Machiara's '00 Seattle GT Battle III: Brettonians
My GT army:
Characters
Warleader Aewyn Machiara, "Sword of Loren," Wood Elf General 218 points
mounted on Tahksyr, a Warhawk
wielding A'lir, the Sword of Isha, Lance, Hail of Doom Arrow
armored with Magic War Paint, Shield
w/ Jade Amulet
Kaitani, Priestess of Isha, Prophetess, Wood Elf Mage 65 points
mounted on Elven Steed
wielding Longbow
Alethia, Priestess of Isha, Shrine Keeper, Wood Elf Mage 87 points
wielding Longbow
w/ Dispel Magic Scroll
Nicheyo Iryr, "Isha's Shield," Wood Elf Champion 65 points
wielding Spear
armored with Isha's Raiment (Armor of Fortune), Shield
Dunedos Sarisi, Captain of Equos, Glade Rider Champion 54 points
mounted on Elven Steed
wielding Lance
armored with Shield
Character Total: 489 Character Percentage: 24% Magic Item Total: 75
Regiments
Meadow Glade Patrol:
5 Glade Riders, "Feral Lancers" 211 points
wielding Lances
armored with Shields
w/ Feral Banner (War Banner)
Chariot, "Crimson Tide" 106 points
w/Scythed Wheels, Extra Steeds
2 Crew
wielding Spears
armored with Light Armor, Shields
Chariot, "Emerald Wave" 106 points
w/Scythed Wheels, Extra Steeds
2 Crew
wielding Spears
armored with Light Armor, Shields
Lasin'dril Village Levies:
24 Glade Guard, "Isha's Valor" Company 295 points
wielding Spears
armored with Shields
with Banner of Isha's Valor (Valorous Standard), Musician
14 Archers, "Isha's Judgment" Company 154 points
wielding Longbows
14 Archers, "Isha's Justice" Company 154 points
wielding Longbows
6 Scouts, "Eyes of Isha" Company 80 points
wielding Longbows
Isha's Shrine Guardians:
13 Archers, "Isha's Power" Company 179 points
wielding Longbows
w/ Banner of Isha's Power (Banner of Sorcery)
6 Wardancers, Sacred Glade Troupe 120 points
wielding Two Hand Weapons
5 Waywatchers, "Isha's Shadows" 90 points
wielding Longbows
Regiments Total: 1511 Regiments Percentage: 76% Magic Item Total: 85
TOTAL: 2000 Points
I traveled on to meet Randy Fischer’s Brettonians, who (along with Ron Hendricks) I seem to play every time we are at a tournament together. We were to play the "Messengers," scenario, in which each player picks three rank and file troopers to be his "messengers." You can move a messenger off your opponent’s edge of the board, or off either side of the board within 12" of your opponent’s edge. Each messenger you moved off a different edge (right edge, opponent’s edge, left edge) you gained 300 points. The messengers all had the following profile: M8 WS4 BS4 S4 T4 W2 I4 A2 LD9. Each messenger had a 4+ unmodified save, was immune to psychology and always ignored terrain penalties. No marching allowed, though; the messenger could only move 8" a turn.
We were allowed to deploy 18" in from our table edges. The following is a vague list of Randy’s army, as I seem to have lost my copy of his army list . . .
BRETTONIANS:
General with 9 Questing Knights
Pegasus Hero
Level two Sorceress
6 Knights of the Realm
10 Knights of the Realm
6 Knights Errant
15 Bowmen
15 Bowmen
5 Mounted Squires
SETUP:
A forest graced the middle left and middle right of the field; there was a hill in the right of my deployment zone and in the far left corner, out of even his deployment zone. A house stood next on the left side of the right-hand forest, just wide enough that a three wide lance formation could slip through.
In a true case of what goes around comes around, the Brettonians set up their lances too close to my deployment zone (observant readers will remember that I made this very same mistake in the previous game). The Brettonians had their big lance of KoR, the Knights Errant, and another six-man lance of KoR set up on my left along with two messengers. They set their bowmen in arrowhead formation in the center, and another on the extreme right of the field. The general and the Questing Knights set up between the archers, just to the left of the forest, facing the gap between the forest and the house. The Sorceress sets up behind the Knights. The final messenger went between the bowmen and the Questing Knights. The Mounted Squires set up just within the right-side forest, and the Pegasus Hero deployed behind the forest, behind and between the rightmost archers and the generals Questing Knight unit.
I set up my Chariots within charge range of the six man lance of Knights of the Realm and the center archer formation (but out of the firing arc of the arrowhead). My Glade Guard set up on the extreme right, in hopes of accompanying two Messengers to the other side of the field. Waywatchers went into the right-side forest. My archers set up in the center, and my Wardancers and Scouts set up in the left-side forest with my third and final messenger. The Glade Riders set up in the center, in front of my archers, in order to act as sort of a flexible response force depending on how things went.
My idea was to delay the Brettonian’s left-side push with Wardancers and Scouts while dominating the right flank and getting my messengers off the board in that corner (one off each edge). Hopefully my Chariots could do enough initial damage to create concern among the Knight units, or alternatively force my opponent to forego the prayer in an attempt to get the charge on my Chariots, which would allow me unfettered freedom of fire on his Knight units.
THE BATTLE
Wood Elf Turn One
My opponent, hoping for low impact hits and fearing my 50+ shots, decided to pray to the lady. My Chariots charged, one into his 6-man KoR unit and one into the unit of bowmen, hoping to break them and follow up into the messenger and subsequently the generals Questing Knight unit. The archers chose to flee so that Chariot hit the Messenger. My Glade Guard moved up within charge range of the Archers, and my Waywatchers moved through the forest into range to target his Mounted Squires. The Glade Riders relocated to the center of the field (outside the charge arc of the Questing Knights) where they had a charge arc on the fleeing bowmen. The Scouts moved into firing positions, the Wardancers and Messenger moved up through the forest, shielding themselves from the view of the various lance formations.
The only archery of consequence consisted of my Waywatchers inflicting two casualties on the Mounted Squires, who panicked (this was not a good die-rolling game for Randy, as you will soon see).
In an amazing turn of events, my Chariot completely destroyed the KoR unit. This caused panic tests among the errants and the 10-man Knight unit, both of whom failed. The 10-man unit ran off the board; the errant unit did not, but fled right into the charge arc of my Chariot. Even if they rally, they will be on the wrong end of another Chariot charge. This completely eliminated the Brettonian left-flank forces, leaving only two messengers to hold the field for King and Country.
In other news, the Chariot destroyed the messenger with impact hits and stopped two inches from the big Questing Knight unit. Fortunately, it was out of the QK charge arc and was safe from countercharging.
Brettonian Turn One:
I have to say that Randy took the destruction of the left flank with extremely good grace, especially considering that both his Knights Errant and his Mounted Squires failed their rally checks and proceeded to flee off the field. The fleeing archers, however, rallied. In true Brettonian fashion, he soldiered on, moving both left-flank messengers forward. The general’s unit turned to face my Chariot. The Pegasus Hero flew out to the extreme right flank, the better to threaten a charge on my messengers.
The archers shot at the Glade Guard without much effect.
Wood Elf Turn Two:
Charge! The Chariot charges the general’s unit, which has the countercharge virtue and charges back. The wardancers charged one of the remaining messengers sneaking down the left flank. The Glade Riders charge the recently rallied archers. The Glade Guard charge the archers, and my messengers move into the forest to avoid a flying attack from the Pegasus. The remaining Chariot moves into a position to charge the big Knight unit.
Much shooting at the Pegasus rider from my archers on the hill (he’s the only real target available), but poor die rolling and the accursed shield of Ptolos keep him mounted and alive.
In a sudden turn of bad luck, I roll a "1" for impact hits on the general unit (giving me 3 hits with scythes) and I only do two wounds, one of which he saves (on a 6+). He strikes back, does a few wounds, my Chariot is broken and run down, leaving his huge, general-led unit outside of my other Chariot’s charge arc (he rolled an 16 (!!) to pursue) and dominating the center, looking hungrily at my surprised archers in the right side forest straight ahead of them. My Glade Riders break and run down the bowmen; My Glade Guard break, but do not run down, the other unit of bowmen.
In another spectacular display of incompetence, my Wardancers only manage to inflict one wound on his messenger with "Whirling Death." The messenger strikes back, causing TWO wounds to my Wardancers, who break (!!) and are run down (!!!) by this SINGLE messenger. The messenger follows up into my shocked messenger at the edge of the woods.
Brettonian Turn Two
The fleeing bowmen rally. The Pegasus Hero uses his ground move to charge my messenger. The Brettonians move directly towards my archers in the forest, who are beginning to think that discretion is the better part of valor.
My messenger kills the wounded Brettonian messenger. The Pegasus Hero kills my messenger.
Wood Elf Turn Three:
The Glade Guard and the Glade Riders charge the hapless bowmen. My messengers move forward as much as they can. My Chariot repositions itself to charge the big unit of Knights. My archers turn around and hightail it 3 3"4 inches through the forest, escaping the iron glare of the frustrated Brettonian general.
More archery practice at the Pegasus Hero wounds the Pegasus but does little else. Other shooting at the big Knight regiment kills two.
The Hapless Bowmen are destroyed. Sorceress panics.
Brettonian Turn Three:
The fleeing Brettonian sorceress rallies. The lone remaining messenger hightails toward my table edge, and I don’t really have anyone to stop him. Big Knight unit forms up facing my Chariot, who I think is probably now out of range. Pegasus Hero moves out of the forest to fact my general and archers on the right-side hill in my deployment zone.
Wood Elf Turn Four:
Glade Riders Charge Sorceress; Messengers run for the corners; Chariot plays cat and mouse with big Knight Unit.
Sorceress dies horribly; Randy ridicules me for "killing a lady." I inform him that I am not constrained by his silly human notions of "chivalry." 
I finally cast "destruction" on the Knight Unit, and roll a ton of wounds, reducing it to just the general.
Brettonian Turn Four:
Pegasus charges my archers, but the "stand and shoot" takes the Pegasus out from under him. The General, having nothing to do, moves out of charge range of my chariot/fire arcs of my archers. The messenger continues running for the edge of the board.
Turn Five:
Nothing much happens. My messengers don’t quite make it to the edge of the board, and the Brettonian messenger does. I still win handily, however, as I only lost a Chariot and my Wardancers while the Brettonians have only their Hero and General left on the board.
CONCLUSION
Lessons learned:
Glade Guard are great! They have been useful in every game so far, and would perform a key role in game four (just to whet your appetite). They were definitely my MVU (most valuable unit) for Saturday’s games.
What is wrong with my Wardancers? They are underperforming in a BIG way. Let’s take stock: destroyed by Fleshhounds, destroyed by Zombies, destroyed by a SINGLE Messenger. What is with these guys?
Brettonians are ultra-vulnerable to psychology if you can make them test more than 12" from their general. But you knew that already.
Dinner Time! Just enough time to run to the restaurant for a soup and salad before I was back to fight the aforementioned Ron Hendricks’ Khorne Demons in what was probably my most exciting game of the tourney.