First game of Hotts

 

As always Britt wrote the report and I took the pictures.

Greg arrived a bit before 7PM for our usual miniatures game. This week it was to be a 48 pt/side battle of Hordes of the Things (HotT). Greg chose the Bretonnian Army (Knights, Hordes, Blades, Heroes, Pegasus flyers, & very tough little Sorceress on a Unicorn) so I fielded the Orcs (Blades, Dragon, Riders, Trolls, a giant, Mage, Heroes & Beasts). The field had a central rough hill, with gentle hills and a wood on either side. See Greg’s blog for a photo essay of it all. We rolled off and Greg was the defender, but moved first. His 2 Pegasus over flew my lines and were a worry, but finally came to a bad end when my Dragon appeared and with the aid of my General Hero, destroyed them. The Orcs were leading for most of the first half of the game. I’d even killed one of his Generals. But that Bretonnian Sorceress drove away my Riders on my right and even was able to stand toe to toe with my Dragon! My central thrust came to a bad end when Bretonnian archers wiped out my Trolls and killed a General. Things looked pretty sticky on my left as well. Seeing his duty and doing it, the Orc’s Dragon flew toward the Bretonnian Stronghold to burn it down. But it was too late. My centre crumbled, and before the Dragon could even reach the enemy Stronghold, the Orcs were running away (ie, I’d lost over 24 points worth of troops). Victory to Bretonnia! (& Greg).

Hope your dice roll high.

Greg

3RD GAME OF UNCHARTED SEAS

 

Greg & I played our best game of “Uncharted Seas” ever. Even though the Sanlando Marine (Shroud Mage) fleet lost in the end, it was a very enjoyable and tightly contested game….and what a climax. Games don’t end with a bigger bang than this one!

Both sides started out with about 800 points, and while mine was the same as last weeks, Greg exchanged many of his Cruisers for more Destroyers. This was a wise move that certainly made his fleet more effective. I wish I could have exchanged my Submarine for something, but am still awaiting my SM Battleship, 2 Cruisers, and an Orc Starter Fleet. More on him later. You can see the terrain of our 4’ x 4’ board here:

http://pfe100.blogspot.com/    There was a large seaspire with a surrounding beach on Greg’s side, and 2 smaller ones on my side, both about 12” in from the baselines. The set up had our heavier units in the centre and the Frigates on the flank. Greg wisely held back his BB, not wishing it to be captured a 3^rd time. It would prove to be a decisive player at game end. So in we went. On my right my Frigates and Heavy Cruisers engaged his opposite number of Destroyers. In the centre the Flagships of both sides took a pounding while on my left Greg’s Cruisers & mine fought it out toe to toe. My submarine attack here proved to be just as useless as in the last game. A ram for little or no damage! It did more damage with its 5 cannon on the surface. The subs crew is getting transferred to a Cruiser in our next game for sure. J My Flagship was badly shot up & tried to take the Dwarf Flagship with it by ramming. In this it failed, sinking in the attempt, but so damaged it that soon both slid beneath the waves. So had many Dwarf Cruisers and many other ships as well. All was set for the climax of “The 3^rd Battle of Ironbottom Bay”.

   Greg had skillfully provided a picket of a Frigate to prevent my Battleship from ramming his BB. These were about the only healthy ships on either side. I had a cunning plan. My Frigates would sink the protecting Frigate while my other Frigate squadron amused his last Destroyer squadron. This they did, and as soon as he moved a Cruiser, my ram would commence. It never happened! The Iron Dwarf Cruiser threw up a wall of fire that surprisingly was able to get a ‘critical hit’ on my BB. Greg threw a double 1….My Battleship exploded!!! Not only that, all 6 of my supporting Frigates were sunk when they were engulfed in the fireball! Now that’s a climax! With but 2 Cruisers (and that @!%^#@! Submarine) left, the Sanlando Marine withdrew to fight another day. Damn good game Greg. The options of shooting, boarding, or ramming allow for a wide variety of tactics found in no other naval game. The Iron Dwarfs won a hard fought battle and certainly deserved their victory. The more games we play, the more of the tactical nuances we discover. Greg’s “screening maneuver” with his Frigates & DD’s will certainly be remembered and duplicated.

 

Hope your dice roll high.

Greg

Uncharted seas

 

Well another game of uncharted seas was played last night at Britt, as always he wrote the after action report and i took the pictures.

This was our first large battle of ‘Uncharted Seas”. My Sanlando Marine (Shroud Mage) had 825 points while Greg’s Iron Dwarf’s had 830. Both sides had 7 squadrons of Flagships, Battleships, light & heavy cruisers, frigates and submarines. Greg also had some Destroyers. We played on a 4’ x 4’ blue painted board with a couple of small islands and a rock pillar for terrain.  

There was far too much action to easily record. Greg’s rockets from his destroyers pasted my Lt Cruisers from long range. My western frigate squadron sunk a Dwarf Frigate & I had an early success sinking another Dwarf Frigate & a Cruiser. I got my lumps as well though. The Iron Dwarf Battleship caused my Heavy Cruisers some grief while his Frigates scuttled about everywhere. My cries for “more steam” (& its + 2” MP) went largely unanswered ( I couldn’t roll a 5 or 6). I guess it all went to the cook to steam the veggies. When it does work however, it’s a thing of beauty. My Flagship was able to ram the Dwarf Battleship and capture it. Meanwhile, while I was victorious in the east, disaster was the story in the west. My much vaunted submarine attack on Greg’s flagship hardly bothered the paintwork. My own Cruisers were taking a heavy pounding & his subs flamed my Cruiser. Soon most of my Frigates were lost with all hands. The Dwarf submarine attack was also much more successful than mine. Ships on both sides continued to slip beneath the waves, but a pattern was developing. Greg held the west of the bay, me the east. Our 6^th turn had long since passed, so we decided to call it a draw at that point.

Tonight’s game was far bloodier than previous ones. 800 points is just about perfect for a nights game for 2 players, and as battle fatigue set in, I was having a hard time just controlling 7 units. The combination of the visual aspect of the games large models, clean & fast playing rules, and a good opponent in Greg made for a very enjoyable nights game. I’m looking forward to playing many more games of Uncharted Seas in the near future.

   Next week we’ll have another 800 point game of Uncharted Seas. Anyone who’d like to, come on out then. I’ll teach you the rules & put you in command of a squadron. “Death to the Iron Dwarfs”!

 

hope your dice roll high

Regards

Greg