Intro and Lists
I’ve gotten in a lot of league-adjacent Herd games in over the last few months. It's been great, and I’ve learned a lot, but have been clamoring to try out some other armies again, as I am not good at fine-tuning lists. Fortunately, Joe and his Imperial Dwarfs were down for a game, and down to run some unusual things as well! Joe brought the following to our game:
Returning as-usual is mighty Faber and the potent Royal Guard formation, as well as numerous Mastiff Packs, and Throwing Mastiffs galore. Old units trying new things are the stalwart Earth Elementals and the Surging Stone Priest. New to the blog is the Steel Behemoth and Rangers, though he has run both before, approving of the Behemoth and disliking the Rangers but wanting more experience. New to us both is the Dwarf Lord on Large Beast, who took the Brew of Sharpness to push him up to hitting on 2's! This is reminiscent of the Salamander's Clan Lord of Fire Drake I was often playing against a few years back; a powerful unit with a powerful upgrade, if you can find good combats for him. The list has an average Defense of 5.13, even dragged down a bit by the Mastiffs. Even without the Ironclad spam, it's a very sturdy list, as Joe is so fond of taking with his Dwarfs.
After my July game with the army in Battle 076, I have been yearning to try out the Undead out some more. I have a lot of Undead MMU ideas floating around, but I wanted a little more general experience with the army before I went off the deep end and started exploring my crazy ideas. So, we have a very basic assortment of Undead for our here, which I guess can be described as "Shooting + Skeleton Variety Pack". Up to test are:
- Skeleton Warrior Horde. I have them, so let’s run them! They are mostly just around to take up space, and I am not expecting too much. I think the common wisdom is that Zombies are better, since they are cheaper, but we’ll see if the extra defense matters at all here.
- Skeleton Spearmen Horde. I quite like spears generally, but I've been spoiled with the Herd's Tribal Spears. I don’t think the Skeleton Spearmen will be very impactful in this game, but we’ll compare them against the Warriors and see how each horde feels. Maybe the extra attacks are worth it still?
- Horde Skeleton Archers. While we’re at it, we’ll try out a third horde of Skeletons! A horde of shooters have been pretty good takes for me in the past, and I am curios to see how viable the skeleton version is. They have bad combat stats, but they should be able to hold tokens or otherwise play objectives.
- Smashy Horde of Revenants. I am trying to fit in a lot of weird tests this game, so we’re trying the multi-system Revenants as well and see both how they work with both the physical trays, and on how they do as a unit in the game. For this game, we’ll give them two-handed weapons, and the Giant Rats upgrade, to see how good CS1 and Lifeleech 2 feels.
- Zombie Regiments. The Skeleton hordes unlock, but the Undead are hero-centric, and I still need a lot of unlocks for heroes. These are the cheapest options to get those unlocking regiments, so we’ll take a few and use them as chaff of objective holders.
- Revenant Cavalry Troops. I’ve been liking cavalry troops recently. We’ll see how these do here as thicker chaff and potential Surge targets.
- Balefire Catapults. As mentioned in the blog before, the Undead roster is actually pretty thin with just 1 monster (Goreblight) and 1 war machine (Catapults). I took infantry hordes to fit the war machines in. I usually run ballistae, so we’ll see what additional experience and insight I can get with firing lanes, and see how these units work and perform.
- Revenant Kings. They are expensive but defensive. We'll see how they hold up, and we'll give them Surge just to give us options.
- Undead ASBs. They have a Wild Charge 2 Aura for Skeletons, which should help most of my army, so we're bringing two of these. My ASBs need items, but it seems silly to bring the Lute to buff trash. We'll try the Tome for Surge, and the Shroud for some light healing/
- Burrowing Wyrms with Halitosis. I love the Wyrms already, but we'll see if the spitting attack is worth taking.
- Shooty Undead, Generally. The Undead aren't known for being a shooty faction, so we're trying to cram a lot of options into this list and see what we can learn about the army.
Table and Terrain
I was introduced to a new shop: Planet Chaos out in Fort Atkinson, WI. It was quite charming, actually, with a very neat intersection of nerdy things. There was a Warhammer section; a large room for comics; a section for board games, a role playing game section with books and minis, a few kiosks of second-hand minis, and even areas for used books and other collectables. Of personal interest to me were the old Expanded Universe Star Wars books, and NIB old Star Trek TNG action figures. I spent a fair amount of time browsing, and there was a big wave of nostalgia while doing so.
The shop had tables, but was mostly known as a 40k shop, so we had brought our own terrain, and I was able to use some of my newly hobbied flat terrain. The box of terrain that I grabbed was apparently short a building, but we threw together a "good enough" table, and got Push for the scenario. There's a grabbable loot token in the center, and otherwise, we each distribute d3 tokens on our respective side., giving them to units right away, if we wish Tokens are worth one point on our side of the field, and two points if you can get it across the line on the other side.
I saw at the time that the mat wasn't as big as the table extender. At the time, my brain didn't really register why. As I understood it, 40k shrank their official table sizes, hence the smaller mat. However, I was measuring from the mat edge for deployment, because it was a mat. So, I got a few extra inches closer than I should have. Not truly impactful, but worth mentioning.
The Dwarfs played about two thirds of the field. On the left is the Lord and a horde of Ruby Earth Elemantals, supported by two Mastiff Packs. Behind the hill are the Rangers and Faber, and in the center is the Royal Guard formation, with Mastiff Packs behind the Bulwarks, Hansel the Pretty the ASB behind the Ironclad Horde, and the Steel Behemoth and Quartz Elementals stacked behind in reserve.
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| Deployment! I need the special setting to capture the wide line. |
Seeing the Dwarf infantry come down in the center, I wanted to try and focus them down. I tried to create a lane for the Balefires, though my list did require a huge amount of space.
Left-to-right, we have Revenant Cavalry, a Revenant King, the Archer Horde and two reserve units of Zombies. A building split my line, and I opted to put the striding Wyrms near the obstacle. The Skeleton Spears took the center with the Healing ASB and some reserve Zombies, and the Revenants and the Surging ASB stood nearby. I tried to create a lane for the Balefires, and the units on the right, two units of Revenant Cavalry and the horde of Skeleton Warriors would move up to facilitate that. In retrospect, since my right was going to be moving up, I probably could have put the Balefires more in the corner, to get a better angle into the middle.
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| Deployment, with tokens! |
We rolled up the maximum 3 Tokens to distribute. The Dwarfs dropped theirs centrally, one to the Ironclad Horde, one to the Steel Behemoth, and one on the Quartz Earth Elementals. I dropped two onto reservist Zombie units, and one on the uncontested Skeleton Warrior Horde, figuring that it should have an easy time getting across.
The Rangers had Scout, but declined to hop up onto the Hill. I won the roll for deciding the turn order, and with War Machines, opted to go first.
Top of Round 1: Undead
I Shamble, so it's not a very dynamic turn. On the left, the Revenant Cavalry move a few inches up, with the Revenant King moving up a few inches as well and pulling in behind them. There are no tokens way out here, so I think the goal is just delay here if I can, since we have a good amount of Dwarf stuff over here on the flank.
The Zombies move up, and the Skeleton Archers hold. The nearby King will Surge them up in the ranged phase, and they will loose into the Lord on Large Beast, landing 1 damage. The Lord is was deployed back slightly, and this should have been a clue that the table was short. Oh well, this is the extent of my deployment goof.
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| Movement for the Undead. |
Still keeping with the left, the Zombies with the token pivot and move, wanting to get away from this flank and the dangerous Dwarf Lord. I am Shambling, and cannot benefit from Surge... so this might be a tall order. Still, even on my side of the board, these can score, so getting them away from the action seems like a good idea.
The Wyrms hold, which is a mistake. They've got a good charge range innately, and have an ASB nearby to improve it further. The Dwarfs don't have any Brock Riders or things to be wary of, so I should be taking advantage of my greater speed and charge range.
The Undead center, with the Spear and Revenant Hordes, move up a bit, bringing both ASBs and the Zombies with the Token along too.
Out on the right, the Revenant Cavalry each move and pivot, taking the hill. The Revenant King joins them.
The Skeleton Warriors with the token move their speed, and their movement forward creates a firing lane for the Balefire battery to fire into the Dwarf line. I opt to shoot into the Bulwarks instead of the Steel Behemoth, but land 0 hits from the three war machines.
Bottom of Round 1: Imperial Dwarfs
I continued to mess around with the -0.5 magnification on my phone, and unfortunately none of the shots turned out well. The lighting was a little harsh, and it's a little hard for this guy to get a nicely framed aerial view. Thankfully, it is still Round 1, and not too crazy yet. We'll catch back up on my turn.
On the left, the Dwarf Lord moved up, to dare a charge from the Revenant Cavalry. The Mastiff packs hopped ahead of the Earth Elementals and their handler, moving at the double.
Centrally, the Rangers take the hill, along with Faber. Everything has Steady Aim, but the dice aren't great, and only 1 damage lands against the inner Burrowing Wyrm.
Centrally, some more Mastiffs hop up to protect the Bulwarks, and the rest of the line starts to reorganize, wary of my Revenant cavalry troops out on the far right.
Top of Round 2: Undead
I feel like I can be patient out on the right. I don't actually want to charge the Bulwarks with the Revenant Cavalry. But, any threats I can project now to keep the Dwarfs and their tokens from moving up seems like a good idea. One troops of cavalry off the hill towards the line, and the other just moves. I probably could have sent the outer one up more, either directly threatening the Dwarfs like the other, or in a longer outriding action to envelop the Dwarfs later... but I was trying to keep things close and Inspired in an effort to start the Undead off with some good habits.
The Skeleton Warriors take the hill as well, approaching the dividing line of the board already. I decline to Surge anything around out here, again, trying to keep things tidy.
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| Closing on the implacable Dwarven battle line. |
Both token-carting Zombies continue to stagger upward and rightward.
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| Shooting and charges for the Undead. |
The other Wyrm spews into the nearby Mastiffs out on the left flank, landing 4 damage. The Skeleton Archers hold, and land 6 into the same unit, and we are able to pick the dogs up before they can toss their Throwing Mastiff.
The Balefire catapults roll hot, landing 6 into the Bulwarks, but I am goofing their rules tremendously. I wasn't doing the Unholy Flames this turn, but I believe I was was erroneously hitting on 4's. We caught this later, and that's just the pains of learning a new unit.
The Revenant Cavalry aren't going to break him, but could occupy his time, and I opt to charge in against the Lord. The other option was a hindered charge into the Mastiffs, but it seemed better to shoot at them. I wasn't going to rout them either, especially with a hindered charge, and don't have the angles or the inches to do anything crazy with Surge. So the Revenant Cavalry just go in against the Lord, land an amazing 7 hits, but the armor is strong, and I only slip 2 damage in.
Bottom of Round 2: Imperial Dwarfs
On the left, my opponent goes for a tricky play to swiftly remove the Revenant Cavalry. The Mastiffs move up and pivot, to nestle their corner to the table edge. The Lord counter-charges, with the Earth Elementals charging in, sliding down, and getting stopped by the Mastiffs. The Lord lands 5, the Elementals 7, and at 12 damage, the Revenant Cavalry troop crumbles. Both overrun slightly.
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| The Dwarfs act to swiftly remove the Undead speed bump. |
Centrally, Faber gets 2 for his Wild Charge, so could technically reach either of the Wyrms. Checking the Nerve value on my titans he though, he ultimately declines to do so. Faber's cannon, the Ranger's crossbows and three Mastiffs target the inner Wyrm, dealing 12 damage combined, but the Nerve check is just shy, and the Fearless Wyrm sticks around.
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| The Mastiff Markers fly out. Physical tokens are definitely helpful with remembering things. |
On the right, the Royal Guards all continue shuffling around, with the Bulwarks positioning to box out any possible flank charge into the Ironclad horde. The reserve Quartz Elementals and their token continue to move forward and towards my left.
Top of Round 3: Undead
On the right, the Skeleton Warriors press onward, carrying their token across the center line. Making way, the Revenant Cavalry descend from the hill. The other unit move forward their speed, to try to serve as chaff.
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| Movement on the right. |
I was planning on shooting the Bulwarks with the Catapults, but now they shoot into the Steel Behemoth instead. I get the to-hit dice right, and remember Unholy Flames on the last catapult, but the dice aren't with me, and only 2 damage makes it through the armor after a another barrage.
I was trying to box out the Ironclad horde a bit. Centrally, the Revenants hold, but the Skeleton Spears make a hindered charge into the Mastiffs... landing 2 damage and taking them to 4. I keep thinking the dogs are Def4, but they are just Def3. Still, this was less than I was expecting to do. However, it not too far off statistically. It's a horde, but hitting on 6's is rough as it turns out!
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| Ineffectual charges from the Undead. |
The Wyrms have Strider, and a few options, which just breaks my brain this turn. They can both reach the Rangers, or both reach Faber. I opt to go into Faber, to try and pick him up. The dice are cooler than desired, and I only do 6 damage, and Faber easily holds. I am able to Heal 2 from the ASB, and then Lifeleech another point of damage off, brining my injured Wyrm down to 9 damage. It's going to need all the help it can get I think.
Had there been tokens on the left, then going after the Rangers and reforming back-to-back might have been the better call. Faber can be a pain though, and this still seems like a gamble worth taking, since I am trying to push through the center.
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| The Undead move to tar pit these units. |
Out on the left, the Revenant King moves up, but doesn't charge. The Zombies have the space to charge the Dwarf Lord, and the Skeleton Archers charge the Earth Elementals and slide down. The Zombies hit very well, and claw 1 damage onto the Lord, while the Skeleton Bowmen inconvenience the Elementals with 1 damage as well.
Bottom of Round 3: Imperial Dwarfs
The left is messy. The Mastiffs want to throw their Throwing Mastiff into the Archers, so back up to do so while the Elementals disengage. However, the elementals are in the way, and block line of sight. The Mastiffs can't pivot through the end of the table, so they ultimately still back up. The Ruby Elementals simply countercharge, with the Lord countercharging the Zombies as well.
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| Countercharges. |
The Elementals roll hot, landing 14 of 18 attacks, and land 12 damage onto the Skeleton Archers. The Lord smacks the zombies around, dealing 4 damage. Both units hold for the Undead.
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| Strong countercharges from the Dwarfs. |
Having failed to break Faber, Faber countercharges the wounded Wyrm, with the Bulwarks hitting the beast in the flank. Faber lands 3, and the Bulwarks roll hot landing 12 more, and the Wyrm is devastated and routed, as is proper.
The Rangers sidestep, getting off the hill. They can still see the towering Wyrm though, and land 3 damage against it with their Crossbows.
The Mastiffs countercharge the Skeleton Spears, with the Ironclad Horde and the Hammer of Measured Force joining in. A total of 13 damage is done, and the horde holds.
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| More pushback from the Dwarfs. |
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| Reforms for the Steel Behemoth and Bulwarks. |
The Bulwarks overrun, getting a corner into the terrain. I believe the Behemoth either held or moved backwards for its victorious reform.
Top of Round 4: Undead
It's another round of dense charges. I don't think I'm going to dent Faber, so the Skeleton Spears countercharge the Mastiffs instead, looking to just pick them up. The Spears deal 4 damage to the dogs, brining them to 8, and besting them. They will sidestep to the left to box Faber in, and will Lifeleech 1 to get down to 12 damage.
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| The Skeletons continue inexorably forward. |
I do some measuring, and the less eager Revenant Cavalry from the right can get in against the Ironclad horde's flank with a little room to spare. The make the charge, joined by the Revenants in the front.
The Revenants and Revenant Cavalry are unexpectedly victorious over the Ironclad, dealing 16 damage and snagging two good Nerve Checks to get exactly what they needed to rout the horde. The Horde was holding a token, but I decline to pick it up with either unit. The Revenant cavalry are going to be fighting soon, and I don't want them to pick it up and give it away. The horde ended the movement phase on the central token, and had picked it up instead. I can only score one, so decline to grab a second with the horde. The is arguably an error, as just holding it this would complicate my opponent's efforts to potentially grab and score the token in the future. Oh well. I haven't played with tokens in a while.
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| The Skeletons break through! |
On the right, the Skeleton Warriors press on, moving up, and are then surged off of the hill for a few extra inches. They are scoring, and I could have positioned these better with a harder pivot, but it's a minor error. Their main target was the Bulwarks, who aren't there anymore.
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| The Revenant Wyrm makes a flank charge. |
The lone Wyrm charges the flank of the Rangers. It catches 1 from Heal, and then Lifeleeches another 1 from combat, to get itself down to 1 damage by the end of the turn. The Wyrm's damage output is a little underwhelming again, and I land just 9 hits in total, and then just 7 damage against the shooters (10 damage expected). However I get a spicy 11 on the Nerve check, and the uninspired Rangers are still picked up. The Wyrm wheels around, ready to fight the Bulwarks and the Elementals.
Out on the left, the Skeleton Archers fail to damage the Earth Elementals this turn, but the Zombies scratch the Lord again, bringing him to 4 damage, and will Lifeleech themselves down to just 3. The Revenant King does have charges into either unit, or the even into the Mastiffs, but charging the latter would take him out of Inspiring range, and charging either of the former should open him up to a charge from the Mastiffs, so I opt to be cowardly and keep him where he is, snuggled between the Zombies and the Skeleton Archers and keeping both Inspired for as long as possible.
Bottom of Round 4: Imperial Dwarfs
The Dwarf Lord lands another 4 into the Zombies who hold. The Earth Elementals shuffle down on their countercharge, to let the Mastiffs join in the fun. The Elementals do a more reasonable 8 new damage, and the hindered Mastiffs contribute a splendid 4 on their own, bringing the shooting horde up to 24 damage. They are devastated and routed, as is proper. The Mastiffs overrun, nearing the Revenant King, and with a wider unit frontage than depth, the Elementals simply pivot 90 degrees, looking to contribute to the center.
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| The Dwarfs crash through the Skeleton Archers. |
Faber charges the Skeleton Spears, and the Earth Elementals have the inches to join in as well. The unit is already at 12 damage. Faber and the Elementals each do 5, and the unit is crunched. Faber will overrun to create space, and the Elementals pivot.
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| The Dwarfs clear out another horde. |
The Bulwarks go into the Wyrm by themselves, roll decently, and land 4 new damage to bring the titan up to 5 damage total. Hitting on 3+ with Elite means the unit generally has a lot of hits, and the more dice you can throw at when you go to roll for damage the better! These are insane units thanks to the formation.
The Steel Behemoth and Mastiffs charge the final Revenant Cavalry troop over on the right. The Mastiffs get some bonuses, roll hot landing 4 damage, and the Behemoth well enough to land another 8 damage. I need Insane Courage to hold, and don't get it. The Behemoth overruns and inch I believe, and the Mastiffs change facing to prevent the contraption's flank from the Skeleton Warrior horde.
Top of Round 5: Undead
I don't really need Surges at this point. The Surging ASB moves at the double to get closer to the Skeleton Warriors. Helped by the Wild Charge Aura, they are able to make a hindered charge into the Mastiffs. I again deal 2 damage, which feels so bad, but again this is about as-expected from the dice. Hitting on 6's is just really rough! The Mastiffs hold.
I am running out of units! One unit of Zombies veers back towards my deployment zone. There is just to way to get him over the line safely, so they will just stagger back and score.
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| The Catapults pack up and move out. The Zombies shamble away. |
Faber is unengaged, but behind the woods. Everything else is fighting, so none of my Balefire Catapults have shots this turn. I could have not engaged the Steel Behemoth, but that seemed suicidal. I'm not going to pick the contraption up with some Piercing 2 shots, and don't want it flank charging me. With no shots this turn, and likely no shots next turn, the Catapults pack up and move out, hoping to improve their chances next turn.
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| Delaying charges from the Undead. |
I felt the need to engage both the Elementals and the Steel Behemoth. If I engage just 1, the other will flank me. I chose to charge the the Steel Behemoth with the Revenant horde. I'm just trying to delay and hold up the contraption. I manage a surprising 6 damage against it, bringing it to 8 damage. The Zombies charge the Elementals, scratching them for 1 damage.
The Wyrm isn't nimble, and has no sneaky charges, so it just countercharges the Bulwarks, landing 5 against them while Lifeleeching down to 4.
My ASB is in the muck, and in charge arc of the Ruby Elementals coming in from the left. I decide not to try a heal and instead to hop up to keep the Wyrm Inspired. Since the Bulwarks are likely going to damage him again next turn, protecting against a hot Nerve check seems the best course of action.
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| The Undead left continues to hold, surprisingly. |
Boxed in and now exposed, the Revenant King charges the Mastiffs, sliding down and lands all 3 possible damage against them, but their Nerve is great for a chaff unit, and they stick around.
The Zombies continue their scrum, and again scratch the Dwarf Lord to bring him to 5 damage, and themselves down to just 6.
Bottom of Round 5: Imperial Dwarfs
The Dwarf Lord's epic but futile side quest continues! He lands another 4 damage into the Zombies, to bring them to 10, and then gets the rout!
The Mastiffs counter-charge the Revenant King, but land no damage.
Centrally, Faber spins, and rolls some great hits against my ASB with Heal, with the Dwarf doing 3 damage. The Elementals move up, and are then successfully surged into the ASB, needing 3 successes to make it in. The Undead ASB is actually a sturdy Def5, but the Nerve isn't as impressive. The Elementals flub the rolls, landing just 4 damage to bring the ASB to 7. Still, that's enough to rout my source of Inspiring.
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| The ASB is not long for this world. |
The Elementals then overrun, needing (and getting) the 3 to connect against the Wyrm's flank. The Bulwarks deal another good 5, and the Elementals contribute 10, devastating and then routing the second Wyrm, as is proper.
This was a fantastic play from my opponent. This is an error on my part, but not why you think! The ASB isn't a Shambler, but also doesn't have Pathfinder. He started in the muck, so doesn't have the inches to move the 10" and get out of the Elemental's original charge arc. I think I moved the ASB, noticed the danger later, and them moved him another 5". There is no way I could have moved up to Inspire my Wyrm. Still, that was where he ended up, and my opponent capitalized on it very well!
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| Bad dice from the Behemoth. |
Centrally, the Elementals thump 6 damage onto the Zombies, who hold.
The Steel Behemoth runs out of steam, rolling up 1 extra attack, and some terrible hit dice. Still, the Revenant horde take 4 damage.
The Mastiffs countercharge the Skeleton Warriors for 1 damage.
Top of Round 6: Undead
The Skeleton Warriors counter charge their Mastiff unit, and will pick it up. They will shuffle towards my opponent's deployment zone. I want to make sure they can connect against the Behemoth in a potential Round 7.
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| The Undead continue to grind. |
The Revenant horde obliges the tickle of the Steel Behemoth, landing just 6 hits, and then dealing just 1 damage to the contraption on my turn with my countercharge. I do look to have illegally Lifeleeched down by 2 this turn. I only dealt 1 damage, so my Giant Rats item should not have triggered.
The blocking Zombies continue on, scratching the Elementals again.
The Revenant King ignores the Mastiffs, and steps up to face the Dwarf Lord, landing 1 more damage, against him, and bringing him up to 6 damage.
A Balefire gets lucky, and is able to pick up the Mastiff unit off on the epic side quest. The other two fire into Faber, but miss completely.
Bottom of Round 6: Imperial Dwarfs
Faber nimbly pivots and moves 10" to make space for the Ruby Elementals to make a charge into the blocking Zombies. Together, the Elementals will thump the Zombies, and the Ruby horde will pick up their token.
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| The implacable Dwarfs fight on! |
The Steel Behemoth picks up steam again, landing a fresh 8 onto the Revenant horde, and bringing them up to 10 damage.
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| ...And we're down to a duel on the left. |
The Dwarf Lord continues on his quest, landing 4 damage to the Revenant King now, but fails to move him.
I have timid Zombies on my side of the board for 1, and hordes of Revenants and Skeletons each holding a token on the far side of the board for 4 more, so the Undead have a total of 5 Points for the scenario.
The Dwarfs have the Ruby Elementals with a token over the line for 2, and then the Quartz Elementals and Steel Behemoth each hold a token on my opponent's side for 1 Point apiece.
A the end of the Round, it is 5:4 in favor of the Undead. But the Dwarfs have a chance to bring it back as we roll up a Round 7!
Top of Round 7: Undead
The remaining Undead hordes charge the Behemoth. The flanking Warriors are hindered but land 4 damage, and the Revenant horde contributes 5 damage, to take the contraption up to 18 damage, and I do get the rout.
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| Reforms for the Undead. |
I don't have particularly great reforms though. The injured Revenants are able to spin around to face things, and the Warriors will back up 1 inch, and grab the Behemoth's token, even though they cannot score it.
The Revenant King on the right goes in against the Ruby Elementals, but doesn't do any damage.
The Revenant King on the left though lands 1 more damage against the Dwarf Lord though, wavering him and his beast mount.
Bottom of Round 7: Imperial Dwarfs
My opponent can probably be able to finagle a way to get both Elemental hordes over the line, and pick up the token with the Bulwarks to tie up the game, but he opts for the more fun way to try and secure the tie, by trying to wrest a token from my horde of Revenants.
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| Final positions for the game. |
The Quarts Elementals and Bulwarks charge into the Revenant Horde, but only take it to 15 damage, and do not break it. The Bulwarks still end their charge atop the loose token I declined to nab, pick it up, and maintain the Dwarf's score of 4 for the Scenario.
The Ruby Elementals are across already, so they continue against the Revenant King, but don't move him.
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| The unsatisfying conclusion. |
Over on the side quest, the Lord passes his Headstrong check, and the Stone Priest charges in to try and help. The Priest is apparently winded, and misses his one attack. The Lord lands a few more damage, but falls just shy of completing his quest, and the Fearless Revenant King survives!
It's technically 5:4 in favor of the Undead, but this definitely felt like a draw to us!
Game Conclusions
Errors abound on my end, but that is the peril of learning a new army. The units were pretty good, it was mainly the Catapults that tripped me up. I very much appreciate Joe bearing with me as I stumbled through a foray with the Undead!
It was indeed a tough match-up! I didn't have much by way of hammers, and it takes a long time to scratch my way through Def6, especially with hindered charges. My unit quality is so poor that even the Mastiff Packs took several rounds to best, and that was with my opponent correcting me again and again that they are just Def3, not the Def4 that I kept presuming when I went to roll. Definitely not a great list from me, but the Undead were resilient enough to survive, and I learned a lot.
Testing Conclusions
- Skeleton Warrior Horde. I sympathize with the prevailing argument that you are paying 25 points over Zombie hordes to bring Def2 up to Def 4, and with damaging modifiers so prevalent, your opponent will likely be damaging you on 2's anyways, so the cheaper option (Zombie Hordes) is generally the better choice. I liked these basic Warriors though, and think they should have a niche in playgroups with bows, or where folks are running flimsier trash lists.
- Skeleton Spearmen Horde. I like spears and Phalanx, but the extra attacks are not important here since the quality of the unit is so darn poor. I think these are still a unit worth exploring though, especially if your meta has a strong cavalry presence.
- Horde Skeleton Archers. While I have grown to appreciate a horde of shooting infantry... this one doesn't tickle my fancy as much. Fearless is nice, but it just doesn't have great synergies with the rest of the list, and focus-firing will be difficult. Melee6 really dampens it's versatility. And lastly, it's just too expensive relative to the other choices. At the horde-size, Skeleton Spearmen also cost 165 these days, and would be much better takes, and that's ignoring the Skeleton vs Zombie pricing argument from earlier. I want to like them, but I did not.
- Horde of Smashy Revenants. I like the Revenants, and will definitely play around with them some more in the future. I will try it again at some point, but I was not a big fan of the two-handers. I think you really want to lean in to the -/24, and make them as survivable as possible.
- Zombie Regiments. Tried and true, and like my Varangur Draugr and Kingdoms of Men Militia, they are great to have around, and these were great unlocks and early drops.
- Revenant Cavalry Troops. I liked these. I didn't use them particularly well, but a few disposable cavalry troops were nice to have around.
- Balefire Catapults. This was not a great match-up for them, as the high defense really messed with Piercing 2 and both the hit dice and damage dice had high hurdles to clear. They suffer the same generic war machine drawbacks, in that they are relatively expensive, and very inconsistent when hitting on 5's. Unholy Flames is fluffy but a nightmare of a rule to play quickly. I will run these again sometime, but I did not like these much.
- Revenant Kings. We've tried him before, and I still wish he was a slightly better fighter, but he was putting out a reliable 1 damage, makes a pretty good roadblock, and did fine.
- Undead ASBs. They worked nicely with all the other skeletons and did enable a few longer charges. The items weren't amazing, but did seem like good places to start from for this army.
- Halitosis Burrowing Wyrms. I still really like the Wyrms. I am lukewarm on their breath attack though. The utility is definitely nice, but doesn't synergize well with much else in the list. I think you could still use it to then have surge something into the same target, but that is at least 3 different units involved, and so rather situational. Probably more often than not, it would be better to just charge the Wyrm in! It's a neat ability, I'll try it again at some point, and give it another go if I happen to have the points, but it is not something I will actively seek to fit into lists in the near future.
- Shooty Undead, Generally. As-intuited, shooty undead isn't that strong! There obviously aren't enough units or options to run a real gunline, but that was never really the question I was working with. Even in just a supporting role, shooting seems awkward to fit in and weird play around with for the Undead. I absolutely like that the army has these options, but this (Skeleton Archers and Balefires) probably isn't the route I want to take with my Undead most of the time.
Again, a big thank you to Joe for fitting this game in for me, and letting me experiment a bit!