The Dragon People

[Toby]

As the nights darkness wrap around their bodies, like great cloaks of shadow, the Dragon people gather around pits of flame and tell tales of their fore-fathers.
Years ago our people travelled south from our homelands and carved a path of glory across lands now occupied by the franks, then home to marauding bands of savage barbarians. East and South they pushed until the ground turned yellow and red and they met painted people, the colour of burnt clay.
They were not people but demons, who rose to challege our fore-fathers might and battle was met on the edge of a wood. Our brave people surged forward with the wood on their left quickly seizing the central hillock with Ergil the Hersir and his Hirdmen, supported by the Bondi. The accompanying Viking Raiders held the right flank with the Bondi who carried bows, the Thralls were sent through the edge of the wood, to harry their former kinsmen. Cresting the hillock the Demons were revealled wearing skins of armour and giant shields, arrayed in two solid blocks. On the edge of the trees sat a howling mass of Barbarians, alongside a giant monster wth horns as long as a spear and carrying a hut of demons, to the front stood skirmishers with javelin and sling.
Unafraid the Norsemen swept down the hill scattering the javelinmen and into the two blocks of demons, as spear and axe bounced from metal skin, Ergil developed a superior plan and left the battle to re-group, the Monster, known as an Elephant, was drawn from the battle line as ergil re-grouped his men behind the hillock. Here he witnessed the Thralls harrying their foes with javelins before being driven away, though the Barbarians mass was weakened and drawn greatly up the flank. The Bow armed Bondi exchanged fire with the peltists before too falling back slighlty under their commanders order, shortly followed by the Vikings who had lept into the combat to further weaken their enemy. Aware that the rest of the force had re-grouped the Bondi pulled back to the crest of the Hillock, where they turned once more turned to hold the demons. The plan was working though as the blocks of demons were now strung out the most advanced crashed into the Bondi, as the Elephant surged into Ergil's Hirdmen, where it was soundly beaten and with it's driver killed was sent back into the barbarians. The raiders surged into the flank of the Demons assaulting the Bondi on the hill, whittling down ther numbers and sucking in the second block, before once again they tactically fell back to re-form. Eventually, knowing their job was done, the Bondi fell back away from the battlefield. The enraged Elephant crushed the barbarians and trampled the remains as they tried to flee, the Demon leader panicked as he realised his error and the mastery of Ergil's plan tried to flee from the carnage, but was trapped by the Norsemens forces. Their leader dead, the last block fled towards safety and were harried along the way, by the archers and Vikings, with the battle lost the demon army fled the field and left our fore-fathers victorious once more!

This was our first game of WAb and I have to say it was a blast! It really shows how different this game is and how a little thing can turn the tide of a game. Due to a combination of my poor dice in combat and Johns disgusting ability to pass his armour saves, I was getting stuffed, with my two best combat units fleeing from combat at every opputunity, amazingly the bog standard Bondi held up Johns army single handedly. The turning point came when after eventually driving off my Bondi for the second time the Elephant destroyed the Gaulic warband and panicked the general. As he couldn't flee through my units he was destroyed, which in turn panicked his secon Block, which never rallied. Once they had left the table the game ended as john was at his breakpoint. He had his un-hurt Javelins and two of his Slingers left, to my 5 Bows, 10 Vikings and almost complete Hirdmen unit. Despite my units bouncing and fleeing repeatedly, I was left in pretty good shape. The mixed weapons in my units, really made me think about who to put into combat, as this affected my armour save.

It was a great game, even when I was loosing and is certainly the game of the future! Next week I lock horns with John agai, but this time at 1200 points!

[Sedge]

I really looked like you two were having fun. I was impressed with the models. I think I will be getting myself an army at bovington. It'll be nice to thrash you two at a different system , only joking chaps.

One intresting thing will be playing games with balanced armies. In WFB an avarage player can get a real boost using one of the harder armies, this you say can't happen in WAB it should be more a battle of tactics and skill rather than picking that killer combo. I look forward to it.

[Scotty]

Lokk like you had fun and I hope to join you soon.

I had to contened with my BB team suffering from Elf syndrome, no thanks to Jerry for smearing my team with his bad luck. He even broke one! typical

[Toby]

The game was great fun, even though I had to give my lads some 'encouragement' it was relatively in the balance for long periods.
True to form though I've been tinkering with my proposed 2k list and have squeezed in a few Berserkers, well a Viking army without them is like taking a Night Goblin army without fanatics!

Gen – 200
Bsb- 100
3 Beserkers – 54
23 Hirdmen, fc, 8 spear, 3 gw – 359
23 Hirdmen, fc, 8 spear, 3 gw – 359
10 Bondi, Bow – 70
10 Bondi, Bow – 70
10 Bondi, Bow – 70
24 Bondi, fc – 183
24 Bondi, fc – 183
9 Thralls – 36
9 Thralls – 36
17 Vikings, 5 spear, 4 ahw, 2 dhw, LA, 10 shield, leader, musician – 279

This gives me four solid blocks and five small blocks that can form up or skirmish (bows & thralls). The slight change in Viking unit means they're now Hirdmen that can skirmish or rank up, toughness & weapon skill 4 and a 5+ save isn't bad for skirmishers!

[Toby]

Here's a some pictures of my first completed Vikings, I haven't done the bases yet as I plan to do the unit as a whole. These guys are the unit champion and musician from the Mercenary Viking unit.

[Toby]

There is actually highlighting on the models, but once again a combination of my picture taking and my crap camera on my phone has nullified it

[Jonny H]

Looking good Toby. You might want to tidy up the shield with some thin black lines between colours. Just got to paint all of them now to the same standard!

[Toby]

Shields been tidied up and I've completed another one!

[Jonny H]

I can't wait to get hold of my Normans.

Chris Stone and Timmy are both down as interested persons for the 100yr War system in Oct. I'll give him a mail to get hotel details

[Toby]

I've been busy painting this weekend and here's some more pictures of my Viking unit which is almost complete. I've just four undercoated models left to do and one non-undercoated, not sure how he escaped the spray can!