Warcraft II Part #10 - Mission 10: Bloodgut and Mag'fon do Stratholme

Part 10: Mission 10: Bloodgut and Mag'fon do Stratholme

Episode 10: The Destruction of Stratholme or Bloodgut and Mag'fon do Stratholme

: This can only end poorly...

: Ay, Bloodbelly. I tink da Chief an' Vile no come back from dis one.

: Well, I was more concerned with me being in charge of the men.

: Blood-mon, there be lil' chance o' us needin' ta do anyting. Da war's been quiet.

: Necksmasher!

: ...You just had to jinx it, didn't you, Mag'fon?

: Where is the Chieftain, peon?

: Uh, he, uhh...

: He be off overseein' death wagon production.

: Death whats?

: Catapults, War Chief.

: Just make sure he gets this report. And get back to work, peon!

Days later, in the northern frigid reaches of Lordaeron...

: Bloodbelly, ya sure we can do this? We be in a dangerous spot.

: The report said we just needed to stop oil production in this town. It shouldn't be too difficult.

: Ehh... mon...

: Besides, the goblins sent some soldiers to lend assistance.

The infamous goblin sappers. These are very unique units in that they... well, see that Demolish skill they have?

: Of course, we can't exactly fit through that pass in the same way they can. Their captain said he'd find another way around.

: Goblins? Blood-mon! Stand clear!

Yup, the goblins blow themselves up. This allows them to destroy bits of the environment (trees and mountains only, really) and create new passage where there was none. This sounds fantastic if it didn't actually end up being rather useless. Then again, I called catapults useless in Warcraft: O&H, so I may be proven wrong yet again.

: Netherspit!

: What is wrong with these goblins!?

: Eh, dey be goblins, mon. It's what dey do.

: Well at least there's a source of income for the men. Let's set up camp here. And keep those goblins away from me!

: Looks like we gotta earn dis camp first.

: Uhh... well, go. Kill them or something!

: Heh, I guess I've still got this whole "leadership" thing.

: Dere was two o' dem, Bloodbelly. Relax.

Yup, as it turns out, this first base is... awful. There's not enough room to place a Great Hall without being clever. Even after that, there is no room to expand. I actually like this set-up a lot because it makes you break your routine and really be aggressive early on.

: Uhh... we may have a problem here.

: Blood-mon, what if you just...

Very clever, Blizzard. Very clever.

: Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Maggy.

: Maggy?

: Er, Mag'fon.

: Whateva', mon. I'm takin' tha boys out scoutin'.

: Oh, yeah, yeah. Probably should do that.

: Dis feelin' like a big mistake.

: I heard dat Bloodbelly lead some battles in da First War...

: ...I dunno about him, though.

This is actually your main base on the map. Note in the mini-map that this is pretty much in the center of the battlefield. Just something to keep in the back of your mind.

: Oh, dis may be useful. Wonda' what Bloodbelly would tink about dis?

Back at Bloodgut's base...

: Heh, this base is coming along just fine. I mean... it'll be difficult to get a barracks running. And I think we're running out of lumber...

Back at Camp Mag'fon...

: Sure he's doin' fine.

: Looks like da humans found us. Let's take da battle to dem!

: Not much o' a threat. Hold dis, men. Let's get da mine secured.

: Looks good, mon. Now we jus' need ta- What's tha' noise!?

: Magic! Rarrrghh!

Mages. Maaaaaages. A ballista shot from out of the blue is frustrating, since it has all the range to snipe some of your units without you being able to react. A mage's fireball is like that only that hits all targets in a line. In actual combat, it's possible to dodge, but as a sniping method it's rather frustrating.

: ...I tink I may've given away da element o' suh'prise.

: Hhh... huh... Dat was some bad mojo.

And the mage attacks don't stop! Fireballs start streaming into the base whenever there's any amount of downtime.

: Oh, mon. Again wit dis? Fire da death wagon!

: Huh.

Mages also don't leave behind corpses, which is actually pretty awesome. They just sort of poof away, leaving their robes to fall to the ground. I guess so we can't use a spell that we'll be seeing later.

From here on out, the base is constantly assaulted by knights, mages, and ballistae. It's just as annoying as it sounds, especially given that I don't even have a barracks up yet.

...Also these are my only remaining troops.

: Where be Vile-mon when ya need 'im?

: Least we got da mill runnin'. I should get Bloodbelly up here ta shore up da defenses.

Later...

: If the humans keep attacking, just move the men into the guard towers.

: Ya... ya... da guard towers...

: Ugh, okay, step one...

: This should hold. Get the troops up in the towers.

: Ya... ya... da troops...

: ...You're kidding me, right?

: There. These men should be fine against the human forces.

: Uh, Bloodbelly, dis only be four men.

: Oh, you're right. What was I thinking?

: Five soldiers should be able to handle things.

: Blood-mon, dey have mages dat can-

: That grunt just exploded in flames!

: Ya... dat can do dat.

: Tactical retreat!

: Yes, well... that's the part that makes it tactical.

: We finally safe here, mon.

: Ya kiddin' me.

Probably the least chivalrous knights, ever. They beeline for the peons and just start wailing away. It's almost like I'm back on Battlenet again!

Also, for those of you keeping track, since the paladin here is level four, and the we previously saw the knights at level three, we can assume that they haven't gotten their heal yet since the paladin upgrade counts as a level.

: These humans are starting to play dirty.

: Gotta respect dat.

: Don't start sounding like Nigel. If the humans are playing dirty... we could be in some serious trouble.

Yup, the only real source of lumber on the map is also within easy range of opposing ballista fire. Seriously, can a map get any more frustrating?

: Just take it out already!

: I'm so glad to see that you scouted this area properly, Maggy.

: 'Ey, mon! Ya no-

: Shut your two-tusked face, troll! I'm the chieftain around here and I'm getting tired of this!

: Chief!? But, Blood-mon, you-

: Enough! Time for you to do your job properly; get in the zeppelin and scout out those humans!

: Dat orc be messed up someting firece in da head.

: Orderin' me around like he da Chief...

Are you starting to see why the attacks are so frequent? Look how close the human base is!

: Eh, Bloodbelly can't make me go no where. We can launch a suh'prise attack from back 'ere. Good enough scoutin' fer me.

Meanwhile, on the shores of "Bloodgut Fortress"...

: That stupid troll. I'M the one in charge here. Sometimes a leader just has to get their hands dirty.

: If we're to cut the humans off from their oil supply, then we'll need more than cowering behind our walls like Maggy over there would have us do.

: Excellent. We take control of the sea, and while they're distracted, we'll launch an attack at their gates. While they're distracted there, we'll be able to cut off their oil lines in the sea.

: I'm a tactical genius.

: Death wagons! Charge!

: Eh? Bloodbelly! Whatchu doin', mon!?

: I'm taking charge of this unit! Doing what you can't do! What Nigel couldn't do!

: Are ya stupid, Blood-mon!? Dis be exactly what da Chief would do! Ye not even needin' me ta scout for ya if ya not gonna listen ta me!

: Just like Nigel? That's impossible, I-

: Heh. Boom.

: Ya see, Blood-mon? Now pay attention!

: Huh?

Fireballs work amazingly against the slow-moving death wagons. There's very little time to get them out of the way before mages start wrecking your shit.