Battle Report: High Elves v. Bretonnians (2000pts)
- Alexander
- Jul 6
- 9 min read
Welcome to the first of many battle reports on The Old World Chronicle! Today’s game is a 2000pt match between my High Elves and–we’ll call my opponent the Baron of Montfort’s Bretonnians. We used the new FAQ rules for this game, however, neither of us were particularly well versed in the new matched play guide yet at the time, so we opted to play the lonely tower scenario from the core book with secret objectives from the matched play guide.
Without further ado, here are the armies that clashed in today’s game:
High Elf Forces
Secret objective: Slay the opposing general in a challenge with your own general for 200VP
Characters
Prince (general) 311pts
Pure of Heart, Tiranoc chariot, full plate, dragon helm, seed of rebirth, and The White Sword
Nobe (Battle Standard Bearer) 250pts
Loremaster (illusion), The Standard of Resilience, Armour of Caledor, earthing rod, and sword of Hoeth
Archmage 240pts
Seaguard, level 3 (elementalism), lore familiar (earthen ramparts, plague of rust, wind blast), seed of rebirth, and The Ruby Ring of Ruin
Noble 130pts
Seaguard, great weapon, full plate, and The Bow of the Seafarer
Core
20 Lother Seaguard 297pts
Full command, The Razor Standard, shields
5 Silver Helms 132pts
High Helm, musician, shields
5 Elven Archers 50pts
5 Elven Archers 50pts
Special
20 Swordmasters 378pts
Drilled, full command, war banner, sacred incense
Rare
Eagle-claw bolt thrower 80pts
Eagle-claw bolt thrower 80pts
1998/2000pts
Bretonnian Forces
Heroes
Baron (general) 262pts
Heavy armour, shield, The Exile’s Vow, Royal Pegasus, Gromril Great Helm, Frontier Axe, Gauntlet of the Duel, Virtue of Confidence
Paladin (BSB) 121pts
Lance, heavy armour, shield, The Exile’s Vow, battle standard (banner of the zealous knight), barded pegasus
The Green Knight 275pts
Outcast Wizard 165pts
Level 3 (Dark Magic), Prayer Icon of Quennelles, Ruby Ring of Ruin
Damsel 106pts
Level 2 (battle magic), warhorse
Core
9 Mounted Knights of the Realm 237pts
Full command
6 knights errant 132pts
Full command
10 peasant bowmen 57pts
5 mounted yeoman 75pts
Special
4 pegasus knights 270pts
Full command,
Rare
Field Trebuchet 100pts
Bombard 100pts
10 Brigands 100pts
Skirmishers, ambushers, light armour, blunderbusses
Secret objective: Slay the opposing general in a challenge with your own general for 200VP
Let battle be joined!
UPDATED: I realize I forgot to include my silver helms in the diagrams, however, they were quite inconsequential this game, getting routed by a fireball turn 1, then fleeing off the board, they didn't really do much at all, so no wonder I forgot about them.
Deployment
Already in deployment there was a big change both of us noticed with the new FAQ, which was that the vanguard banner no longer allows a turn one charge for the Pegasus knights. This meant I was able to be a lot more aggressive in my deployment and position my elves closer to the tower. Overall both of our deployments were relatively conservative, with our armies concentrated mostly in the center of the board and our siege engines and ranged units on the flanks to provide fire support. The Pegasus knights were deployed in the middle with the Bretonnian general and BSB joining them, while the High Elf BSB joined the swordmasters and the the elven general steered his chariot along the far left flank to make his way towards the Bretonnian siege engines. In retrospect I probably made two mistakes here, and I’ve realized there is a lot more nuance to using infantry blocks than I previously thought. Next time I would keep the seaguard and the swordmasters much closer together so that hopefully each one could support the other, and next time I think I’ll put my general in a more central location, I was reflexively scared of the Pegasus knights but I think he’d be better used where combat is most hard fought, especially considering the secret objective I chose.
After deployment we rolled off and the Bretonnians won!
Bretonnians Turn 1 Summary:
As usual, I didn’t take nearly enough photos as the game progressed so some of this report will be an approximation, call it an abridged battle report, but next time I’ll be sure to take better notes on what happened.
While the Pegasus knights were unable to charge this turn, Montfort wasted no time in getting them into the fray and marched
them over the lonely tower, landing just outside of the charge arcs of the high elf blocks, ensuring they would get to charge something important in their following turn. Meanwhile the bombard took out one of the repeater bolt throwers with a well-placed cannonball and the rest of the Bretonnian forces moved up.
High Elves Turn 1 Summary:
Seeing the encroaching pegasus knights the seaguard reformed to deny their enemies a flank charge and the archmage cast earthen ramparts on the seaguard and joined them to avoid being run down. Meanwhile the loremaster BSB cast glittering robe and swordmasters moved up in the hope that they could weather the incoming assault. At the same time, the elven general marched up the flank, threatening to charge the bombard next turn. In the shooting phase the seaguard killed a pegasus knight, the two knight lances lost some of their number, and the archers set the mounted yeoman to flight.
Bretonnians Turn 2 Summary:
The Yeoman failed their rally test and promptly fled off the board and the Brigands fail to arrive. The green knight appeared out of the hill (we were playing it as natural terrain) and charged the Prince. Meanwhile the pegasus knights and the knights of the realm (joined by a damsel) charged the swordmasters and the peasant bowmen, joined by the outcast wizard moved up and took some potshots at the bolt thrower.
Surprisingly, the swordmasters’ gambit paid off! This was an immediate sign of how profound the FAQ changes were to both of us. 20 Swordmasters and a noble were charged by a knight lance with full command and a damsel as well as three pegasus knights, a BSB and the Bretonnian general and the Swormdasters won combat! Granted they were under the effects of glittering robe and the banner of resilience, but even being charged they were able to get their full complement of attacks in, killing almost the entire fighting rank of knights of the realm and taking comparatively few casualties in return. Both Bretonnian units fell back in good order, and the swordmasters followed up towards the pegasus knights but were two slow even to be in position for a good charge in the following turn. At the same time, the green knight lost one wound to the prince but passed his break test and they fought on.
High Elves Turn 2 Summary:
The swordmasters charged the pegasus knights and failed (infantry still aren’t going be dictating when combats are fought), while the rest of the High Elves shuffled around to bring their bows to bear. In the shooting phase all but the last pegasus knight died in a hail of arrows (as well as a windblast) and a few knights in the lances are picked off. Meanwhile the Prince kills the Green Knight and overruns into the bombard, crucially, he moves far enough to inflict impact hits in the following turn.
Also, confirmed, the ruby ring has indeed been nerfed, in that I forgot my mage had the ruby ring of ruin for this entire game (dolt!) had I remembered this I might have been saved a good deal of pain at the hands of charging knights, but alas the archmage had been at the schnapps again this game.
Bretonnians Turn 3 Summary:
Now the battle is in full swing! The brigands finally arrive. The pegasus knights–or rather the Bretonnian general, his BSB, and a lone pegasus knight charge the seaguard–the knights errant charge a unit of archers, and the knights of the realm charge the bolt thrower. The archers stand and shoot, reducing the knights errant to two models and the seaguard, in a stroke of luck, slay the battle standard bearer with their stand and shoot, while also putting a wound on the general since there was only one pegasus knight left and hits had to be allocated randomly.
In the shooting phase some swordmasters are cut down by the brigands and the bowmen but they are largely protected by glittering robe and the sacred incense.
In combat the Bretonnian general is challenged by the seaguard, the archmage is slain by the last pegasus knight and the seaguard in return kill that knight. The seaguard lose combat and fall back in good order with the general following up into them. Meanwhile the knights errant kill all but two archers and run them down while the knights of the realm easily dispatch the bolt thrower.
While the main battle was raging, another one was fought on the margins. Here was another place where the FAQ rules proved important. While the green knight was able to charge the prince and tie him up in a challenge, his impact hits were allowed to be directed towards the bombard under the new rules and he was able to take it out before killing the green knight with the white sword and following up into the trebuchet.
High Elves Turn 3 Summary:
The swordmasters manage to charge the knights errant, meanwhile the other combats continue. The prince destroys the trebuchet and reforms to try to get back to the fight, and the swordmasters slay the knights of the realm and the damsel. At the same time, the High Elves are granted another moment of extreme good fortune. All seemed lost for the seaguard when the woefully outclassed noble stepped up to fight the Bretonnian general in a challenge. Knowing that he would be slain if he opted for his great weapon and struck last, the High Elf Noble, seeing that his opponent was wounded, drew his hand weapon and struck the general dead, saving his unit from annihilation.
Bretonnians Turn 4 Summary:
The green knight reappears and charges the Prince to keep him from rejoining the fight while the knights errant reform and make ready to charge seaguard. In the shooting phase the archers in the tower, along with the wizard set their sights on the swordmasters while the brigands continue to pepper them with shot. The loremaster coupled with their innate magic resistance manage to shield them from most of the magic missiles but the archers do slay a few more, bringing their numbers dangerously low, and in the combat phase the green knight's head is separated from his shoulders by the Prince once more.
High Elves Turn 4 Summary:
At this point with so many dead on both sides the turns become much shorter. Ignoring the brigands, the Swordmasters march up, hoping to assault the tower, the Prince rides forward but being mounted won’t be able to try his hand at taking the tower, and the seaguard reform and in the shooting phase reduce the knights errant to one model who is set to flight.
Bretonnians Turn 5 Summary:
Miraculously the lone knight rallies, then the green knight (though somewhat weakened) emerges once more to charge the Prince and the defenders of the tower, aided by the brigands, once more target the swordmasters. This time the wizard lands a successful doombolt and the swordmasters are reduced to only four models, but stand firm. In the combat phase neither the green knight or the Prince manage to wound each other and they stay in combat after a give ground from the haughty elf.
High Elves Turn 5 Summary:
This is where I make several huge mistakes. First, I just reform with the seaguard with the hopes of shooting down the last archers if the assault on the tower fails, I should have moved them up and hoped to take it in the last turn with them, or at least the noble. Meanwhile, I decide to charge with the swordmasters despite the fact that they are under 5 models and the loremaster has already lost one wound. As a result the stand and shoot kills the last swordmasters on the way in and, embarrassingly the loremaster whiffs in combat and is bludgeoned to death by peasant archers in the mudroom of the tower. To make matters worse, the Prince fails to kill the green knight again and their combat goes on!
I should have looked at the amount of points I was risking here as simply going defensive with the swordmasters might have saved me hundreds of VPs, but I just liked the idea of them storming the bastille too much and sent them headlong to their deaths!
Bretonnians Turn 6 Summary:
Wisely, Montfort chooses to keep his last knight errant safely out of sight, the brigands take out a single seaguard with their blunderbusses, and the stalwart defenders of the tower managed to take out the last five elven archers. In combat the green knight again survived, inflicting one wound on the Prince but again failing to kill him too.
High Elves Turn 6 Summary:
The seaguard shoot at the tower, managing to slay one or two peasant bowmen. Meanwhile, the quite ridiculous duel between the green knight went on, reaching a farcical conclusion when neither one managed to wound the other once again, meaning that despite the fact that he had killed the green knight twice, the dastardly spirit counted for no VPs at the end of the game!
It was a close fought game in the end and the Bretonnians just barely managed to secure the win with the points from holding the lonely tower.
Minor Victory – Bretonnia!
Post-game Reflection:
What an absolute nail-biter of a game! I certainly have a lot to learn about using the new infantry blocks that are sure to be all the rage in the days to come, but I think my loss is owed to what the youth call a "skill issue," and my army list has a lot of potential, though I might experiment with a different build for my general and my archmage. The swordmasters are certainly excellent now, or at least playable and I'm keen to see how I can get the most out of them going forward.
Stay tuned for another battle report in the coming weeks, in which I will endeavour to include more photos and a more detailed account of the battle rather than relying so heavily on my (somewhat flawed) memory!
