First AoS Battle Lessons: Skaven vs Dark Elves
Battle report from the learning table
Michał jumped into another Age of Sigmar game recently, and even from a short chat afterwards it was obvious this was one of those matches that teach you a ton in a very short time.
Big thanks go first to the crew for showing up, cheering from the sidelines, and generally providing that hobby morale boost. As Ender put it: somebody has to learn all this first, so they can teach the rest of us later. Fair enough.
Facing Dark Elves
This time Michał was up against Dark Elves, and from the sound of it they looked great on the table and were not exactly easy to deal with either. One of those armies that makes you stop for a second and go: yeah, that is cool.
The opponent was experienced too — someone who has been playing AoS since 2015. That definitely showed, but in the best possible way. Michał mentioned that the game was played in a really friendly spirit, with plenty of helpful reminders along the way. When buffs were getting forgotten, the opponent pointed them out. That kind of game is honestly perfect when you’re still building confidence with an army.
The big takeaway: maybe we didn’t need to concede so early
The most important post-game realization was simple: the game may have still had some life in it.
Michał felt afterwards that he probably could have kept going longer and didn’t necessarily have to concede when he did. And honestly, that is such a classic early-game lesson. When we’re still learning, it’s easy to look at the board, see a scary situation, and assume it’s already over. Then later, once the adrenaline drops, we start spotting lines of play that were still there.
That is the kind of lesson that sticks. Not because of a win or loss, but because in the next battle we remember to push one turn further and see what happens.
Ratling guns, too many shots, and useful rules discoveries
One of the funniest moments from the game had to be the ratling guns. Michał was about to shoot at a unit of just three spearmen, but the opponent basically removed them straight away because there was no real point in rolling it all out — with 3D6×6 attacks, resolving a full volley would take ages, and the result was pretty obvious.
That led to a very useful rules lesson too: Michał learned that he can split successive shots between different targets, instead of dumping everything into one unit. That opens up a lot of tactical flexibility, especially with this kind of wild-volume Skaven shooting.
It is exactly the sort of rule interaction that only really sticks once you’ve seen it happen in a real game.
Hobby side note: the rats looked great
Stas also pointed out something we absolutely have to mention here: the Skaven painted in different colors looked great. That kind of varied scheme is such a fun idea for a rat army. It gives the whole force more character and really suits the chaotic energy Skaven should have on the table.
On to the next one
So this one sounds like a very successful game, even if it came with the usual post-battle “wait, I could have done that differently” thoughts. A strong-looking opponent, a friendly and helpful atmosphere, some important tactical lessons, and a few more things learned about how the army actually works in practice — that is a good day of Age of Sigmar in our book.
Now we just wait for the next battle report. And yes, Michał, let us know when the next game is happening.