Chicago Skirmish Wargames

Last month we had the kickoff of our Summer 2024 Mordheim Campaign. 7 Members were in attendance divided among 3 games.

Before the Game I prepared 2 of the 3 tables. One predominantly comprised of porcelain Christmas houses and accesories converted into fantasy dwellings. The other made of every bit of ruined and temple'ish terrain we could find.

 

Game 1.1

On the left side of the main table, Michael, Jon and Charlie (Undead, Sister of Sigmar and Skaven, respectively) faced off in a relatively intact quarter of the city along a river.

The Undead prevailed with Vampire Count Duchain's chronicler relaying that:

Traveling through Mordheim, Count Duchain and his minions heard a scrabble between filthy vermin and the cursed harlots of the Chruch of Sigmar. Finding an opportune moment to feed his minions, he sent forth his Dire Wolves into the fray and attacked the stragglers of the melee before they had a chance to escape. The Sigmarites fled before the undead and the rats scurried back into the depths of the city.

Game 1.2

On the right side of the main table, My Samflat Akafligast (Norse) Faced off against Tim's Middenheimers.

A Middenheimer Mercenary Band and the Black Crown Sam Flat Akafligast (Akaf) made a chance encounter at the ruins around the Dragon Shrine. 

Thinking they had caught their enemies by surprise, the Akaf charged in. However the tactically experienced Mercenaries were no easy prey. Despite the quick loss of their hired sorcerer, their Alpha Wolf and Warrior were quick to step in and deal violence. The Middenheimers made short work of an Akaf wolf and Berserker and when the massive Wulfen fell the Norsemen lost heart and fled the field.

Game 1.3

Mattias's Lurkers of Leechead  and Michael's Debauched ones battled it out on a third table where Mattias had provided the terrain. The layout is the same pieces that made up the massive hand-painted castle featured so prominently in our Kings of War Campaign Finale. By rearranging the various wall and tower sections, Mattias created a very interesting layout and the only layout of the evening to have the multiple elevations that feature in classic Mordheim games.

‘The Debauched Ones’, a Cult of the Possessed were a notable presence. They are from Michael's Slaanesh army that has seen action in a variety of games over the years at CSW and before, most recently in our Kings of War campaign. Leader Samira is not present in the campaign but has sent Ishtar, one of her sorceresses (counts as the Magister), to lead a warband in Mordheim for the purpose of acquiring Wyrdstone. They were only partially successful in this battle, with victory ultimately going to the Lurkers.

Mattias Reports:
We rolled up wyrdstone hunt with 4 shards. It came down to the wire. I had 2 shards to Mike's 1. I had taken two of Mike's 5 warriors out of action. But J'gog'th'zoz, carrying a shard, was stunned at the feet of an enemy mutant--sure to be put out of action and to allow the wyrdstone to fall into enemy hands--when Mike failed his rally test and his warband fled into the shadowed streets.

There was a notable nearly-game-long fight between the 2 Magisters.

Also, the climax of the game on a stairway where the Lurkers secured their victory.

The Lurkers of Leechead. Perhaps we should do a post showcasing all the warbands of the campaign:

All in all a great evening. I think we all learned alot about the game as most of us had never played. I do think I will endeavor to create layouts that are more compact and multi-level in the future.

Here's the standings for Night 1.

Tim: (Middenheimers) 1-0

James: Count Duchain (Undead): 1-0

Mattias: Lurkers of Leechhead (Posessed) 1-0

Karl: Sam Flat Akafligast (Norse Explorers) 0-1

Michael: Debauched ones (Posesssed): 0-1

Jon: (Church of Sigmar): 0-1

Charlie: Scratching Abominations (Skaven): 0-1