Edge of the Abyss

TURN ONE - DWARFS

As specified in the scenario, the Dwarfs had the first turn and... didn't really do a lot. The Undead force was out of range of the cannons and Ironwatch, so the Sharpshooters had the first of their many disastrous turns and took a pot shot at the zombies. Meanwhile the rest of the Dwarfs sat there and drank some mead.

TURN ONE - UNDEAD

Unlike the Dwarfs, Andy surged his entire force forward in an attempt to push the advantage.

TURN TWO - DWARFS

A little bit more positioning for the Dwarfs, although bizarrely the Shieldbreakers at the rear decided it was a good idea to head sideways to try and block off a potential charge from the Wraiths on the right flank. On the left flank, a regiment of Ironclad started hammering it towards the Zombie Horde. The cannons took aim at the Revenant Cavalry and Skeletons, causing five wounds on each. The Sharpshooters missed the zombies entirely! Clearly they had missed their target practice.

TURN TWO - UNDEAD

In a bold move, Andy decided to try and double surge his skeleton horde into the Brock Riders. He ended tantalisingly close but missed by a couple of inches, leaving them wide open. Meanwhile on the right flank, the zombies and wraiths continued to head towards the Sharpshooters.

TURN THREE - DWARFS

Rob had done well to keep back his Brocks until now, but with the Skeletons so close, the Brock Riders and the Dwarf King both charged into the skeleton horde, causing 12 wounds but failing to break them. Incredibly though, the cannon scored a lucky shot on one of Andy's necromancers, which took it out in a spray of grey matter. This seriously affected Andy's plans for the next few rounds, without the additional necromancer to help with sneaky surges.

TURN THREE - UNDEAD

The zombies could now close in on the Sharpshooters and caused three wounds, which meant they were now disordered and couldn't fire back. The Wraiths hung back behind the zombies, ready to pounce. In the middle of the battlefield, the skeleton horde charged into the Brocks but only caused three wounds. Over on the left, the zombie horde and Ironclad regiment simple gazed longingly at each other.

TURN FOUR - DWARFS

In a bizarre tactic, Rob held back with the Brocks on the Skeletons and instead just charged them with the Dwarf King, which allowed the cannon to take a pot shot at the Revenant Cavalry over the head of the skeleton horde. The Dwarf King took out the skeletons on his own but the cannon failed to do much damage on the cavalry, as it was hitting on 6+.

TURN FOUR - UNDEAD

With the King blocking the path, Andy was forced to charge the King with his cavalry and they only managed one wound (thanks to his 6+ def). However, the fact the Brock Riders had hung back meant the Wraiths were surged into their side and caused 12 wounds. The zombies continued to fight the Sharpshooters and caused another four wounds.

TURN FIVE - DWARFS

Determined to take out the cavalry, Rob charged in with both the King and the wounded Brocks. The idea was to break the horsemen and then spin back round to face the Wraiths. However, the best laid plans… the cavalry resists the charge and stands firm, leaving the Brocks exposed.

TURN FIVE - UNDEAD

It was now a case of mopping up the units. The Brock Riders fell under the onslaught on the Wraiths in their flank, while the Sharpshooters could no longer resist the zombie attack. Two units gone in quick succession.

TURN 6

Unfortunately my notes are sketchy here but in the final two rounds, the Undead took out the cannon and Shiedbreakers, while the Dwarfs unfortunately failed to take out any further units.

CONCLUSION

It was a close run thing, particularly with the king holding off the charge of the cavalry but the Wraiths caused havoc behind enemy lines. A great game, that could have gone either way if Rob had been a little luckier with his dice rolls.