So I was wanting to test out Ashrak and the Iron Guard so I improvised a small skirmish, 200pts each. I'm sorry, there's no pictures. Normally I wouldn't post reports like this, but there were a few interesting twists and it was quite fun to play so I thought I'd share.
Goblins:
Ashrak
12 Goblins Warriors (4 of each)
Cave Troll (Troll Chain)
Dwarves:
Captain (Throwing Axe)
8 Dwarf Warriors (Shields)
2 Khazad Guard (just realised it was supposed to be 3 - not that they needed the extra)
2 Iron Guard
Turn 1: Dwarves
Dwarves charge forward, Goblins stay put.
Getting shooting underway with a bang (splat?), the Cave Troll squashes a Khazad Guard with a stone. The Goblins hit one Dwarf but fail to wound due to the pesky shields.
Turn 2: Goblins
Ashrak uses his might to finally cast Fury (having failed the first turn and getting rather low on will). The Dwarves close to within charge distance.
Goblins and Troll fail to do any damage with shooting (despite an archer rolling 6 to wound but missing the second 4). The Dwarven Captain lands what he thinks is a fatal wound on a Goblin using his Throwing Axe, only to see it shrug it off due to Fury.
Turn 3: Dwarves (drawn)
The Dwarves charge into combat. The Captain misses with his Thrown Axe. Two Dwarves bravely charge the Troll while one falters. The remaining Guard (Khazad and 2 Iron) head around the side of the combat to ambush Ashrak.
The Goblins shoot at the lone dwarf but miss everything (woefully).
The plucky Dwarves beat back the Troll. This is the theme as only 2 Goblins win their fights. One Goblin is killed.
Turn 4: Dwarves
The Dwarves are brimming with confidence. The lone Dwarf charges the 4 archers and only one Dwarf charges the Troll. Elsewhere the Captain hits but fails to wound. Ashrak is pinned down by an Iron Guard and Khazad Guard while the other Iron Guard charges into a Goblin.
The Dwarf shields against the 4 archers and wins. The other Dwarf tries the same tactic against the troll and gets pulverised (note to self: overconfidence against trolls is not good). A single Goblin spearman also got taken out. In the big battle of the round, Ashrak fell to the Iron Guard and Khazad Guard attacking him (3 wounds in one turn...). In an ironic twist, his death touch special rule also managed to take both of his attackers with him.
Death Count: 3 Goblins – 4 Dwarves
Turn 5: Goblins (finally!)
The Goblins swarmed in, sending in fodder to tie up the Dwarven elites.
The Dwarf beat back the archers again. The Cave Troll lost. Despite 6 rolls to wound, the Dwarf Captain and his warrior could not kill their opponent. Elsewhere, the Goblin swarming tactics were foiled by the Dwarves Fight Value. Only the Iron Guard managed to kill anything, a Goblin spearman.
Turn 6: Dwarves
The Iron Guard took out a Goblin Spearman with a well placed thrown axe. The Dwarves swarmed in, outnumbering the Goblins except for the 4 archers on the flank and the cave troll fighting his single opponent.
The Goblin archers finally defeated their opponent as did the Cave Troll. Another Dwarven Warrior fell under the green tide. However, the Dwarves extracted revenge, taking out another 4 Goblins. Both forces now broken!
Turn 7: Goblins (just when they don’t want it, they roll 6 to the Dwarves 1)
The Cave Troll and four Goblins fled, leaving just a single archer to face the last six Dwarves (1 a captain with all heroic values intact, another an Iron Guard). He bravely retreated, fired and missed. The Dwarf Captain (passing a stand fast) finished him off with a well placed Throwing Axe.
Concluding thoughts:
The Cave Troll got off to a promising start, taking out a Khazad Guard on the first turn and freezing a Dwarf Warrior in the charge. However, he only managed to take out 2 Dwarves in combat. I think the 16 odd extra Goblins might have been more useful
Ashrak didn't have the best game. However, taking down the 2 elites with him was quite a cool moment. And eternally convinced me of his special rule (and worth) right there.
I'm liking the offensive power of the Iron Guard. 2 attacks and throwing weapons is quite nice.
Defence 7 for most of the Dwarven army was a real pain. Made them pretty much invulnerable to bow fire (though not stones).
Turn 6 was a real decider. 7 combat fatalities in one turn! And just enough to break both forces, though Dwarves still had their hero and higher courage.
It was a pretty good finish really. The lone Goblin being deserted by his comrades and retreating wide eyed before the furious Dwarves, firing wildly and missing before being calmly put down by the Captain (and falling off the edge of a cliff?). When the Iron Guard missed, I was considering trying to rig it (forgetting he still had both might points) but he rolled a 5 by himself and I can happily say it was all natural.
