Imperial heroes

 

I had these three characters left in the painting queue for some time, but after two painting sessions these leaders of the imperial army are done. All models come from Highlands Miniatures

First we go with a knight on foot, painted in the colours of the Reiksguard and who can represent Karl Franz when his griffon or warhorse are killed

Then we have Kaspar van Gelt on foot, that infamous leader of the expedition to Lustria and now a captain in bigger Warhammer games

And last but not least my third engineer, armed with a Hochland long rifle

The fall of Reaver's Keep

 

After their string of defeats in the Badlands the stout dwarves of Karaz a Karak flee forwards, marching north to the castle of Reaver's Keep and beseieging the Duchy of Ibar mercenaries holding the place

To conquer the fortress the dwarfs have brought quite the artillery train, lugging two cannons blazing with runes and a pair of organ guns into place

Before them the well disciplined Bande Nere mercenaries, who have enlisted the help of two roaming wizards to aid in the defenece. The castle itself is pretty new, made by myself from polyurethane and balsa wood for the occasion

The bordersmen have first turn and snipe an organ gun with a cannon shot

But in the next turn a might roar signals the start of the dwarven bombardment, basting open the gates

The stoic warriors march to the breach under heavy fire from handguns and spells, singing their war chants and leaving their fallen behind

But then from within the fortress the ground erupts and no less than 40 dwarves appear in the castle courtyard wielding their mattocks and with wrath on their eyes

Thing go from bad to worse for the Duchy as one of the towers starts to shake under the cannonade

While in the courtyard men and dwarves come to grips

Another round of dwarf shooting sees one tower ruined and the other swept clear of defenders

The defenders crumbling also inside the fort

The bright wizard comes down and starts incinerating swathes of dwarves

But by then the longbeards and warriors have already closed on the gate

Finally a last charge of miners cuts down the wizard and all hope is lost for the defenders

Falling the castle in dwarven hands

Having completed his conquest, the Karaz a Karak player ends his turn. The Duke of Ibar opts then to retreat seizing ground in the northern Border Princes, while the Cult of Grimnir takes Matorea from the elves and invests in some spies.

The Altdorf jäger

 

Founded by a collaboration between the Imperial College of Engineers and the richest merchant houses of the capital the Altdorf jäger are one of the finest units of light cavalry in the Empire. Recruited from the best shots of the state troops these riders are equipped with the best weapons that money can buy; guarding the roads around the city and keeping the trade lanes clear during peacetime, and scouting ahead of the Emperor's army in war.

Battle for the Badlands

 

After the battle of last week the dwarves had to defend the northern Badlands from the Empire, and a pitched battle was fought on the territory of the erstwhile Broken Tooth tribe.

The stunties got first turn and destroyed a cannon with the runic anvil

But on the imperial shooting phase their catapult was blown up and several more dwarves fell to handgun fire and mortar shells

Then a unit of miners erupted from the ground intent on destroying the imperial guns, whose crews fled from the charge in order to leave them stranded

Leaving the miners wide open to a steam tank charge that routed them from the field

In the left meanwhile the Reiksguard knights trampled down a small unit of dwarves

Smashing then into a big block of hammerers

On the right flank the battle went also well for the imperials, who saw off a second clan warriors unit 

Having lost their impetus the knights retreated from the stubborn hammerers, but soon regrouped while the dwarves were being pummeled by imperial crossbowmen and the hellblaster gun

Having hid during most of the game, the gyrocopter came out from behind the forest to fire its steam gun, being soon destroyed by a deadeye cannon shot

With less and less dwarfs remaining the battle became a mop up operation for the imperials

With the cavalry deleting the last hammerers

And Karl Franz routing the longbeards at the head of the Carroburg Greatswords

The last straw for the dwarves was the runemaster nuking himself by overcharging the anvil, a disaster that destroyed the last hope of turning the tide for Karaz a Karak

During his campaign turn the dwarf player fortified a castle and attacked the Duchy of Ibar in Reaver's Keep castle, a siege which will be played shortly