A Matter of Honor - Test of Honour AAR

One of the local shops in the area I've recently moved to has begun hosting a weekly Test of Honour night. Estactic that I would get a chance to bring out the Perry miniatures I'd been working on. 

The initial night saw six players using 12 point warbands in teams of two. I teamed up with Sam, Bill with Jolene, and Kai with Harley. The objective was simple - the side with the last samurai standing would be the victor. 

The table was fairly open, with one side starting across a fast moving river that needed a successful Test of Agility to be crossed.

The warbands continued to maneuver. The samurai, having three actions to the commoner's on, were able to quickly leave their ashigaru behind - a strategy that, I quickly learned, would not have good results.

My samurai was the first to be killed, after jumping into the maw of the mixed warbands of the Bill and Jolene. Sam decided to retreat for the moment, after narrowly avoiding attacks from all three of the Kai's and Harley's samurai.

As Sam managed to chop down Kai's Samurai, I was forced to sit back and wait, unable to draw any commoner tokens necessary to activate my ashigaru.

Finally, Sam's samurai was cut down after attempting to rescue my forces, and our commoners fled the table. The battle petered out between the two remaining sides of the battle, their warriors too tired to go charging across the field to attempt a renewed assault.

The group had a fun time, and this big opening battle helped us learn the rules of the game. While it did have the time-tested problem of playing a three-sided game (one side will always end up in a two front war, and we all know how that turns out) and Test of Honour's token based activation kind of breaks down when you've got six players individually adding in and drawing out, I'm looking forward to starting up a campaign.

Chaos Dwarves vs. Skaven, League Game - Blood Bowl AAR

My next opponent was Anthony and his Skaven team. I was hoping to score some easy casualty Star Player points in this game, but Nuffle had other plans.  

Defuego chose to kick in the first half, and my Chaos Dwarves prepared to play the ball. 

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. With three turned wasted trying to pick up the ball, poor armor rolls and Defuego's Shadowing Blitzer, I was unable to break through and reach the endzone before the first half ended.

The teams reset, with the Chaos Dwarves kicking.

With the difference in Team Value, Defuego was able to hire Hakflem Skuttlespike. The purchase paid off when Hakflem was able to, with a little help from the other Skaven players, escape a 3-man mark and dodge into the endzone.

With the game 1-0 to the Skaven, I needed to sprint to the endzone to try and at least even the score.

Unfortunately, that "sprint" was again devolved into a slow crawl when I couldn't manage to clear the Skaven out of my path. The Zharr-Angkor Immortals were forced to leave the pitch in defeat, with the Skaven winning 1-0. 

Surfing Lessons - Men of Company B AAR

This past weekend I attended the monthly meetup of the South Jersey Confederation of Wargamers. While the weather had turned down attendance, there were enough of us to get in a game of Men of Company B. 

The scenario was a search and destroy mission. The Americans would need to make their way through the table and search the villages for Low, High, and #1 priority targets. Meanwhile, the VC would need to slow the Americans down and cause as many casualties as possible.

The Americans came on with two platoons of infantry and a command element. While the commander tromped through rice paddies, the two platoons searched the villages and then hunkered down.

One group of VC appeared in a village and began recruiting villagers.

As did another group of VC on the opposite side of the table.

The Americans attempted to advance, but a failed attempt to move into a square of bamboo left them exposed.

Another unit of VC appeared at the far side of the table and recruited civilians. Meanwhile, the VC at the upper edge moved into the jungle closest to the American commander and opened fire. One stand fell, but the leader managed to escape injury.

With the game clock quickly winding down, the Americans received reinforcements - a pair of tank units that rolled onto the road. The American infantry shifted position, moving away from the VC in the woods.

A failed activation roll meant that the VC couldn't do much, apart from retreat back into the village.

The Americans advanced on a wide front, with another infantry platoon moving onto the table. An artillery strike from the American commander hammered the two VC units in the north village, killing both leaders and reducing one unit down to two stands.

The VC had another squad appear in the village behind the American's position, which failed to do any damage. The VC unit that had been reduced to two stands dissipated into the jungle.

Pushing forwards, the Americans launched an attack on the south village, managing to reduce the VC unit there by a stand, but taking two casualties in return.

The VC pulled of a daring gamble, with the two stand unit reappearing behind the Americans and launching an assault on the American command unit. The assault failed to cause any casualties, but it did chase the American commander out of cover.

The VC unit in the south village retreated, not liking their odds against the American armor units.

The Americans managed to chase the VC out of the brush with an assault. The VC lost another stand, but managed to hang on. A failed artillery strike left the Americans stranded in the center.

Unfortunately, the VC weren't able to take advantage of the American's stalled efforts. Some small arms fire was exchanged, and the VC unit in the center of the field went down to try and survive the incoming fire. 

Unfortunately, the American tanks turned and opened fire on the VC unit, wiping it out and opening up the center of the table. The American continued searching as quickly as they could, causing civilian casualties in the process with their ruthless interrogations. 

A failed attempt to shoot twice from one of the VC units ended any attempt to counter the Americans' efforts.

With the last turn, the American conducted more searches, turning up the #1 and the last High priority targets.

This was enough to give the Americans a Proper Victory, with the VC retreating in disarray.

This was my first time playing a ruleset from Peter Pig, and I had fun doing so. It definitely makes picking up some of their other games, like Square Bashing or Battles in the Age of War, an easier prospect.

Chaos Dwarves vs. Orcs, League Game - Blood Bowl AAR

My second scheduled game of the league was against Mike and his Orcs.

I won the toss and chose to kick in the first half.

Mike's Black Orcs knocked my line back, pushing over most of the Chaos Dwarf Blockers.

The Dwares stood and waited, hoping they could beat the Orcs at the grind.

The Orcs pressed the attack, opening a gap in the Dwarves' defensive line.

The Bull Centaurs shifted to fill the gap.

But the Orcs didn't care, knocking down the Dwarves left and right.

The Dwarves stood again, not liking their chances to keep the stronger Black Orcs from blocking with higher dice.

Another gap opened, allowing an Orc to get through.

One Hobgoblin was able to mark the Orc, but as always happens in Blood Bowl, my Bull Centaur managed to sprint twice and then tripped and fell.

After knocking my Dwarves about, the Orc ran the ball in for a touchdown.

We reset, with the Orcs kicking off. The ball went off the table, giving the ball to the Bull Centaur.

The Dwarves plan was fairly obvious - punch through the Orcs on one side in what little time was left in the half.

The Orcs moved to block the Dwarves' drive.

The Bull Centaurs broke through, making a run for the endzone.

Unfortunately, my mind was so set on getting the score that I misplaced the Centaurs, allowing Mike to shove the ball carrier off the table, effectively ending the half.

The teams reset, with the Orcs kicking. The odd setup was aided by a Quick Snap, with the Dwarves readying a cage.

The plan was immediately derailed by a failed short pass. There was a moment where the two teams paused, looking at the dropped ball in amazement.

Thankfully, the Orcs' attempt to grab the ball failed, allowing the Dwarves to pick up the ball and form a cage.

The Orcs surrounded the cage, using their strength to force it open.

So the Hobgoblin split, getting behind the Chaos Dwarf line.

The Orcs attempt to shift the Dwarves, but couldn't get through.

A few turns of hot dice meant that the Dwarves were at an 10-7 player advantage on the pitch.

Two hobgoblins used the absence of Orc players on the pitch to make a break through a gap.

One Orc Blitzer attempted to follow, but was stopped by a Chaos Dwarf Blocker.

The Orcs tried their best to do some damage, knowing they couldn't reach the ball carrier.

One the eighth turn of the second half, the Hobgoblin ran the ball in, scoring a touchdown for the Chaos Dwarves. Mike elected to take a knee, ending the game in a 1-1 draw.

Both Mike and I ended up with a dead player (my Chaos Dwarf Blocker went from a -1 ST to Dead thanks to a particularly incompetent apothecary who is, no doubt, toiling away in the warpstone mines at this very second). Thankfully I won enough in this game to buy another player, and was lucky enough to roll a doubles on another Blocker that got MVP. With a newly formed Claw, I'm now hoping for some Guard to help win the strength game out on the pitch.