Amanda and I played another game of Spearhead on Sunday evening... Originally we were supposed to play a Role-Playing-Game because Orion got a new job and all Tuesdays were out and the only day that would work was Sundays... but only every THIRD Sunday, maybe... but THIS Sunday was supposed to work... but then Orion and Nick ended up all being sick...
I suggested Spearhead because I thought it might be a good idea to play again soon to reinforce rules learned earlier in the weekend!
She took the Sylvaneth Bitterbark Copse again (which will likely be "HER" army for the foreseeable future - at least until I get the Daughters of Khaine done... or maybe the Soulblight Gravelords).
I initially thought I'd just play the Fangs of the Blood God again.. largely because they're the only army that has their rules in a different book - The Sylvaneth, and all the other armies I have, are in the Fire and Jade book... and the Fangs of the Blood God are in the Blades of Khorne battletome. but then I remembered I had the Hedonites of Slaanesh faction card pack - which includes cards for the Spearhead army - so I decided to try out the Hedonites of Slaanesh - Blades of the Lurid Dream! This was the first time I've played them since the rules update... though I'd played against them when Orion utterly crushed me with them!! Still not sure they're a top tier army... but the small changes made big improvements!!
I've been trying to find ways of developing narratives out of these battles, so this, and hopefully future game reports will try to focus on that narrative and less on who scored points how and when...
Ghyran, the Realm of Life
the Bitterbark Copse of Adharcach Hollow noted a change on the wind. Dryads on the border of their realm reported through the spirit song and encroachment by the followers of Slaanesh. Godseekers on the hunt. There were many and had they been travelling quickly and in a direction that would take them through the sylvaneth's domain, they may have been allowed past. But their route, whether purposeful or purely by chance, was taking them directly towards the soulpod grove and they could not risk that sacred place being disrupted or ransacked!
The leading elements of the Hedonites were met near a ruin deep in the forest. A trio of Slaangor were the first spotted and the Kurnoth Hunters first upon them with their great bow. One was injured, but that only seemed to make the Slaangors go faster!
The Kurnothi rushed to meet the Slaangor, but before they could be engaged, Heglog the Treelord loomed out of the forest and crushed all three into a pulpy mess with a few powerful blows from its massive limbs.
Tree-Revenants on the Slyvaneth's right flank moved up to block passage toward the Soulpod grove.
The Hedonites, hearing the terrified dying cries of the Slaangor, swarmed forward in search of their assailants!
Heglog the Treelord was spotted and swarmed!
The Shardspeaker used the dark magiks of their Twisted Mirror to distract the Treelord and weaken their spirit.... The Blissbarb archers peppered it with arrows, further distracting it, while the Slickblade Seekers raced up and swarmed around it slashing and pruning with their vicious glaives! Before the second group of Slaangor got there, Heglog the Treelord had toppled to the ground a limbless log, pumping sap-blood from its many wounds... and left for dead.
The Kurnoth slipped through the hidden paths of the Realmroots to ambush a group of the Blisbarb archers from their rear, utterly annihilating them..
The Hedonites spread out looking for their foes amongst the trees and dense underbrush. It may have looked like panic to some, but truly there was a sense of giddiness at playing a delightful new game of hide-and-seek!
The Slickblade Seekers were the first to discover one of their hidden enemy... The Branchwych! She was quickly felled by their glaives as they galloped past in search of new foes!
The Kurnothi noted the presence of the Shardspeaker and began firing their great arrows at the hated sorcerer... The Blissbarb archers excorting the Shardspeaker returned the fire.
Tree-Revenants ambushed another group of Blissbard archers, who were getting a little too close to the path to the Soulpod Grove! They, too, were utterly destroyed...
Moving past the site of the massacre, the Tree-Revenants joined the Kurnothi in an assault on the Shardspeaker and more Blissbarb Archers.
The Shardspeaker was struck twice by the Kurnoth arrows, seriously wounding them. They dropped into the undergrowth and were seen no more...
The Kurnoth Hunters then charged into the Blissbard Archers...
and slaughtered the lot of them...
But that wasn't the last of the Hedonites, by far!
While the Tree-Revenants had been guarding the Kurnoth Hunters flank during their attack, ANOTHER group of Blissbarb Archers inched forward to ambush them. First the archers pinned down the Tree-Revenants with a hail of arrows...
Then they charged in distracting the Tree-Revenants, while the Slaangor attacked from the opposite direction. Confusion reined supreme and The Tree-Revenants were cu down where they stood.
The Hedonites held the field and though they knew not of the whereabouts of their leader, the Shardspeaker... the Slickblade seekers were well positioned to lead on towards the Soulpod Grove!!
So... after SIXTEEN GAMES of Spearhead, I finally WON a game...
It feels a little cheap beating down Amanda, who is just learning the game... but it wasn't exactly a trouncing - I won 22-19, it was still a very close game... which was quite a feat in itself, considering she lost her Treelord in the FIRST ROUND!! (I don't think she was very pleased with me, when I pulled that off. I don't think she quite understood how many things kind of had to go right for that to work out for me... which normally don't!!)
Given how quickly Amanda picks up rules and then dominates games. I expect this may be my LAST win...
The Hedonites seem a LOT better with the minor changed made to the force in the June rules update (lowering the number of depravity points needed to unlock the Temptations of Slaanesh Abilities and giving the Slaangor the reinforcements keyword)
I took a bit of a gamble with the Twisted Mirror enhancement. I've never really considered it in the past as it only works half the time (4+ roll on d6) and didn't' seem like it did much (-1 to save rolls for a unit until the start of my next turn...). Also, the Sharspeaker has to be within 9" of the target (which can be a dangerous place for the Shardspeaker to be!). But against a heavily armoured opponent... if it DOES work... can be huge... especially if you can swarm the unit, pepper it with Rend 1 arrows (which effectively means it's making all it's saves at -2), then charge with Slickblade Seekers (also Rend 1, dealing +1 damage when charging...). Yeah. That was brutal... I didn't even get to the Exalted Seekers poisoned tongues, let alone the Slaangor that managed to charge in!!
Despite her disappointment, Amanda says she's willing to play again... probably just to exact revenge on the Hedonites for so seriously damaging poor Heglog....
(Heglog and the Branchwych survived... the Hedonites were to busy scurrying around in a drug-fuelled frenzy to stick around and make sure their felled opponents were fully DEAD! This being the Realm of Life, those Sylvaneth Heroes started healing the moment they hit the ground...)
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