Mordheim: come for the warbands, stay for the battle reports.

Following my previous post, I decided my current warband lacked flavour and craved a different approach. After much deliberation, I opted for a Middenheim-themed Mercenary warband, despite their Marienburg-esque paint scheme. My reasoning was to stick with the core warbands while learning the ropes, and, crucially, my miniatures were already painted.

My captain, having spent too much time in Mordheim, now conceals his face behind a mask, a malevolent wyrdstone glow emanating from its eyeholes. His champions are armed with two-handed swords; one, the quartermaster, meticulously carries his ledger. The Youngbloods prefer their bows, avoiding close combat whenever possible. My henchmen comprise two Marksmen supporting the archers, two Warriors with spears, and three Swordsmen.

The next battle unfolded as another chaotic four-way wyrdstone hunt – a recurring theme! We welcomed a new player with a borrowed Reikland warband, the scenario deemed ideal for newcomers: grab the loot, eliminate threats.

The Beastmen returned, their coffers swollen enough to field a Minotaur. The previous newcomer now commanded a Bretonnian warband, their fully armoured captain proudly mounted on a warhorse.

Deployed in opposing corners, I found myself sandwiched between the Bretonnians and the Beastmen. On turn one, the bulk of my warband ascended the nearest ruins, drawn by a shard of wyrdstone and the tactical advantage of higher ground for my bowmen. The ruins’ upper levels also offered a precarious route to the central, wyrdstone-rich area via walkways. The remainder of my force spread out below, guarding against flanking maneuvers. Turn two saw my bowmen exchange ineffective shots with the Bretonnians, who immediately proved superior, stunning a bowman and a champion. Meanwhile, my captain and remaining champion cautiously advanced across the walkways towards the centre, hoping the Bretonnian and Beastmen would clash, creating an opportunity to snatch some wyrdstone. On the ground, my left flank held firm, safe from Bretonnian arrows while remaining vigilant, and my right flank sprinted towards a wyrdstone-laden ruin.

Turn three mirrored the previous: archers traded fire (a stray shot felling a Youngblood), my captain and champion continued their single-file trek across the walkways, and my right flank reached the targeted ruin. Unfortunately, the Beastmen had arrived first, claiming the wyrdstone. Worse was to come as the Bretonnian captain spurred his warhorse onto the elevated walkways and charged my unsuspecting captain. A swift combat, where I frustratingly forgot to parry, saw my leader fall.

Turn four ignited my remaining champion’s fury. Witnessing his captain’s demise spurred him to action. He charged the Bretonnian captain, his zweihander a blur, felling the knight and claiming the wyrdstone he carried. Behind him, the archers found their mark, knocking down a Bretonnian warrior while escaping unscathed. The soldiers on my right flank were less fortunate, locked in a tense doorway combat with the Beastmen, only skillful parries preventing injury.

Turn five proved disastrous. The archers attempted to claim precarious wyrdstone, one failing the climb, the other, a Youngblood, succeeding but finding himself exposed. A volley of Bretonnian arrows swiftly stunned him, sending him plummeting to his doom. The champion, still basking in his victory over the Bretonnian captain, failed to notice the Minotaur stalking him. With the knight no longer a target, the beast charged, ending the champion’s rampage. Finally, the Beastman in the doorway broke through the parries, taking down a Swordsman. This sudden cascade of losses shattered the Middenheimers’ morale, and they fled the cursed city.

In the aftermath, a Swordsman succumbed to permanent injury, and my captain now bears an old battle wound. However, my champion, hardened by his brush with the Minotaur, is now immune to fear. The three wyrdstone shards we scavenged were traded to replace the fallen Swordsman.