
Demonslayer
Giantslayer
21 Warriors full command (fc) w/ shields, 21 Warriors fc w/ Great Weapons
21 Ironbreakers fc
Gyrocopter
Gyrobomber
5 Irondrake, champ with torpedo (x2)
12 rangers with shields,
gw, xbows
Flame cannon
Asrai
Spellweaver on Horse with Elementalism, Wand of Wych Elm
Spellweaver with Battle Magic, Oaken Stave
Waystalker with arcane bodkins (
ab)
Noble with
BSB on steed, Bow of Loren,
ab, cav spear, shield
5 GG with hagbane tips (
ht)
8
DS with
ab (x2)
5 GR with
ht, muso (x2), reserve move
5
WR with champ
Treeman
Eagle x2
6 Waywatchers with
ab
It had been a long journey back to Athel Loren, but the trip to prevent the beastmen from crossing the river Aver had been deemed integral to the weave. Spellweaver Amranai ran to catch up to her sister, Boerithrenel, mounted as she was on an elven steed as blue-black as midnight in the Yew Grove. Amranai looked around to see why her sister had halted the march.
“What is that dwarven statue doing here, Amranai?” Boerithrenel pointed at one of two huge statues of diminutive bearded men.
“It appears to be instructing us to stop, sister.”
“I mean… why is it in the middle of Athel Loren?!”
“There are groves that even the ancients do not tread, sist-”
“Well apparently the bloody dwarves do!”
In the silence that ensued, a dwarf wider than he was tall appeared from the thick trees ahead. A human followed up from behind, writing in a journal.
“Hail and well met, young maidens! It’s awfully foggy out this morning. Could you point out the direction of the nearest elgi village?” the dwarf asked.
Boerithrenel pointed west, past the statues.
“A day’s journey on foot, dwarf. Perhaps a bit longer for your kind,” she sneered.
“And by the worldroots?” the dwarf cocked his head and his orange mohawk waved at the elves.
“Only we Asrai may travel along the sacred worldroots, but no more than two hours.” Amranai cautioned. She spoke still partially concealed behind her sister’s elven steed.
“Aw well… ya better get movin’ out of my valley then, elgi!”
“This is the famed Gotrek and Felix, dear sister,” Amranai whispered.
“You should consider yourself lucky you still draw breath, and leave,” Boerithrenel said to the pair. “This is the realm of Athel Loren, the sacred groves of the dominion of fey, tree, and Asrai.”
“Well when my father’s father was buried here it wasn’t!” Gotrek’s forehead vein bulged with its own vein.
The spellweaver grinned. “Perhaps burying his grandson here will resolve our property dispute.”
“It’s not our fault you let your stinkin’ magic trees grow wherever they want!” Gotrek yelled as politely as he could. A sparrow a mile south flew back to be with its family. “I’m here resting with most of the throng of Karak-Krag before we seek out a daemon to the north.”
Felix pointed to the large spruce with legs wielding a long, eldritch spear. “That tree fellow seems sufficiently large and terrifying for an honorable death.”
“Mmm,” Gotrek nodded in agreement. “Ugly, too. Alright let’s get to. Grindal! Rally the warriors of Karak-Krag and let’s see what you can do, ya wazak!”
The odd pair walked back into the forest. In the distance, armor clanked and a hammer beat mercilessly upon an anvil.
“So… do you think they are leaving, dear sister?”
TURN 1: The battle lines were drawn between the Dwarfish Expedition and the Wood Elf warband. The dwarfs hastily fueled their gyrocopters while a smoldering flame cannon was rolled into position. Just as the dwarfs advanced into the clearing, a hail of arrows befell the interlopers, cutting down a few among their number. Elf shooting prioritized taking out irondrakes and gyros, and took a wound off each unit or so. No magic at this range.
TURN 2: The wisp of passing arrows was deafened by the roar of clattering gunfire as gyrocopters weaved through the tree line. Still, the hail of arrows took their toll and, once again, the dwarfs were on the backfoot; driven back by the elves' superior range. A couple more irondrakes fell, but the dwarfs were mostly unscathed. The pillar of fire spell began its rampage through the dwarfen ranks, taken out a couple of ironbreakers.
TURN 3: Valaya blessed the dwarfs with a reprieve from the elvish assault. The Wild Riders' charge was blunted by indomitable dawi shieldwall, baited out by the gyrobomber. As a gyrocopter's bomb incinerated the Waystalker who was tryign to get a bead on Felix. Still, pillars of flame conjured by the elven witches decimated the dawi gunline. The spellweaver on horse moved out of the forest line to cast spells, only to reserve move back in. Wind blast takes out an irondrake, nothing too crazy here.
TURN 4: The Wildriders were driven back by the Dawi Warriors; fleeing with reckless abandon off the battlefield. Dwarf crossbows cut down four waywatchers. The ancient treeman's bark was splintered by drakegun fire as the Ironbreakers marched in pursuit; Gotrek and Felix close behind. On the western flank, however, the situation was dire for the expedition. A regiment of Dwarf warriors fell to the scrying claws of the vile tree-kin while Glade Riders plunged deep behind the dwarfish gunline. Worse yet, both Gyrocopters were pulled from the skies; falling into burning refuse amidst the ancient pines.
TURN 5: The dwarf's secured the arcane relic in the center of the clearing (wroth 2
VP aka 200 points), but at a terrible cost. Glade riders encircle the party and get a bead on the characters. Felix fell to a hail of bodkin arrows. Gotrek, with tears stinging his eyes, screamed in defiance as he charged head long into the death he so craved; falling to the elven arrows that felled his beloved friend. As the two lay bleading upon the grass, the dwarfs drove the elves off but at such a price no one would dare call it a victory.
With the suicidal charge of the demonslayer, we call it a game. With a little more elven hubris and less dwarven honor, Jacob possibly could have pulled out a victory here. He just needed another rune of striking to go off and to keep his characters protected. He did manage to hold the center which was worth 2 points in the end, so it was a very close game despite the last-minute demise of Gotrek and Felix. Overall a very fun game. I proved my elves can take on dwarves. Next time we clash I'll take a less-tuned version of this list with a little more melee in it so we can get stuck in proper. Jacob was an absolute delight and we both had fun with this classic grudge match.
The elven host was slowly being routed, that was clear. Even the big treeman had turned to flee after a torpedo had lodged in its sternum. Time to finish the job. Maybe he could meet a glorious death after all, he thought, eyeing up the big oaken monster.
Suddenly he heard a shout. He turned. Felix stared at him with those big umgi eyes. Two arrow shafts protruded from his back.
With a roar, Gotrex charged the nearest elven horsemen, some feckless elves trying to circle round to the brightstone his ironbreakers had secured. He felt the wind go out of him. His axe grew heavy. He would rest just a moment.
“They fought well,” Boerithrenel noted as Gotrek collapsed, a pincushion of hagbane and arcane bodkins.
“Indeed, sister. A shame their journey ended here with so many snags still in the weave.”
“And yet, I sense this end is not theirs. They have a larger thread still yet to be spun in the weave. Have them placed beneath the oak of ages to heal.”
“Why can’t you put them under the oak of ages?” Amranai sized up the huge, muscled dwarf that lay dead before her own lanky arms.
“I’m… too important.”
Don’t fret, readers! Gotrek and Felix will return in…
Gotrek and Felix Go the Beach: Kraken Open a Cold One
