Empire (Me) Vs Goblins (Kris S.)

Game Size: 500 points

Scenario: Break Point

Restrictions: No Level 4 casters, No Magic Items

Edition: Warhammer The Old World 1.1

Month and Year: Mar 2024

Event: Escalation League at Mighty Meeple

In preparation for our escalation league at Mighty Meeple Kris and I decided to play a few games to get some repetitions in before the official start to our escalation league.  As part of the escalation league we build out a small army and paint it over a few months - we start at 500 points and build up to 2000 points increasing army size by 250 points each month.  This is a great method to keep small achievable goals and keep your hobby momentum up.  Thanks to Zach, Ian, and Dan for coordinating most of the league.

During each month players are paired up to get games in - although we can play extra games - Kris and I both wanted to play a few games since we had only played one day before and only had a few games under our belts.  This scenario, Break Point, is one of the most straightforward in the rulebook and is all about reducing your enemy below 25% of his starting unit strength - a perfect scenario for new players.

Deployment

The battlefield was relatively open with two sets of forest in the mid board.  Kris deployed his heavy hitters (Wolf Riders and Chariot in the middle of the board flanked by his infantry blocks and his goblins with bows out on the flank.  I opposed him with my mainline infantry, detachment and outriders while leaving my Knights to threaten his left (my right) flank.

After deployment I remember immediately thinking that I was vastly outnumbered and my army might be having a rough go of it. After all he has twice the characters, infantry blocks and cavalry (including his chariot).

Early Turns

Top of Turn One

Being outnumbered but not necessarily outgunned, my plan was to force the Goblin army to attack piecemeal and then try to pick off elements in sequence.  This would permit me to fight on even numbers rather than outnumbered and I would just have to weather the storm without taking too much damage in the first wave.  To achieve this I moved the Free Company up within the maximum charge range of the Wolf Riders so they would have to test for impetuous.  If successful I could force the wolf riders out of position and either:

1. Charge them subsequently with my Halberdier block.

2. Shoot them at close range with the Outriders in Skirmish formation

On my right flank I had my Knights move up to threaten the secondary (no character) block of Goblins.

Mid Game

After having removed the enemy cavalry I thought I was in great shape for this turn - my Free Company detachment was in position to charge the Wolf Chariot and I had a clear charge on the Knights on the flank.  Confident that my Knights could beat a unit of Goblins and with the Free Company having already out performed their points cost I only needed two more things to go my way:

1. The Outriders to outshoot the Goblins with bows.

2. The Goblin Shaman to not cast anything game breaking.

Top of Two - Game Blown Wide Open

Only one thing did not go my way in turn two - my Outriders killed a measly single Goblin with a volley fire . . . on the other hand the Knights defeated the Goblins on the right flank AND the Free Company destroyed the Wolf Chariot in a shocking display of bravery, wit, and downright foolhardiness.  The Goblin Shaman did nothing again (I believe he failed to cast any spells in the first two turns) - so at this point the enemy forces had been reduced below 50% and only two Free Company and two Knights had been injured.

Late Game

With the game well in hand we continued to play it out thinking it would only last 15-20 more minutes. Really only a few critical things happened for the rest of the game:

1. The Outriders eventually won their shooting duel with the Goblin Bows - forcing them to flee from Panic then riding up and gunning them down as they fled.

2. The Goblin Shaman finally did something and managed to Wind Blast the Free Company off the board.

3. The Halberdiers and Knights would charge the Goblin block containing the characters in the front - and although the Captain would take a wound in the challenge the combined might of the Knights and Halberdiers would defeat and catch the Goblin block.

End Game and Summary

By far the most lopsided game of The Old World I had played so far - this was probably the first time ever I had used my Empire army and the army felt Elite - having higher Weapon Skill, Leadership and being better equipped than my opponent's forces was a very odd but welcome feeling.  If this is what playing Elves or Dwarves feels like I can completely understand why people enjoy playing those armies.  As a learning game though we mostly gained insights into Kris's goblins rather than my Empire.

What we learned about Goblins

They need to have large units to fully use Warband to increase their leadership.  Goblins armies also desperately need a Battle Standard Bearer to re-roll break tests  When Kris expands to 750 points he needs to include BSB - especially if he continues to primarily bring core units.  Also we definitely failed to roll saves for the Chariot because we couldn't find its save value easily (it's 5+).

Men of the Match

Definitely the Free Company - when a six man detachment kills five Wolf Riders and a Wolf Rider Chariot . . . that's a level of overperformance that should be recorded in the annals of history.  After this day I would refer to this Free Company detachment as the Wolfsbane Chargers.

Final Tally

• Empire VP: Opponent Tabled, Enemy General Defeated, Two Banners Captured

• Goblin VP: Free Company detachment

Lessons Learned

1. Free Company are still good - although they have many weaknesses (such as Levy) - two attacks on a cheap core unit is hard to come by.  Instead of using this unit as redirect bait they can be deadly flankers or units in their own right if they can strike first.

2. Five Knights with Full Command - I used to think that the five man Knight units with full command from 4th and 5th edition were not sufficient to get the job done, they can absorb almost no causalities - but this unit continued to surprise me with its effectiveness.  Even taking a core consisting of many 5 man Knights units seems like a reasonable idea now, the fact that a five man Knight unit has a good chance of defeating enemy core and can clear chaff cheaply means they have a spot in any list.

3. Man - magic is a gamble - Kris's shaman did little all game and could not exploit my list's magical weakness.

4. Small games can be fun but also one-sided - if they are very one sided consider "re-racking" and playing another quick game if you opponent has the time (doubly so if they drove a long way to play).