My First Game of Mordheim – An Amazing 24 Years Late!

Mordheim was a game that I always wanted to try, but never got around to. This game came out in 1999, and the first time that I bought into Warhammer was 2004, so I kind of missed the boat on that. If you search the internet though, you can find free copies of these rules. That is exactly what I did. Now, I found myself actually playing Mordheim 24 years after it was actually released.

I’m late, but still had a good time playing the game.

I always thought that they should release a new version of the game. I found the rules not as streamlined as other more modern minaitures games, but it was still a lot of fun.

Today’s post is about my first game of Mordheim.

Setting The Table

I got to the gaming store before my friend so I laid out my CigarBox battle mats. This is one from their Rangers of Shadow Deep line of products. It is a great little 3′ by 3′ cloth gaming mat called Blood Moon if you are looking at their site.

On top of the mat, I placed a whole bunch of terrain. Everything on this table is made by either XOLK or Monster Fight Club. We played at one of my three favourite Friendly Local Gaming Stores in the Waterloo, Ontario area. This one is Phoenix Games.

Phoenix Games has terrain that they let me use when I go there, but for this game – I supplied everything on this table. That said, Phoenix supplied the table, chairs, permission to take photos and friendly atmosphere.

The Mordheim Warbands

Before selecting table sides, we revealed to each other our Warbands.

Dave brought a typical band of mercenaries to Mordheim. All the figures are converted Halfling Blood Bowl Miniatures. Perhaps there are a few other minis in there too. Dave focused on affordable soldiers and brought 9 figures to the tabletop for our battle.

I brought a Team of Dwarfs. My initial Warband had just four figures, which proved to be a big mistake for this game. All my Warband members were the best of the best, but there was not enough of them. For those wondering, these miniatures are by RM Printable from MyMiniFactory.

My team was equipped with the best of weapons and armour while Dave’s team was not very well equipped at all.

Choosing the Table Edge

Since I set up the gaming table before Dave arrived, I let Dave decide which side to deploy from. I would deploy on the opposite side. This adds fairness to the situation as I chose how to place the terrain and he decided which team started where. Neither of us could take advantage of setting up terrain unfairly.

Dave made his choice in the easiest way possible. “I am sitting here, so I choose this side.” A sound strategy for sure.

I deployed my Dwarf Treasure Hunter Warband melee fighters behind a building with a ranged fighter on the top floor of that same building. Dave deployed his warband behind the houses to keep them out of line of site.

The goal of the battle would be the elimination of the opponent – aka… make the other warband run from the battleflied.

Let’s see how it played out.

The Battle – My First Game of Mordheim

To start the battle, we both moved our melee fighters up the field.

Dave really used those bridges in the center of the table to his advantage.

Look at these guys. How am I going to get a shot off with my black-powdered gun when all his band is out of my line of site?

I decided to send my melee fighters in.

At this time, we removed the bridges but agreed that my gunner wouldn’t be able to see those folks that would be under the bridge. My Melee fighters decided to take the high ground and try to pounce on the enemies below.

Dave rushed a fighter up there and pushed one of my two Dwarfs off the cliff. That hurt. My Dwarfs are super tough, but I wasn’t ready for this. Two are down on the ground now!

A fierce battle happens under the bridge while my ranged fighter is stuck with nothing to shot at. Dave his hiding all of his minis from that guy.

We both took down a few characters, but neither side was going out of the battle quickly. This game was taking a very long time at this point. Hours!

Frustrated with how long this game was taking, I sent down my gunner to help the others. He didn’t have good shots anyhow. Sadly, two Halflings cornered him and took him out of the game. That was my first casualty.

Quickly after that, a second member of my squad was taken out, and the two remaining Dwarf Hunters ran.

The Aftermath – My First Mordheim Game

Both sides fought hard in this battle. The Halfling Warband had many more figures than mine (9 versus 4). My warband took two casualties while Dave’s took three. Because my warband was at half strength, they ran from the battle.

Rolling up injuries at the end of the battle, I believe one of these characters above actually died while another had a permanent injury.

My characters all rolled up healthy after the battle, so I was lucky. Dave’s warband won the game, but mine came out ahead in terms of treasure minus casualty costs.

For the next game I purchased another gunner for my Warband, and I triggered a random event where I get a free mercanary for the next battle.

Wrapping it up…

My first game of Mordheim was a lot of fun. By the time I played it, this game was 24 years old, but it was still enjoyable.

During the course of the game, I learned four characters is not enough for an effective warband. You need to knock over your opponent to the ground first and then take him out with another action. With just four elite figures versus nine lesser opponents, I had enough power to knock them down, but not enough actions to follow up that knock down with an attack to take the miniature out of the game.

Special thanks goes out to Dave for being such a fun opponent and to Phoenix Games for providing the gaming space.

For a closer look at the Dwarfs by RM Printable, be sure to check out an article about his amazing Dwarfs!

Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!