On 4 November I played another game of The Ninth Age (T9A) with Rodion. It was a rematch between my Orcs and Goblins versus his High Elves, and once again we were playing 4000 points. I planned for this to be my greenskins' swansong before I put them on the shelf as a priority painting project. This game reflected two different composition styles, with Rodion once again investing lots of points into characters and magic and me putting my faith in the rank and file and not taking a single magic item or spellcaster. It's a credit to T9A that in the three games I've done this I haven't been completely wiped off the board by uncontested magic phases. This is not to say that I didn't pay the price - I would lose over 70 Goblins from Rodion's spells in the coming game. But it was a price I was willing to pay to get more troops on the field, and it seems to be viable under T9A rules. Of course I was playing a horde-style army, which meant that I could soak up some casualties and remain relatively combat effective. If I bring a smaller force I will definitely need some magic protection.
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| Deployment. |
My army composition was as follows (all units have been named under Warhammer, not T9A nomenclature):
1 Orc General on foot
1 Orc Battle Standard Bearer on foot
45 Night Goblins with 3 Fanatics
45 Night Goblins with 3 Fanatics
20 Orc Crossbows (yes, this is a thing in T9A, but I just used regular bowmen as proxies)
20 Orc Crossbows
5 Goblin Wolf Riders with bows
5 Goblin Wolf Riders with bows
2 Orc Boar Chariots
2 Goblin Wolf Chariots
2 Bolt Throwers
1 Catapult
2 Giants
There were no spellcasters or magic items of any kind in my army. Rodion's army, by contrast, was had two expensive characters kitted out with lots of shiny stuff:
1 Prince on foot
1 Elven Mage on a Dragon
15 Lothern Sea Guard
20 Phoenix Guard
18 Swordmasters
10 Sisters of Averlorn
5 Ellyrian Reavers with bows
5 Ellyrian Reavers with bows
5 Ellyrian Reavers with bows
The Dragon mage was worth about 1000 points, and his general about 600 (?). By contrast my Orc general was a paltry 240 points, and my battle standard bearer 210. All they had was heavy armour and a hand weapon, but I had no intention of getting either of them into combat. They were there to give Leadership bonuses and the ability to re-roll Break tests to my big units, and that was it. Re-roll plus Steadfast (Break tests are on unmodified Leadership if your unit has more ranks) really gives infantry a lot of staying power in T9A. Even Goblins. Hopefully while his elite units were tied up in combat my Boar Chariots and Giants could rumble into the flanks.
It didn't play out that way, but that was the plan. This became a game of two flanks, with one flank devolving into a stand-off between missile troops unwilling to engage until the very last turn, and another where Fanatics, Giants and Goblins swarmed into a wall of grim-faced elves wielding halberds and greatswords. The board was characterized by a central wood which blocked all line of sight, and which also bisected the game into two halves. On the right my crossbow armed Orcs faced off against the bulk of Rodion's three units of fast cavalry, Sisters of Averlorn and Lothern Sea Guard. My crossbows were supported by our own fast cavalry in the form of the Wolf Riders, as well two Wolf Chariots and a Boar Chariot to discourage any advances by the fast cavalry.
On the left flank I deployed the Giants on the extreme left away from Rodion's shooting. I had vivid memories of them getting shot to bits in our last game, and I was determined to get them into combat this time. My two massive Goblin units were on the inside of the Giants supported by a Boar Chariot. I was lucky enough to win the roll to pick board sides (the board was generated randomly), and I took the only hill in the game which was smack bang in the middle of my deployment zone. I placed one unit of crossbows on the hill, and dispersed my war machines all over my line to keep them firing as long as possible. Facing my left were the Phoenix Guard and the Swordmasters, with Rodion's mage riding dragon sitting behind the Sisters. Rodion had tried to get some Phoenix Guard from Harajuku earlier that day but was unable to, and so we had to proxy a movement tray to represent them. I was cool with this until Rodion started giving me shit about my round based giants (I'd forgotten the square bases which I clip my giants into), and so in response I started giving him shit about his invisible Phoenix Guard.
Turn One
This was all done in good fun, of course, and soon the game was underway. Rodion had first turn because I had so many units. In T9A once you finish deployment every extra deployment made by your opponent gives you +1 to the first turn roll. Since I had six more units to deploy after Rodion had finished it guaranteed him the first turn of the game. Rodion's first turn began with a vicious magic phase which killed 20 goblins in one hit. He cast some kind of spell which caused Strength 3 hits on every model of the unit, and of course the big goblin units were the logical target. Luckily for me the Orc general was nearby, and he kept the gobbos from running. He followed the magic phase by peppering my fast cavalry and crossbows with arrows. One unit of Wolf Riders turned and fled, but another held fast by some miracle, rolling a 6 for their Panic test.
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| The boyz advance! |
Alarmed by the Spell of Doom both my Goblin units marched forward as quickly as possible in order to release their Fanatic payload. The chariots pushed out aggressively on the right while the remainder remained back to keep the fast cavalry from threatening my Bolt Thrower. My artillery let fly and Rodion's Dragon was hit by both a Bolt Thrower and a Catapult. Artillery is astonishingly accurate in T9A. There is no scatter dice anymore, just a d6 roll to hit. If you miss with your first roll (and not roll a 1, which is a misfire), you roll to hit again to see if you get partial hits. The Dragon was reduced to three Wounds from our first artillery volley, greatly compromising it. In T9A there is no randomization of hits between rider and mount. All hits go on to the mount, and if it dies, the whole model is taken off the board. The same applies for chariots and war machines.
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| The right flank. |
Turn Two
Rodion realized that his Dragon had a massive bullseye on it, and tried to get stuck in by charging the Goblins. This released the Fanatics, and while none of them hit, it did stop the charge dead in its tracks. In hindsight this shouldn't have happened - T9A has an obscure Clipped Wing rule referenced in the artillery army list entry, and I took it to mean the same thing as it does in Kings of War - that is, fliers lose their ability to fly when they take damage. This was incorrect - in T9A Clipped Wings add +1 to damage done by artillery pieces, but does not restrict flight like it does in KoW. I couldn't find the rule in the Special Rules section was because it does not have an entry of its own, but was buried under Multiple Wounds.
As it stood, Rodion stopped his charge, and the Fanatics kept whirling closer and closer, with one stopping one inch away from the big winged lizard. The Swordmasters and the Phoenix Guard also pushed forward. His shooting ripped apart one of my Goblin Chariots, much to the amusement of the boyz on the hill. Some arrows landed on my Orcs, but their Toughness of 4, heavy armour and the long range gave them good survivability in this long range duel.
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| The Fanatics are released! |
In my second turn the Giants charged the Phoenix Guard, and confident of their 4+ Ward save, the invisible mute guardians of the Flame of Asuryan held their ground. They paid for it dearly, however, as both Giants rolled Sweep attacks, and killed 10 of them. They didn't break, however, displaying great courage in the face of death. Again, this was another misplayed rule - looking through the book after the game I found nothing to indicate that chargers attacked first, something we both assumed to be the case from previous editions of Warhammer. Combat is done strictly in Initiative order. All charges do now is give +1 to combat resolution (+2 if coming down from a hill). Elves are now badass beyond doubt because they will always strike first, even when charged! The battle between the Phoenix Guard and the Giants would have been totally different if the Phoenix Guard had been able to kill off one Giant before they double Sweeped the unit.
The Fanatics continued on their merry run, with one Fanatic spinning into Rodion's Dragon, smashing the creature down to one Wound. The cheers of the greenskins turned into shrieks of panic as another Fanatic went careening back through its parent Goblin unit, mowing down five of them. It kept travelling back, heading ominously towards the Orc Crossbows standing on the hilltop. My shooting was fairly ineffective, but again here was another misplayed rule - shooting is done in two ranks, and during the entire game only the front rank of my two crossbow units were firing. I'm glad that we had a misplay that went against me, because I was starting to look like a cheating git! However, our shooting was good enough to whittle down one unit of Reavers to one, and another to take a Panic test. Alas, the Elves were made of strong stuff, and they held their ground.
Turn Three
The Dragon and the Swordmasters declared charges on my badly decimated Goblin unit, and in true gobbo fashion they turned and fled. The High Elves were forced to pull up short. In a fit of pique Rodion's Dragon used his Breath Weapon to incinerate one Fanatic spinning madly between the two armies, and the Orc boyz on the hill guffawed as they watched the Fanatic burn out like a spent firework. Rodion's fast cavalry and Sea Guard retreated to his side of the board, unwilling to run the gauntlet of Orc shooting. Luckily for me Rodion's magic phase was like a damp squib, as he rolled a three for the Magic Flux. All he could do was cast a Ward save on his Dragon, a spell which I failed to dispel and would cost me. In combat the Phoenix Guard fought back gamely, but were unable to bring down a Giant. The Giant rolled a Bellow for its special attack, and the Guard lost the combat by two. They held however, steeled by the presence of their general nearby.
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| Do you see the invisible Phoenix Guard on the left flank? Me neither. |
The Orcs let out derisive jeers as the Elven right flank retreated, but soon fell into grumbles of discontent as their general bellowed at them to fall back as well. Neither side wanted to commit to an advance on the right flank, and it became a shooting duel. One Fanatic kept spinning closer and closer to the Orcs on the hill, and some of the boyz began debating whether to shoot it. I tried to induce some Panic tests by killing the sole surviving Reaver in his line. The rules state that units within 6" of a destroyed unit must take a Panic test. Unfortunately our shooting was not up to par, and the Reaver survived. Two Wolf Riders stuck in the middle of the battlefield in between the two armies carefully weighed their options, looked at the pin cushioned remains of the Wolf Chariot on their left, and decided to stay where they were, and shoot their bows. The Giants could not finish off the Phoenix Guard, although the elves were slowly getting decimated. Bolts from my war machines hit the Dragon, but couldn't kill it due to the Ward save I'd failed to dispel. That blasted Dragon would survive three more turns of shooting.
Turn Four
In turn four Rodion decided to stop his advance on my left flank, and turned his Swordmasters around to help the Phoenix Guard. His Dragon, now barely alive with just one Wound remaining, retreated and tried to hide behind a cottage near the back of the Elves' line, but could only conceal himself from the Catapult. He would eat bolt after bolt for the remainder of the game, but somehow stay alive. Rodion's magic phase incinerated another 20 goblins, but again, the general was doing his job and keeping them in the fight. On the right flank Rodion moved the lone Reaver out from his line to avoid him causing any Panic tests. He faced off against two of my surviving Wolf Riders in a duel which would be remembered in the annals of elven and orcish history for its ineptitude and incompetence. The Reaver shot at the Wolf Riders, but missed.
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| A duel for the ages - not. |
The Wolf Riders returned fire and missed. This was like a replay of the famous scene in Troy, where Achilles challenges the Trojan champion in full view of both armies in single combat, only much, much shitter. By unspoken agreement both armies stopped firing on the combatants, and only indulged in long range volleys against the opposite lines. The wayward Fanatic went up the hill and tore through my crossbows. Again, the general was doing a fine job, keeping the boyz in order as the crazed Goblin smashed down some Orcs.The Bolt Throwers kept firing at the Dragon, but thanks to Rodion's Ward save it somehow stayed alive. That was bad news for me, because that mage was literally BBQing my Goblin units. But retribution was at hand. The Orc general declared Waaagh! (+1 movement to all greenskins and Swiftstride) and the Goblin unit marched forward as far as it could towards the rear of the Swordmasters. In previous editions of Warhammer Fanatics were usually released immediately once they got within 8" of an enemy unit. In T9A the same thing happens except it occurs at the start of the Shooting phase, which means a Goblin unit can march as close they can before the Fanatics come out. This is what the sneaky little gits did, getting within 4" of the elite Swordmasters. In the shooting phase the Fanatics came whirling out, and all three of them went through the unit, causing terrible damage. By the time the smoke cleared only two of the Swordmasters remained, along with Rodion's general.
Turn Five
The elves refused to buckle, however, and the remaining Swordmasters charged into the rear of the Giants who were now just fighting one lonely Phoenix Guard champion. The four elves displayed amazing martial skills, finishing off the wounded Giant and direly wounding the second. In return the Giant ate the last elf of the Phoenix Guard, slobbering, "It tastes like chicken!" The Giant lost the combat badly, but since it was Stubborn, I would only need to roll 10 or less on 2d6 to keep it in the fight. I rolled an 11, however, and the Giant, preoccupied with sucking the bones of his latest meal, got stabbed in the crotch by Rodion's irate general. It panicked and ran, but tripped over its feet and was cut down by the vengeful elves. Meanwhile on the right flank the Reaver and the Wolf Riders continued their face off, with the elf once again whiffing with his bow shots from the saddle. Other elven shooting continued to whittle away the Orcs, and the crossbows on the low ground panicked from the casualties they were taking. Rodion's Magic phase was terrible yet again, as he rolled a double 1 for the Magic Flux. He was still able to Ward his Dragon again, though...
The crossbows immediately rallied in my turn, and they reformed their line, claiming that they were just "re-deploying" in response to the furious glares of the Orc general. The two Wolf Riders, not believing in the adage of a fair fight, charged the sole Reaver, and lost. The crossbows on the hill picked off what they could, but were smashed again as the Fanatic that had run through them a turn earlier decided to double back and do it again. Shooting could not bring down the Dragon, and by this point I was banging my head in frustration. That stupid lizard had been on one Wound since turn two, but obstinately refused to die.
Turn Six
On Rodion's last turn the Ellyrian Reavers finally advanced down the right flank. Rodion's general and sole remaining Swordmaster made for the rear on the double, while the mage continued praying to the Elven gods to be spared from the Bolt Throwers. He had one more spell in him, and that damned Spell of Doom panicked the sad remnants of one of my Goblin units after it torched a few more of the poor sods. Rodion's fighting units were all dead or retreating, but by the same token so were most of mine. Our shooters were still firing, and I still had three chariots in play, but good luck trying to catch fast cavalry with those.
On my very last turn both of my expensive Goblin units were fleeing, and both of us believed that they could not rally as both of them were below 25% starting strength. This was wrong - a post-mortem look at the rules showed that they had an opportunity to rally at half Leadership. As it stood, the Goblins ran through my command group. The battle standard bearer held, but wouldn't you know it, the general panicked and ran, on the last turn of the game.
Fuck me in the ass. Sideways.
The one bright spot in that dismal turn was that the Bolt Throwers finally managed to finish off the Dragon, and that last shot earned me 1000 points and turned the game into a draw.
Aftermath
This was a fun game, evenly contested all the way. So many ifs, but also so many instances of rules being misplayed by both of us. If only the Giant hadn't broken on stubborn Leadership 10. If only my general hadn't panicked on the last turn of the game. If Rodion had rolled better for his magic vortexes I would have eaten more magic to the face. But if my Bolt Throwers had killed the Dragon earlier, I would have been spared those phases. That's the way it goes though. Being old Warhammer players we assumed a lot of things which were not necessarily true under T9A rules. We were both baffled by the lack of Terror rules for both his Dragon and my Giants in our respective army books, and it wasn't until a few days later that Rodion found the relevant section in the rulebook. Yes, these beasties still cause Terror, but for some silly reason it is not noted in the army book, but buried under the minutiae describing unit types. We forgot a plethora of rules, such as Vanguard and Volley, and misplayed several of the fundamentals, the chief of this being Initiative based combat, rather than chargers strike first combat.
I'm starting to get a picture of the kind of game T9A is. Again, these are early impressions - three games is nothing - but what seems to be emerging is a game that prioritizes rank and file over monsters, characters and cavalry. Big blocks of infantry can hold for a long time against elite units because of Steadfast, especially more so if you have a battle standard bearer nearby. Initiative is king in combat, and chargers do not get the benefit of attacking first (just a +1 bonus to combat resolution). This de-powers fast charging units like cavalry and monsters (unless they possess a high Initiative), and gives blocks of infantry more chances to fight. I like it. I am eager for my next game, and am now planning all sorts of shenanigans with my other armies.
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