Narrative Battleplan - The Doomed March - Blood Moon Rising - Legions of Nagash vs Clan Skryre

This is the first battle for our narrative campaign, set in the events of the Malign Portents.

Type: Narrative Battleplan
Mission: Blood Moon Rising
Malign Portents: The Balemoon

We both selected our armies, and we decided that the Legions of Nagash will be the ambushers and Clan Skryre will be the Marauder.

Ambusher's Army: Legions of Nagash

Allegiance: Grand Host of Nagash

General: Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament
Leaders:

• 2x Necromancer
• 2x Wight King with Baleful Tomb Blade
• Cairn Wraith (Artefact: Grave-Sand Timeglass)
• Knight of Shrouds

Units:

• 20x Skeleton Warriors with Ancient Spears
• 20x Skeleton Warriors with Ancient Swords
• 10x Grave Guard with Great Wight Blades
• 10x Black Knights
• 3x Spirit Hosts
• 2x Morghast Archai with Spirit Halberds

Marauder's Army: Skaven

Allegiance: Clan Skryre

General: Arch Warlock (Artefact: Esoteric Warp Resonator; Command Trait: Masterful Scavenger)
Leaders:

• Skaven Warlord with Warpforged Blade
• 2x Warlock Engineer

Units: 

• 40x Stormvermin with Halberds
• 40x Clanrats
• 3x Stormfiends
• 4x Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team

Behemots:

• Hell Pit Abomination

Deployment:

I had to separate my army into two, so I chose to deploy Arkhan, the Morghast Archai and the Nighthaunts on the left side of the table.

Next the Skaven deployed their army on to the designated area in the middle.

Finally, I deployed the rest of the army on the right side of the table.

Round 1:

We each generated Prophecy Points according the book: +3 for playing in Shyish, +3 for each Harbinger, +1 for each Wizard and Priest. The Skaven Warlock and the Engineers try to cast some spells, however Arkhan is an excellent spell unbinder with his +2 to his rolls. Cristi charged into my lines with the Hell Pit Abomination and his Clan Rats, however he didn't manage to kill Arkhan as he hoped. The Morghast Archai made sure that his Abomination wouldn't survive another turn. Some Clanrats died and some fled from the might of the Morghast Archai. Arkhan also had a blast with his Curse of the Years spell, dishing out a whooping of 10 mortal wounds. The Abomination died and also caused some mortal wounds, leaving Arkhan with 1 wound left! I cleaned up the side, recovered some wounds for Arkhan and started to aggressively advance my force towards the middle.

Round 2:

The Skaven won the roll-off for the next round and started to reinforce the left side where the Clanrats and the Abomination failed. We generated PPs this round too. The Warlock Charges in along with the Engineers, Warlord and the might unit of 40 Stormvermin. They blasted through the Spirit Hosts, only to be returned by Arkhan in my turn.

At this time the action here was really intense which also distracted my from moving my units on the other side of the table. I managed to kill the Arch Warlock, and also to inflict some damage on the Leaders and on the Stormvermin. However, I had my share of casualties, the Knight of Shrouds has fallen and I lost one Morghast Archai. On the other side I managed to clear out the Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team with my Black Knights.

Round 3:

At this time I knew Arkhan was doomed and I started to question my strategic plan (if there was any).

The Skaven won the roll-off yet again. Cristi saw an opportunity and started to charge into my now weakened left flank. He managed to kill Arkhan with the Stormvermin and also killed the rest of my army on this side of the table. My Deathrattle force on the other hand was very slow and couldn't get here in time.

Round 4 and Round 5:

Well past round 4 this was really over, the Skaven army managed to escape (this time) from the grasps of the undead horde. Skaven managed to score a minor victory!

Malign Portents - Age of Sigmar Narrative Campaign

I always wanted to try Age of Sigmar in a narrative play, so we decided to give it a try. Since I purchased the Malign Portents book, I had the tools to make one. I convinced my friend to play a series of games which are connected and form up a bigger campaign. I will update the story as we progress through the games and post separate entries for each battle report.

The March of the Skaven

Clan Skryre was always a pack of curious rats and inventing mad scientists. Word got to them that Nagash was up to something in Shyish and they just had to find it out for themselves. They gathered a force and started marching through the blasted and barren landscape. What they didn't know is that Arkhan was already waiting for them...

The Skaven reacted quickly and sent some of the Clan Rats and a Hell Pit Abomination to weaken the lines of Arkhan the Black. However, Arkhan was surrounded by his loyal bodyguards, the Morghasts, who then swept through the rats with their halberds like it was grass. The cunning Warlock saw an opportunity to kill Arkhan, but he died before he could see his devious plan go through. Arkhan now overwhelmed by the Stormvermin, was killed - or was he? The small force of undeads and nighthaunts quickly fell to the force of lesser yet more numerous rats. Clan Skryre managed to cut through the lines of Arkhan and quickly evade a cold and planned death by Nagash. But this is just a mere delay for Nagash. Time is not of importance to him. Eventually the slow but tireless army of death will catch up with the rats.

Deathrattle vs Skaven Skryre - Age of Sigmar Battle Report

Time for the first battle report!

I played a pitched battle against my good old friend Cristi (check out his battle report over here).

The Lists:

Grand Alliance Death, Death Allegiance (1000 pt):
Leaders

• Arkhan The Black, Mortarch of Sacrament
• 2 x Necromancer
• Cairn Wraith

Units

• 3-man Spirit Hosts
• 5-man Black Knights
• 10-man Skeleton Warriors with Crypt Shields and Spears
• 10-man Skeleton Warriors with Crypt Shields and Swords

Grand Alliance Chaos, Clan Skryre Allegiance (1000 pt):
Leaders

• Arch Warlock
• Warlock Engineer

Units

• Poisoned Wind Mortar Weapon Team
• 3 x Ratling Gun Weapon Team
• 4 x Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team
• War Machines
• Warp Lightning Cannon

Pitched Battle: Knife to the Heart

The Deployment:

After setting up the objectives and rolling for sides, we started to deploy our forces pretty much in the back, however I went in bold and deployed the majority of my units to the front. Cristi deployed his units in the corner, with the exception of Arch Warlock, Warlock Engineer and the Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team. We chose to roll who should begin instead of going for the first who finished deploying.

Round 1:

Skaven was to go first and quickly dispatched my Black Knights and Spirit Hosts. The Cairn Wraith barely survived with 2 wounds.

On my turn I cast Curse of Ages on the Warlock Engineer and successfully got rid of him. I advanced the left flank of my skeletons and charged with Arkhan the Black and with the Cairn Wraith the Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team.

Round 2:

I won the roll, which gave me some hope to win. Unfortunately I didn't get to successfully cast Curse of Ages. In the combat phase Arkhan killed the rest of the Warpfire Thrower Weapon Team. 

On Skaven's turn the Arch Warlock and Warp Lightning Cannon inflicted 7 wounds on Arkhan, which made him really vulnerable.

Round 3:

I won the roll again, and successfully aged the Arch Warlock with continuously rolling 1 dice! Unfortunately since Arkhan was weakened I couldn't move him out of harms way and the Skaven's managed to shoot Arkhan off the table. The Wraith also dies to shooting. By this time my left flank was dead, only the Necromancer managed to stay alive. This is the point that I regretted holding my right flank in the back.

Round 4:

Necromancer casts Arcane Bolt and kills one of the Ratling Gun Weapon Team. I knew this was not going well for me so I charged with the Necromancer, then he died heroically! We chose to end the game at this point as no way my right flank was going to survive the trip to the other side of the table, nor Cristi's units were able to reach my units in 2 turns. 

Results:

Skaven victory. For now.

Conclusions:

Playing aggressively with Deathrattle is a must. Caution does not pay off. Also, I need more Skeleton Warriors so the unit doesn't get wiped out so easily. 

Assembling and Painting Necromancer

I got this sweet Necromancer from my LFGS' manager, Raul as a gift. Assembling this miniature is a no-brainer, even the base is on sprue. As usual I primed the model with Corax White. I added the base colors:

• to the robe's upper part Incubi Darkness and to the lower part Celestra Grey
• to the staff Mournfang Brown
• to the skin and bones Rakarth Flesh

I created a mix of Lahmian Medium and Nuln Oil, 3:1. I added approximately 10 layers, gradually to the upper part of the cloak. Then I mixed Lahmian Medium with Coelia Greenshade, again to 3:1 and added about 15 layers to create a gradient color. 

I shaded the skin with a mix of Druchi Violet and Lahmian Medium, roughly equally. For the bones and staff I used Agrax Earthshade. After this I started to highlight the robe with Kabalite Green on the upper parts, Sybarite Green on the mid section and Ulthuan Grey on the lower parts. For the skin and parchment I used the dreaded Pallid Wych Flesh (I hate it as much as I hate White Scar). I highlighted the staff with Pallid Wych Flesh to further torture myself, and the skulls as well. For the little pouch I used the standard paints for leather.

 I painted his hair with Chaos Black, and highlighted it with Eshin Grey. I painted his eyes with Moot Green and added a bit of Waywatcher Green around it. The base was painted using Zandri Dust, Agrax Earthshade and a dry brush of Tyrant Skull, and around the base I used Steel Legion Drab as per usual.

Assembling and Painting Arkhan the Black - Part 2

So it has been a long time since I posted anything, but rest be assured, I kept on painting my Deathrattle Skeletons.

Since then I completely finished painting up Arkhan, but I will go through briefly on the whole painting/assembly process after Part 1.

After painting the sub-assemblies, I carefully glued together all Razarak's body.

I created two more sub-assemblies:

1. The head: I followed the same process as for the bone parts, the teeth and horn were base-coated using Chaos Black. Then I started lightly picking of edges and details with Fenrisian Grey and Russ Grey. I painted the eyes using a layer of Warpstone Glow and a tiny hint of Moot Green. I used Waywatcher Green to created a subtle glow effect.

1. The armor plating: I base-coated the plates with Naggaroth Night, and shaded the recessed parts with a mix of Nuln Oil and Druchi Violet. I higlighted the edges using Fenrisian Grey and Russ Grey, with more focus on the sharper parts. For the gold parts I used for a base coat Balthasar Gold, shaded it with Agrax Earthshade and highlighted with Gehenna's Gold. The bone parts were painted just as the bones in Part 1.

1. The saddle: I basecoated the lower part with Chaos Black and the upper part with Rhinox Hide. The black was highlighted with Eshin Grey and Skavenblight Dinge, while the brown area with Tuskgor Fur.

After this I started working on the Spirit Hosts beneath Razarak, since they are supporting it. I had some minor issues assembling it, but nothing will overcome some improvisation skills.

The upper-most spirit was designed very poorly, as it is too long and its center of mass is way too in the front so it just kept breaking off. If you check GW's website, you can actually see the painters overcome this by shortening the Spirit Host's body. (Sneaky bastards)

Long story short, this is the easiest part. I base-coated the spirits using Celestra Grey. I made a mixture of Coelia Greenshade and Lahmian Medium 1:1. I washed their entire body, after which I drybrushed them using Celestra Grey again. I highlighted some of the sharper parts with Ulthuan Grey, and added a nice glowing green effect with Waywatcher Green.

Before I assembled everything, first I finished the base of the miniature. Usually this would be the last step, but in this case I finished painting the base and then I glued the model down.

When I ordered the kit through my LFGS, GW actually forget to send it, so my store's manager, Raul stepped in and explained to them that I wouldn't get it in time for Christmas and this WAS my present (to myself). So they decided to send it with courier and add a little bonus - a Large Basing Kit. Nice!

I selected my pieces from the sprue and glued them down. I primed them using Imperial Primer, and base coated them with Incubi Darkness, respectively the golden parts using the steps described above. I dry-brushed the plates with Kabalite Green and Sybarite Green. I highlighted the edges using Kabalite Green, Sybarite Green and Ulthuan Grey.

After this, I used Armageddon Dust to create a wasteland-like terrain. I shaded it with Agrax Earthshade and dry-brushed it with Tyrant's Skull. I added some Citadel Grass to it, I used PVA glue for this step. I also used some bits and pieces from the Skeleton Warriors, just to add a little more detail to the base.

After all this, Razarak, the Spirit Hosts and the base was done. All it was just missing was Arkhan. Not a big deal!

In the next and final part I will go through on how I painted Arkhan the Black.

Assembling and Painting Arkhan the Black - Part 1

After the Start Collecting! Undead Horde finally arrived, I didn't hesitate and immediately started working on Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament. Since it's going to be a centerpiece of the army, I decided to go for sub-assemblies to get better result and more details.

I will post the process in several parts, starting with the main body of Razarak, the dread abyssal mount of Arkhan the Black.

I started by cutting out the first pieces of the body, cleaning them with a hobby knife, then priming them with Imperial Primer. The reason I didn't use spray primer is because in winter the paint in the spray can tends to thicken.

After the primer dried, I based the skulls with two thin layers of Celestra Grey.

Then I applied Nihilakh Oxide all over the skulls, thinning it with just a bit of water to run into all of the crevasses.

After that I used a mix of Coelia Greenshade and Lahmian Medium to a ratio of 1:3 and applied it all over the skulls, making it sure it ran into all of the recessed parts.

After the shade dried, I highlighted the skulls using Ulthuan Grey.

In the second part of the sub-assembly, I based the bone structure with two thin layers of Rakarth Flesh. I painted some of the ribs and the pelvis with Zandri Dust for more diversity.

I applied a mix of Agrax Earthshade and Lahmian Medium to a ratio of 1:2, and applied 3 thin layers on the ribs painted with Rakarth Flesh and 5 thin layers on those painted with Zandri Dust. The reason why I did this way is because I didn't want the shade to pool up and to run into the area with the skulls. On the tail part I applied just Agrax Earthshade, without mixing it.

After the shade dried up, I highlighted the bones with a thin layer of Rakarth Flesh and on the raised areas, very carefully with Pallid Wych Flesh.

Note that I avoided to paint the parts were I would glue them together, as plastic glue melts the paint and won't be so efficient as on unpainted areas.

That's it, Part 1 of painting and assembling Arkhan the Black. Stay tuned for Part 2 in early January 2017!