Idoneth advance, the Namarti forming the first wave of the assault followed by the Akhelians. Volturnos decided he would, for now, remain with the cadre of Isharann, watching over them until they began the soul extraction. Nearby, Maughan the Soulscryer was already incanting a ritual,
swirling the air above the ethersea into a dizzying vortex that would bring any undead creatures in the sky crashing to the ground. The other Isharann supported him in his endeavour, empowering him with mystic energy.
On the other side of the river of souls, the Ethersea Marauders raced forward on their Allopex mounts, followed closely by the Terror of Maithnar. It looked like the Great Necromancer’s forces may try to flank his own army’s advance and Volturnos could not have that happen – the Idoneth could not afford a war of attrition. Nagash seethed with rage at the temerity of the Idoneth Deepkin – they were trying to steal souls that rightfully belonged to him!
Even worse, their aelven magic had caused the skies of Shyish to roil with ethereal energy, their mystical ethersea flowing dankly around his army and leaving his airborne servants utterly
grounded. No matter, death would come to them sooner or later. Nagash ordered his undead minions forward, intending to surround the soul siphon with a wall of Skeleton Warriors. His
Soulblight children, having
scented blood, were desperate to engage the enemy and the Great Necromancer had no desire to stop them. He idly unshackled them from his will and the Blood Knights roared down the hill through the graveyards. Those to the north failed to reach the enemy, but those to the south put on an unexpected burst of speed that saw an entire unit of Reavers trampled beneath their
hooves. First blood had been spilt.
THE RITUAL
For Sam to win the game, he would need to complete the ritual. To do this, he would need to get his Soulscryer to the soul siphon – in the following turn he could then begin the ritual. Every turn the Soulscryer was next t o the souls siphon Sam could steal D6 souls from it. When he got to 20, he would win the game. To improve his chances, we agreed that Sam could add one to his dice roll for every Isharann hero within 3" of the Soulscryer each turn. Martyn would, of course, be aiming to kill the Soulscryer and his fellow Isharann.
SOULS STOLEN
BATTLE ROUND ONE
As the attackers in this battle, Sam and the Idoneth Deepkin take the rst turn.
The Soulscryer(1)casts Ritual of the Tempest, preventing undead units from ying until the next Idoneth hero phase.
Volturnos (2) uses the Give Them No Respite command ability to increase the movement of three Idoneth units. As a result, the Namarti Reavers(3)and Thralls (4) race forward alongside the Ishlaen Guard (5)in an attempt to cordon off the undead advance.
The Eidolon of Mathlann (6)holds the Idoneth north ank, while the Morrsarr Guard head south (7).
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9
TIDES OF DEATH
The army special rule for the Idoneth Deepkin is called Tides of Death. It changes at the start of every battle round.
Low Tide: In this battle round, all units with the Tides of Death battle trait are treated as being in cover.
A TWO-FANGED ASSAULT
Martyn: I was in two minds over how to deal with Sam’s forces. He had committed most of his models (including all of his heroes) to the northern side of the soul siphon. I was
debating whether I should sweep my army around the southern end of it and attack him from the flank or whether I should meet him head on. In the end I decided on doing both. Nagash and the Morghasts herded two big units of Skeleton Warriors down through the graveyards, while Vhordrai led the Grave
Guard in the flanking force. Sam’s Ritual of the Tempest that stopped my units flying, though, was a real hindrance to my battle plan…
The trio of Akhelian Allopexes (8) y next to the canal, ready to move to reinforce either ank. Despite their swift advance, the Idoneth are out of range with their shooting attacks and too far away to initiate any charges. Nagash(9) uses his Supreme Lord of Death Command Ability to make his army immune to battleshock. His offensive spells are out of range at this point, but he casts Mystic Shield on the nearest Skeletons in case they get shot at in the next battle round. The Grave Guard(10)run (albeit very slowly!) down the hill followed by the Spirit Hosts. Unable to y due to the raging ethersea tempest, Prince Vhordrai(11) is trapped behind his own units and cannot move at all. The Knights of Skull Keep(12) race down the graveyard on the north side of the soul siphon followed by the two units of Skeleton Warriors.
The Knights of Blood Tower(13)pull off a very long charge on the Namarti Reavers and kill nine of them. The last Reaver ees from their terrifying onslaught.