When I started writing more numerous reports for the Blog, I had a worrisome moment. With each battle report being numbered, what would keep things from posting out of order? Thankfully, the madness was momentary, and reality quickly asserted itself. I am a one person operation, so I can number things and schedule posts as I darn well please. No worries. Nonetheless, here we are with an odd, secret battle report!
While I have not been able to travel around to tournaments, my clubmate Rob and his Halflings have been all over the place this last year, and we have helped him prep whenever we can. Having placed 1st at the Michigan GT back in October, Rob was already eyeing up his next big tournament, the Renegade Open in November. It’s a 2-day weekend tournament with special character rules, and with a 1-day speed tournament tacked on Friday evening, and Rob wanted to practice for the latter. The speed tournament is three games at 1200 points, with less time on the clock each round. The scoring for the event is a combination of your wins and your remaining clock time. The event and the speed tournament have been going on long enough that a bit of a meta has materialized around it, with speedy and elite lists. Rob played last year, and wanted to bring a list to attack that meta, but didn't want me blabbing about it. I think he overestimates the reach of the blog, but we did accommodate his wishes, and the tournament should be underway (or even finished) by the time this actually posts. For the event, Rob settled on an army dear to me, the very versatile Kingdoms of Men:
The points level makes things a little tight as you can only run one of a hero or monster or war machine. It's a neat list, running two hordes of Rifles, a Giant with Slayer since he’s expecting a lot of monsters, a Chariot Legion (!) with J Boots to interdict things, and then singletons of an ASB for Inspiring, a Wizard on Pegasus with Alchemist Curse, a Ballista, and a Hero on Pegasus. The idea is that all the shooting should be able to maim or even delete a unit a turn, really punishing the very elite builds, and everything else in the list should be able to interdict or buy time for the shooting to do the heavy lifting..
I was not gearing up for this event, nor did I see his message before I left home earlier that day. But after Battle 145, we still had some time before the shop closed, so I cobbled together an Undead list with the models I had, for him to fight and test out his ideas before he spent more time hobbying things up. I brought the following:
I was limited by the models I had with me, but still, a little more insight on Undead MMU wouldn’t hurt for me to have! Up to evaluate was:
- Skeleton Warriors with two handers. These are my pet unit for the Undead. They are a great chunk of Nerve for their points, and a cheap, versatile drop. The two-handers and CS1 are nice, as they have just enough attacks to be able to disorder things reliably, and clever Surges and such can let them punch above their weird. With no Surge casters here... I don't think we're going to pull off anything tricky with them, so they are around to eat a turn of shooting. If they can do that, I'll be happy.
- Wraiths. I like Wraiths, but without Surge, these are also around for chaff and blocking duties., and we'll see if Def6 can eat a round of shooting or catch my opponent off guard at all.
- Soul Reaver Infantry. These were the best units I had with me, so needed to at least double-down on them. Wary of shooting, one got the Dwarven Ale to hopefully let them shake off any wavers from shooting, and the other got the cheaper Staying Stone.
- Deathpack. I wanted more experience with them after their debut, so we squeezed in both units.
- Lykanis. I was limited by my models, and my opponent was anticipating a meta of speedy things, so I like like the Lykanis and Vampire would be better than something like Mhorgoth, especially given the rest of the list. We'll see if we can utilize the speed to do anything cool.
- Vampire on Undead Pegasus. Same as above, it's not ideal, but it's what we have, and we'll see if we can use these to pressure.
Going up against heavy shooting, I wanted to try and play more of a refused flank, and be aiming for a narrow win on half the table. Hopefully my concentration of force would let me punch through and do things.
Table and Terrain
We set up a full table, but since the event will be played on a square, 4 foot area, we then randomized and voided a chunk of it. We'll be ignoring the left-most section.
I won the roll for sides and was lazy, though this side did give me some nice terrain to hide behind.
Rob had given a lot of thought to his
approach. The Kingdoms of Men deployed with a strong brick of
Rifleman, Giant, and Riflemen, supported by the Wizard and ASB. With
not a lot of firing lanes, the Ballista set up shop nearby in the
backfield, looking to shoot around the forest, and the Chariots eyed said forest. The Hero deployed behind
the building, safe, and ready to interdict.
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| Deployment, for everyone! There are some benefits to playing on a smaller table. |
Knowing a bit about his plan, the Undead castled pretty hard in the corner, tying to use the terrain to my advantage. We want to push up, grab two tokens, and call it good with a narrow win. Skeleton Warriors and both Soul Reavers, were on the line, with the Lykanis and a unit of Deathpack in reserve. I only need two tokens to win, so this group would push for the center. On the right, I had a stack of flying Vampire on the line, non-shambling Deathpack, and slightly angled Wraiths, and this group would try to push up the far right of the table, grabbing the token here and hopefully negate the enemy flying Hero.
There were no Scout moves, and I won the roll for turn order, eventually opting to go first. Yes, would unfortunately give the riflemen some shots by moving up, but the hope was that the extra ground gained and pressure applied will be worth it, especially with my flying Vampire on the far right.
Top of Round 1: Undead
On the right, the flying Vampire races ahead. The Deathpack lingers behind a bit, with the shambling Wraiths behind them. The layered positioning would hopefully deny the Hero on Pegasus any safe landing zones. At the end of my turn, I ended up pivoting the Vampire pretty hard, in order to face the center, assuming that the rest of the stack can proceeded and apply pressure.
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| The Undead move up. Some of them go pretty far! |
The Soul Reavers trudge forward, keeping the forest between them and most of the enemy shooting.
On the left, the Lykanis stays pretty close, and the Skeletons and Deathpack scoot ahead a bit at speed. Hopefully, the Skeletons could tank a turn or two of shooting, and the Deathpack can gain enough ground to chaff for the Soul Reavers, and get them into a combat.
Bottom Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men
The Wizard flies ahead and pivots, looking to get safely behind enemy lines before casting spells, and the bloc of Riflemen and Giant reposition a bit. Shots flew out into the Lykanis, but only 3 damage hit, and he was found to be steady.
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| Movement for the Kingdoms of Men. |
We check, and there is actually only about 90mm between the table edge and the building out on the right, so the Hero on Pegasus is able to get in and threaten charges for free now, which is not ideal for me. I wasn't going to be able to reach him next turn, but being able to eventually get past the building is something I had just assumed. Now, the effectiveness of my stack is pretty diminished, especially with the pivot of my Vampire last turn.
Top of Round 2: Undead
I try to keep the pressure on. The flying Vampire pivots and flits over the building, and will have charges into the Chariots, Ballista, or a horde of Riflemen, unless my opponent does something.
Wraiths hang back to deny a landing zone to the Hero on Pegasus, while the Deathpack from the right moves up to block. The Skeletons advance too, and the line is jumbled enough that the Chariots can’t see the Deathpack, can’t fit into the Soul Reavers, and can only charge the Skeletons.
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| Movement for the Undead. |
The other Deathpack reposition, looking to zone out the Wizard on Pegasus for another turn.
The injured Lykanis is brazen, and runs ahead. I am out of the Giant’s arc, so am hoping to just cause some trouble out here.
Bottom Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men
Trying to play fast, I apparently miss a picture. The Riflemen just unload into the Lykanis, landing a hot 6 damage, while the Wizard veers back and Alchemist Curse contributes another hot 5, and the lycanthrope is obliterated.
The Giant repositions, but is careful not to block the leader point of the other Rifle horde. This other horde will hold, and shoot into the stealthy Deathpack, landing 6 damage. The Ballista tries as well, but lands no shots, and the Deathpack do amazingly hold.
The Chariots change facing, preventing a charge into the Ballista since my flier won’t be able to align. The Hero on Pegasus spins around, landing near my Vampire on Pegasus, to force a decision out of me.
Top of Round 3: Undead
The flying Vampire hops around, getting out of arc of the flying Hero and Chariots.
The Wraiths pick up the token on the right.
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| The Vampire on Pegasus gets into another threatening spot. |
The maimed Deathpack scoot ahead, blocking for both Soul Reaver units, and the Skeletons shamble ahead as well, threatening a charge next turn if they are not dealt with, and to make things interesting, they move far enough to get out of arc of the Chariots.
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| Movement for the Undead. |
The other unit of Deathpack scamper ahead, and should be threatening a charge into the Riflemen on the left, or the Wizard if he doesn’t move. The pressure is on!
Bottom Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men
The Hero on Pegasus inches ahead but out of arc of my Vampire on Pegasus.
The Ballista shoots and misses at some Soul Reavers as I think it takes a penalty from the intervening melee. The Chariot charged the Deathpath, but did not use their boots. They will sidestep in victory.
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| Good pick-ups for the Kingdoms of Men. |
The Giant backs up, and both hordes of rifles shoot into the Skeletons, joined by Alchemist Curse from the wizard. A total of 9 damage lands, and the Skeletons break apart as I am low on Inspiring coverage with the cobbled-together list.
Top of Round 4: Undead
I guess the Deathpack might not be threatening a charge into those Rifles, as they zip out and grab a token for some reason. This is not a great play from me, and I think an error from clock pressure.
In the back field, the Vampire continues to dance around the hero. We flit around again, threatening other units while avoiding his charge arc.
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| Movement for the Undead. |
The Soul Reavers make a pair on hindered charges into the Chariot Legion. One rolls hot and one rolls cold to end up at the expected 16 damage, and unfortunately we only waver the unit.
The Wraiths and their token move up, ready to assist next turn.
Bottom Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men
I miss another picture due to time pressures. Thankfully, it's a small game and things should still be relatively easy to follow.
The Deathpack with the token did not get out of arc of the Riflemen, so the infantry horde charges out, beat them and steals it. Oops. Really not sure what I was thinking there.
The Giant and Rifle horde turn to face the flying Vampire. I think the Riflemen shoot, but land no damage into the Vampire.
The Ballista lights up the Wraiths, landing 4 damage and following up with Boxcars to best the uninspired unit.
The Charioteers disengage, and withdraw an inch, to force more hindered charges from me.
Top of Round 5: Undead
I’ve been too weird with my flying Vampire, and with the Hero and Giant starting to constrict him, I fly away, landing on the token so I can pick it up if needed.
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| Movement for the Undead. |
The shooting has indeed whittled me down, and both Soul Reaver regiments again go into the Charioteer Legion, to hopefully pick them up, and I do. In retrospect, this is crazy overkill, and one should have considered doing something to threaten the central token.
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| Reforms for the Undead. |
In victory, one will sidestep towards the center, and the other will back up 2 inches, land atop to token here as well, and pick it up.
Bottom Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men
The hero can spy the tiniest sliver of the Soul Reavers from around the building, and takes the charge, ending up in the flank of the Soul Reavers. The Giant is also just in, against them, and charges in to bully them for their token. Fortunately, the Hero misses entirely, and while the Giant rolls up some extra attacks, few connect, and the Soul Reavers survive on 5 damage. These have the Staying Stone, and are just shy of wavering, but hold steady, thanks to the item.
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| Charges and positioning for the Kingdoms of Men. |
Both Rifle hordes and the Wizard fire into the other regiment of Soul Reavers, though the Rifles take boatloads of penalties, and Alchemist Curse only lands 1 damage.
Top of Round 6: Undead
It’s top of 6 and I should really be playing the scenario better, but am struggling to do so.
The flying Vampire pivots, hoping to cleanup in a round 7. It's Round 6, and I think he should be flying out and grabbing the central token perhaps.
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| Movement for the Undead. |
In retrospect, I probably should counter-charge the Hero, as I have a better change of routing him and removing opposing unit strength, but I do not. I charge the Giant, land the expected 8 damage, but do not budget the titan. They Lifeleech down to 3 though, and I am feeling ok about a grind here. Having used Giants a lot, 4's are swingy, and he's not kitted out to fight infantry, so this grind could definitely work out for me.
The other regiment of Soul Reavers make a hindered charge out into a horde of Riflemen, landing 9, but do not waver them either.
This charge is a little dubious as well. It's Round 6, so I should probably be trying to grab the token. However, I don't have any other charges, and am wary of shooting, and think I can keep this evened up and get a tie.
Bottom Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men
The Wizard lands just 1 damage with Alchemist Curse against my flying Vampire.
The Giant and Hero multi-charge the Soul Reavers again, and again we are able to keep the damage low with just 6 new damage. Still, this puts me at 9 damage, and I unfortunately waver, even with the Staying Stone.
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| Movement for the Kingdoms of Men. |
One horde of Riflemen countercharge the Soul Reavers, landing 2 damage, and the other start trudging towards the central token to grab it in a potential Round 7. I had forgotten that units could take multiple tokens, so I'm suddenly really worried.
It’s shaky, but a tie-game in the bottom of 6. I’d be happy with this, but we do roll up a round 7…
Top of Round 7: Undead
I didn’t give myself a great shot here, so there isn’t much I can do with the extra round.
The Soul Reavers butcher the Riflemen horde on the second attempt, Lifeleeching down to no damage, which admittedly feels good. Had this happened a turn or so earlier (like breaking the Chariots on the first attempt), I'd be feeling great, but this is a pretty empty victory now.
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| The conclusion of the Undead efforts. |
The other Soul Reavers are wavering though, and there isn’t much I can do to help them. They back up, and the flying Vampire is able to make a clean charge into the Giant. Unfortunately, I look to have done just 1 damage here. With 7 quality attacks, this feels pretty bad.
Writing up the report, this could also a questionable play, as the Soul Reavers are so very hurt. I could have dropped the token and then backed up, and then picked it back up with the flying Vampire... but the Vampire on Pegasus is exactly what the Giant is geared up to fight. Either move is a gamble, and my opponent put me on the ropes with that waver and the extra turn.
Bottom Top of Round 7: Kingdoms of Men
The remaining horde of Riflemen take the center token, and are now holding two for the easy win. The flying hero hops up to delay the Soul Reavers out of habit.
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| Pay no attention to the Soul Reaver casualties! The Kingdoms of Men close out the game. |
Alchemist Curse finally skews towards average dice again, and the wavering Soul Reavers are melted, dropping their token.
The Giant charges the Vampire Lord, but my opponent realizes that he's playing on auto-pilot. The tournament apparently gives some incentive for remaining clock time, so he taps out in the ranged phase, and we don't get to see how the Giant performs against the Vampire on Pegasus.
The Kingdoms of Men win this 2:0 with a Round 7!
Game Conclusions
Like many of our games, I'm taking a goofy list into something much more thought out. It was fun, but the pressure definitely got to me a few times as I tried to cobble together something resembling a cohesive strategy. Mistakes were made, and I couldn't quite get things done.
Testing Conclusions
- Skeletons with two-handers. They are still a neat unit. They are cheap, and took the hits well enough, with even chances to stick around, luck just didn't break their way this time.
- Deathpack. Definitely a mixed bag, with one getting thrown away for nothing, and the other holding long enough to die well like a good chaff unit. I got lucky with these not wavering, but if the protected unit is back a bit, these can nimble-pivot and back away, creating a space. These are still fine chaff for the Undead, and as long as I am taking Soul Reavers, I will likely take a unit or two of these going forward.
- Soul Reavers. Hiding in the woods and being hindered wasn’t great for their output, but I protected them well enough I think, and got them a decent opening engagement. Giving them items the mitigate wavering also proved very worthwhile this game. They just weren't quite good enough to hard carry me with my other errors.
- Lykanis. Not used particularly well, though he did draw some fire, and that is ok since I was focusing on the Soul Reavers. Of the two speedy units I’ve been exploring, these are budget buys, and clearly struggle. I think they can have their place, but I’ve been asking them to do way too much, and should invest into more units for my MMU.
- Vampire on Pegasus. Not used particularly well either – it’s been a while since I had an aerial standoff! I should have zipped ahead and pivoted to outrun the human Hero, but we ended up dancing all game, and they favored the cheaper hero. Fun to use, but not used well here.
A speed tournament is a really neat idea, and this was a lot of fun to try out. This will probably post mid-tournament, so we'll hope Rob is doing well!