Mage Knight 2.0 Graphical Battle Report – Anunub vs the WereCrusade!
By Brook Willeford and Kevin Goddard

Recently Warlords were asked to provide four armies that would take advantage of the new proficiencies and game play in Mage Knight. The armies were 300 points, and could include any warriors from any current Mage Knight set (all the way back to Rebellion)!

For the next stage of these battle reports, we are adding warriors from the upcoming release, as well as constructed terrain and domain cards. The first pair of armies, the Atlantis Guild army and the Mage Spawn-Shyft army, were the first to receive an upgrade.

Anunub’s Golem Army
Anunub – 77
* Magestone Golem - 48
*** Magestone Golem – 61
** Goblin Volunteer – 6
*** Blade Golem – 36
*** Blade Golem – 36
*** Blade Golem – 36

The original army had a very solid core of Blade Golems and Amotep Gunners. It was hard to remove any of these pieces, though the Fell Reaper, Shade and Solonavi Channler were easy to cut. The first obvious solution was an Anunub upgrade. That’s right, Anunub, introduced as a Rebellion Promotional figure, has returned in Mage Knight 2.0 as a Unique. No longer a Demi-Magus, Anunub has a lot of power, and has buffed up a bit as well. He’s an excellent ranged combatant, especially with his variety of magical special abilities. He is a lot more expensive then the original version, however, so a few things had to go. Removing the LE version of Anunub meant that the Amotep Gunners no longer had their Magical Enhancement back-up, and 2.0 has some interesting new Magestone Golems that would serve as good replacements. The Magestone Golems are not cheap, but they pack both a solid ranged attack and good close combat skills. Having 6 points left over, the Standard Goblin Volunteer was a great piece to add. He starts Demoralized but can easily be moved into a good slot via double-time or Surge. Domain card choice was easy; Clear Skies would remove most of the domains that could affect ranged combat. This army was primarily ranged, so it needed that type of protection. For this army, blocking terrain made the most sense, so several constructed terrain screens and a wooden tower were added to the package.

WereCrusade
Wraith – 61
** Skull Golem – 34
*** Zombie Centaur – 32
* Orc Warbeast – 41
*** Wereraven – 27
*** Werewolf – 30
*** Werewolf – 30
** Soul Stealer - 44

The backbone to the original army was the “were” creatures and the controlling Soul Stealer. The Wraith is simply too good to not have in this army, considering its immunity to all magical attacks and the capacity to deal lots of damage for a long time. The Stalking Skeletons and the weak Shade were fast moving harassers, but not exactly capable of providing the amount of damage that a 2.0 army can dish out. As this initial set of Mage Knight 2.0 has no Mage Spawn in it at all, they were replaced with units from the Dark Crusaders and Orc Kahns. The Mage Spawn were swapped out for a Zombie Centaur and an Orc Warbeast. Those two warriors move fast due to Charge and Horseshoe speed type, respectively. Finally, a standard Skull Golem is added for its Ram, high attack and strong damage. This force is lacking ranged combat, and can also be hampered by it. Various domain cards would help this army, but in the long run Storm Gale would serve it best by eliminating all ranged combat. Terrain choice is very imortant to this army, as it has a lot of Stealth. Concealing terrain serves best; it does not hamper the speed of the units, though Stealth still takes advantage of it.

See the next post for the rest of the report.

Setup
Brook rolls an 8, Kevin a 4, making Brook the first player. He places his Objective token 8 inches from the far edge of his deployment zone along his left hand side. Kevin places his on the same side, 4 inches in. Finally the middle objective is placed in the center of the field. The next part of setup is placing Terrain. Drawing from the terrain pool, Kevin gets to place one piece first (or two constructed pieces). Taking two metal screen shields, Kevin places them 3 inches in from his own objective. Brook takes one of the concealing pieces and places it to one side of the center objective, in a position to allow him to spring forward and attack. Kevin then places his last terrain, 2 more pieces of constructed terrain, another metal screen and the wooden tower. Both are placed near the first screens. Brook places his final piece of terrain, the other piece of concealing terrain, on the opposite side of his first. Before they place their armies, Domain cards are revealed. Brook lays out Storm ale. Kevin responds with Clear Skies, canceling Brook’s weather domain.

Finally armies are placed in the starting locations. With the battlefield prepared, the battle is ready to begin!

The Battle

Brook Turn 1:
The were-creatures are double-timed as a formation into concealing terrain. This pushes them into the first of their more aggressive clicks. The Skull Golem moves up the side and stops on Brook’s objective. The Wraith glides up the side, keeping the concealing terrain between him and any potential ranged attacks. During Brook’s end phase, the objectives are checked, and he takes control of the one closest to his starting location.

Kevin Turn 1:
Anunub is moved to the top of the wooden tower. It provides both a height modifier and a fortification bonus to Anunub’s defense, while not affecting his ability to hit. The Goblin Volunteer double-times to Kevin’s objective token. Finally, the tough Magestone Golem, which excels at ranged combat, moves to the left side of the wall of screens. In Kevin’s end phase, objectives are checked again and Kevin takes control of his own objective.

Brook Turn 2:
With his first action, Brook double-times his Orc Warbeast to back up the Wraith. As the Orc Warbeast has a Horseshoe speed type, it does not take pushing damage from the double-time. The Zombie Centaur, who does not have Stealth, moves behind the Werewolves who do. They shield him from Anunub’s ranged combat attack. With his final action, Brook moves his Soul Stealer onto his objective, getting him closer to the action, but leaving him way out of range.

Kevin Turn 2:
Using only two actions, the Blade Golem formation and the final Magestone Golem move behind the screen wall. Playing it cautious, Kevin ends his turn without using his third action.

Brook Turn 3:
Brook has no reason to be cautious — he sees a chance to tie up the opposing force behind the screens, preventing them from taking other objectives and winning. He first surges the tough Magestone Golem with a Werewolf, hitting for 3 damage! The small area between the screen and wooden tower is now blocked with battle. The other Werewolf and the Wereraven move forward in the concealing terrain. The Werewolf's Stealth provides cover for the Wereraven, allowing the Wereraven to get Anunub in its range.

Kevin Turn 3:
While strong in ranged combat, the tough Magestone Golem is not as good in close combat, especially with the amount of damage it sustained at the hands of the Werewolf. So Kevin first makes the breakaway roll for the Magestone Golem, pulling it back from the attacking Werewolf. Anunub then lets loose with a mighty magical attack, scoring a hit on the Werewolf for 3 damage. The Goblin Volunteer then surges the Werewolf, successfully hitting him for 1 damage.

Brook Turn 4:
Brook moves both his Zombie Centaur and Skull Golem to the center objective. Meanwhile, Brook's Werewolf devours the Goblin Volunteer in one mighty gulp, though taking a click of pushing damage to do so. During his end phase, Brook takes control of the center objective.

Kevin Turn 4:
Ready for the kill, the weaker Magestone Golem makes a successful ranged combat attack on the Werewolf, eliminating the threat. The rest of the army waits to see what the opposition will do.

Brook Turn 5:
Brook, not one to hesitate, launches his remaining Werewolf forward, attacking the weaker Magestone Golem for 2 damage (after Toughness is applied). The Soul Stealer, weaving Necromancy magic, attempts to resurrect the defeated Werewolf. The magic fails, as the body of the Werewolf is too damaged to hold together, and is further destroyed by the failed attempt. The Wereraven, now with a clear view of Anunub, makes a ranged attack, which misses due to the concealing terrain modifier, the elevated terrain modifier, and the fortification value of the wooden tower. These modifiers add up to 4, capped at 3 by the rule of 3, giving Anunub a defense of 19.

Kevin Turn 5:
The Blade Golems finally enter the fray, with the first one surging the Werewolf for 4 damage. Anunub takes aim at both the Skull Golem and Zombie Centaur. He scores a hit on the Skull Golem but misses the Zombie Centaur. Deciding to remove the last of the Werewolves, Kevin's weak Magestone Golem pushes to attack, eliminating the furry menace.

Brook Turn 6:
Brook's heavy hitters are also starting to enter the battle. He first moves his Wraith into contact with one of the Blade Golems, surging it for 4 damage. He also moves the Skull Golem and Zombie Centaur to the screen wall, attacking from both sides.

Kevin Turn 6:
Seeing the Wraith as the most immediate threat, Kevin has two Blade Golems take actions attacking the Wraith, causing a total of 7 damage and eliminating the Wraith . Anunub, still out of base contact due to his position on the wooden tower, pushes to attack both the Skull Golem and Zombie Centaur. Choosing not to use Mage Blast, he assigns 2 clicks of damage to the Skull Golem and 1 to the Zombie Centaur (Anunub has 3 damage when making a ranged combat attack).

Brook Turn 7:
Brook's first action is to use the Soul Stealer for his primary function, bringing back his heavy hitters. A lucky roll of 1 for Necromancy returns the Wraith to the field, with only a single click of damage! He follows up with a Charge from his Zombie Centaur, critically hitting one of the Blade Golems for 4 damage. With his final action he pushes his Skull Golem to surge the Tough Magestone Golem, first causing a click of damage with Ram, then missing the attack roll.

Kevin Turn 7:
Seeing the undefended back of the Skull Golem, one of Kevin's free Blade Golems surges it, causing enough damage to remove the walking pile of bones from the fray. Hoping for another solid roll, he surges his Tough Magestone Golem into the Zombie Centaur. Kevin's luck doesn't hold out, however, and he misses. Running out of both time and warriors, Kevin chooses not to use his last action.

Brook Turn 8:
Sensing that Kevin's forces are unable to keep up a strong defense, Brook double-times his Orc Warbeast into contact with Kevin's objective (and tough Magestone Golem). His Wraith glides into the concealing terrain. Finally, the Wereraven surges the weak Magestone Golem for 2 damage. During his end phase, Brook checks the objectives and sees that Kevin's is under contention, while he still controls the other two. Time is running out, and he is in a strong position to win.

Kevin Turn 8:
Wanting to get the tough Magestone Golem out of base contact with the Orc Warbeast and into a place to be repaired (by Anunub who has the Golemkore subfaction ability), Kevin rolls for breakaway. The roll fails, and the Magestone Golem stays in reach of the ferocious beast. Hoping to eliminate the Orc Warbeast in short order, Kevin surges his Blade Golem, hitting for 3 damage after toughness is applied. Finally he has his weak Magestone Golem attack the Wereraven, but misses.

Brook Turn 9:
The Soul Stealer attempts to revive the Skull Golem, but an unlucky roll returns the construct to the dust. The Orc Warbeast pushes to hit the Blade Golem that is its primary target, hitting for 3 damage. The Zombie Centaur then finishes off the tough Magestone Golem, eliminating it from the field.

Kevin Turn 9:
Bringing his forces to bear on the Orc Warbeast, Kevin first surges one of his Blade Golems into the Orc Warbeast, knocking it into a Demoralized slot. The Blade Golem that has pinned the Zombie Centaur down attempts to attack it as well, but misses. Checking objectives during his end phase, Kevin claims his objective, as the Demoralized Orc Warbeast cannot hold it.

Brook Turn 10:
Striking from the concealed terrain, Brook's Wraith scores a hit on Anunub, causing 4 damage. Hoping to return some part of his eliminated army, Brook has his Soul Stealer attempt to Necromancy his other lost Werewolf. He fails again, and the Werewolf is eliminated from the game. With his final action, Brook attacks the weak Magestone Golem with his Wereraven, hitting for 2 damage.

Kevin Turn 10:
Kevin finishes off the Orc Warbeast with an attack from his Blade Golem. Turns are flying by as the time limit is approaching, so Kevin double-times another Blade Golem to the unprotected center objective. The weak Magestone Golem then attacks the Wereraven for 2 damage. For the time being, Kevin holds two objectives.

Brook Turn 11:
Brook does not plan on letting that stand, however, and pushes his Wraith to surge the Blade Golem, eliminating it. The Wereraven then eliminates the weak Magestone Golem. Brook spins his Zombie Centaur to face the Blade Golem with his last action. Checking objective tokens, Brook returns to owning 2.

Kevin Turn 11:
Anunub takes a shot at the Wereraven and successfully hits it, causing enough damage to eliminate it. Having only one warrior capable of attacking, Kevin has one of the remaining Blade Golems attack the Zombie Centaur. In its weakened state, it misses.

Brook Turn 12:
Hoping that the dice gods are with him, Brook attempts to use Necromancy to revive the Orc Warbeast. It returns but with the most damage a successfully revived unit can take, 3 damage. The Orc Warbeast moves to the center objective to back up the Wraith and prevent any last minute surging.

Kevin Turn 12:
Seeing defeat, Kevin moves his free Blade Golem to the center objective, contesting it, leaving the objective he was on unguarded.

Brook Turn 13:
The Wraith kills the Blade Golem, allowing the Orc Warbeast to claim the center objective. Brook then has his Zombie Centaur roll for breakaway, succeeds, and then moves on to Kevin's unguarded objective.
In his end phase Brook checks, he controls all three objectives. Time is called at the end of his turn.

Brook wins — he controls the most objectives on the field!

Looking at this battle, it's pretty clear that Kevin was unable to turtle in one area and not try to compete for the other objectives until the end of the game. Had he brought his forces into the middle of the board, and made an attempt to eliminate the Soul Stealer, the outcome may have been different. This battle also demonstrates the importance of terrain in Mage Knight. Instead of placing two screens, Kevin could have placed a piece of Brook's concealing terrain much further away from the battle, making it less useful to Brook's army.