Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault - Stormsire and Lady Harrow

I'd hoped to get some games in over the weekend. Sunday had started to be our Warhammer Underworlds night again... But then movies (Red Notice and Free Guy) and TV (The Great!) and Book Clubs happened and we didn't get any games in. Amanda did have Monday off so after doing a few errands we sat down to play a game of Warhammer Underworlds: Night Vault! 

This week I chose to throw Stormsire's Cursebreakers against Lady Harrow's Mournflight - because I mistakenly thought it was the warband that came WITH Lady Harrow's Mournflight in the Champions of Dreadfane box (I was mistaken, it was Ironsoul's Condemnors...).

I won the roll-off for board choice and I had Amanda pick first... Amanda picked The Mirror Well, because it was on the top of the pile and she liked the look of it. I picked The Cursed Oubliette because there wasn't anything getting in my way and any with Hazard areas would only be hazardous to ME... I had thought about using the Shyishian Stardial - or something like that - with some Blocked Hexes - YES, the non-corporeal Banshees can just go THROUGH them... but they can't STOP in them, and I thought i might be able to make use of them to funnel them... somehow... I don't know... I hadn't really thought it through all that much... so I just went with an open one with no Hazards... 

My initial Objective Card draw... only one-pointers and NO Surge objectives! They seemed... do-able, though... 

My initial Power Card draw. Yay! Lots of Spells! Stormsire's Cursebreakers are ALL wizards so anyone can try to cast these - AND - that's their inspire condition... Successfully cast a spell! 

Amanda did NOT like her initial Objective Card draw - stating they were ALL USELESS - one was teh one that requires you to pass through a Blocked Hex and end next to an enemy (good thing I didn't go with the hide behind blocked hexes plan!) 

I won the roll-off for set up and made Amanda go first. Having a smaller warband, I finished first and had the bonus to see who goes first on the First Round...

ROUND ONE

I WON that roll-off too (thanks to the bonus)! Once again, I had Amanda go first... not because I'm a gentleman, or anything... I had REASONS! 

Widow Caitha swooped onto Objective #4... and then the spells started flying!

Averon Stormsire cast Sphere of Aqshy and deal one Damage to the Widow Caitha (in retrospect, this was a poor choice, as she only had two wounds and could be killed with a one-shot blow from ANY of my warband... should have lowered the wounds on someone else...). Having successfully cast a spell, Averon Stormsire was inspired. 

Then Ammis Dawnguard cast Grinding Earth and a Chasm opened next to her... not that it would do ANYTHING to any of Lady Harrow's banshees... but it was a successful spell and that made her Inspire! 

Then I played Gathering Storm a ploy that gave me an innate Channel (lightning bolts on the magic die) result for the next spell I cast... 

For my FIRST activation - because all of that spell casting happened in Amanda's first Power Step - cast Empower on himself (his in-build spell action) - automatically, because of Gather the Storm - and BOOM

All Three inspired be the end of my FIRST ACTIVATION! Woo! 

(if only the rest of the game had gone so well...) 

Amanda played Soaring Spite which would allow her to double her move in her next activation. 

Lasy Harrow went swooping through Objective #1, though Averon Stormsire, and onto Objective #5... which inspired her... and then she scored TWO Objective Cards: Fleeting Memories - for moving onto two objective markers in one move (+1 Glory) and One Will for holding at least one Odd numbered OBjective and at least one Even numbered Objective... (+1 Glory). 

So much for ME thinking things were going my way... I still had a plan to score three Objective cards, though, and that would catch me up! I've already done what I need to score one (cast two spells) 

Ammis Dawnguard steppoed onto Objective #3 (as second Objective card lined up - as long as no one pushes her off...) 

The Screaming Maiden passed through Averon Stormsire and then attacked him and dealt two damage - because I cannot roll crits in combat and Amanda cannot NOT roll crits in combat... 

No problem, he's got FOUR wounds... it's all good... 

Rastus charged the Widow Caitha and took out the Widow Caitha! (+1 Glory for me and the one Objective that Averon Stormsire could make it to in one move was open... and I'd be able to score that third Objective Card and even attack The Anguished One that was just standing there... If he gets there, next to Rastus, I could even cast Empathic conduction (the last spell card in my hand) and remove one of those wounds. 

All he has to do is NOT DIE... 

I upgraded Stormsire with Great Fortitude giving him +1 wounds... Wishfully thinking that might help with the whole NOT DYING thing... 

And then Amanda used one of her crazy Inspire actions - All of Lady Harrow's Mournflight get these CrAzY abilities when they inspire... Lady Harrow gets a reaction - if an enemy declares an attack and it ISN'T against her... she gets to push one... and so she moved up next to Averon Stormsire... 

On her next activation, Lady Harrow killed Averon Stormsire. 

Well, fuck... 

You had one job, Averon Stormsire, ONE JOB!!! NOT DIE!? HOW HARD CAN THAT BE!? YOU'RE A FREAKING STORMCAST ETERNAL!?

GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!?

Um... so... for my last activation I discarded an Objective and drew a new one... what else could I do... I had only two fighters left, one had moved already, the other had charged. Pitched the Plant a Standard as I no longer had a leader to do the thing... 

I did succeed in doing two of the three End Phase Objectives, which is more than I can say for MOST End Phases of MOST games... they were only one Glory Point each... and it tied up the game at three... but I was down a leader... and outnumbered... 

At least Ammis was inspired and was freed up to get off Objective #3 and go lay some smack down - with THREE SMASH attack dice and dealing three damage... she could one-shot two of the three Banshees out there... and she can cast Empower on herself, giving herself the ability to re-roll one of those attack dice... AND being inspired she counted dodge and shield results as successes when defending... 

ROUND TWO

I won the roll-off... but I let Amanda go first again... partly because I just didn't know what to do anymore... Figured I'd let them come to me and try and take them apart peicemeal, rather than CHARGE and then be stuck in one space 

The Anquished One moved through Rastus and away from him - which was fine by me. Teh Anguished one Inspired, but was no threat to me... Rastus Upgraded with Eye of the Storm - giving him a PERMANENT innate Channel result... Then tried to cast Terrifying Vissage, but failed... 

He activated next and cast Empower... automatically... thanks to innate Channel... and that allowed me to score Harness the Storm (scored immediately if a friendly fighter successfully casts a spell - +1 Glory - that tied up the game...) 

Then Amanda played Spectral Charge - giving her +1 Damage on her next charge action. 

So Lady Harrow charged Ammis... and killed her... 

SIGMAR'S HAIRY BALLS!? 

SERIOUSLY!? 

well... what am I to do with the next three activations for this round... with ONE DUDE!? 

I disccarded and drew a new Objective.... 

The Screaming Maiden charged Rastus and dealt him three Damage. 

So, Rastus tried to stab her back... (with -1 Dice... because stupid special abilities of inspire Banshees...) 

Still, he actually hit her... but he only deals 2 Damage... so... still alive... or... undead...? 

Amanda drew a Power Card for her final activation, as she couldn't move anyone... 

Rastus Charged - moving onto Objective #4 - and attacking the Screaming Maiden (with -1 Die!?) this time he tied - was able to re-roll one die... still a tie... so he pushed her back. 

I scored Hold Objective #4 for +1 Glory, brining me to... five? 

Amanda scored Creeping Dread and Nagash's Tithe for two more, bringing her to six... 

It might SEEM pretty close... but I was down to ONE guy... with ONE wound... and that SEVERELY diminished my capacity to score further Glory Points... and Amanda still had three very nasty and mean Banshees floating about... 

ROUND THREE

Amanda went first and The Anguished One charged Rastus... and MISSED!? She played Echoing Spite - which allowed her to attack after a failed attack... and MISSED AGAIN (I'm not going to say things were looking up at this point, because they still looked shit-awful... but hey... not dead, I guess...).

Amanda played Call of the Grave, pushing Rastus one hex, adjacent to the Creaming Maiden, and informed me that Rastus was about to die... (like, tell me something I DIDN'T already know....)

I played Hypnotic Aspect which pushed the Screaming Maiden one hex away from Rastus... which apparently foiled Amanda's plans... for THAT moment... She tried to play Enervating Sorrow on it - a Reaction that required that I discard a power card and if not, the ploy I had just played would not be resolved. NO problem, I discarded Entropic Curse - as it was entirely useless at this point. 

I upgraded Rastus with Well of Power. 

Amanda played Chilling Scream to prevent me from playing any MORE Power Cards... but I was done by that point... 

On Rastus' turn, he fucked off out of there and over to Objective #5... All he had to do was survive and I'd score a couple of Objectives... 

HA... 

Ha... 

ha...

The Screaming Maiden Charged. 

And Killed Rastus... (+1 Glory) 

Amanda trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her activations.. She spent a turn discarding and drawing a new Objective... 

For her final activation, she moved Lady Harrow over to Objective #3 so she could score Nexus of Terror (+2 Glory for holding the most objectives... yeah... ONE Objective) 

She also scored Dominion of DEATH (scored in the third end phase if you have scored the most objective cards - for THREE Glory Points!?) 

She ended with TWELVE Glory Points... I still only had five. 

I had no delusions about WINNING the game, but... wow... 

The "Hold Objective X" cards I have in the deck are ridiculous for this warband - There are so few of them and they move so slowly, it is absurd to think they could run about and grab specific warbands from round to round... Need to remove those from this deck... If I ever play them again. 

It's weird, I have NEVER won a game with ANY of the Stormcast Eternals warbands. In Age of Sigmar, they are pretty bad-ass. Averon Stormsire was SUPER bad-ass when I fought against him with my Hedonites of Slaanesh army... I feel like in THAT game, he would have handed a handful of Banshees their skinny little, wispy, non-corporeal, etherial asses...  

Does ANYONE win with them... do I BOTHER painting up the new ones that came with Harrowdeep!?

(Oh, I will... mostly because they're pretty and easy to paint - and I can use them in Age of Sigmar - where they will KICK ASS!!!)