Murica ~Mistform Ultimus ~ 2800 Storm Spirit [3/3] 1000 Mistform Shrieker [3/3] 2000 Waterspout Elemental [3/4] 1100 Blizzard Elemental [5/5] 0650 Dracoplasm [6/6] vs Cxwf ~Karona, False God ~ 3850 Kami of the Palace Fields [3/2] 1150 Godhead of Awe [4/4] 0750 Ghastlord of Fugue [4/4] 0450 Demigod of Revenge [5/4] 0600 Oversoul of Dusk [5/5] 0550 Deus of Calamity [6/6] Situation, units and assumptions Terrain: mountains Weather: clear Situation: no attacker Given the specifics of the battle there is no doubt in the fact that we can see each other fairly easy from the start. Because of this I doubt that Cx will try to retreat and make a defense because I can catch up with him easily since pursuers are slightly faster than the ones they are pursuing, specially on mountain terrain. So Cx has 2 possibilities: attack or defend on the spot. Defending would be predictable, especially since he knows I read all his strats this tournament as I did with every other opponent so I have no doubt he will attack. Storm Spirit- flying spirit that can control lightning in many forms bolts, swords and the natural form. Mistform Shrieker - an ethereal flying creature that is made out of mist. This makes it easier for it to change his appearance into anything his composition allows. Waterspout Elemental - tell me Repax, how can someone kill a creature made out of water? This is a flying elemental. Blizzard Elemental - Another flying elemental made out of wind and cold and ice Dracoplasm - Ethereal draconic shapeshifter (I argued about it's actual ethereal form in my previous strat by giving a definition to what plasma is - some sort of inert gas). It can obviously firebreath. Kami of the Palace Fields - this is a very annoying creature as upon death can bring back any of the enemy other creatures (except other Kamis). My way of dealing with these troops the previous battle was to simply not engage them and it paid off but I doubt Cx won't expect this again and be prepared for it so not killing these troops will only be in my disadvantage. However, this is what I am going to argue: in no battle in which both contestants sent their strats, did I see more than 400 casualties in 1 undivided rank so if I can't kill more than 400 even if I target them with everything I got, then they can't revive more than 400 which honestly does not bother me that much number wise because all this can do is take my 200 troop advantage and turn it into his 200 troop advantage which is not enough to grant him any bonus. Also, it flies. Godhead of Awe - these creatures are annoying as well because of the aura that weakens all troops around them. Fortunately for me is that, as an army, his troops will have spent a lot more time near these units than my troops and they should be affected as well. This means that the ability will not count that much. However, as I will write in my strat, I will try to avoid it. Also, it flies. Ghastlord of Fugue - A creature whose only advantage is him being unblockable. I usually do not bother blocking since I am the one attacking. Demigod of Revenge - besides it's flying and haste this creatures ability should not work in the wargame. It's activated on play and the wargame rules clearly say that all creatures have been in play for a while. Also, return from the graveyard is not the same as playing a card so a resurrection of this creature should not activate this ability either. Oversoul of Dusk - just some protection from all my non physical attacks, but not immunity. Deus of Calamity - Huge trampler Last time we fought I took the battle to the ground even though I was denying myself some advantages. The enemy being not prepared for it as well as my tactics working as described have given me that victory. Not only will this tactic not work again, but I am actually not gonna discard the chance of Cx attacking me in the air. This is why, my tactics will be made in such a way that they will be effective no matter which way Cx rushes towards me. This provides me an advantage as I doubt Cx will be able to lift all his ground troops no matter how innovative he is. Battle tactics: This will be simple. As always fire, ice and electricity will be my main weapons. If the enemy charges in the air I will ignore the troops on the ground for now, because even with some contingency range attack they won't know what I am doing. I will have all my mistforms shapeshift and form a wall of mist through which nothing can be seen until very very close. All my troops , except 5% of each rank will position themselves behind this wall. The 5% will be inside the mist allowing the enemy to see parts of them in his attack. Stage 1: missile barrage As the enemy enters range I will fire all my range attacks: lightning bolts and ice bullets from the blizzard and waterspout elementals. I will probably have at least 2 shots which will weaken the front lines. After the second shot the storm spirits and waterspouts will quickly go to the rear of my formation so that only the blizzard elementals and dracoplasms will be in front. The dracoplams will use firebreathing as a short range attack and right after that the blizzard elementals will rush towards the enemy already in the mist spinning in groups around each other to train their form and ability into something resembling a tornado. The points of attack should break the enemy formations and that is when I take all my army against him. Stage 2: all out attack The dragons will push in first disrupting even more the enemy plans with precise area of effect attacks at very close range while the mistforms suddenly turn into their original form and allow the dracoplasma perfect sight. The waterspouts will drop towards the ground and attack the units still there trying to drown them (this is a mountain terrain so I can trap them in places I can fill with water). The Storm Spirits will form a lightning sword in their left hand and keep throwing bolts with their right while the dracoplams and the blizzard elementals combine their attacks where more enemies are gathered. My advantage should be obvious, especially in the air. Contingencies 1. The bigger the ranged weapon, the bigger the projectile, the easier to duck. 2. If the enemy attacks with small groups or sends testing squads first I will try to finish them off with ranged attacks (I mean look at my range attack power) not to give away my plan. Cx might try this knowing he can resurrect some of those troops. 3. If the enemy is defending I will simply use bombardment tactics hitting him from directly above with lightning bolts, ice bullets and frozen rocks carried by blizzard elementals. If they enter any suitable area I will try to flood it and drown the units. 4. nets and such, if used will be rather useless since my ethereal troops could go right through them if they wanted (and they want) and my non ethereal troops (the storm spirits) can set themselves free with a lightning weapon they invented on the spot 5. If possible I will try to avoid direct contact with the godheads unless the enemy is in the same situation. If Cx keeps them away from his main army he will keep them away from me as well since I will be charging his main army.
Cxwf ~ I ~ Karona, False God 3850 Kami of the Palace Fields (3/2) 1150 Godhead of Awe (4/4) 0750 Ghastlord of Fugue (4/4) 0450 Demigod of Revenge (5/4) 0600 Oversoul of Dusk (5/5) 0550 Deus of Calamity (6/6) Unit DescriptionsShow
(1) Karona -- gives huge tribal bonuses to a creature type while attacking. All of my soldiers are Spirits. Most of them + Karona are Avatars. 3/2 - Kami of the Palace Fields -- Has Soulshift 5! All of my other units are Spirits with casting cost 5! Zomg! 4/4 - Godhead of Awe -- Has an aura that decreases combat effectiveness of nearby units 4/4 - Ghastlord of Fugue -- Sneaky unblockable thing that messes with peoples minds 5/4 - Demigod of Revenge -- Flying haste thing that can sometimes resurrect others of its kind 5/5 - Oversoul of Dusk -- Ground unit, resistant to red/blue/black special effects 6/6 - Deus of Calamity -- Giant tramply thing that can break up the ground itself in its fury
This is our last chance to confuse Murica -- It's time to finally take to the air! . Prebattle -- Equipment and Formation The Deus of Calamity are too large to reasonably get off the ground, so they will carry massive crossbows suitable to their size, and will coat their crossbow bolts with vegetable oil to enhance effectiveness against elemental targets -- the oil interferes with the cohesiveness of water-based elementals, preventing them from effectively reforming around their wounds. . Everyone else is going to be airborne today. The Ghastlords and Oversouls don't fly, but they are light enough to be carried. I may not look like I have anything that works well as a mount, but that can be overcome -- the Godheads of Awe will carry the Ghastlords, using their shrinking aura to reduce the Ghastlords further down to a manageable size, where they can piggyback on the Godheads without significantly slowing them. The Ghastlords are semi-ethereal to begin with, so they probably don't weight much. That leaves 400 more Godheads who can do the same for 400 of my 600 Oversouls, who are only slightly less ethereal, and the last 200 can be jointly carried by 4 Kami, one supporting each limb. . For equipment, the carried units each have a net in their left hand and a grappling hook in their right, attached to a short length of rope tied around their own waist in a harness. They also each carry a knife and a bottle of vegetable oil, which can be pulled out as necessary after their hands are empty. . The naturally flying units all have Scimitars and wooden shields, and the Godheads also carry longbows. . Start of Battle No-attacker means we start within sight of each other with minimal preparation time. It is usually assumed that we were at least able to hand out equipment and get into formation, but nothing else. So our formation is that the Deus are standing on the ground aiming massive crossbows upwards, while everything else is in one large unit flying towards Murica's army. He will most likely try to back off to a safe range where he can leverage his greater ability to conduct long-distance attacks, but he won't expect 90%+ of my army charging him right off. We will rush all out to close to melee range before he can back off, and that should allow us to make contact before leaving range of the supporting fire of the Deus standing on the mountainside, since they do have pretty significant range with those massive crossbows, and they're at a fairly decent altitude due to the mountains. . In melee, the hasted-Demigods move in first to draw Murica's attention and force him to fight instead of running -- the farther he runs, the more free hits the Demigods get, since they are faster than everything he has. As soon as he turns to deal with them, that gives everything else the window they need to catch up and join the battle. All of the carrier units seek out Murica's Dracoplasms and Storm Spirits, which are the most solid, least ethereal units he has. The non-carrier units will deal with everything else. . When a carrier gets near a Draco or Storm Spirit, he will move in for melee getting close enough that the carried unit can use his Net & Grappling Hook to move over to the enemy unit, so the enemy will now be slowed by the added weight instead of the friend. If the enemy isn't a good enough flyer to support his own weight plus that of a Ghastlord or Oversoul, so much the better -- the two of them will sink down to the ground, where my land unit will have better footing to beat him silly. The Net & Grappling Hook will ensure that he can't escape to attack safely from range. Once the Grapple is firmly established, my soldier can pull out the dagger he had stowed earlier to slash at his enemy. . After a Godhead carrier has dropped off his carried unit, he falls back a little bit and pulls out his longbow, to support from range so friendlies won't have to worry about his shrinking aura. If any enemies try to chase the Godhead down, he's still got a melee weapon and he can turn and fight very effectively since the enemy will be crippled by the shrinking aura in melee combat. . The 3000 Kami-of-the-Palace-Fields not busy carrying other units will be somewhat spread out throughout the fight, but will be most concentrated near my Demigods of Revenge for Soulshift support. Each Demigod restored by a dying Kami has a chance to also restore other nearby Demigods with his own ability, allowing chain reactions that can totally turn the tide of an attrition battle. If the enemy concentrates on killing off the Demigods and refuses to target the Kami, first off that allows them to be much more aggressive in their own attacks since they don't have to worry about their own safety, and secondly after the battle has progressed awhile small teams of Kami can intentionally sacrifice each other near dying Demigods for the absurd rush of power that can be acheived this way. . Karona, who is also hasted, moves with the Demigod group that charged first, to add extra power to that charge with her tribal ability. After Murica is locked in combat, Karona falls back somewhat to direct the Kamis. . Disengagement Our best chance of success comes from routing Murica's troops before he can successfully disengage to set up his own plans. If he does manage to disengage to a safe place, we draw back to a sheltered crevice in the mountains and set up a defensive position there, to wait out the rest of the day. Bonfires will be prepared for protection against extreme cold.
Stay tuned loyal viewers for the outcome to this historic event!!
1/1 - Keldon Arsonists : Their means of setting fires seems absent , so I’ll just assume that they lug heavy barrels of oil around. This certainly makes sense since their flavor suggests that they are unable to create controlled fires. But rather, reckless and slow detonations. The explosives should also be far too heavy to just toss for any considerable distance. Some set up is required. Obviously, if they happen to carry torches; their position would be given away by the smoke.
1/1 - Battle Squadron : A flying device made by goblins. Since it is but a 1/1 no other soldiers are on board by default and any casualty amongst the navigators would bring the entire thing down due to the lack of reserves. By nature of its large size and simplistic design, it posses low maneuverability. They can't go as high as the other air units. A single Serra Angel could easily board and slaughter the crew, thereby allowing my troops to confiscate the craft. They have no means of firing at angels directly below the vessel. Quickly cleaving a wing off means death for everyone on board, it seems easy enough to crash.
2/2 - Shard Phoenix : At the cost of its life it fires splinters in the shape of a cone in front of it. Reviving the phoenix requires a considerable investment of magic. None of his soldiers posses such magical abilities.
3/3 - Keldon Firebombers : They have no means of defending themselves if something gets close. Killing a few of these in the middle of a formation could cause bombs to drop, scattering the lot, and maybe even causing a chain reaction, wiping a massive amount of enemy troops. 4/4 - Volcanic Dragon : Slower than angels, plus they possess multiple blind spots where my angels could easily hack away. Claws are easily dodged forcing them to spew flames all over each other. Battle squadrons and phoenixes in the area are in danger of crossfire.
1/1 - Pikemen : Arm 1000 of them with pikes. Arm everyone else with a crossbow. Crossbows are easy to use, so they shouldn’t have any trouble learning. 1/1 - Aven Farseer: Its the fastest thing on the field. His claws posses enough punch to make short work of battle squadrons. 2/2 - Veteran Cavalier: Arm them with both a short sword and a crossbow. The horses have been through quite a bit, so a few explosions shouldn't scare them.3/3 - Dawn Elemental: Solid beings with the ability to emit plenty of light. 4/4 - Serra Angel : Flying soldiers with incredible speed. The have superhuman amounts of strength too. They wield whatever holy saber it is that they use.
I’m getting a bit lazy now, so I’ll write the rest quickly.
The pikemen with pikes are to spread out and march towards the enemy head on. Maintaining a slow pace. The ones with bows are to look for some higher ground near the enemy and march towards it slowly, they should always be behind the ones with actual spikes. Whatever the case they should be the last ones to enter the clash. The pikement should spread out and run in different directions if the enemy somehow manages to outmaneuver the forward force. Everyone else is to dash in a spread formation until they gain sight of the enemy. Remind them to avoid straight paths, and instead curve about the place they should wait in position depending on what the enemy.
=============== the enemy is airborne ===============
If only a small number of troops remain on the ground then they should be ignored. Have the Angels, Elementals and Avens search for the Battle Squadrons from extremely high altitudes. Engage them immediately with angels and avens in front of elementals, the elementals should burst their light as soon as the charge begins.
Do you know how it feels to look at something with plenty of light behind them? You cant see a thing.
My angels should have no fuss over visibility though since the light comes from behind. Try to go deep inside the formation to maximize crossfire from their clumsy weapons (the elementals should try to get in melee range of the phoenixes to have them firing blind) . Go for the Squads first, however don’t chase stragglers who try to escape, and stay away from the ground. The odds favor me for this kind of head on clash, since the Squadrons will be helpless and would probably just damage themselves when they get boarded. If they arent moving togeter then charge anyways, saving up the flash for a retreat in case the enemy has some sort of ambush in store. =============== the enemy is grounded =============== Send the cavalry in waves, in a sort of wedge formation towards either the grenadiers or the arsonist (whatever is nearer). The cavalry are to be escorted by dawn elementals from behind, same as the air attack. If they set a trap, then send in another wave. But not until the first wave suffered a large amount of casualties. If dragons approach the reserves then they should run towards the enemy's rear and try to engage them from their. The bursts of light from the elementals should provide them sufficient cover.
The elementals are to tie the phoenixes up, it should be interesting to see where they would fire their shards seeing as they would be blind. And my ground troops are so close to their own. Some Avens should swoop down and pick some grenadiers up one at a time and drop them on the "fresher" troops on the enemy side. The rest of the avens are to hunt down the battle squadrons and rip them apart. They should be able to easily spot them being FARSEERS and all. The angels and the rest should wait for some enemy air troops come, and then just try and mingle in the air fray.
---------------------- On any case I should be winning the battle, and even on the off chance that I don’t my fresh infantry would come to finish off the tired enemy troops.
Pre-Battle Preparations and Assessment . Pikemen - Standard infantry troops armed with long spears, possibly supported by ranged fire if he equipped his men with crossbows/longbows. Unable to use shields unless they drop their pikes (pikes are specifically two-handed weapons, and they are depicted as such in their illustration). . Aven Farseer - Light skirmisher aerial troops. Probably excellent at recon but seem rather weak in physical combat. Also may be lured out of formation through deceptive maneuvering due to their flavor text. . Veteran Cavalier - Good, solid cavalry units. Very effective and mobile over plains and they attack quickly once in combat (if I'm interpreting vigilance correctly). Best to stay away from these fellas. . Dawn Elemental - Units seemingly made from the pure light of dawn. Resistant to attacks, likely blockers. . Serra Angel - Big, heavily armored angelic warriors. Somehow, despite their armor, the fastest of the enemy units and equally adept at attacking due to vigilance but...they have big feathered wings. Feathered starts with F. You know what else starts with F? Flammable. . We're starting on a plain in sunny weather within clear sight of each other, so it'll be somewhat difficult for me to get the drop on him. Since he has pikemen and cavalry I expect a fairly straightforward defensive phalanx formation with supporting cavalry on the wings, possibly as flankers. His Aven Farseers will prove to be excellent scouts but, since we start within sight of each other, this factor will be somewhat negated. Dawn Angels pose a threat of attacking out of the sun and are resistant to damage, but to what extent? Serra Angels are his most serious threat as they can catch up to my Battle Squadrons and give my fliers a run for their money. I'll force the action quickly and prevent him from accomplishing more complicated maneuvers. . My units need little preparation for the battle. As it is assumed we have time to get in formation before the battle commences my units will be as follows: . My Keldon Arsonists and Firebombers will kick some of the goblins out and mount the Battle Squadrons, keeping them light and maneuverable. TARDs will be arrayed one at either flank of my army and two in the center at about 1000ft. They will be slightly forward of the main detachment. 1st BASTARDs will be arrayed in two delta formations at 250ft and 1000ft, with the 2nd BASTARDs in the same formation 200 yards behind. My AIDs will be spread out over my BASTARDS, guarding against aerial attack. I'll keep my OCD in reserve above and slightly behind the 2nd BASTARDs. . Battle Orders . I'll heed to Cxwf and Murica's advice and keep this short and direct. His army seems defensively minded, so I'll take the attack to him. My OCD will detach one Volcanic Dragon scout in each cardinal direction and four more to scout high altitude. . The crux of this plan is disorder and chaos. His fliers are formidable and will be my main target, as his pikemen and cavaliers shouldn't pose a threat to my overall strategy. At the beginning of the battle I'll send all my little TARDs at top speed toward his Serra Angels, using the hopefully superior speed and maneuverability of my volcanic dragons to approach within firing range (hasted volcanic dragons vs heavily armored angels). Once within range they'll breathe fire on the Angels in an attempt to catch their wings on fire and retreat if the angels begin closing for hand-to-hand combat, allowing the Shard Phoenix to engage the enemy angels before turning and using their fire breath a second time. The Volcanic Dragons and Shard Phoenix should outnumber the angels. The lower of my 1st and 2nd BASTARDs will begin a strafing run at the enemy lines, using firebombs to soften up the infantry (and cavalry if they stay stationary) followed by kamikaze dives into the breaks in formation by my Shard Phoenix (assuming their sacrifice power works). By the time my Shard Phoenix are done dive bombing the enemy troops my Napalm Squadrons should arrive, raining down liquid fiery death on the already beleaguered defenders. The upper 1st and 2nd BASTARDs will take a course to 2000ft directly above the main battlefield and look for opportunities to attack the enemy fliers (whether Dawn Elementals or Serra Angels). All my AIDs will be concerned with is destroying those dirty, dirty Aven Farseers. They'll split into two groups to hunt down the Aven Farseers, attacking them from two sides if possible. My OCD will, as always, stay on the lookout for anything suspicious, especially attack from above if the Dawn Elementals try to attack from the sun/higher altitude. . It is imperative that the 1st and 2nd BASTARDs directed to battlefield overwatch assist any unit that is struggling against the enemy, especially the Dawn Elementals and Serra Angels. Their napalm and firebombs should prove effective against both. . Contingencies . If the enemy retreats my forces will gain the advantage in altitude and follow without engaging, using my Volcanic Dragons to strike at his slower troops if they become exposed. A detachment of Shard Phoenix will be sent out ahead of the main party to scout for ambush. . My troops will engage in an entirely aerial campaign against the enemy with the only troops touching the ground being temporarily dead (in the case of Shard Phoenix) or the truly deceased. . If the enemy rushes me with his fliers the upper 1st and 2nd BASTARDs will still gain altitude. I'll try to close and hit him with my AIDs and then bomb him into itty bitty flaming chunks, then use Shard Phoenix's power to resurrect them. . OCD will be watching in all directions, per usual. If the enemy attempts a flanking maneuver or superior altitude attack they will alert the rest of the troops and move to intercept. . Done. Good luck!
Be careful with assumptions Lemon! Oil makes sense, but that doesn’t make it right if there is nothing to indicate it one way or the other. Although the reasoning you gave is sound.
And when writing a strategy the important part is the tactics, if getting lazy, write the strategy proper, then go back to the creature stuff. Such is the least important; tactics win battles, not creatures. Or at least don’t say feeling lazy, the judge must think your strategy better, making a point of saying little effort is potentially shooting oneself in the foot before the battle begins.
Rather enjoy your unit division names Prov . I’ve seen vigilance said to be more endurance since tapping is styled as ‘getting tired,’ but that works well enough. As for Lemon’s interpretation, less inclined to agree with, needs a bit more reasoning, but it is unimportant for this battle.
Remember, a charge is good, but there is more to the battle than that. If the enemy doesn’t crumble, what happens afterward is very important and must be prepared for.
Each army got up and charged each other, focusing on the aerial battle. Prov’s forces charged straight to Lemon’s Serra Angels, which had Dawn Elementals following. There was a bit of an ‘altitude war’ in which both sets of fliers attempted to gain ground on the other. I’m not going to pretend to know the mechanics of how a Battle Squadron flies, but I’m going to say Lemon’s force managed to exceed Prov’s maximum altitude - although all that dashing was rather tiring. Then, the charge! Angels and Dragons swarmed forward, when suddenly, a burst of blinding light! Prov’s TARD groups found themselves unable to see much of anything, which rather hurt when the lines clashed. The TARD’s were devastated, but the spread of both forces ensured that they took up most of Lemon’s charge. Soon, the tables began to turn, as Prov’s BASTARDs, AIDs, and OCD moved to support the defeated TARDs. Lemon’s already spread force was pulled in all directions and lost cohesion, becoming easy prey to the remainder of Prov’s army.
On the ground nothing much happened, Pikemen got a few shots off but were unable to support the flying troops at their high altitude. There was a bit of strafing from BASTARDs. But with the aerial division defeated, Lemon’s ground forces knew they it was time to high tail it out of there.
Victory goes to Provocateur! Lets say a +4 bonus .
While Lemon had a good plan for the initial impact, and could have won there (I was expecting it to even, rather liked the idea), Prov’s separate groups were able to sow their chaos while minimising the damage of the initial impact (even if unintentional).
Live loud, burn proud! Random hum
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Terrain: A primeval forest surrounded by a mountain range on all sides. A river flows west to east, cutting low into a gorge in the eastern side of the mountain range.
Weather: Clear sunny day.
Preparation to Battle: 300 Boartusk Liege's will act as scouts and move through the forest to check for the enemy. Because of the battle situation, we know that Rhys' army is advancing from the opposite side of the map. So we know what direction he is coming from. Groups of Lieges will check his timing and go back to report to Squee of the enemy's status. If they run into smaller enemy scout patrols, they will destroy these scout patrols, otherwise they will avoid any battle engagements at all costs. Meanwhile 1000 Flamewave Invokers and 500 Sharpshooters will move into the southern edge forest, spreading out in groups of 5 or 6, laying low in wait for the enemy. Hide in bushes, behind trees, all that good stuff in order to conceal themselves. Invokers' flamethrowers will be ready to fire along with Sharpshooter guns. (Art depicts them lighting a field on fire with a flame-weapon, so we are just going to assume it's a flamethrower. The rest of my army will move back into the mountains and set up a defense on a large, steep slope. Pikes lines will be stuck in the ground at varying points to slow down enemy advance up the slope. Sharpshooters will split into two groups, forming long lines to maximize the area they can shoot at. Lightning Crafters will form up the center of this formation, preparing their lightning magic to toast some enemy critters. (Once again, art and title depict a goblin shooting lightning from his fingertips, so it is assumed this magical ability comes naturally to him, or he has at least mastered it.) Behind this line Boartusk Lieges will lie in wait, armed with pikes for a charge. But they have bows and arrows as well to utilize before they charge down the hill. Amongst their ranks will be the Siege-Gang Commanders, setting up siege equipment. Makeshift catapults and ballistae. Rocks and any other decent projectiles, such as shards/shrapnel will be gathered. A note to help you wrap your head around my army's position. My army has started on the southern side of the map. So while the majority of my army is taking up a position in the mountains, the other 1500 troops have simply advanced into the outer fringes of the forest to provide an initial defense before the enemy reaches the slope where the rest of my army is. Got it?
Battle: Now, hopefully Rhys' army will move through the forest. The majority of his army cannot fly, and it would be a great waste of time to walk around the whole forest to get to the opposite side of the map. And if I get lucky enough to destroy his scouts, for all he knows I could have my whole army in the forest waiting for a fight. As he approaches my initial position of Invokers and Sharpshooters, the Sharpshooters, hidden will start ringing out fire to take down enemy troops. This will provide the initial blow that my Invokers can take advantage of. Since the Sharpshooters take a long time to reload (tap ability when they fire) my Invokers will move from position and commence flaming the enemy. Remember they are split up into groups and set up all over the place; so several groups will converge on enemy forces from different directions, starting fires and completely obliterating formations with their flames. Sharpshooters will continue to reload and fire to take down as many enemies as they can. Once the enemy recovers from these ambushes, and begins to start obliterating my ambush teams, they will retreat into the forest in order to regroup. But they will fight and take down as many troops as long as they without getting the whole 1500 completely destroyed. Now, as the enemy approaches, several tactics will be used to delay them and make the task so much harder. First, as they move up the hill, Sharpshooters will commence firing. The Rune-Cervin Riders can fly I believe, so Sharpshooters will try to shoot them down as well if they can and if the Riders are in range. Otherwise Sharpshooters will just take out any enemies within range. While the Sharpshooters are tapped out and reloading, Lightning Crafters will do what they do best. Commence firing huge chain lightning balls at enemy troops and formations. Boartusk Lieges will shoot arrows into the sky over into the enemy troops to take out whatever troops they can. Siege-Gang Commanders will launch rocks/debris as well. This process will continue to repeat. It's real important the Riders get shot down as well, so that they don't fly over us and drop nets/take advantage of my non-flying weakness. So if they are in range, Lieges, Crafters or Sharpshooters will shoot them down. Whoever is available will help. Now obviously I'm sure Rhys will continue to advance despite all of this hell raining down upon them. At this point the remaining Invokers and Sharpshooters from the ambush teams will double back onto Rhys army and attack them from behind as the enemy advances up the slope. Sharpshooters will shoot down troops while Invokers flame the back ranks of Rhys army. Once this attack has taken place, Boartusk Lieges will pick up their pikes and charge down the slope with Siege Gang Commanders and Lightning Crafters. Sharpshooters will remain behind to provide covering fire. Hopefully the two attacks from opposite sides and the slow fight uphill will have broken Rhys army by the time my troops charge him. If Rhys retreats, my army will regroup and bunker down on the slope once more to fight him off should he return.
Contingency:
If Rhys' army somehow gets around my ambush teams and attacks the slope, then the ambush teams will regroup in order to attack from behind as Rhys advances the steep slope. Same tactics will be employed.
Terrain: A primeval forest surrounded by a mountain range on all sides. A river flows west to east, cutting low into a gorge in the eastern side of the mountain range.
Weather: Clear sunny day.
Judge: Cx
Deadline: Friday, September 19th, 5:00 AM GMT
I. Creatures
Skyshroud Archer - Standard elf archer. Has an affinity for taking down fliers (it's ability).
Twinblade Slasher - They have wither which won't really differ from damage (or won't matter) unless the enemy as indestructible. It's weapon(s) have two blades so make note of that. More cutting power to swings. Also it can gain bursts of strength (it's ability) from green mana. And since we fight in a forest it'll be abundant. 2 mana cost can go at a nice pace.
Rune-Cervin Rider - Elf with a flying mount. Nuff said. Consider the mount light. For 2 mana (green; make note) it can gain a burst of strength (energy or whatever). Can be used at a reasonable pace since it is a low cost.
Gaea's Skyfolk - Flying elf. Nuff said. Nothing noteable can hinder it even though it has a blue/merfolk side to it. Nothing in the artwork or text of it shows hinderance either (at being on land).
Hunter of Eyeblights - It's ability is useless since no black mana is available. It is an elf with a mount though. The mount will be able to carry it swifty noting the build of the mount (lean and powerful). Consider it a light mount.
Steel Leaf Paladin -Elf with a kavu (note kavu) for a mount. Kavu are big BIG creatures (due to storyline/lore). Consider the mount heavy. It has first strike so that makes it even better. Big + first strike = Awesomeness in a can.
Goblin Sharpshooter - Can ping for 1 dmg. Given the design of the machine the goblin is using it's highly unlikely it is an actual "sharpshooter". Thus there is no way it can be an accurate shooter. "Goblin Sharpshooter doesn't untap during your untap step. " This shows that the goblin is not easily able to keep on shooting. It must have downtimes having to reload or something equivalent to this making it highly inefficient.
Siege-Gang Commander - Has a mini-catapult on it's back. Picture also has small goblins getting into it. It's ability, therefore, must use the creatures (obviously) to deal damage. It stands to reason if the goblins are big they can't be used in the contraption the commander has. This makes it obselete should big goblins be used. It's ability, costing red mana, can be used at a reasonable pace.
Flamewave Invoker - High mana cost for it's ability. Can't be used as often. Costs 8 so probably not a lot at all.
Lightning Crafter - By the looks of the card this guy can spawn lighting. meh
Boartusk Liege - Goblin knight with trample on a boar. Nuff said...
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II. Terrain and Weather
Terrain: Forest surrounded by a mountain (supposed to be the same terrain as in a previous OSMQ against him; the last terrain was a forest "ENCIRCLED" by mountains) with a river running west to east (this means it also flows up) and the river cuts through a gorge in the eastern side of the mountain range.
The gorge will probably play a role in CoS's strat. If not then oh well.
Weather: Weather is straight forward. Clear and sunny. Good conditions to scout by air. Especially with elves muwahhahahah.
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III. Strategy
Note: Overview is just a quick look into the strategy. Sort of like taking the strain off of reading details or to help give a general idea to the judge what it is I'm planning in a condensed version. Please to not think of it in any other way.
Overview: Mainly what I am planning is to have a few groups of aerial units head out and scout the area. In the meantime (since I'm attacking which means CoS is defending) I'll have my other units cut down trees and gather dry tinder. The aerial scouts are to mainly find the location of CoS's goblins. I suspect he'll move towards the gorge in the eastern part of the mountain range. A group of aerial units will scout there while another group scouts the river in the middle of the forest for signs of the goblins. All scouts are to not engage in any combat. Note: If they have to get close to the canopy of the forest to seek signs of the goblins the scouts are allowed to while exercising EXTREME caution in case of ambushes.
My other units, not the scouts, will build themselves plenty of torches and catapults as well as large wooden shields (able to be held with one hand) from the trees they cut down. Once this is down, and the scouts report where the goblins are, the army will move out in a formation (to be mentioned in a bit) towards the goblin positions.
Miscellaneous Info: For the light mounted units (ground units - Hunter of Eyeblights (HoEs) <-- lol CoS is going to get his ass handed to him by HoEs
Anyway the light units will have javlins/spears to wield in addition to swords and bow w/arrows. Foot troops (Twinblade Slashers (TSs)) will make use of the shields mentioned before as well as heavy blunt weapons.
Formations: The Steel Leaf Paladins (SLPs) will separate into 3 equal groups. The Gaea's Skyfolk and Runed-Cervin Riders will mix and separate into 2 equal groups. The TSs will stay as one big group with possibility to split into 4 equal (smaller) groups if need be. HoEs will separate into two equal groups to act as calvary support. 1000 of the Skyshroud Archers will go with 1000 Runed Cervin Riders on their mounts (stands to reason they can support the weight of two elves (elves are light in weight compared to humans in a lot of circumstances)) and provide archery support from the sky (with fire arrows since they'll stock up on tinder/flint and arrows to do this with). Gaea's Skyfold will have standard weapons (bow/arrows and swords).
That should cover all my units.
Continuing with the Overview (btw this is very unorthodox for an overview for me due to time so you might end up just going with the overview) - Essentially once the enemy's position has been determined my units will move in with heavy mounted units (SLPs) at the back of the formation and the TSs at the very front. They'll be in their respective formations for the march. On the right and left flanks of the formation will be the two different groups of HoEs (I'm loving this). The 1000 Skyshroud Archers I had left over will work on keeping the siege weapons made earlier (catapults with lots of wood/tinder to bring).
In the air I want the two groups of aerial units to move on ahead of the army formation (no more then 2 miles ahead so there is not THAT much distance between them) and find signs of the enemy.
I'll now separate the strategy into two different scenarios: Gorge combat and Forest combat.
1.Gorge Combat:
Assuming my units direct my army towards the gorge to engage the goblins (whom have set up defenses there) my aerial units will determine what defenses have been set up (fortifications/siege weaponry like catapults etc). The aerial units are to exercise extreme caution due to any anti-weaponry the goblins use (or the abilities they have especially the lightning ones) while taking pop shots (the 1000 units with skyshroud archers on them) to ignite fortified positions with fire arrows. Information about the defenses is to be relayed to the ground units.
Ground units are to advance in loose formations so they are not stuck close together. The HoEs will rush CoS's defenses (whatever he has setup) while the TSs (with the large wooden shields they are to have) follow quickly. The HoEs will rush the flanks of CoS's defenses while the TSs charge (essentially) down the middle. The heavy units (SLPs) will move up behind the TS's formations. From the air, the aerial units will give aid to the land units, peppering the defenses of the goblins with ranged arrows either to distract or injure so the charge of the ground units isn't ate up. Gaea's Skyfolk will seek to hunt down the Siege Commanders and pick them off as best as they can (via range or close combat - preferably close combat as they probably won't expect it).
The catapults manned by the Skyshroud Archers (not mounted with the Runed-Cervine) are to train the catapults on concentrated goblin groups (groups of goblins) and other defensive weapons the goblins have built. Taking large rocks/wood/whatever gathered and lighting it on fire with dry tinder the catapults are to bring fiery death to said targets. Since they'll be firing into a gorge range won't be hard to achieve. Only notable thing to mention is to avoid catapult fire close to my own units unless necessary if a huge group of enemies ambush a section of my army and cause havoc. In that case burn them to hell.
SLPs and their mounts will be able to bring their bulk to bear on groups of goblins by crushing down on them and literally smashing through. Their primary focus is to tear down the lesser units of CoS's army since the SLPs have first strike. This'll give the elves an advantage as far as superior numbers go. Once in close combat the SLPs are to be guarded by the TSs at all costs while the HoEs, provided if able, cover the flanks instead of being overly aggressive unless needed to rush enemy formations that are grouping up.
That ends Gorge Combat.
2.Forest Combat
Essentially forest combat will boil down to fiery death and close combat goodness. As mentioned with the previous formations, that is what will be used in the forest. Only exception is that the aerial units will do a more detailed search to find the goblin position with the TSs acting as an advance force. The TSs will mainly be in separate groups and utilize a kind of gurilla tactic against fortified goblin positions until the main army arrives. Once the main army arrives on the spot, the HoEs will deploy the flanks of CoS's positions and (moving strictly) to search out Lightning crafters and low powered goblin units to cut down. They are to pull back once the goblins bring their forces to bear against the HoEs and retreat from the flanks only occassionally attacking here and there.
The SLPS will be the game breakers. Close combat is what they want. With their huge bulk they are to charge goblin defenses and literally tear into them striking at low powered goblins as mentioned in the Gorge Combat to whittle down the goblin numbers. TSs will support the flanks of the SLPs while activly (and aggressivly) searching out goblins to kill. That's all to mention there.
The aerial units will do something different in this area. They, once finding the enemy forces, will move behind their formation and strike from behind. Aerial combat is useless with trees blocking the view so they'll move on foot. Skyfolks on foot anyway. The Runed-cervine can go in as mounts and tear it up. The main focus is to disrupt the enemy concentration and force them to fight on two fronts. Tactics used should be hit and run so to speak. Hit heavily then slowly pull back only to amass in another area behind their formation and strike painfully.
That, essentially, covers forest combat.
Note: Yeah, just forget about the whole overview thing. I really won't have time to go through and detail this like I normally do (due to time).
Note: I won't cover a formations section since I, crudely, covered formations already.
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IV. Contingencies
1. If CoS's army doesn't utilize any fortifications and defensive weapons, then my army's main focus will be eating up his low ranked units till he can't fight any more.
2. If CoS is, indeed, in the gorge, then my army will basically follow the outline for Gorge Combat.
2.1. If CoS is in some other area of the mountains, and my scouts find him, then engagement will be similar to Gorge Combat except it'll be led by catapult fire then the charge and attacks. Aerial units, in this case, will be aggressive on the enemy rear.
2.2. On second thought, Aerial units are to be aggressive on the enemy rear mainly for Gorge combat as well as any other combat so it forces CoS to fight on two fronts (rear and front).
3. If CoS is anywhere in the forest simply follow Forest combat. If he's by the river, then lead with catapult fire first followed by a charge while attacks on the rear of the enemy happen.
3.1. If I didn't mention, in Forest Combat, for the catapults to be used...use them. Use them right away before the ground units engage the front of the enemy. The catapults (which will be lighted with fire (the ammo, not the catapult itself)) will probably cause forest fires....just have the ground units avoid the fires when they charge the enemy. The enemy will probably be disorganized by the fire anyway. Just rush them in that confusion. WOOT 9 mins till deadline!
4. LOL at HoEs killing CoS. This HAS to be pointed out Cx. POINT IT OUT FOR GREAT ****ING JUSTICE!!!!
4.1. Yes, HoEs will harass CoS's flanks endlessly to cause him pain. Hit and run style ftw.
The elves prepared seige weapons while sending out scouts, assuming the goblins would be waiting either near the river or near the gorge. In fact the goblins had set up on the mountain slope at the far south end of the arena, with a small contingent hiding in the forested foothills. When the elves' scouts finally located the goblin position, they did not discover the hidden goblins in the forest since they were ordered to avoid coming down to canopy level unless absolutely necessary -- and they thought they'd already seen everything.
Late that afternoon, the Elves' army finished marching up to the foothills to prepare their assault. Their flyers went ahead to begin peppering the goblins' defenses with arrows, although lighting fire arrows with flint & tinder while riding a flying stag in midair proved to be quite difficult. The goblins responded with an impressive barrage of anti-air fire.
The elven infantry advanced up the middle, while their cavalry took the flanks. The hidden goblins at the front lines were able to bring the elven infantry to a complete halt with their ambush, while the cavalry continued on past them. After the advantage of surprise was lost though, the ambushers' next instructions were to "retreat into the forest", which was coincidentally the direction most clogged with enemy forces. They had a hard time escaping, and many of them were killed. But they had succeeded in separating the elven lines, as the elven light cavalry were now charging on ahead without backup from the infantry or heavy cavalry.
On the moutain slopes, KoD's HoEs, as he so affectionately called them, were getting owned. He was very eager to claim that CoS had been killed by HoEs, but apparently CoS really knows how to handle his HoEs. They had advanced into the kill zone and were being torn apart by concentrated lightning fire. Charging uphill made things even worse. When they finally reached the ranks of the enemy snipers, the Boartusk Lieges came down from the heights in a countercharge that completely routed the HoEs.
The Elven heavy cavalry had now finished dealing with the ambushers, and was gauging the prospect of an uphill charge. Their plans had involved charging downhill into a gorge, which would have been much easier. With their support forces in disarray, there was no way they would be able to win an uphill fight, and they knew it. Rhys called for a retreat.
KingofElves 2500 Pride of the Clouds 1/1 2500 Lanowar Elves 1/1 2500 Flame Wave Invoker 2/2 1500 Vulturous Zombies 3/3 1000 Dominus of Fealty 4/4
Terrain: Forest, thick fog on the ground, overcast sky. You can't see up through the clouds Scenario: No Attacker
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Overview: KoE has two weapons that I worry about -- the Flamewave Invokers' flames, and the Dominus of Fealty's Ray-of-command effect. The flames are probably his best weapon against the Fogs of Gnats, but luckily that horrendous manacost stops him from using it very often. The Dominus ability triggers periodically with no cost, and my plan for that is to screw up his targetting by running Gnats into the ray's line-of-effect. He won't be able to Ray-of-command targets that he can't see, and the heavy fog limits sight range to a small area where I can leverage the gnats to confuse him. Controlling a few of my gnats will give him very little benefit, so as long as I can stop him from taking over my heavy units, I should be fine.
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Equipment: *Gnats are insects *Hypnotic Specters use their standard equipment from the Alpha art -- a short spear and heavy armor. *Fallen Angels carry scimitars and longbows, and wear light armor to preserve maneuverability. They also carry sacrificial daggers in case the need arises. *Silent Specters are mounted, so they have a lance for charging, a saber for melee after the lance becomes useless, and a longbow. The melee weapons can be hung on hooks on the saddles to free their hands for archery.
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Orders: "Within sight" is a fairly close range in heavy fog, and a little closer than we would like to be at the moment, so we immediately backpedal away from KoE's forces while firing arrows. The gnats position themselves as a screen between my forces and KoE's Domini, while staying high enough in the air to avoid direct hits from the flamewaves (which are presumably fairly short range).
*If KoE sends his forces to charge us, we will continue backing away at an upwards angle to draw his airforces out of sight-range of his ground units. Even if they are still in range to fire arrows, if the fog stops them from seeing what they are targetting, they will help me as much as him. As soon as we are high enough to obstruct vision from the ground, we can turn around and charge into KoE's flyers. The gnats all swarm the Domini to stop them from effectively targetting anything, while my Fallen Angels, Silent Specters, and 1500 of the Hypnotic Specters turn their attention to the Pride of the Cloud and Vulturous Zombie units. The last 1000 Hypnotics will continue flying upwards to get a height advantage on the battle, then hit the distracted Domini from above. The Specter's mind disruption ability should be enough to render the Dominus control abilities useless. At this point, even if KoE has his flyers retreat back towards the ground for more backup, I should be able to keep constant melee on the Dominus to prevent them from controlling anything, and if the Flamewave Invokers want to torch the Gnats they will have to hit their own Domini as well.
*Alternately, if his ground units are using his flyers as mounts to chase me into the sky, that should slow their maneuverability just enough for me to outpace them. If they don't chase at all, and stay put on the ground, I'll do the same thing. As soon as we have a little bit of space between us, the Silent Specters split off and head for higher altitude. They will be very hard to track in the foggy conditions, being both midnight black AND silent, so they should be able to maneuver undetected.
The rest of my army positions themselves a little farther away from KoE than necessary to see what you are shooting at, and starts raining blind arrowfire into the enemy lines. At this range flamewaves and ray-of-commands should both prove useless, and while arrows won't be highly effective, they will let me deal at least some damage just by chance. Enough to annoy him anyway.
The hidden Silents will position themselves above the enemy lines and on the opposite side of where the rest of my forces are, and my other forces will delay long enough for them to get into position. Then I will either stop running (if he was chasing me) or charge at him (if he wasn't chasing me), using the following tactics:
The Fogs of Gnats will form up in clouds positioned on the Fallen Angels and Hypnotic Specters as if they were living armor. This leaves 1000 extra Fogs, of which 100 will charge first to encourage KoE to use his flameblasts. Once they are toasted, I'll know it will be some time before the exhausted Invokers can charge up another blast at 8 mana a pop, so then it's safe to send in everything else. The Fallens and Hypnotics charge towards whichever part of KoE's lines are closest to me, while the extra 900 Fogs seek out the Domini to start clouding their vision. The Fogs being used as armor can react to incoming attacks by billowing out towards the attack and intercepting it, as long as it isn't a flameblast, and their regeneration and sheer numbers should make such attacks largely ineffective against them. That leaves the Fallen and Hypnotics mostly safe to use their swords against whatever is nearby.
Meanwhile, as soon as the sounds of battle start ringing out, the Silent Specters begin a mounted charge in from the other direction. Since my other units are expecting this, they make every effort to avoid mingling with the enemy lines too soon -- they only engage the very front-most enemy units until after the Silents arrive. A mounted lance charge from behind in the fog that makes no noise is a very surprising way to knock out a few hundred enemies before they know what hit them. Once the flank is completed, mingling is allowed and the Hypnotic Specters will begin migrating over towards wherever KoE put his Domini. Any who are actively controlling my units are prime targets for Hypnotic Specters mind-disruption abilities, which should then free my units to continue to fight normally. Once mingling is underway, Gnats should make every effort to reach melee range with enemies that are not Invokers, so once the flamewaves are back online it will be impossible to pick out just the gnats without flaming friendlies as well.
My Army: 2500 Pride of the Clouds (Empowered by other fliers?) 2500 Lanowar Elves (Armed primarily with bows) 2500 Flamewave Invoker (Mounted on the Prides, as they are not spirit or anything) 1500 Vulturous Zombies (gets more powerful as things die) 1000 Dominus of Fealty (can turn units for short time)
Other Army: 5000 Fog of Gnats 2500 Hypnotic Specter 1500 Fallen Angel 1000 Silent Specter
Pre-Battle Prep: First, the Invokers will mount up on the Prides. The Elves will all climb into the trees, wearing colors that blend in with the forest. I think only something that was activly looking for them would see them. The Dominus of Fealty, being a sprit and unaffected by lack of oxygen, will fly far higher than the gnats and angels can get, and attempt to move to the rear of Cx's army. They will stay there until a signal is given (more on that later). The zombies will fly up just above the trees, well in range of the elves bows, and maybe even so that the elves could shoot at a ranged attacker.
Ideal Battle conditions: Some portion of Cx's army moves to engage the Prides that are generally flying about and harassing his troops. The invokers will attempt to blast any of the gnat swarms that are about, preventing them from reforming. The Prides will use their mobility to attempt to herd the other forces down towards my zombies. Once they are in range, the zombies will then engage whatever forces are heading their way, feasting on their flesh and growing stronger. Both the prides and the zombies are reinforced by the elves, who will provide some covering fire. Hopefully Cx's entire army is here and this pincer move will wipe him out. If not, the lanowar elves who are moving through the trees will signal with gloworm(???) coated arrows where the rest of the enemy is. This lets the Dominus, of which one or two are comming back down every so often, to swoop down behind then enemy and begin to turn them (as per their ability) While the enemy fights the ones in the rear who are attacking them, the rest of my army will engage from the front, hopfully demolishing what is left of his army.
Contingencies: He does not engage: Okay, the prides continue to harrass his troops, while the zombies move to join the dominus in the sky. Then, that group will come down behind his army, generally causing havok, while the prides and invokers slam him from the front. Both groups get some covering fire from the elves. The elves can't find gloworms: I'm not sure if such a thing exists. If not, then the signal is for all of the invokers to send a burst of flame into the air. The prides fail to herd his forces down: Okay, then the zombies will fly up to engage, forgoing the elven covering fire. This also signals for the dominus to come down and help out, turning units in the rear ranks so that the enemy does not realize until those units begin to attack. The first force is only a scouting force: Fine, it gets decimated by the full force of my army, and then we repeat the harrassment and such until another skirmish happens. After 3 such events, the dominus will drop down, well behind enemy lines, and begin to convert the strongst units there. These units then attack whatever is left of the main army, with NO SUPPORT from my own. I want them to die. After they do whatever damage they can, we go back to the pincer movement between the dominus and the rest of the army. His army begins to win: All of my forces drop down into the forest, the invokers dismount, and we wait for them to come down. If they dont, then a group of mounted invokers and elves does essentially gurrilia raids on the air forces, before droping down again. Continue until something else happens. If they do drop, then my forces will have the advantage. The dominus will drop down to cover any escape route, while my forces will fly up to join them. The invokers will torch the forest, smoking out his army, which will then have to break through every single flier I have to get back into open air. The invokers blast them from below, and my fliers attack from above. I dont think they would make it out.
Obviously after any of this happens there is still mop up work to be done by my army, but given the scouting power of flying units, it shouldn't take long to find and eliminate any stragglers.
Well, the beginning of this battle sees everyone getting what they want. Cx backpedals from KoE's forces while KoE gets his flameweavers mounted up to pursue. The prides are slightly slowed by the weavers, so Cx gets the distance he wanted and begins to blindfire towards the enemy. The screen of gnats eats a couple of flameweave attacks, which are too short-range to reach Cx's bigger units hiding behind them. Realizing that Cx isn't going down towards the ground, the zombie fliers join the Dominus and attack from above. Unfortunatly, the Dominus's ray-of-command is blocked by the gnats acting as living armor. A general melee breaks out in the sky, which is unfortunatly out of range of the elves in the trees. With the Domini being blocked by gnats, and their forces being outnumbered, Cx quickly gains the upper hand.
Cx wins here, fairly large strat bonus. +6 maybe. Without the gnats it would have gone much differntly, but clever use on the part of Cx ruined the Domini.
At face value Lynx's army seems surperior to mine. But, I believe his choice of creatures forces him into narrow strategies His hodgepodge of creatures are clearly designed for raw power, and mainly fly. But, my troops have the edge in valor and discipline. Plus, as you will see General Jarkeld has a few tricks up his sleve.
Terrain - Looking at the art of Taiga, I'm not sure if were are above or below the tree line but, there is obviously snow. This I will use to my advantage. As, I do not believe his hydras and especially his furnace Whelps are acclimated to this climate.
Lynx's Army
1/1 Phytohydra - Obviously, he chose a sunny day as a way to try to boost his Phytohydra's power. As this is a No-attacker battle, I don't believe they will be greatly helped in this respect. Also, since he is playing them as 1/1's I don't think there are as large as the picture suggests.
2/2 Furnace Whelp - These are baby dragons, Feral and aggressive, but not with out the instinct of self-preservation. Of all his creatures, I believe these will be the first to break moral, if things go badly for them.
3/3 Darksteel Gargoyle - It's hard to tell what the hell these exactly are. It doesn't appear they have anything besides a meele attack, Indestructibility and flight.
4/3 Firemane Angel - A fast, agile, Angle. I don't believe their reanimation ability will make an impact on the battle, due to it's extremely high activation.
Captan's Army
General Jarkeld - While I understand he's only here for flavor reasons, his flavor does seem to be that of a master strategist. He better know what he's doing.
1/1 Kjeldoran Knight - Just look at these guys, the're badass. their banding suggest that they work superbly as a squad, and they have a swiss-army knife pump ability that would suggest they can do what it takes to get the job done.
2/2 Knight of the Hokey Pokey - They're first strikers who know what it's all about. Nuff' said.
3/3 Elite Archers - More than anything my victory lies in their capable hands. The one thing I argue with these guys is there flavor text. "they fletch their arrows with the feathers of Angels" I'd betting that they're not just for decoration. Surely, they give the arrows additional range, and the flavor text of Angel's Feather suggests it could add an element of magical attack as well. This could give me the edge I need to deal with those Gargoyle's.
4/4 Alabaster Dragon - I'm going with the portal version here cause the art is awesome. They don't look like the typical feral-minded dragon. They have very rare ability only found on other very powerful cards, such as Serra Avatar, or Darksteel Colossus. So, even though they may not be able to reanimate during battle, they definitely seem to have some sort of magical Mojo working for them. They seem to have a curl of smoke coming from their nostrils, but I can't really argue any sort of breath weapon, Notice the extra pair of arms, they will come in handy.
Battle Plan
Basically, I see myself very susceptible to pwnage from his fliers. My battle plan in a nutshell basically is to hunker down and protect my Archers while attempting to whittle down the attackers to a manageable level. While using my "Kjeld-bola" tech to throw them a curve-ball. They can't really flank seeing as it's a no-attacker battle, and I believe my Archers have deadly range. Thus, he is almost certain to concentrate on them. If I'm somehow wrong, and he does something unexpected. My troops are under orders to not follow them into ambushes and such. If he does something crazy like drop his Hyrdra's on me from the sky, then it will be interesting indeed.
2000 Knights of the Hokey Pokey (Scythes if allowed, Swords if not) - These guys are in front, assembled in phalanx formation to hold of the ground assault of the Photohydras. When fighting the hyrdras they'll do their best to outright kill, not wound.
500 Knights of the Hokey Pokey (Dressed in Drag) - I'll have 500 knights loosely scattered out in front of my main phalanx doing the hokey pokey in a most distracting manner, just for the hell of it. Sure to boost my troops moral and provoke/confuse the enemy.
1500 Elite Archers (Armed with Angel Fletched Arrows)- Will be in a loose square firing formation. They will fire in volleys, synchronized with the dive bombs of my dragons to avoid friendly fire. The order to "fire at will", will only be given if the dragons are not working out or mass chaos ensues. Also, they will prioritize killing the angels or whelps whenever the opportunity arises. But, the most vital thing is maintaining the unit integrity. So if nessacary they will kill whatever's necessary.
1500 Kjeldoran Knights (With Tower Shields, and Javelins) - One Knight to every Archer. They will defend the archers with their lives, always using the shields to maximum effect do ward the flames of the Welps and such. Will use the Javelins only if opportunity presents itself.
2000 Kjeldoran Knight Kamakazi Squads (Armed with Medieval Crowbars, and Shortsword sidearm // No shields.) - These guys have a special purpose. They will form pairs and tie themselves together at the waist with tethers. My Dragons will each arm themselves with a pair these knights and hurl them like "bola's" at enemy gargoyles and angels when the opportunity arises. Wrapping them up and causing then all to plummet from the sky, if their lucky (such as they crash through tree branches or land in a practically deep snowdrift) One knight may survive to continue dismantling their quarry with crowbar brutality.
1000 Alabaster Dragon's (Each carrying a Pair of Kjeld Knights) - Will circle in the rear, at a high altitude, while the archers use their superior range to pick off as many troops as possible, when the archers are threatened they dive bomb down between volleys of arrow fire and intercept the attackers using their "Kjeld-bola's" to neutralize the enemy when practicable, Then swoop back behind archers and regain altitude or continue dogfighting whatever's more practical.
1500 Kjeldoran Knight Tactical Squads (Standard Weaponry) - Broken into roughly 15 hundred-man squads, will respond to emergency situations, such as but not limited to - breaches in the phalanx, surprise assaults on my commander or archers, Flanking maneuvers, ect.
Extra
- My Knights are under orders to requisition the Firemane's sword and shield when they are downed. Giving my guys cool new toys while screwing my enemy if he gets to resurrect his angels - I'm hoping the crowbars are effective weapons vs. the Gargoyle's (they can pry at the weakpoints, and dismantle them.) - If allowed, I'd like to coat my troops blades in some sort of Herbicide to better combat the Phytohydra's. - If victory is at hand, I'd like to finish them off with a good ol' saber charge. - Take no prisoners.
Kjeldoran Knights have banding, which no one understands, and can pump themselves with white mana which is limited.
Knights of the Hokey Pokey can prevent some damage by using white mana and doing the hokey pokey. That either won't work, or will leave them vulnerable while doing the hokey pokey.
Elite Archers can shoot arrows really far. There probably pretty accurate.
Alabaster Dragon is big, and Shuffles back into the library. I guess that means that some come back to life?
Phytohydra resists physical attacks, and actually becomes stronger from them.
Furnace whelp flies and breaths fire.
Darksteel Gargoyle is nigh invulnerable to damage, and flies
Firemane Angels flie, attack first, heal just by existing, and returns from the dead in very limited numbers. Oh, and there on fire.
I have air superiority. The dragons can't match my angels, Gargoyles and Whelps all at once, so I expect alot of archery.
The basic plan is to burn away all cover, then destroy them with hard to kill spiky things.
The air formations should always have the gargoyle's flying below the angels to provide the angels cover from the archers. The angels should avoid revealing themselves to the archers at all costs. As the battle begins, the spiky,nigh invulnerable Gargoyles are to pick up the still small, nigh invulerable phytohydra. My air army, should then take off, with the gargoyles leading to find the white army. The 3500 still on the ground are to immediatly charge the white army, hopefully pushing them into a clump of trees. The phytohydra should take little to no damage, as all there weapons are mundane, hopefully chasing the ground troops into the forest. The hydra should target there archers. Whelps and Angels, should then charge the forest, setting the trees on fire. Once the forest is set on fire, the gargoyles should drop the phytohydra into the enemy lines, and all phytohydra should attack, focusing on the archers before any other units. During this assualt by the Hydra, the whelps should fly close to the ground, eating and firebreathing on the archers until their death. Once the archers die, attack should focus on anything with a bow, preferbly closing the gap before engaging them. The angels and Gargoyles should then converge on the dragons, taking them out as quickly as possible. Once the dragons are defeated by air superiority, Angels and gargoyles should join the ground battle, with gargoyles continuing to cover for the angels.
Contingencies: The army does not rout into woods when faced with initial phytohydra assualt: Skip burning them out, and move on to mop up.
Dragons cannot be moved away from ground troops: Angels take on dragons 1 on 1 while gargoyles join ground battle to create spiky havok.
Ground troops ignore Hydras to face air troops: Let hydras fight unopposed. Angels ignore the dragons to join the ground battle to face there troops.
Dragons are mounted by archers: Throw Phytohydras on the dragons instead of onto the ground. Gargoyles then engage dragons in a straight up fight.
Dragons are mounted by other troops: Throw pytohydra into enemy lines as planned, have air power engage dragons as planned, however have whelps attack mounted troops instead of ground troops.
Enemy troops cannot be found: Burn every clump of trees in sight, then continue as planned.
Any unforseen event: Burn, baby burn.
First of all, as always, a few pointers to the two new players:
-IMO the phytohydras are as big as the art suggests they are and they can grow bigger if used on a different slot. -I doubt the whelps will suffer from the cold as dragons are very adaptable creatures. The hydras on the ground I will agree with as they will have to move through the snow. -The firemane angels can ressurect but the number of ressurections is very limited as the cost is very high. They will be able to do it at least once though. -the gargoyles will be harmed by all your attacks but the damage will be reduced. Indestructability is basically translated as a nice resistance to all attacks. But after all they are only 3/3 creatures. -I always like to think about return to hand that it will affect the casualty ratio at the end of the battle and not the battle itself. -as for the breath weapon, you really could argue about it, Captan. -a not attacker battle means you start in visual range. A 10.000 creature army can be seen from very far away (just like the great chinese wall can be seen from the moon) but that does not mean your archers start in range or even close. This means that you either have to attack or to lure the enemy in. Another thing this implies is that you can indeed be flanked, even in a no attacker battle. -the herbicide plan would be a good one if you would have time for it, which you might, and if you would explain how would you procure or create the herbicide. The standard equipment for medieval eur-asian wars means a lot of things but I cannot say for sure if they did carry a raw form of herbicide with them. I will give you a mild advantage when dealing with the hydras because this is your first battle and because you thought about it.
-I understand banding: it's the ability of a creature to fight more effectively (greater strength, speed and dexterity) when in a formation with other creatures. If only one creature in the formation has banding only it gets the advantage but if more creatures in the formation have banding, they will all get the bonuses. -yes, the hydras can resist some physical attack but that does not make them invincible at all. After all they are still 1/1 creatures. -I never looked at the "you get 1 life" ability as something that can be given to the creature holding the ability. I will give it a mild bonus though. -I don't know how Cx reacts to it but in the future I would suggest sending your strat in the email and not attaching it.
RESULT: Having an overall powerful army is rarely a good thing in the wargame. We often prefer creatures that can work together in new ways so we're always ahead of our opponent. Having a tought squad makes you predictable and I think that Captan predicted and was prepared for more than 90% of what Lynx did. The phyohydra charge was slown and countered with a knight of the hokey pokey phalanx formation (I find it rather odd to use mounted cavalry as a phalanx since they will not be as proficient but I will overlook this because the enemy has to charge throught the snow which means they will be more tired and those will cancel each other out). Also the archers did have priority for their attack but holding your fliers away will make the hydras their priority and as argued, the archers might have a mild magical damage effect. The attacks from the air were also less effective because of the defense formations and the large shields.
In a nutshell the land attack by Lynx failed because Captan was prepared for it and in the air Captan's dragons kept dodging combat just enough for the ground troops to be able to resist any attack from the air and against all odds Captan barely won the battle.
I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am!
-I don't know how Cx reacts to it but in the future I would suggest sending your strat in the email and not attaching it.
In theory, sending strats via E-mail is not allowed. In practice, I don't complain as long as it opens correctly the first time. But if anything goes wrong (file corrupted, wrong format, forgot to attach it, or whatever), then you're out of luck -- I'm not going to spend extra time trying to fix it when it should have been part of the Email to begin with.
So far, nothing's ever gone wrong. I believe that rule was put in place when we had another Battle Judge who frequently did have trouble opening attachments.
Scenario: No Attacker Terrain: New York City -- Manhattan Skyline (street-level is occupied by civilians and can't be used) Weather: Moderately windy
Pre Battle
First I want them to retreat to a safe distance and rest my troops on top of a rooftop, then I want some 1000 Woebringer Demons to search for cables and anything that might look like rope, another 1000 will serve as scouts and this group will split in 2 of 500 each, I want them traveling from rooftop to rooftop, not getting too tired, I want them to spread, I don’t want them getting ambushed and destroyed, his troops are much quicker than mine. The other troops will be getting boulders and anything that can make a net heavy and will bring them within a time frame of an hour. After this I want most of my troops to make nets and tie rocks to them. I want to have some troops spread among the rooftops within a half a mile radius, if they see anything they’ll give out a signal and fly back to the main group, if this happens I’ll talk more about it later. Now when the nets are complete, I want half of the Woebringer Demons to grab the nets, and stand in the middle of the formation, half of the Havoc Demons with the other half of the Woebringer Demons will be in front with the Lords and Lieges on either side with the Reivers and the other half of the Havoc Demons in the back. Then they’ll begin the search of Mr Payne’s troops
Battle:
They’ll fly in tight formation slowly, looking for the troops, when they find them I want them to fly towards them but slowly, when getting near them, the ones infront of the ones holding the nets will drop down and throw the nets on in an attempt to confuse and contain the speedy troops, the ones that get caught, I want the ones that dropped to start taking care of this group, the havoc demons that were in the back will fly up and drop in full force against the ones the non flying group, the force of the drop combined with the ability to cause harm after dying will cause significant damage to the Thunderblusts. Now, with the confusion of the nets, I want to separate my troops into 2 groups with a group being led by the Lord’s and the other one by the Lieges they won’t pursuit, they’ll force their way into either side of their formation and begin pushing them back, the ones that dropped then will attack from below. I want this to be done quickly, I want to neutralize their quickness.
Contingencies
If they plan a sneak attack then the scouts will alert the troops and then I want to spread my troops over a few rooftops, and begin an attack with the boulders and any nets I might have, I want to engage them in the air and want to be flying higher than him, I don’t want him to sneak from inside a building and surprise me.
I don’t want to stay too long on top of any building for more than 2 hours, if his scouts spot me on top of a building, I want them to fly to another one, again I don’t want to be trapped from below and above.
If the clouds are moving towards me I want to check them to see if he’s planning a sneak attack using Hell’s Thunder, any seemingly weird cloud we attack with 500 havoc demons
Scenario: No Attacker Terrain: New York City -- Manhattan Skyline (street-level is occupied by civilians and can't be used) Weather: Moderately windy
Both armies are a bit moderated by upkeep as we both have creatures that will suffer because of this so the winner will probably be decided by ability to tire down the enemy troops as much as possible. My top creature has a very low resistance and cannot fly hence it will probably be a good target for the enemy as it does not have much maneuverability. This is my greatest disadvantage and yet my greatest advantage this turn.
II. Creature descriptions
Hell's Thunder - flying, hasty elemental with total control over lightning and the ability to create it's own. It's ethereal so it will be harder for the enemy to deal damage by brute force. It also has a very serious disadvantage within it's ability to resist fatigue so I probably won't have a lot of chances to use these creatures' attacks so I better make them count. I want to add that a strike from the lightning generated by this creature will basically result in the death of the creature it hits if that creature is wearing any kind of metal (barbed wires for example) and it will do significant damage either way. Also, a shocked creature will also be numb for a few seconds which will basically take it out of play (effect of electricity).
Demigod of Revenge - flying, hasty spirit. Once more, as an ethereal creature it will have a resistance to physical attacks but it will also have reduces physical attack power. In some manner it has some sort of regenerative abilities similar to the bad terminator in terminator 2 (CD bought it so I figured I'd take a shot :P)
Predator Dragon - flying, hasty dragon with massive firebreathing skills. These dragons are huge and the advantage of weight would make them a very good method of breaking enemy formations not to mention the firebreathing. These creatures are not ethereal but the dragon skin will act as an armor and will reduce the amount of damage inflicted by the enemy demons.
Thunderblust - hasty elemental creature with trample and resurrection abilities. Those creatures cannot fly but they can obviously float and that will be of much help when it comes to movement. Their haste and the wind will be a good ally as I move them from rooftop to rooftop. This creature is omniscient which means it knows everything that is happening around it at any time and it can attack in any direction (look at the art and the way it can create heads to attack with anywhere). This, as well as the fact that it is ethereal and the fact that it has haste make it a tough creature to reach.
The enemy army consists of demons but demons aren't big fans of morale and collaboration so the flavor of the army will not generate an extra bonus. The small bonus he will get from all flying will be negated by my strategy so no need to worry there either. All these demons have only physical attacks so they will find it very hard to kill my ethereal creatures while both my elementals have very effective means of disposing of all the demons. To top it all the Woebringer Demons, the Lieges of The Pit and the Lords of the Pit have a moderate to high upkeep cost as well so more troops will suffer from fatigue on his side than on mine. Also, the Lords of The Pit, the Reiver Demons and the Havoc Demons have metal attached to their bodies which will act as electricity conductors to increase the effects of my lightning attacks.
III. Battle strategy I will use the speed bonus that haste gives me to move all my Hell's Thunders away from the battle once they have fired once. As the enemy gets in range they are to all release a massive electrical attack so that no means of redirecting electricity will work. This will basically create a lightning blast that will not be stopped by screens of troops either and will harm everything on it's path. Once this is released these creatures are to run to safety and rest while the rest of my troops will keep up the battle. The resting place will be in the ocean water (if my geography is correct Manhattan is surrounded by the ocean no? or at least I know it's a pretty big river...). This way the enemy demons will not be able to reach them because they cannot breath underwater and also because of the massive static electricity generated that will fry any demon that attempts to submerge. The original direct attack will be numbing and will immobilize a good part of the enemies army so this will be the perfect moment for me to counter-attack (yes, if I was not explicit enough, I will let the enemy move towards my location, which he will probably do due to my so called inability to move my ground units). I will have my dragons storm from the front using firebreathing to disperse any barrage that might be created just before impact (a spear barrage or something of sorts will not be executed because of the constant heat, burning and inability to keep the weapon under these circumstances). I will use my sheer force to storm through the enemy formations using the claws and firebreathing as well as simply running into them to increase the damage I can create. The demigods will flank the enemy, where the lightning attack was less effective and push them towards the middle where the dragons are doing their part. The elementals on the rooftops will use the wind as well as their haste ability and their "floating" explained by very low mass to jump from rooftop to rooftop to where they are needed. Obviously they will not jump against the wind so my positioning will have to be precise so that the wind blows directly towards the enemy or as close to this position as possible. Once in position they will start firing only 1 shot at the time towards the enemy units. The rest of the attack this creature is capable of doing will be kept for defensive purposes, attacking only enemy creatures trying to attack the elementals. The offensive purposes of these creatures as opposed to the dragons and the demigods will be to keep the enemy army immobilized by keeping large chunks stunned and unable to fight.
Once rested the hell's thunders will surface as close as possible to the enemy tail to catch him by surprise in an all out lightning attack even if that leads them to critical fatigue.
The goal of this strategy is not to keep the enemy under the boot by use of sheer force and abilities because the enemy is fighting under the same conditions and will no doubt have a good plan. What I want to achieve is to keep the enemy units with a large upkeep busy so they will be unable to fight properly as this will win me the battle.
After some opening ranged attacks, both armies drew back. Murica was hoping Urzasucks would walk into a counterattack, but US was happy to take the time to do some more preparation instead of fighting immediately.
After finishing his preparations, US came back and threw nets at Murica's army. Murica's large number of lightning-based elementals made this somewhat less effective than US had hoped, with the nets quickly burning away. The Demons then came down to swarm the elementals. The demons were starting to suffer hunger effects from lack of regular sacrifice, but then again the Hell's Thunder and Thunderblusts couldn't carry out extended combat either. The Thunderblusts had had time to set up their wind-aided rooftop-jumping attack line though, and were able to charge through the battle on their own terms.
Even though both team's plans were somewhat disrupted, Murica's were more easily adapted to the situation at hand and gave him a small bonus. Strat Bonus: Murica +2 Dice Bonus: Murica +3.5 Victor: Murica
- Cover the area, mol shouts at his soldiers. The enemy is drawing closer as we speak. Take to the skies, we need information.
*** The day was peacful, sunny, the grass was gree. There wasn't much wind either. One would instantly be overcome by a feeling of serenity and only the skilled and baptized in the fires of battle would recognize that this is in fact the normal reaction before a epic battle. The fire lovers were at the gate, ready to transform this land in a desert of ash. This was not about to happen, while mol was still alive.
*** There was not much time for silly thinking. The time to act was now and mol knew it. He glared at his troops and smiled. He had gathered quite a few troops and they were all prepared. Who would have said that these troops rallied just the previous day? They all had weapons and shiny armors and the morale was high. Sure, there have been the usual incidents here and there, like that brawl between the drunk archer that almost killed a serra angel when trying to practice his super-awesome-blind-hit, or at least that's what he called it, but that happens in every army, mol thought and he did not pay much attention to it. Let them argue if they want to, they have to get rid of all the tension, don't they?
*** Something pulls mol away from his thoughts. He heard something. Something was aproaching, and it was big. They faced the enemy. Sun in their eyes, they did not see much but they could hear the enemy getting closer and closer.
- Archers, ready, mol shouted. Fire at my mark!
*** mol raises his hand and waits a few seconds. He then drops it. Hundreds of arrows swirl above his head towards the direction the enemy was coming from.
- Hawks, advance!
*** And the hawks follow mol's order without question. They cover the sky and at least now they can see. mol is shocked. In front of him an army of snowmen was jumping towards them. This has to be a joke. The fire lovers sending snowmen in battle? This is no doubt some sort of trick, a trap that he was not about to fall for. The arrows had no effect but mol knew what to do.
- Archers, light the arrows and fire again.
*** The archers did just that and even though the arrows would be extinguished as they hit a snowman the heat still damaged them. Slowly, there was none left and mol was waiting for the real battle. In the distance he could hear some savage hymn. He turns. They enemy has taken him by surprise. They are now in sight!
Equipment Suntail Hawks-metal claws Keen Eyed Archers-Chain Mail, Longbow, Arrows, Short Sword, Small Shield Angel of Mercy-Plate Armor, Sword, Shield Serra Angel-Plate Armor, Broadsword, Shield
At dawn several suntail Hawks will quickly scout out the surrounding area. Upon 2000 Keeneyed archers will go to strategic hills/cover (if it exists) that will allow them to pick off enemy units from a distance. If no such positions exist then they will go to the best available vantage points. While doing this the keen eyed archers will split into groups. A suntail will accompany each Keen eyed archer. 500 Serra Angels will fly to the enemy location while this is happening and engage the enemy for a short amount of time minimizing friendly casualties.
The remaining Serra Angels, Suntail Hawks and Keen eyed Archers will wait at a strategic point that will force the enemy to funnel into a close space for engagement (If such a position exists). If no such position exists then they will find a good place to stand their ground. Angels of Mercy will wait behind Serra Angels and Suntail Hawks. The 500 Keen eyed Archers staying behind will stay in positions with the main force that will allow them to bombard the enemy with arrows. The remaining Serra Angels from the strike force will rejoin the other Serra Angels.
As soon as the enemy comes in range of the strategically placed keen eyed archers and suntail hawks the keen eyed archers will pick off enemy units from afar.If a position is compromised all suntail hawks in that position will rip out as many enemy eyeballs as possible. The Keeneyed archers will keep picking off enemy units until they must draw their swords and go into regular combat. If Keen eyed archers run out of arrows before their position is discovered they will wait until the enemy is at it's closest and the suntail hawks will rip out as many of the enemies eyes as they can and the keen eyed archers will attack them with their swords. These ambushes and sniping should weaken enemy forces enough to allow for the Serra Angels, The Angels of Mercy and the remaining suntail hawks to force a retreat later on.
Once the enemy has reached the strategic funnel position (If it exists if not then wherever the main force is) the suntail hawks will rip out any eyes that have not already been ripped out and the remaining Keeneyed archers will fire down from above until they run out of arrows at which point they will come down and help out the Serra Angels and Angels of Mercy. The Serra Angels and and Angels of Mercy will hold their ground and wait for the enemy to reach them before striking. At this point any remaining friendly units that survived ambushing the enemy from their strategic sniping positions (If there are any) will come from behind and attack the enemy from the rear.
In the event of enemy retreat the Serra Angels and Angels of Mercy will hold their positions. The 500 keeneyed archers that were sniping will continue sniping if they still have any arrows. The force coming from behind will continue to engage the enemy until the last man is down. If the enemy force continues it's retreat the Serra Angels will go after them. The Angels of Mercy and whatever remaining suntail Hawks there might be will follow up. If they instead to be men and turn around and fight all forces (besides the Keen eyed Archers unless they have run out of arrows) will charge gloriously into battle. The Keen eyed Archers will follow as soon as their out of arrows.
Akuta, Born of Ash ABoA 5000 Goblin Striker Red 1/1 GS 2500 Blazing Specter Gold (B,R) 2/2 BS 1500 Pouncing Kavu Red 3/3 (1/1) PK 1000 Macetail Hystrodon Red 4/4 MH
Mol WA 5000 Suntail Hawk White 1/1 SH 2500 Keen-eyed Archers White 2/2 KEA 1500 Angel of Mercy White 3/3 AoM 1000 Serra Angel White 4/4 SA
Units are to be designated as follows; 1500 Pouncing Kavus: ’Shock troops’ 3000 Goblin Strikers: Melee units 2200 Blazing Specters: Flankers 1000 Goblin Strikers: Archers 1000 Goblin Strikers and 1000 Macetail Hystrodons: Artillery
Plains (Sunny) – Attacking
Units are to advance in the following formation; Flankers split evenly upon either side and ahead of centre force in two wedge formations. Archers form loose ranks ahead of central force inline with Flankers. Remaining troops will be in a square formation behind Archers with Shock troops in first ranks and Artillery at the rear.
Attack is be made as soon as possible to reduce enemy preparation time. Units are to make the most of their high speed (haste and first strike) to make themselves harder to hit - and smash Keen-eyed Archers quicker.
Units are to be equipped as in art. Goblin Strikers and Blazing Specters are to have bows also; a note is included about this below. Macetail Hystrodons and Pouncing Kavus will have a bit extra armour plating.
Orders
All units are to march toward expected enemy position until such a time as the true enemy position has been determined.
Upon enemy sighting, Archers are to get into range and begin firing. Artillery halt outside of enemy arrow range and begin firing. As remaining units advance Archers are to split down the middle and move out to either side, allowing the central formation to pass through unhindered while maintaining fire. Once units become engaged with enemy, Archers are to remain nearby but fire upon enemy rear ranks/isolated enemy units. Front ranks are to remain behind central force. If enemy flyers remain unengaged, fire arrows upon these.
Shock troops are to charge enemy centre while Melee support and move to engage any enemies that spill over the sides of the attacking force. When Shock troops impact, Pouncing Kavus in deeper ranks are to do what they do best and pounce into enemy lines, causing a bit of disruption and laying waste to anything in range. These units are to keep enemy engaged. Holes formed by Shock troops are to be filled by Melee as the Shock troops continue bashing their way forward (at least until enemy lines stabilise, then Shock troops fall back and charge again - if can draw enemies into a pincer between Melee, then all the better).
Flankers are to charge enemy engaged flanks. After a period they are to disengage and move to another area to charge. Attacks upon flanks are generally very damaging to morale in addition to numbers, even the possibly of a flank attack can damage morale. These flankers are also to protect flanks of allied engaged units by counter-charging enemies heading that way (they are close by to ensure that time exists for this manoeuvre - this follows for small flying groups). If directly engaged by a vastly superior force, scatter and lead them on a wild goose chase - the longer enemies are not available to attack own units the better.
Artillery are to maintain fire against rear/flanks/isolated enemy groups throughout the battle. If there are unengaged flying units, then hit them. If directly attacked, Goblin Strikers mount Macetail Hystrodons, and gallantly run away - complete with Parthian shot of course. As for the firing part, it is to be done thusly; large rocks, catapult ammunition, collections of small rocks, or anything really, is to be placed on the club end of the Macetail Hystrodon’s tail. After which, flick tail up nice and quickly in order to launch this projectile into the air in general enemy direction. Accuracy is likely to be pretty minimal and unable to get the same distance as a proper artillery piece since only driven by muscle, but it does the trick.
Scouting
200 Blazing Specters will be separated into small groups to search for enemy to both flanks and rear; they are to remain within sight of at least one other group. They will report frequently and regularly, if one does not return, additional scouts will be sent to that area. If these also do not return, it will be assumed that enemy is in that direction and actions will be taken accordingly (with caution). If a group of comes across an inferior enemy group, they can engage.
The Retreat
Goblin Strikers disengage first and begin falling back while Shock troops act as rear guard. Archers fire upon enemy to cover retreat Flankers continue protecting flanks, if an unprotected enemy flank becomes available, they have permission to charge.
Other Stuff!
If Flankers must face a the angels, they are to form a Cantabrian Circle and skirmish (this is assuming that much like an Azer a Specter can control its flames to a degree to prevent burning (it can sit on the back of a drake perfectly fine), if this is determined not to be the case, then instead of bows, they can have javelins - such as those used by the Romans (bend after hitting so cannot be thrown back and makes shields unwieldy).
During the advance the Keen-eyed Archers will likely prove a rather big nuisance. In order to minimise casualties, units will advance in loose formation, moving to a close formation before attacking (except for Archers).
Against multiple groups, hit the closest one first to slaughter as quickly as possible. Archers and Artillery concentrate fire on the next closest group, if need be, Flankers engage another.
In the case enemy sits in the air and fires down all day, Goblin Strikers will have shields as well. Once the charge begins they are to discard so has no bearing on the general strategy. But if things fall from above, they can raise them over their heads (and give some protection to Pouncing Kavus) and wait until enemy runs out of ammunition - or gets tired of flying everywhere.
If own units run out of ammunition, Artillery Goblin Strikers mount Macetail Hystrodons, charge forward, grab (mount) Archers on the way, and find interesting places to charge into.
Own units are faster than all enemy units, running them down and fleeing should be of minimal concern,
Quite independent of the complete lack of snow, make a snowman.
*** Akuta had ordered his troops to quickly advance on mol's position. He knew he had to attack in order to defeat this enemy. If he were to wait for the enemy to come to him he would no doubt lose.
*** You advance. You have your formations set. You know the enemy archers are gonna be a rather big nuisance but you think you are prepared for it. You have spread your troops thin to minimize volley area damage. An arrow wooshes by, barely missing you and takes one of your goblins down. The enemy was not attacking in an organized manner. Their archers were spread in the area, taking strategic positions to get better range and power. They were not firing volleys, but were firing direct shots. Each one was meant to kill. They had skill, they had precisions, something your archers lacked. Their tactic was proven better than yours. Your archers were not masters of the bow. They were barely hitting the small distant targets. Your artillery was to the back but what are the chances of them hitting small individual targets? Your kavus are doing progress but they are progresivelly taking on the archers which takes time. If this attack would have been better prepared you would have lost here. The archers run, their fewer numbers were not enough to hold you back, but the cost was too high for this piece of land and the fight was not over.
- Sir they run away, a goblin says. - What is our status? Akuta asks. - We lost a few good fighters here but we're still capable of battle. - Then leave everything. We're on pursuit. They will lead us to the rest of their army.
*** You run. You are retreating towards the main body of the army. That's where the final battle will take place and you want to be part of it. You knew that staying back and continuing the guerilla tactics will not have been good. You would all have died and the enemy was already starting to understand the situation and react to it. You are satisfied you gave them hell. 5 goblins and 1 kavu felt to your arrows alone. Mol must know that the battle was won because the enemy was too well organized and unprepared against guerilla and similar warfare tactics. This was the secret to winning the battle. You send a hawk ahead to give word to Mol.
*** You are content. You gave the enemy hell. There were a few over two thousands of you against ten thousands enemy units. And you still killed more of them then they killed of you. You hear a noise coming from a nearby bush. You pay little attention to it. An arrow swirls and hits you in the chest. You fall in a puddle of your own blood. Your bow is near you but you can't use your hand anymore. Damn, these fire lovers are fast.
*** They caught up. You have to push through. Now that you have formed a retreating formation you are no match for the enemy. You simply gotta keep running and hope to reach Mol's army before they kill you all. A huge rock falls a few feet away of you, killing several archers. You look to your right, the dirrection the boulder came from. You see a huge Hystrodon with a goblin riding it. The goblin strains his bow and he shoots. You jump to the left and the arrow barrely misses you. You arm your bow and you fire. The Hystrodon falls and crashes the gobling under his weight. You got lucky, if not for the arrow directly into the eye the Hystrodon would have trampeled you for sure. You continue your retreat. Mol can't be that far now. YOu see your comerads fall left and right. You jump over a hawk's body. You take a short look at him but you recognize him. He was the one that was supposed to give the news to Mol. A black arrow had pierced his neck. Mol does not know. You have to move forward. You can see your army now. The position they defend is not as secured as you would have thought but it will have to do.
- Akuta, sir! We have spotted the main body of the enemy army. They are waiting for us. - Then let's not keep them waiting. As I have instructed, attack.
*** This time Akura was facing an organized enemy. They had formations and he was prepared just for this kind of combat. The day was not lost yet. The enemy archers fired their bows. So did yours in return. You're not way below the enemy archers when it comes to volley shots. Accuracy has a smaller role this way. Your artillery is ready. You raise your arm and quickly drop it down. The Hystrodons fire. So the angels bleed just like you and me, Akura thought.
*** The melee troops of the fire lovers were advancing. They soon met our resistance. Anfels flew to meet them in combat. They were a match for the beasts. - Let them push inside our formation. Mol shouted. This will nullify their archers and artillery while we'll still be at full strength.
*** And the plan worked. The beasts were advancing but only as much as Mol's troops allowed them too. The archers were getting closer, trying to get into position to fire at enemies and the artillery was almost useles. It looked like the two armies were a match for one another and that this is gonna be a long battle. Mol just thrusted his sword into a kavu. He jumps back. A goblin's axe flies so close to his head that it cuts a shread of hair. He takes out a knife and throws it at the goblin. The goblin falls to the ground. Things are going well. Once of a sudden a shriek from above makes his blood freeze in his vains. He is overwhelmed by that extreme fear. He can barely move. He looks into the sky. How could he not see the specters coming? The battle was lost at just that, a simple flank attack.
- Retreat. If we want a shot at winning this war, we need not fight this losing battle. The enemy has outdone our strategy. Retreat and regroup. We shall fight again late.
*** Mol was running. He saw so many of his soldiers, his friends die. And for what? A piece of land? Was it really worth it? He swears that the fire lovers will pay dearly for every life they took. He shall have no rest until this happens. He will make sure they do not try to attack them ever again.
*** The battle was won and Akuta knew it. His enemies were retreating but his army did not have the strength to pursue. He had won, but barely. He knew tougher battles were still to come. His army was celebrating the victory. He did not have the time for that. His tactics would not have worked again. He returns to his tent. He has to think.
Mol, your strat is decent. You had bad luck with the rolls. When you make such demands of positioning, as well as any factor that implies having to find the suitable something there will be a dice roll. The presence of a dice roll involves the possibility of losing that roll, as it was the case here. I for one try to stay away as much as possible from these situations and not give the enemy the chance to win even more based on luck.
You need to work a bit more on your strat skills, but it's okey considering you just started. My advice is to try to be a little less vague, and give more explanations. Make sure the judge will understand what you are saying as Cx will not read your strat as many times as I had to understand it. If you fix this then skill will come by itself.
Also, in a battle, be sure to always use the advantage you have to a maximum. In this case your air domination could have been enough to win the battle with a little luck.
I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am!
As the battle starts, LoD's units all move, en mass, above the cloud cover while Mol's units gather round Ana Disciples to get rags soaked in water to cover their faces with. A large group of archers procedes to find various spots to hide in and await LoD's units. Some of these archers wonder into the streets (which are offlimits). Others take up positions inside buildings to watch the skies.
Soon after LoD's units are above the clouds, pots come flying down from above accompied by random bursts of flame from above the cloud cover. Some of the pots are ignited by the flames while other pots fall harmlessly. The pots that are hit by the flames ignite with intense heat that soon disperse harmlessly in the air above the skyscrappers. Pretty much a short fireworks display.
A large circle of wooly spiders surrounds ana disciples as the disciples chant ceaselessly. While all this chanting is going on, LoD's units move around above the cloud cover, content to stay away from where Mol's units seem to be. They take time to throw pots filled with cadaverine at the general area. Or at least they would if LoD's units knew what cadaverine was let alone how to contain it.
After a bit of time, Mol's disciples fly up into the air alongside the Cockatrices, leaving behind the wooly spiders who only stare blankly into the sky. The disciples zerg LoD's units while Mol's archers stick to the buildings watching to provide support when they can.
Wargame Rules]2.2.3.2 Activated Abilities If a creature pays an activation cost to gain a static ability, it is considered to have that static ability. It cannot use this activated ability to give other creatures static abilities, however. (example: Elvish Herder has "G: Target creature gains trample until end of turn". The Herder is considered to have trample itself, but cannot give trample to all of your other creatures.)
Activated abilities cannot affect power and toughness (example: Frozen Shade will always be a 0/1, even in a swamp.).
1. Only the Ana Disciples are considered to have flying. They were unable to give flying to other units.
@LoD:
1. It's impossible for units in medival times to develop techniques to capture molecules and contain them for use like you wanted to do. Not only that, but since battles take place for 24 hrs, it is unlikely your units would have anything on hand that decomposes that fast to be used. Two last notes to mention about this tactic: First, in a no attacker situation your units would not have enough time to prepare this, if they could have. Second, since the battle is being fought in an open area that is high up, the smells/molecules would disperse harmlessly into the air. Only in contained areas like a building would it be effective.
2. Concerning the thermite: Your units stayed above the cloud cover the hole time. When you dropped the pots, the pots would go below the cloud cover. It would be impossible for your dragons to get accurate hits on the falling pots because of the clouds. Also, thermite burns for a short period of time. That's why I mentioned it burning harmlessly in the air.
I used 6 sided dice to determine the winner. I gave LoD a +1 to the die roll (which was 1) because his units would be all together when Mol's flying units (ana disciples and cockatrices) would zerg towards him above the clouds.
There were no detailed plans/orders for engaging the enemy directly from either player.
2500 cloud pirates: Cannot attack, nor defend against ground forces. But they can drop stuff.
2500 alaborn zealots: Zealous method of killing anything it defends against.
2500 leonin skyhunters: Flying.
1500 Roc of kher ridges: Red 3/3, big bird.
1000 alabaster dragons: Heavy dragon, flying, can regenerate to a limited capacity.
Him
5000 Ana Disciples: Can make things fly, or give -2,-0 2500 Thornweald Archers: Deathtouch, Reach. 1500 Wooly Spiders: Can block Flyers, if so, +0,+2 1000 Cockatrice: Deathtouch.
Terrain: Seattle Skyline, the ground is off limits and the avenues are choked with greenery and large trees.
Weather: Cloudy and gray with low fog, leaving the streets gray, only the tops of the skyscrapers are visible in the crappy weather.
All units will be equipped with what they have on the card. In addition, the humanoid ones will have swords as well if needed and the pirates will have crossbows. My zealots will ride on the backs of the dragons and the rocs. By the way, the skyhunters, pirates, and zealots will have slings, and small clay pots filled with cadaverine (look it up) and the pots will be sealed with glue. They will also have pots of thermite (it’ wrote:
2.2.3.2 Activated Abilities If a creature pays an activation cost to gain a static ability, it is considered to have that static ability. It cannot use this activated ability to give other creatures static abilities, however. (example: Elvish Herder has "G: Target creature gains trample until end of turn". The Herder is considered to have trample itself, but cannot give trample to all of your other creatures.)
Activated abilities cannot affect power and toughness (example: Frozen Shade will always be a 0/1, even in a swamp.).[/quote] 1. Only the Ana Disciples are considered to have flying. They were unable to give flying to other units.
@LoD:
1. It's impossible for units in medival times to develop techniques to capture molecules and contain them for use like you wanted to do. Not only that, but since battles take place for 24 hrs, it is unlikely your units would have anything on hand that decomposes that fast to be used. Two last notes to mention about this tactic: First, in a no attacker situation your units would not have enough time to prepare this, if they could have. Second, since the battle is being fought in an open area that is high up, the smells/molecules would disperse harmlessly into the air. Only in contained areas like a building would it be effective.
2. Concerning the thermite: Your units stayed above the cloud cover the hole time. When you dropped the pots, the pots would go below the cloud cover. It would be impossible for your dragons to get accurate hits on the falling pots because of the clouds. Also, thermite burns for a short period of time. That's why I mentioned it burning harmlessly in the air.
I used 6 sided dice to determine the winner. I gave LoD a +1 to the die roll (which was 1) because his units would be all together when Mol's flying units (ana disciples and cockatrices) would zerg towards him above the clouds.
There were no detailed plans/orders for engaging the enemy directly from either player.
2500 cloud pirates: Cannot attack, nor defend against ground forces. But they can drop stuff.
2500 alaborn zealots: Zealous method of killing anything it defends against.
2500 leonin skyhunters: Flying.
1500 Roc of kher ridges: Red 3/3, big bird.
1000 alabaster dragons: Heavy dragon, flying, can regenerate to a limited capacity.
Him
5000 Ana Disciples: Can make things fly, or give -2,-0 2500 Thornweald Archers: Deathtouch, Reach. 1500 Wooly Spiders: Can block Flyers, if so, +0,+2 1000 Cockatrice: Deathtouch.
Terrain: Seattle Skyline, the ground is off limits and the avenues are choked with greenery and large trees.
Weather: Cloudy and gray with low fog, leaving the streets gray, only the tops of the skyscrapers are visible in the crappy weather.
All units will be equipped with what they have on the card. In addition, the humanoid ones will have swords as well if needed and the pirates will have crossbows. My zealots will ride on the backs of the dragons and the rocs. By the way, the skyhunters, pirates, and zealots will have slings, and small clay pots filled with cadaverine (look it up) and the pots will be sealed with glue. They will also have pots of thermite (it’s just aluminum and rust), though these will be carried by the pirates.. All troops have noseplugs and will use them all the time. (ZEALOTS HAVE GUNS)
As this is a no-attacker battle, we can see each other. My units will immediately fly above the cloud cover, and away from any possible attack. Once safely above the cloud cover, the pirates will immediately drop a few pots of thermite down onto the greenery below, reserving some for later. As the pirates throw, the pots will be scorched by the dragons and set ablazing. All units will be careful for any chance of flying creatures, any that do so will be shot and flamed, by the dragons and zealots. The group will then move to another spot in the general area and repeat the bombing. If the enemy attacks from a specific area, that area will be avoided, while the zealots will sling some cadaverine over at the area. Any area where arrows come from will be bombed with thermite from a safe height. The thermals from the firebombs should allow my flyers to circle well. All this requires that he stay on the skyscrapers and send troops after me. If he comes en-masse, all units will flee at top speed above the clouds and away from arrows. All casualties will be recovered after the battle, if that is possible. My entire strategy requires that I set greenery on fire and his units are green. Have fun Mol… After the victory, all units will have a Barbecue and none of Mols friends are invited...
Thornweald Archer – Longbow, Poison Arrows, Leather Armor, Short Sword
Wooly Spider – Minimal Plate Armor
Cockatrice – Minimal Plate Armor, Shiny Metal Claws
Anti-Cadaverine Section
All Ana Disciples will rip up their nice robes dip the rags in water. These rags will be worn by Thornweald Archers and Ana Disciples as protection from Cadaverine. I'm sure the Wooly Spider will enjoy the Cadaverine as a pre-battle meal.
Guerilla Attacks
2000 Thornweald Archers break into small groups and spread out through the city and position themselves in streets and high points in buildings. Thornweald Archers will pick off enemy units from afar. Alaborn Zealots will be the primary targets. They will retreat back to the main force in the event they are discovered or the enemy does a full engagement of my main forces.
Main Battle
1500 Wooly Spiders will form a circle around the Ana Disciples. They will defend the Ana Disciples at all costs until the Ana Disciples have finished casting. Once the Ana Disciples finish casting the Wooly Spiders will maintain formation.
1000 Cockatrice will fly above the Ana Disciples attack all units that approach.
5000 Ana Disciples will cast -2/0 spells at as many attacking creatures at possible and give themselves flying. They will then proceed to engage the enemy.
500 Thornweald Archers will take up positions in surrounding buildings and will pick off enemy units. Alabaster Dragons will be a priority and then Alaborn Zealots and then everything else.
Volume I - The Book of Faith: The faithful don't succumb to terror, nor are they ruled by passion. They adhere to order, for order is life.
Volume II - The Book of Insight: Be logical in all things. Do not allow instinct or passion to cloud your mind.
Volume III - The Book of Decay: Terror corrupts order and paralyzes instinct.
Volume IV - The Book of Fire: Passions can't be shackled by laws or mastered with logic. The choice is freedom or death.
Volume V - The Book of Life: Instinct is undaunted by terror, unchained by logic. Is is the path from which all other paths diverge.
We all make choices, and I present to you one such choice. Be a hero for Dominaria, or be its darkest nightmare. Join either the Coalition or join Phyrexia.
There is no wrong choice, but I will tell you this: not choosing, and being indecisive, is one of many things that any mortal can do that is wrong. - From the Tome of King
. I’ve seen vigilance said to be more endurance since tapping is styled as ‘getting tired,’ but that works well enough.
