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| I did the first points of damage, but real first blood goes to my opponent. (The dice in front of the Trolls was maybe for marking a charge? Like from the infantry maybe? I don't recall). |
On the right, I had forgotten about the Ice Queen, who quickly uses her Icy Breath, and deals something like 8 damage to the Scouts, and they are well, blown away. The Lord on Frostfang is apparently nimble, which I had missed in my reading, and makes them even scarier, but he chooses to cower behind the Trolls, getting the Lord away from a charge from my Knights, and presenting only the more durable Snow Trolls. Had he moved up, I might have been able to take out the Lord with some combined charges, but I don't know. My opponent was cautious and I can respect not wanting to throw units away.
Turn 3 Top: Kingdoms of Men
I was a little shocked to lose both the Pikes and the Scouts out of nowhere. I can't effectively strike back this turn, but I can start really pressuring things now, and playing Invade, well, if my opponent sits on his side of the board all game, well, no points for him.
I decide to abandon the left flank. My General flies 20" ahead, now threatening a rear charge on the Naiads or a flank on the Dwarves next turn. I am hoping the juking the Snow Trolls and lord on the left will be enough to give me the edge in the center and secure some solid wins. The Giant from the left also turns his attention to the center, and in their place, a regiment of Shield Wall shuffles out.
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| A LOT looks to be gunning for those Naiads. They have Ensnare and Regen, so are be quite the grinding unit. |
In the center, my Scouts move out, and will either box the Naiads in or force them to commit to a fight next turn... with two Giants and a Foot Guard Regiment waiting to hit back. The Scouts do a few more damage to the Dwarves with the bows and I believe even waver them. The Ballista shoots, and I think gets 2 lucky damage on the Hunter troop that obliterated the Pikes. With Stealthy, the Hunters aren't even a good target for my shooting when they aren't in the forest! The Ballista will have fired every round this game, but only hit the Dwarves once and the Hunters once. This was not a good outing for the ballista gunner! The lines of fire were a bit rough, and my opponent didn't provide me with a lot of good targets. Even the "soft" Hunters proved pretty strong (due to me missing Stealthy in their profile), and my goal of picking them away from afar did not work out at all.
With the left abandoned, and the Naiad's heavily pressured in the center, I offer up the Pikes as sacrifice on the right. The Snow Trolls hit HARD, but they do still need to hit, and Ensnare would push them up to hit only on 5+... so the Pikes could theoretically survive. So I move them up to try and zone out other charges. The tactic is sound, but I don't think I did this right. I think I would have needed a few more inches (which I may have had with the Pike's movement) to block off the charge against the Knights in particular. I will need to be more careful in future games. But thinking the move it set, I move up a bit with the Foot Guard and Knights to threaten retaliation in subsequent turns.
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| I mean, they got this, right? |
My ASB's have not done much. I was pretty indecisive with them the last few turns, failed to get one up to support the Pikes, and sending one over here... to support two units with the Indomitable Will upgrade and a unit of Headstrong Knights. Leadership / Inspiration was definitely a shortcoming of mine this game.
Turn 3 Bottom: Northern Alliance.
On the right, the Ice Queen easily heals up the Hunters, and my opponent ultimately decides to not take the Pike bait, and to weaken my anvil unit instead committing to any charges here, skewering the Pikes with some javelins. The Lord sidesteps or nimble moves over (somehow getting a free pivot to turn towards the center... oops) and the Trolls back up, which should get them out of range of the Foot Guard.
I was expecting a Snow Troll charge this turn! In chatting, my opponent knew how good ensnare and phalanx could be, and so really didn't want to charge my Pikes in the front, with anything, if he could help it. The lack of a charge was also influenced a bit by some rules discussion, which I think we got wrong in the end.
The Lord is Height 4, and the Snow Trolls Height 3, so both can see the Pikes, and would meet the other criteria for a charge. However, we decided that both could not charge. We reasoned that charges needed to be declared simultaneously, and there was no way, when declared, that the Lord could make his charge without interpenetrating the Snow Trolls, which would be illegal. Looking in the FAQ, I think we got this wrong. Looking at it now, they both met the criteria for charges, and could declare simultaneously. The Snow Trolls would charge first, and take up their final position. The Lord could then get in there too, with the nimble pivots. Without Nimble, I think the frontage is too small and the one pivot would send the charger wide, but with Nimble, yeah, I think we ruled it wrong and my opponent should have been able to make that with both if he wanted to. So, rule query #1 is here! If someone could confirm this for us, I'd appreciate it!
The javelin damage does hurts, but the damage is more statistically reasonable, and the Pikes do hold. The exchange finally jogs my memory with the Indominable Will spread around my elite units as well.
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| All sorts of mistakes pictured here, but not bad for my first game back honestly. All that could have been avoided if my opponent was a little more daring with their Lord! |
In the center, the second troop of Hunters now sits in the woods. The Dwarves don't do anything (I think they were wavered), but the Prime and the Hunter regiment clobber my Shield Wall easily. The Naiads charge the Scouts, and in the realignment, slide sideways. I goofed up the alignment step in some 2nd Edition games, so props to my opponent for getting it right here, even though it does bring them out more into the open. They have the Hammer of Measured Force, which oddly enough is a disadvantage here against my Def 3 Scouts. That was a neat interaction we discovered.
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| I am not thrilled about this skulking Lord on a Frostfang... at least it is my turn next and I didn't move myself into this position. |
On the left, my opponent moves the Trolls out to threaten the Shield Wall next turn, and with the threat of my General passing overhead, the Lord with the Slashing Blade enters my back lines.
Turn 4 Top: Kingdoms of Men
As I issued move orders, I believe my words were "let's play greedy." I went pretty big this turn.
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| Trolls? Nah. Pass. |
The Trolls on the right are a huge threat, but we are getting on in turns, and I do not want to fight them, especially piecemeal or with an anvil unit like my Pikes, so I decide to after the supporting units first. The Knights opt to charge the newly repositioned Lord (who has Lifeleech), and deal a fair amount of damage on the charge, but not enough to shake him. The Pikes charge into the very deadly Hunter troop, thankfully obliterating them and overrunning 6" to get out of the charge arc of the Trolls and making it into the forest. They only needed about 2-3" inches, but this still felt pretty risky. Both these units are now scoring for the scenario, and I am feeling ok about that, since the only thing scoring for my opponent currently is his intrepid Lord, so my Unit Strength is significantly higher.
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| Greed! The Thegn with the cool standard it just out of range if memory serves. Like my ASB's, he mostly wandered around the field this game. |
On the left, the Shield Wall moves to take charges from Troll horde next turn. Scenario-wise, that's not great as that is a good chunk of unit strength I am giving up. But points-wise that felt great to tie up so much with such a tiny unit, and given the fight in the middle, this sacrifice was also just the right call. Distance-wise, the Lord on Frostfang wouldn't be able to charge anything, so the brawl in the center would have a full turn to shake out before those reinforcements could arrive, and the Shield Wall enabled my really greedy plays here.
In the center, in victory over the Scouts, the Naiads positioned as best they could, but are outnumbered. Something was gonna hit them where their nets are not, and that something ends up being a Giant in the flank, supported by a now-ensnared Foot Guard.
I don't have any idea if this is enough to rout the Naiads. My gut says no, but I am hesitant to commit more, given all the units my opponent has in the area. If I commit more and it doesn't break, I'm looking at getting flank/rear charged myself. So instead of piling it on there, my really greedy play is to hit a few more units, to stave off some potential reinforcements. The quality of his units is better than mine, so if I can hammer stuff this turn and really isolate the Naiads, it won't matter if the horde sticks around for a turn, as I'll outnumber them in the coming turns, and even with their regen, I should be able to grind them out.
So, the General charges into the flank of the Dwarves, and the other giant smashes into the Hunter regiment instead of becoming ensnared with the Naiads. The whole point of holding the hill was to get the fun Thunderous Charge bonus in this big turn for charging down it, but I forgot about the bonus entirely. Fortunately, the greed pays off in a big way, and all three units in the center are obliterated.
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| Victory over the Naiads! |
Being normal infantry models, these weren't ideal targets for the Giants, (no additional Slayer attacks), but they rolled 5's and 6's for their normal d6 attacks and did a lot of damage, with the Naiad horde accumulating something like 18 damage. We weren't sure how the flank attacks would work, and opted for rolling once, getting the giant's attacks for the turn, and then doubling that number to get the flank attack total. That seemed better than rolling several times, but we couldn't find the rule or faq quickly, so rules query #2 here, if someone could let us know.
Surprisingly victorious, everything reformed. I did not plan on winning the main fight against the Naiads, so may not have positioned optimally. With the Shield Wall delaying stuff on the left, I chose to just mitigate the potential damage from the Prime, with everything presenting frontal charges, and threatening retaliation.
As I was snapping pictures, I again remember Indomitable Will, and my opponent is gracious enough to let me pop it on I think everything I can before he starts moving his units.
Turn 4 Bottom: Northern Alliance
I apparently failed to take any pictures for this turn. On the left, the Trolls rip through the Shield Wall, but I don't recall what the Lord on Frostfang did. He had no legal charges. Looking at the picture I took while remembering Indomitable Will (below), and comparing it to the turns to come I cannot figure out what he did and why.
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| Just prior to movement Turn 8. What did this Lord do? |
I think my opponent overestimated the staying power of the Shield Wall, or just really wanted to make sure the Snow Trolls would score for the scenario. He looks to have opted to have the Lord just change facing to threaten a rear charge against them next turn. I think he wanted to make sure the Trolls would chew threw and eventually score. Playing the scenario makes sense.
In the center, the surviving Prime decides to take the least bad option and attack the Foot Guard. I thought this guy was another mini blender, on par with the Lords, but as it turns out, he has about half the attacks I thought he did, and the Guard takes some damage, but stands firm.
On my right, the Lord counter charges into the knights, healing himself for 1. The armor protects them well though, and only two damage sneaks through. The troop of Hunters opt to throw their javelins instead of charging. We think that units inhabiting the same forest would not get cover, but could not find the rule quickly to confirm. The Hunters roll ok, but are backed up by the Ice Queen, who uses Icy Breath and then pops the Amulet of the Fireheart to cast the Alchemist Curse. Under the weight of all this ranged damage, the Pike block that had the audacity to enter the forest is obliterated. Even with the Will popped, it does not take much to rout them. The Pikes have not had a good run this game!
The Snow Trolls on the right decide to charge the Foot Guard that lingered behind, and deal 9 damage. On the Nerve check, my opponent rolls pretty average, and they get a Wavered result. Rereading the Indomitable Will rule, we realize they gained Fearless, so miraculously, the Foot Guard hold strong, and are able to fight back next turn.
Turn 5 Top: Kingdoms of Men
My greedy turn paid off, and I am able to start capitalizing on things a bit.
On the left, my ASB runs forth to try and speed bump the Lord. I'm not sure this was needed, as the nimble Lord could totally just move around! But the ASB can't contribute to the scenario points. The Lord is dangerous, and can potentially yolo himself at say, the Foot Guard if they hang around, so I'd wanted to dissuade this in any way possible, and either attacking the ASB or going around will do that.
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| I should start hobbying my ASBs on speed bumps. Really set the expectation of what I need from them. I don't think they've Inspired anything so far this game. |
In the center, a Giant flank charges the Prime while the Foot Guard counter-charge. With the Prime being a Monstrous Infantry Hero, we believe Slayer activates, and he rolls up 10+ additional attacks on 2d6. My opponent offers to save some time, and skip combat, just checking for Nerve and the double 1. While not a huge fan of the fast forward (dice can be dice after all) I agree, the Prime routs. I opt to have the giant back up d3, resolving 2" and this lets the wounded Foot Guard overrun and we move on.
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| I am slowly getting better with my General. Eve just his threat has had a huge impact this game. Two flank charges in one game is probably a record for me too. |
The second Giant pivots and moves towards the Hunters and the implacable woods, threatening to assail it next turn. The General has a long charge, but can get into the flank of the Trolls, and does so. With the counter-charging Foot-Guard, they deal 12 damage, and waver the beasts! These have the Chalice of Wrath though, and will be sticking around. The ASB moves in to keep the Guards inspired, and the Knights continue the fight with the life-leeching lord, getting a few more damage in through my sheer number of attacks. After checking nerve, the Lord is wavered too!
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| Two lucky wavers. |
It was another big turn for me. On the left, his Lord and Trolls made it through and are scoring, but it will be hard for them to contribute to the rest of the game. The crazy mobility of my General is working well for me, and now disrupting things on the right. The Knights were able to get pretty lucky. Their initial charge was good but not amazing, and without Thunderous Charge, their lethality wanes significantly. Rolling well and then getting a lucky waver on a Lord than can (slowly) heal himself was huge for me.
Turn 5 Bottom: Northern Alliance.
My opponent is looking towards the end of the game. On the left, the Lord charges the ASB, making short work, taking the overrun, and hoping to maybe drag down one more unit before the game is done. I did not think of just going around until I was writing up the report, so I don't know if going around occurred to my opponent at all.
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| Mid-move. |
On the right, my opponent's dice go quite cold. The furious Trolls regen only 1 wound, and the Ice Queen's heal flubs completely.
All of the Hunters finally leave the forest, with the last troop charging out and into the flank of the General, getting two damage in. The Lord counter charges the knights, but then we remember he was wavered. The Trolls do counter-charge the stoic Foot Guard, and rout them. Since they are engaged with the General we ruled that they could victoriously change facing to stare him down.
Turn 6 Top: Kingdoms of Men
This should be the last turn for each of us, and thankfully, I have a number of my units scoring. One Giant turns to face the Lord on Frostfang on the left. If my opponent charges.. he won't be scoring with the Lord. In the center, the Foot Guard move at the double to get far away and out of the charge arc as well. Safe from any reprisals currently, the second Giant turns to threaten the remaining Troll fight. Unfortunately the pivot is too much to get any movement in.
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| A few frantic fights to finish up on the right side. |
The Knights charge the lifeleech Lord. Since he was wavered last turn, the Knights took no damage, so would not have been disordered anymore, so I think they should have gotten Thunderous Charge back. I did not roll with it though, and with 3's and 5's, rolled well, accumulating enough new damage to then rout the Lord. The General likewise rolled well enough to land a few more wounds, and with the healing flubbed, managed to rout the Trolls too.
Turn 6 Bottom: Northern Alliance
My opponent starts to weigh his moves, and offers to call the game. Losing both the Trolls and the Lord on the right is too much to overcome for the scenario. All he can score with is the Trolls and Lord way out on my left, against my Foot Guard, Knights, 2 Giants and General.
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| End of game, start of Turn 12 with no movements taken. |
Game Conclusion
The result was a 9 - 4 victory for the Regnum, but the game was far closer than that score shows. I think it was a pretty even match up throughout the game, and I just happened to get on top at the end due to the back-to-back missed regeneration and heal rolls late in the game.
I was quite happy with how I was able to use my General this game. Being deployed against so few units, he was able to spook that flank without committing, and flying around enabled some cool plays later in the game. I am getting better at utilizing him.
The charge query on Turn 6 was unfortunate. We thought we made the right call in-game, but re-reading some rules while writing this, I don't think so now, since he could have resolved the charges in any order. Still, the moves made as a result of our in-game decision weren't terrible, and there was time in-game to adjust.
My opponent brought a tough list, played a great game and was a wonderful host. Going into the game I definitely did not appreciate how potent the Hunters were, and my opponent used both those and their little forest expertly against me. Many thanks to him for the game and for letting me document it. It was good to move little dudes around on a table again, and writing up this report.
Testing Conclusions
It was a good game, a good introduction to 3rd Edition, and I even got to test out a fair number of things and units! I don't think I'll ever get the experience to run an "optimized" or "typical" list, even for my niche playstyle, so I think I'll keep this final section in future reports too. Lots to explore and test!
