Chris McDowall posted an unnamed 10mm wargame that he's working on. It looked fun so I tried it out! With Lego armies, since that's the only thing close to 10mm minis I have.
This battle was fought using the rules as they looked on the evening of 2021-03-19.
In the elven borderlands...
Orc Boss Zagblag Skullkrakka tried to scratch his back, his sweaty armor not helping. The elven lands were warmer than what he and his ladz were used to.
"Zoggin' hot, innit?" he groaned. "We gotta cool down! How else are we gonna think up a kunnin plan to take over these lands?"
"Map sez there's a lake up ahead, boss," one of Zagblag's lieutenants said.
"Izzat so? Let's go take a dip, then!"
* * *
The elven general Ellamir watched with dismay as the orcish horde neared the sacred Pond of Purity.
"We cannot allow the greenskins to befoul these holy waters!" he exclaimed, turning to his aide. "Send riders to the nearby villages, and call upon their warriors! The orcs must be stopped!"
"Yes mylord!"
The Orcish Horde of Zagblag Skullkrakka
From left to right:
- A Warband.
- Another Warband.
- A unit of Iron Orcs, led by Zagblag, the army's commander.
- A unit of Catapults.
- A unit of Boar Cavalry.
- Grymla the Giant.
The High Elven Defenders of the Pond of Purity
From left to right:
- A unit of Axes.
- A unit of Knights, led by Ellamir, the army's commander.
- A unit of Bolt Throwers.
The following units don't start on the field, but will arrive as reinforcements:
- A unit of Infantry.
- A unit of Reavers.
- A unit of Mystics.
Deployment
The bulk of the orcish army deployed in the centre of the field. Zagblag's iron orcs followed behind the regular warbands. The boar cavalry went out on the far left flank, while the catapults prepared to move up on the hill on the right flank.
The high elves deployed in front of the Pond of Purity, the bolt throwers protected by the axemen.
The scenario
The orc objective is to reach the Pond of Purity, while the elves must stop them.
At the start of each elven turn after the first, one random unit from their reinforcements arrives from one of the side edges (randomly chosen). The unit can't charge on the turn it arrives.
Round 1
The orcs seized the initiative in the first round.
Orc Turn 1
The orc army rushed forward. The catapults were rolled onto the hill, while the boar cavalry sped down the flank.
"Remember yer arrers, ladz!" Zagblag shouted. The orcs in the warbands who carried bows sent some shots into the elven lines, managing to cause one damage to the knights.
High Elf Turn 1
The axemen marched onto the hill to protect the flank from the orcish cavalry. Ellamir held his knights back for now, not wanting to risk becoming surrounded in a hasty charge.
The bolt throwes fired at the orcs, but caused no damage.
Round 2
The high elves won initiative, getting another turn right away!
High Elf Turn 2
Reinforcements! The elven reaver cavalry charged onto the battlefield, approaching the rear of the orcish army.
Ellamir sensed that the time had come. He called upon his axemen to remember their drills, as they charged into the boar cavalry! The elven general himself led the knights in a charge against one of the orcish warbands.
The axemen rolled rather badly, despite all their advantages... but still caused four damage to the orcish cavalry. Meanwhile the knights did five damage as they crashed into the orc infantry.
Orc Turn 2
Two of the orc units were badly pummeled, and in danger of breaking... but Zagblag counted on natural orc animosity to save the situation.
And it did! The boar riders fled from the vicious elven axemen, giving the rest of the orcs a good laff at their expense. The warband fighting the knights forgot about their own losses, and removed one point of damage.
Zagblag marched his iron orcs straight through the warband in front of them, not losing sight of the Pond. The warband turned about face to meet the new threat of the elven reavers. Grymla the giant moved up, getting ready to charge into the knights' flank.
The warband fighting the knights managed to inflict one point of damage. The catapults lobbed rocks onto the bolt throwers, dealing two damage.
Round 3
The orcs took the initiative, getting a double turn of their own!
Orc Turn 3
The warband fighting the knights could not hold any longer. They broke and ran, the unit dissolving.
The boar riders, on the other hand, managed to regroup, turning back towards the fight.
Zagblag and his iron orcs kept marching towards the Pond of Purity. The warband in the rear moved to meet the reaver cavalry. Grymla charged into the flank of the knights! She caused four points of damage, the unit just barely holding together.
The catapults finished off the bolt throwers, smashing them to pieces.
High Elf Turn 3
A regiment of elven infantry marched onto the field! But were they too late...?
Ellamir desperately tried to call upon the discipline of his knights, but it was futile. They fled before the giant's onslaught. Ellamir might have escaped, or he might have been trampled by the giant... either way, he would take no further part in this battle.
The axemen used the rocky field to shield their rear from the boar riders, as they moved about face to intercept Zagblag's iron orcs.
The reavers charged into the orcish warband, dealing four damage.
Round 4
The elves took the initiative, getting yet another turn.
High Elf Turn 4
The last elven reinforcements, a unit of mystics, marched onto the field.
The axemen and infantry closed in on the iron orcs. Suddenly Zagblag was facing a lot of elves...
The reavers kept tearing through the orcish warband, causing two more damage.
Orc Turn 4
The badly beaten warband fled from the reavers.
Zagblag finally reached the shore of the Pond of Purity, but couldn't get in the bath just yet... there were still elves trying to get in his way. With a sigh, he turned the iron orcs around to face the axemen. Grymla the giant and the boar riders hurried down the field to support their boss.
Round 5
The high elves won the initiative.
High Elf Turn 5
The reavers ran down the fleeing orc warband. The infantry confronted the giant, while the axemen charged into the iron orcs, causing three damage.
The mystics moved to protect the rear of the axemen from the boar riders, while throwing bolts of magic at them. However the fickle winds of magic deserted them, and no damage was dealt.
Orc Turn 5
Finally getting stuck in, Zagblag let out a mighty WAAAARGH! The boar riders echoed his battlecry, charging into the mystics, while Grymla barged into the infantry.
Zagblag and his ladz slaughtered the axemen, wiping the unit out in record time! The cavalry didn't do much worse, dealing six damage to the mystics. Grymla, however, couldn't get at the infantry due to their annoying pointy spears.
Round 6
The elves won initiative, however things were looking bleak. Could they still turn this around?
High Elf Turn 6
The mystics could not stand up the boar onslaught, and fled the field. The reavers pushed their horses, but couldn't quite reach the flank of the iron orcs.
The infantry acquitted themselves well against their monstrous opponent, dealing four damage to the giant.
Orc Turn 6
(Whoops! Missed taking a picture of this turn)
The iron orcs and boar riders turned to face the reavers. Grymla struck back against the elven infantry, dealing five damage.
Round 7
The elves took the initiative.
High Elf Turn 7
The reavers turned to charge into the giant's flank. But neither they nor the infantry managed to hurt her!
Orc Turn 7
With a final charge, the boar riders and iron orcs shattered what was left of the elven army! The orcs were victorious!
At long last, Zagblag and his army could enjoy a cool bath!
Commentary
This was fun! The system wasn't overly complex, but gave plenty of room for tactics and letting you feel smart with flanking, use of terrain and so forth.
I didn't describe much about shooting in the report above, but it happened - I just didn't really remember how much of the damage was from melee and how much was from shooting. Also the elves had terrible aim. :P
The high elven "Drills" command boosted infantry and elites, but there aren't any "Elites" in their army list. I just assumed it referred to axes.
I actually had a whole thing thought about the orcs dirtying the pond for their objective, but it didn't really come up during the battle. Meanwhile the elves didn't really have an objective beyond wiping out the orcs. If I were to play this battle again I'd simply make the orc objective "Get your commander to the Pond", while the elf objective would be "Kill the orc commander".
All in all a great battle! Perhaps the saga of Zagblag Skullkrakka will continue...
