1500pts vs Goblins

Another Thursday night at the local Games Workshop. I have just enough time for one game after work and before playing hockey - I meet Martin, who offers his puny greenskins up for a game.

The Dwarven Forces:
(as deployed from the Dwarves' left to right)

20 warriors w/ thane general (w/ shield, RoFury, Ro Stone)
grudge thrower w/ Ro acuracy
10 thunderers
cannon
10 thunderers
organ gun
20 Longbeards w/ thane BSB (ro slowness + 5+ ward) + runesmith (shield, MRo balance)

The Goblin Forces:
(as deployed from the Dwarves' left to right)

30 Goblins
5 Wolf Boys (in front of the goblins)
3 snotlings
2 Spear Chukkas
Doom Diver
20 Night Goblins w/ 3 Fanatics, Goblin shaman
30 Goblins w/Goblin Big Boss General
20 Night Goblins w/ 3 Fanatics, Night Goblin shaman
5 Wolf Boys

The Battle:

We both had hills across our entire deployment edge, the middle of the table was a valley with on forest on the middle-left. He deploys to flank around either side with his wolfboys. I setup in the middle of the hill on my side as it juts out and just "seemed right" but I probably would have done better in a corner. He spread his block units all across the table - I once again separated my blocks on either side of the center of my hill in order to deal with the threats spread across the table.

Most of his army squabbles the first turn, one unit of night gobbos charges 6" forward and continues to march the same way. Magic is ineffective this turn as one of his shaman is squabbling. I miss with most of my artillery, the organ gun pokes a few holes in the advanced night gobbos (not enough to panic them).

Next turn, Night goblins move up and release fanatics, making a bit of a mess of my Longbeards and threatening my organ gun and thunderers next turn. Goblin general's unit squabbles again, most of the army advances and wolf boys are zipping up each flank.

My longbeards back up a bit and face the night goblins. My warriors are being advanced on from multiple fronts and so back-up a bit to ensure everything stays off of their flanks. I'm forced to shoot my organ gun and thunderers at the fanatics. 

Night goblins fail their charge against my longbeards due to the RoSlowness, I charge them and they flee and are destroyed... not much left for my longbeards to do after that. The wolf boys get around my blocks and into my war machines, which are all are destroyed but my thunderers setup a flank charge into the wolves after they fail to break my cannon. 

The common goblin shaman killed itself with a hit from the itty ring and a miscast.

His other night gobbos try to release their fanatics into my warriors, but release them all short and in the next turn roll a 6 on their animosity and charge over them, destroying the unit and all of the fanatics.  

In the end my block units are barely touched, my machines and gunners are dead save for one lone thunderer champ who finishes the last of the snotlings. I have all my characters and he is down two units of night goblins plus the shamans and the expensive fanatics. 

A solid victory for the dwarfs. Had the silly night-gobbo self-destruction not happened, he might have made a big dent in my warriors and possibly other damage from the fanatics. Would have probably turned the game into a tie.

Lessons Learned:

Again, poor deployment limited the abilities of my block units. I should have deployed in one corner (the entire back of the table was a hill) forcing him to march much furtherand making it harder to bring his wide line of units to bear, and harder to flank me with the wolfboys. I allowed the shape of the hill on the table to decide what I did, and it didn't need to be so. Fortunately, his bad luck more than made up for my poor deployment.

So far I've always taken the first turn to get the first shot in with my war mahines but I think waiting to see where he goes with his units would actually be more useful so that I don't waste my first turn's movement standing still with my block units (which I tend to use more defensively/reactionary).