Shelf Unit and I had been meaning to catch up for quite a while for a game of AoA but timing had been an issue so we made a fixed club night at our local club and the smack talk started in earnest.
At the last AoA tourney of the year Shelf Unit and I had encountered each other with an eye to moving up the table in the competition.
He had been using his Hobgoblin orientated Goblin Horde with increasing success and when we met during the Tourney we had a good hard fought match but one where poor old Shelf unit had recieved a stinging defeat from the Perilous Pigmies.
Old Shelfie had the superior Firepower with his two large units of nasty Hobgoblins, but my Pigmy pig Centaurs elected to avoid them and wipe out the rest of his army.
His units of spiders buckled and their legs fell off.
His regular Goblins quailed and ran after short combats.
Only his powerful Hobgoblins were intact but they were frustrated by being too slow to make contact with very much.
There was little point in putting my Pigmy Infantry into contact with the Hobgoblins because their 'Fearsome' leader attacks make my expensive Evasion considerably less effective indeed.
A points win for the clever pigmies and a vendetta from the malicious Hobgoblins of the Shelf Unit. :P
So now it was all about revenge for the Hobgoblin hordes who had been left high and dry by the rest of their army. Shelf Unit was coming to the table with a grudge to bear and a menace in his swagger.
So to the game we go… The Spider Brigades were out in force.
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Some really lovely paintwork by Old Shelfie on these spiders. They are a pleasure to behold on the tabletop. They are also a real handful to deal with on the tabletop as they scurry through all sorts of terrain without hindrance.
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Some of them placed during deployment for a nice photo opportunity.
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However before the Hobgoblins could take the field disaster occurred off the table, Old Shelfie, the plonker, opened up his second figure case to put out his Infantry only to realise he had brought the incorrect case.
(Plonker Award.) :moaner:
Shelfie was broken.
I was deeply sympathetic to his cause … NOT !!! :muttley:
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However, rather than missing out on a game we were lucky that the ever present Swiss Tony was on hand to save the day and offer his mighty Dwarves, bearer of the Power of the Pig, to Shelf Unit to use after his major gaffe.
The unperturbed Swiss looking on and ruminating upon events.
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So it was all change and then Shelfie had to set about drawing up a new army list as quickly as possible so we could get a battle underway. A new army he had never played before threw him out a bit but his concentration was called upon to make a big effort.
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Now this was a somewhat concerning proposition for the Pigmies.
Having done alright in the past against the Shelf Units Goblins I was expecting a tough but fairly even game.
However, the Perilous Pigmies have never managed to roll the Dwarves of Swiss Tony and their power of the Pig so this represented a new and daunting task for the wee fellas from the jungle.
In fact the Dwarves of Swiss Tony have suffered only one single defeat and that was at the hands of the Warhounds Marrians sometime ago in a tournament environment.
The Perilous Pigmies, unperturbed, march stolidly forward. The Witch Doctor bringing the mysterious forces of the Great Juju to bear…
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Lets have a look at the excellent Westwind Dwarves which were painted by Mawdslio for Swiss Tony.
Beginning with the Infamous Power of the Pig Unit featuring Dwarven Berserker Boar Cavalry.
Swiss makes this Hammer unit incredibly potent by casting the Level 2 Earth Magic spell 'Stone Armour' on them. This gives the unarmoured Berserker unit a Fixed 3 saving throw and makes them very difficult to shift.
Swiss has used this combo to great effect over the last year and it has contributed to his ongoing position at the top of the club AoA League table.
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Here are the Dwarven Bighorn Ram Cavalry with an accompanying Westwind Productions Dwarf Character riding a Bear. Giving this unit a character increases their potential for penetrating enemy units and causing casualties that can lead to crucial break tests.
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Another pretty picture of this characterful unit unique to Westwind.
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Westwind Productions Dwarf Characters are a quality selection of sculpts as well.
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Here is a close up on the Dwarf Lord riding a might Grizzly Bear into combat with lashings of extra armour. My camera work leaves a bit to be desired but make no mistake this model is an imposing figure on the tabletop.
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Here are some of the rank and file Dwarven spear infantry ranked up and meaning business. I really like the sense of movement that Westwind exudes from it's Dwarven miniatures on foot.
So many other rmanufacturers of Dwarves leave them looking very static but Westwind Dwarves look like they are really vibrant and animated once they are painted.
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So onto the commencement of activities in earnest.
Here come the Pigmies with their mighty Hydra, eyeballing the opposition fromthe other side of the battlefield to put some of the fear of the Jungle Gods into the stoic Dwarves.
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Getting closer, but the aperture is a bit tight for the width of the units so decisions on who is going to make contact first needs to made smartly.
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Combat is joined on the right flank where a unit of Centaur Pigmies are feeling the heat as they have their hands full against the skirmishing Dwarven Bighorn Cavalry riders supported by the Grizzly riding Dwarf Lord.
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At this point of the game the Witch Doctors Juju started to play upon the mind of the Shelf Unit and his dice started to betray him horribly, a trend that was going to continue for some time…
I would have expected the Dwarf Cav with their Lord to have given the characterless unit of Centaurs some serious slappage but it didn't occur and my right flank remained intact.
So now to the center of the battlefield…
The Centaurs look to close in the middle of the battlefield but the left flank of the center is exposed and the Dwarves take advantage of the situation.
I was anxious not to leave the Hydra facing off against a unit of Dwarves all on it's own so I waited for the pigmy Foot to support the Hydra.
This put a lot of stress on the Centaurs so the Witch Doctor managed to place the 1st level Life Spell 'Holy Armour' (one of my faves) on the Centaur unit that was going to be in the most trouble (that is signified by the odd looking purple dice behind the unit.). I was hoping some good saving throws might see them last the distance until the Pigmy Foot and the Hydra could bring themselves to bear in the press of the center.
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Sadly it was not to be… the Centaurs were sent packing and fled a long way from any assistance.
Old Shelf Unit came through with some good dice with his Dwarf attacks and my Fixed saves from the Holy Armour failed me woefully creating a serious test which my Centaur lads failed.
Oh dear… the Centaurs are orfff…
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This does however create an opportunity for the Hydra and the Pigmy Infantry to make their way forward and fill the gap in the line.
Luckily I won the Initiative as Old Shelfies dice were still suffering from the Juju and managed to do just that.
Now I could look at giving him some serious Monster smackdown.
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The Perilous Pigmies on foot came up and contacted the flank of the big Dwarven unit and rolled some cracking dice, the Dwarves failed a sensational series of saves and the Dwarves were forced to test because of the number of Pigmies amassed on their flank.
Huzzah they broke and the Pigmies surged forward in pursuit of more Dwarf scalps for the jungle collection.
Beware the Perilous Pigmies.
The Hydra remained pinned in combat by the neighbouring Dwarf Infantry unit.
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By now the Centaurs on the lright flank had collapsed under ongoing pressure from the Dwarf Lord and the Bighorn Cavalry on the right flank. They had also fled so the battle was see sawing to and fro with negative aspects occurring on both sides. The Bighorns did not pursue but instead coiled around to close the pincer on the center.
On the left flank, of which sadly I don't seem to have any pictures of the Power of the Pig unit out there, was making slow progress against a small unit of trolls, who were making some good regeneration rolls, but they finally broke through and they headed toward the Coconut Thrower at the rear of the Battlefield.
In the center the Centaurs were holding…
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…but the Hydra succumbed to a blistering attack from the Dwarf Infantry who Shelf unit had ordered to gang up on the poor misunderstood monster in the absence of the pursuing Perilous pigmies…
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… and consequently failed a test. The Hydra decided that discretion was the better part of valour and removed itself smartly from the vicinity of short smelly bearded shouty squat men with bad breath and too many pointy sticks. Of course it is Swiss' Hydra I'm using, (painted by Howard) and had it been my own (still on the painting table) it would no doubt have stood up to those Dwarves. :P
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As the end of the game approached, the Centaurs fleeing rallied, the Pigmy Infantry returned after seeing off a unit of Dwarf Mithril Warriors off and the Hydra managed to rally and regenerate so it was back in action.
Correspondingly the Dwarves were in disarray and several units were fleeing.
After a hard fought battle with some poor dice luck on Shelf Units behalf the Pigmies were fortunate and carried the day.
However, with a few more consistent dice rolls the pigmies would have been in a lot of bother.
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