LET US TRY THIS AGAIN

Nathan Bishop

Nathan Bishop: Ah, now I get to face the "real" Stunties! All the small ones look the same to a Giant.

As I said in the conclusion of the first battle report, I was looking forward to the chance to retry this scenario with a little modification. Now I'm getting that second chance right away.

This time, it's against the "real" Stunties. Between the Dwarfs and the scenario edits, I think this will prove to be a much more interesting fight. I will have more chances to pull off some of those random Giant moves aimed at the little folk. It may not sound fun to us, but it's a time-honoured tradition for Giants to see how many angry Dwarfs they can stuff in their trousers.

Once again, my goal is to get my Giants off of the opposite board edge. However, this time, I am going in with not four but six Giants. Plus, I'm going to be much more careful about my movement. I want to be charging first every time.

As far as the Stunties, I am going to need to watch their firepower as I get close. Dwarfs are renowned for their ability to take down a Giant, even from far away. I do, however, have the advantage of the Me Powder's Damp rule, so I won't be taking shots right off the bat. Also, I want to watch out for the Troll Slayers – though they are easy to kill, Troll Slayers will use my Toughness for their Strength, which makes them potentially deadly.

Once again, chance is going to play a big role with the Giants, and I am really excited to see how they do. If things go well, it could let me show my new boss (Ken) who the real boss is (me).

SMALL BUT FIERCE

Ken Kennedy

Ken Kennedy: Though I documented the beat-down of Nathan's four Giants by Dave's Ogres in the first battle report, I'm still a bit concerned about facing the Giants with my Dwarfs. For starters, there are now six Giants, so Nathan now has as many units as I do. Another big difference is that Nathan got charged by Dave every time, and I'll be lucky if I get the charge even once. Charging is only likely if one of my units can hold a Giant long enough for another of my units to mosey on up into combat.

Regardless of the daunting odds, I'm still going to put up a heck of a fight. I'll start with a unit of Warriors and a unit of Longbeards. John Alton of the Glen Burnie GW Hobby Centre lent me these models, as my Dwarfs are still not quite ready for a public unveiling. Going for blood, he modelled both of these units with great weapons. Joining these troops are a small unit of Ironbreakers and a unit of Slayers. I never play without the 'ard-as-nails Ironbreakers who have polished off a few Giants in their time, and the Slayers are a must against monsters of this size.

Missile troops won't be of much use in the pouring rain (half range), but I thought I'd throw in a small unit of Thunderers and a Cannon for authenticity. Who knows – I could get lucky and knock out a few Giants with them.

I selected a Dwarf Thane to lead this gang. I armoured him up and also gave him the Rune of Might, which doubles his Strength against Toughness 5 opponents; and the Rune of Speed, which makes his Initiative 1 higher than the Giants.

Finally, with the remaining 50 points, I opted for a bare-bones Dragon Slayer. It was either him or a pair of Giant Slayers in my Troll Slayer unit, and I figured they were pretty similar except for the Dragon Slayer's higher Toughness and his ability to wander off on his own.

As far as strategy goes, I am really going to be spread thin. Six Giants have a much better chance of slipping by than four did against the Ogres. With the Dwarfs' little legs, if they get by me, the Giants are gone... unless they turn around and slam me in the flank or rear. I'm hoping to get a few quick hits with the Cannon so that a deadly engagement with a charging Giant might actually result in the Giant's demise. I think that the Thunderers will be okay, even with their reduced range of 12". I'll get a round of shooting and then a stand & shoot reaction. Hopefully that plan will finish off one of the beasts.

As far as Terror and Fear goes, I'm just going to have to rely on my Leadership of 9. It has rarely failed me in the past, and I'm counting on it to pull me through this time as well.

Next: Set-up