The Bretonnians

Prophetess of the Lady (General): Lv. 4, Heavens, Power Stone, Warhorse
Prophetess of the Lady: Lv. 4, Heavens, Silver Mirror, Warhorse
Paladin (Battle Standard Bearer): Gromril Great Helm, Sword of Might
Paladin: Virtue of Empathy, Shield
Paladin: Virtue of Empathy, Shield
15 Knights of the Realm: FC, Standard of Discipline
15 Knights of the Realm: FC, Gleaming Pennant
20 Peasant Bowmen: Musician, Braziers
20 Peasant Bowmen: Musician, Braziers
20 Peasant Bowmen: Musician, Braziers
20 Peasant Bowmen: Musician, Braziers
19 Peasant Bowmen: Musician
Field Trebuchet
Field Trebuchet

The High Elves

Archmage Lv. 4
Mage Lv. 2
Prince on Gryphon
Noble BSB on foot
Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
15 Archers
15 Archers
20 Lothern Sea Guard
20 Lothern Sea Guard
20+ Swordmasters
Great Eagle
Great Eagle
5 Ellyrian Reavers
5 Ellyrian Reavers

We rolled up a Dawn Attack scenario and deployed as you can see below.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13031-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map01/
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High Elves Turn One: The High Elves began by advancing less aggressively than I anticipated they would. They had their own shooting, so perhaps they assumed they would be able to deal enough damage to the Bretonnians to solidify their ranged superiority. The magic phase was tough, but thanks to a failed attempt to cast Apotheosis, the dispel dice were sufficient to shut down the rest of the High Elf spells. Shooting was relatively insignificant, killing a total of 2 Knights and about 10 Peasant Bowmen.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map02/
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Bretonnians Turn One: The Knights on the left flank moved up to threaten the Lothern Seaguard and Bolt Throwers on that side of the board. The Knights on the right flank chose not to take the bait and charge the Ellyrian Reavers, instead opting to move up just a little to broaden their field of vision in hopes of good charge opportunities in following turns. Magic worked decently, pulling out the High Elves' Dispel Scroll to stop a successful Comet of Cassandora. The shooting phase was both good and bad. The Trebuchet on the right killed a few Swordmasters, while the Trebuchet on the left misfired and self-destructed. Peasant Bowmen sent flaming arrows down range, killing both units of Ellyrian Reavers and inflicting several more casualties to the units of Lothern Seaguard.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map03/
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HE2: Several of the High Elf units moved up slightly, still not nearly as aggressively as I would have expected. It took the expenditure of the Silver Mirror to stop Flames of the Phoenix cast against the Knights on the right flank, but all the High Elf magic was stopped for a second time. Shooting took out a couple more Knights and several more Peasants, especially from the unit in the forest in the center of the Bretonnian lines, which was down to a handful of models by the end of the round. My opponent kept using multi-shot with his Bolt Throwers against my Knights. I'm not sure that was the best strategy, though he was concerned about rolling 1s to wound or the bolts being stopped by the increased Ward Save from the Blessing of the Lady.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map04/
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Br2: The Knights on the left flank started the turn by charging the Lothern Seaguard. They only needed a 7 with Swiftstride to make the charge, if I remember right, so my opponent chose to flee. I then had the Knights redirect into the nearest Bolt Thrower, a longer charge but worth a go. I rolled an 11 for a successful charge. I did lose a Knight to a dangerous terrain test, but it was worth it, I thought. The Knights on the right flank charged the Great Eagle, again needing an 8 with Swiftstride. The Great Eagle opted to flee, so my Knights redirected into the Lothern Seaguard. His Stand-and-Shoot reaction, along with a good-but-not-good-enough charge roll left the Knights moving 6" up--presenting their flank to the Prince on Gryphon--and 2 fewer in number. The Winds of Magic blew favorably thanks to the watchful eye of the Lady. I was able to successfully burn through my opponent's dispel dice and end the magic phase with another Comet headed straight for the center of the High Elf position! Shooting was decent, though the remaining Field Trebuchet misfired and would spend the next turn out of commission as well. The Peasant Bowmen acquitted themselves honorably (or dishonorably, my Knights would likely claim), inflicting another dozen casualties across the High Elf army. Most notably, they inflicted 3 successful wounds on the Prince's Gryphon, which would later come in quite fortunate. The Knights killed the crew of the Bolt Thrower and restrained pursuit.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map05/
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HE3: The Prince on his Gryphon charged my Knights on the right flank. They held, since I knew he had the Reaver Bow and therefore would not prove too malicious in close combat. The Great Eagle on the left flank moved into position for a charge into the rear of my left-most Peasant Bowmen unit. I wasn't concerned about that. If they ran, it wasn't a great loss. In the meantime, I would just continue shooting at more important stuff with them. The Great Eagle and Lothern Seaguard both rallied. My fortunes were not as good against the High Elf sorcerers this round. My Comet did not strike, and my opponent was able to then use Drain Magic on it. Flames of the Phoenix was successfully cast on my Knights on the left, killing 2. Shooting took out another Knight from that unit and killed a few more Peasant Bowmen. In combat, my Gallant issued a challenge against the Gryphon-riding Prince, who, while dying horribly, limited the Prince's combat resolution to a single unsaved wound, one point of overkill, a charge, and a flank. With three ranks, a banner, and a BSB, the Knights won by one, forcing the Prince to take a break test, which he passed, unfortunately. My Knights did a combat reform to bring the Prince into their forward facing.

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Br3: My Knights on the left flank charged the next Bolt Thrower. They wheeled into contact with the Bolt Thrower so that on the chance they killed the crew on the charge they would be able to overrun into the Archers. Two of their number died to dangerous terrain tests. The magic phase swung in my favor again. I was able to get a couple of good spells off to burn through my opponent's dispel dice, finishing with a successful Comet of Cassandora and a Chain Lightning cast with Irresistible Force that ended with 2 dead Archers and a single dead Knight after the miscast. At least it wasn't worse than that. Shooting did more damage to the High Elf army, succeeding in inflicting enough wounds on the left-most unit of Lothern Seaguard to force a panic check, which they failed even with the High Elf BSB nearby to allow a reroll! In combat, my BSB challenged the High Elf Prince. Despite some great rolling on my opponent's part, I was able to save all the wounds inflicted (thanks to a final roll of two 5s and a 6 for the Blessing of the Lady). In return, my BSB inflicted no wounds, but at a -5 for his break test, the Prince fled, cut down by the pursuing Knights. The other unit of Knights carved through the Bolt Thrower crew and overran into the Archers, just as I had anticipated.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map07/
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HE4: The Great Eagle on my left flank charged the Peasant Bowmen immediately in front of it, while the Lothern Seaguard rallied. The High Elves had little fortune with the Winds of Magic, rolling up a total of 5 power dice. I channeled an additional die to bring my total up to 5 dispel dice. It proved pointless, however, because the High Elf Lv. 2 Mage cast the only spell attempted with Irresistible Force, draining 3 magic levels from him and causing him to forget all his spells. Meanwhile, after 19 wounds rolled, Soul Quench succeeded in killing a single Knight from the unit on my right flank, thanks to several sixes rolled for their Blessing save. I should also note that my Comet did not strike this turn, adding a second counter. With only a small amount of shooting left, my opponent finally succeeded in finishing off one unit of Peasant Bowmen with little else to show for their trouble. My Knights tore through the High Elf Archers, pursued and cut them down, stopping an inch away from the impassible hillside atop which the remaining Bolt Throwers sat. The Great Eagle died to my obviously-lucky-enough-he-must-have-been-Irish Paladin before it even had a chance to strike in close combat... gotta' love that Initiative 5 on those Paladins!

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Br4: Both of my units of Knights moved forward to threaten the Swordmasters. I make a whopper of a mistake here. I moved them each into a little under 10" away from the spot I chose for my Comet of Cassandora. I was thinking it was worth the risk to keep pressure on his Swordmasters, since odds are not good that I would roll higher than a 9 on 2D6 for the range of the Comet's damage. In hindsight, I could have just as easily moved my Knights completely away where they would not even be threatened by the Swordmasters. In the magic phase, my Comet struck the battlefield. I rolled 10" for its range! It did 7 hits to my left-most unit of Knights, killing 2, and 14 hits to my right-most unit of Knights, killing all 8 remaining of that unit! That netted my opponent 399 points! I did get to watch basically everything left of my opponent's army eliminated by the Comet, except for his Swordmasters who only took 3 unsaved wounds. My shooting killed the last remaining Lothern Seaguard model on my right flank, the couple of remaining High Elf Archers, and a few more Swordmasters.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map09/
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HE5: My opponent reformed to bring both of my characters left from what was once my proud unit of Knights of the Realm and my left-most unit of Knights into line of sight. He knew he had one chance to inflict some serious damage before the Bretonnians loosed their arrows for the death blow. He rolled well for Winds of Magic, 11 dice plus a channel... to my 6 dispel dice. I knew I was in trouble. The Archmage started by using four dice to cast Tempest. He rolled three 6s! The spell was cast with Irresistible Force. It inflicted no wounds on my Knights but succeeded in sucking the Archmage into the Void! At that, the High Elves conceded defeat and slunk away from the field of battle in humiliation!

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallery/image/13032-2500-points-bretonnians-vs-high-elves-shoot-out-map10/
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This was one of the funnest games I've played in all my years of Warhammer! My opponent said he agreed. I was very happy to have brought out my Bretonnians again! I hope you enjoyed the battle report!

Wow almost 100 Peasant Bowmen

That's a pretty good list to take against High Elves, as they get hurt by ranged attacks. I want to see more games with this list!

Nice battle. The images don't seem to work.

Yeah, I couldn't open any images, but great write-up, interesting list and sounds like a fun battle! However, with a 15-man lance and only failing 1-2 Dangerous Terrain tests, your knights are in much more capable hands than my own. I routinely lose 25%+ to DT tests, including 3/5 Grail Knights in a recent tournament.

Do you have to take those tests because the terrain the bolt throwers were in, or because they were behind an obstacle? Or should you take this test every time you charge a war machine?

Pictures probably show him clipping a forest or charging up a scree slope for something. You don't take a dangerous terrain test for just charging a war machine.

First of all, I apologize that the pictures don't work!! I will try to repost them so that you can see the battle sand tables. Second, I apologize for not responding before now! Life happens sometimes, but the good news is that my wife has now graduated from her master's program! Finally, the Bolt Throwers were behind a wall, so the Knights were charging a unit behind a defended obstacle. I'm glad you enjoyed the write-up! I do plan on taking this list to more battles, and when I do, I'll make sure to post my reports here.

I have fixed the links to the images. They take you to the actual image location, so it's still a little fiddly trying to flip between the images and the report, but at least you now have access to the images! I'll try to figure something out for future reports to make it a better, easier experience. Thanks for your patience!

I don't get why the HE player tried to cast Apotheosis in the first turn?? there's nothing to heal.... and fear/terror for a turn is just stupid

secondly, once succesfully cast, nothing can prevent a comet from coming; even Drain Magic does not have an effect towards the comet, since it is not cast on a unit and therefor unable to be targeted by the spell. Also in FAQ IIRC

for the rest; nice battle of extremes where everything seems to go wrong ^^
the images don't work very well, though I was able to scroll through them on the site (edit; that means, it worked out for me in the end )

AREA51

He tried to cast Apotheosis in order to get the +1 to his WS, I thought. Good to know re. the Comet of Cassandora. I'll remember that in the future. Good call. Yeah, again, I apologize about the pictures. I will figure out something better for them eventually--when I have more time.

So I played another game using this same list. I played against a Lizardmen opponent this time. We played the river scenario from the back of the BRB, which turned out to be just a normal river.

The Lizardmen

Slann Mage-Priest: Channeling Staff, Wandering Deliberations, The Harmonic Convergence, Reservoir of Eldritch Energy, Higher State of Consciousness.
Skink Priest: Lv. 2, Cube of Darkness
Skink Priest: Dispel Scroll
Saurus Scar-Veteran: Cold One, Shield, Light Armour, Sword of Strife, Ironcurse Icon.
Saurus Scar-Veteran: Cold One, Shield, Light Armour, Piranha Blade.
Cold One Riders: x7, Spears, Pack Leader, Standard Bearer, Musician.
Saurus Warriors: x22, Spawn Leader, Standard Bearer, Musician.
Saurus Warriors: x22, Spawn Leader, Standard Bearer, Musician.
Skink Skirmishers: x14.
Skink Skirmishers: x12.
Salamander Hunting Pack: x2 Salamanders, x6 Handlers.
Salamander Hunting Pack: x1 Salamander, x4 Handlers.
Stegadon: Unstoppable Stampede, Sharpened Horns.

Anyway, we deployed as you can see below. I let my opponent take the first turn so my army could pray.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallerypics/gallery/album_968/med_gallery_11086_968_374595.jpg

Lizardmen Turn One: The Lizardmen advanced across the board. The magic phase was scary, my opponent generating 11 power dice to my 6 dispel dice. When all was said and done, though, they got very little accomplished--nothing of significance, to be sure. Shooting was uneventful.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallerypics/gallery/album_968/med_gallery_11086_968_639143.jpg

Bretonnians Turn One: I moved my Knights forward, hoping to get them into range for spells and potential charges on my next turn. My opponent had failed to cast Comet of Cassandora on his turn, so I knew it was only a matter of time until he would cast it successfully. With such a static army, I hoped to start getting some points out of the Lizardmen army before I started losing my ranged units to magic. Looking back on it, I should have just held my Knights back and forced my opponent to come to me. I had a decent magic phase, but I got very little accomplished. I was able to get Wind Blast off, pushing the right-most unit of Skinks into the adjacent Stegadon. It killed a Skink or two but failed to wound the Stegadon. The spell is just fun, though, so I considered my magic phase a success. Shooting was good. One of my Trebuchets scattered, but the other landed a rock right on top of the Cold One Riders, killing 6! The unit failed its panic check and ran. All of my Peasant Bowmen shot at the Skink Skirmishers in front of them. Many of them needed 7+ to hit, so when the hail of arrows was over, two Skinks lay dead in the forest on the other side of the river...

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallerypics/gallery/album_968/med_gallery_11086_968_297131.jpg

L2: The Lizardmen advanced a bit more, though not as aggressively as I imagined they would. The remaining Cold One Rider failed to rally and fled off the table. In the magic phase, my opponent generated 12 power dice to my 6 dispel dice! It took my Silver Mirror to stop Comet of Cassandora, but the Bretonnians weathered the magic onslaught. Three Knights from my general's unit died to shooting from the Skinks, while another two Knights from the other unit died to shooting from the Salamanders. I actually considered myself fortunate.

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallerypics/gallery/album_968/med_gallery_11086_968_532347.jpg

B2: The Knights of the Realm on my far right flank charged the larger of the two units of Salamanders. I should have charged the Saurus Warriors, probably. There really wasn't anything for them to do after defeating the Salamanders, so I should have thought that through better. My other unit of Knights charged the Skinks to their right, who fled, and then my Knights redirected into the Saurus Warriors on the left, only to fail the charge by a mere inch! I was concerned, because that left their flank exposed to the Stegadon on their right... In the magic phase, I was able to get Harmonic Convergence cast on my Knights in the middle of the board, which would help in the fight with the Stegadon. My shooting killed a few Skinks, and one of my Trebuchets got a direct hit against the Saurus Warriors on my right flank, killing 8! My Knights then made short work of the Salamanders, pursuing them and running them down.

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L3: The Stegadon charged my general's unit. The rest of the Lizardmen army shuffled around a bit to get into better positions. Magic was tough, my opponent getting another 12-dice magic phase. He got a couple of good buffs on his Saurus Warriors on my far right flank and Wyssan's Wildform on his Stegadon. Shooting was uneventful. Then, the Stegadon beat my Knights up pretty well. They still had to test on their normal leadership, since they were Steadfast, but I failed the first roll--and I failed the reroll. I then rolled low for their flee distance, while the Stegadon rolled high... My Knights, general, and BSB were run down!

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B3: The remaining Knights reformed as best they could and braced for the inevitable charge from the Saurus Warriors. I was still confident that my Knights could hold in that combat, though they would probably be stuck there for a good long while. I couldn't get a decent roll to cast a spell to save my life, despite a 9-dice magic phase, and my opponent used the Cube of Darkness to stop the one spell that his dispel dice couldn't stop. My shooting killed a good number of Skinks this time, but my Trebuchets could take out the Stegadon. Things were starting to look pretty bleak.

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L4: The Stegadon charged the flank of my right-most unit of Peasant Bowmen. I was confident they would be Steadfast, but I was not confident I would roll low enough for them to hold... as experience had just recently reminded me. The Saurus Warriors charged my Knights. The Lizardmen had yet another horrifying magic phase, successfully casting Wyssan's Wildform on the Saurus Warriors in battle with my remaining unit of Knights and then proceeding to cast Comet of Cassandora right in the middle of my gunline! Shooting did nothing, but combat was brutal. The Saurus Warriors beat up on my Knights, who fled. The Saurus Warriors then reformed rather than pursue them off the table. The Stegadon did 6 or 7 wounds, but the Peasant Bowmen held.

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B4: The Bretonnian hail of arrows started to take its toll, killing Skinks and putting wounds on Skink Priests, but it wasn't enough. The Peasant Bowmen lost a few more models but held against the Stegadon--they even inflicted a wound on the monster. I could see the battle was over. The Comet had failed to strike during my turn, so we rolled for it for my opponent's turn to see what would happen. It killed a Trebuchet and panicked two units of Peasant Bowmen, both of which fled off the table. So, with that, we called the game, a crushing defeat for the Bretonnians!

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My primary opponent is a Lizards player, so I've had my share of victories and defeats against them. In my experience, bowmen have a rough go against lizzies. Hard for them to kill T4 sars with a full armor save and skirmished skinks. Small units of KE are much more effective at dealing with skinks and sallies. I might have swapped a prophetess for a killy Lord and the bowmen for some more knights. The trebs, prophetess, and KotR trains were excellent choices. Looking forward to hearing more reports!

I agree with sir ghandor, I used to play against lizardmen all the time. t4 and armor is a tough nut to crack with our archers, and even skaven sometimes :/

Too true. Stupid plaguemonks... Ah well, they work well enough for skaven slaves and clanrats.

Plaguemonks aren't so bad since they've no armor. Saurus are horrible to shoot at with bowmen. Youre better off shooting at just about anything else I think. I usually take 2 or 3 units of 100 slaves, so losing some to arrowfire is no big deal. With skaven its the numbers you gotta worry about and picking smart targets. Shoot the small units, don't worry about slave tarpits

Swordthain wrote:

http://www.bugmansbrewery.com/gallerypics/gallery/album_968/med_gallery_11086_968_518449.jpg

L3: The Stegadon charged my general's unit. The rest of the Lizardmen army shuffled around a bit to get into better positions. Magic was tough, my opponent getting another 12-dice magic phase. He got a couple of good buffs on his Saurus Warriors on my far right flank and Wyssan's Wildform on his Stegadon. Shooting was uneventful. Then, the Stegadon beat my Knights up pretty well. They still had to test on their normal leadership, since they were Steadfast, but I failed the first roll--and I failed the reroll. I then rolled low for their flee distance, while the Stegadon rolled high... My Knights, general, and BSB were run down!



units cannot be steadfast in a river unless they are stubborn