Battle Report: Dente di Leopardo Holds the Bloody River
Battle Report: Dente di Leopardo Holds the Bloody River
Yesterday, on the southern bank of the Bloody River, General Dente di Leopardo led 1250 points of Renegades against the greenskin menace spreading through the southern reaches of the realm. Opposing him was Bolo Waligłowa, a Black Orc boss commanding 1150 points of Orcs & Goblins backed by an alarming amount of artillery.
Right from the start, this looked like one of those classic Warhammer: The Old World games where everything can swing wildly from one spell, one panic check, or one gloriously stupid artillery shot.
The armies
Dente di Leopardo — 1250 pts
The Renegade force brought a very characterful mix: a mounted prince, an outlaw wizard on horseback, a block of sellsword infantry with great weapons, hireling outriders, scouting brigands with blunderbusses, a bombard, and a Bonegrinder Giant to really make sure diplomacy was off the table.
“Take off your pants, René” — 1150 pts
On the other side, Bolo’s greenskins fielded a Black Orc Bigboss, Black Orcs, Orc bowmen, two Goblin mobs, Boar Boyz, a Boar Chariot, two Bolt Throwas, a Doom Diver, and a Rock Lobber. In other words: plenty of bodies, plenty of threats, and plenty of ways to remove expensive things from the table at long range.
Turn 1 — Renegades advance
The Renegades wasted no time. The mounted wizard and cavalry pushed up onto the hill, the giant lumbered down the eastern flank toward some increasingly nervous goblins, and the scouting Brigands with blunderbusses suddenly appeared in front of the greenskin artillery core, screening the great-weapon lads — our beloved trailer-hand weapon boyz — from deadly goblin bolt thrower fire.
The Renegade Bombard opened the battle by dropping one boar. Not a huge start, but very respectable as opening statements go.
Greenskin reply — movement and ranging fire
The greenskins answered by sending their speeding chariot down the western flank. The bow-armed Orc mob climbed onto a hill and took up what looked like a useful firing position — though, as it turned out, they would spend a little too long there to really matter in the battle.
The Black Orcs positioned themselves behind a Goblin unit moving toward the Hirelings, while the Rock Lobber, Doom Diver, and Bolt Throwas started shaving off individual models from the Brigands and the trailer-hand weapon boyz.
The outlaw wizard goes to work
Then came one of the key moments of the game.
The Renegade cavalry switched to full aggression, and the outlaw wizard tore open the sky twice, summoning bloodthirsty beasts of Chaos. The results were brutal: first 11 hits into goblins, then 10 into the boar riders. After pistol fire was added on top, the final tally was 11 dead goblins and 4 dead boars.
That was a massive swing. We always love those turns where magic doesn’t just “help” — it completely changes the shape of the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the Bonegrinder Giant kept stomping toward another Goblin unit, and Dente di Leopardo himself lingered on the eastern flank, slightly away from the main line, clearly looking for a way into the enemy rear.
Goblin counterplay, artillery pressure, and a very exposed cannon
The goblins then sprang a nasty surprise on the Brigands, charging the skirmishing unit unexpectedly. About a third of the Renegades failed to get into the fight in time and died without even striking back.
At the same time, the Orc bowmen picked off more of the heavily decorated Hirelings, while the Doom Diver scored an unusually powerful hit on the giant — but failed to wound him. A Bolt Throwa repeated the trick shortly after.
The greenskin chariot, still completely unbothered, continued racing north. By now its purpose was obvious: on the river’s edge stood the Renegade Bombard, isolated and horribly exposed.
Brigands break goblins, giant pressures the flank
The Brigands recovered well, smashing the Goblin unit and leaving only two survivors, who cleverly fled behind the advancing Black Orcs. The Brigands pursued straight into trouble and collided with those Black Orcs.
Elsewhere, the giant charged another Goblin mob, who simply could not take that kind of pressure and fled. The Hirelings reduced the boar riders to just two fleeing survivors, while the lonely Bombard misfired trying to save itself from the incoming chariot.
Bonegrinder dinner time
One of our favorite moments of the battle came next.
The Bonegrinder caught up with the Goblins just as they rallied near the edge of the table and began, frankly, eating them. The greenskins got an Initiative test to avoid being devoured, surviving on rolls of 1, 2, and 3 — but most of them were eaten alive anyway.
That is exactly the kind of absurdly cinematic nonsense we come to this game for.
Black Orcs hit hard, chariot claims the cannon
The goblins fled again, though they managed to rally just before disappearing off the table. The Black Orcs then crushed the Brigands and charged into the flank of the trailer-hand weapon boyz, after first calling on the power of the WAAAGH!
The remaining boars failed to rally and ran almost to the board edge. On the far side, the speeding chariot finally reached its target and wiped the Bombard crew off the face of the earth.
The Orc bowmen also dropped yet another Hireling, continuing their slow but steady contribution.
The center explodes — giant and infantry break the Black Orcs
Armed with his Meteor Hammer — or, as the orcs might say, “Meet your hammer” — the Black Orc Boss smashed into the formation of the trailer-hand weapon boyz. After losing the combat from the flank and falling back in good order, the battered Renegades turned to face the attackers and locked them in a frontal fight.
Then, after finishing off the last goblins in a tide of vomit, the giant took an interest in the main melee and charged into the flank of the Black Orcs. Together, the Bonegrinder and the great-weapon infantry drove the Black Orc unit off and then ran them down along with their general.
That was the decisive blow of the battle.
Dente di Leopardo hunts the artillery
While the center was being decided, Dente di Leopardo had finally reached the enemy rear and began methodically removing the greenskin war machines. First he took out the Doom Diver, then he lined up on a Bolt Throwa.
But the artillery got one last word in: before dying, the Bolt Throwa stripped the final wound from the giant and brought him crashing down. Fortunately for the Renegades, he fell backwards, not onto the already battered trailer-hand weapon boyz standing in front of him.
Final exchanges and result
In the last clash of the game, the Rock Lobber removed a few more of the trailer-hand weapon boyz, leaving the unit below 25% of its starting strength. The chariot then charged the outlaw wizard, but from too short a distance to inflict impact hits.
That was the final duel of the battle.
When the dust settled, the game ended 837:786 for the Renegades. Dente di Leopardo held the riverbank, the orcs were broken, and the next meeting between these forces will apparently have to wait until the capital.
Closing thoughts
This was a really fun small game: loads of movement, artillery doing just enough to stay relevant, a wizard having a huge impact, and a giant doing giant things right up until the moment he got skewered.
The standout moments for us were definitely:
- the outlaw wizard’s devastating double spell turn,
- the Bonegrinder eating goblins near the table edge,
- the Black Orcs smashing into the infantry only to get folded by the countercharge,
- and Dente’s late-game sweep through the artillery park.
A proper scrappy battle report, full of reversals, weird luck, and exactly the kind of narrative nonsense that makes The Old World such a joy.