Kings of War 3rd Edition: #005: Group Game [Dominate]

I missed out on the monthly game in May due to marriage preparations on my end. With that event now behind me (wohoo!), I am starting to recombobulate a bit. We made up for it here in our June game with a 3000 points per side group battle, with both his sons joining in. When I arrived they had armies proudly presented, but I forgot to snap suitable pictures while we chatted about lists. As usual, my opponent built using Tactical Wargames, and I pulled an old list from EasyArmy.

My opponent brought the gist of his typical NA list: a horde of Naiads, two hordes of Ice Elementals, with a handful of fantastic supporting units. It's generally been a tough list and the three hordes have proven to be quite hard to deal with in my last few games.

My friend's eldest son supported his dear old dad with some Abyssal Dwarves, an army which I have never faced before, though quite like the look and fluff of. Essentially he had a horde of Decimators and a bunch of tanky Immortal Guard, with a few units being buffed by a formation choice. A pair of very tanky Mortars gave the Dwarves (and their NA allies) some reach. That'll be Team Older and Wiser.

Team Youngbloods was championed by my friend's youngest son, who fielded a wide Undead list that took up two thirds of our side of the table! Two hordes of Zombies eyed the center, and he had Mhorgoth the Faceless for support and a unit of Soul Reavers and a Vampire Lord on Undead Dragon around do to the heavy lifting. Not optimized, but certainly impressive on the table!

Based on the armies in play, going into the day I was assuming we'd have a team of "Abyssal Buddies" vs a team of "Zombies and Future Draugr," but this was not to be. My young team mate assured me he could count to over 1,000 though so to heck with the Abyssal Buddies fluffy battle! We'll try that another time. So lastly, supporting the sprawling and shambling Undead was me, and some Abyssals on their first ever outing to a table.

I was pretty happy with my list. I felt like the Molochs were the only real front-line unit though, I wanted to protect them with multiple Imp chaff. Gargoyles have been well-regarded for a long time, and two seemed like a good amount to have to test those out. The Abyssal Horsemen seemed like a great unit, particularly with the Scripture, and I had high-hopes for them grinding something out. The Fiend seemed like a very neat monster, and I needed source of Inspiring, so I brought an appropriate base along and figured I would test it out with a proxy. I like the model I have, but in retrospect it seems way too small to run as a titan-sized thing. Oh well. It was painted at least!

This was a more casual game, and missing most of the particulars like spells and rolls on the other side of the table, this report also won't be as detailed. However, this was a great game and there still seemed  to be stuff worth recording and worth discussing. So off we go!

Deployment and Set-Up

We all agreed to zip through deployment. We'd still trade drops, but both players on a team would each drop a unit. We quickly worked our way through the lists. Roughly, the NA ended up across from the Undead and the Abyssal Dwarves across from the Abyssals. While the youngest had final say, this mostly meant that dad was playing against himself.

Deployment from the far left.

The Balefire Catapult took a corner very early, and the massive Vampire Lord on the Dragon was the last thing to arrive for my ally, as I recall. The Undead's line is a little ragged, but that's not a huge issue. From the left for the Undead we have the Catapult, Vampire Lord, two regiments of Werewolves, my Succubi, the Skeleton troop, two Zombie Hordes with Mhorgoth lurking just behind and finally the Soul Reavers. My Succubi came down last for me. My corner of the table seemed cramped, and I figured they would be more useful here messing with stuff so my teammate could get some good positioning with his dragon than anything they would do with my side. Still, this seems like a fun unit and with the Hammer, these should be doing about 6 wounds a turn on their own. If they have support, they may even survive more than a turn! 

Deployment in my little corner of the world.

I set down my Molochs pretty early on in my deployment, as given the scenario, I felt their placement should be pretty obvious. I placed a unit of Imps behind them to keep the little guys protected until I needed them. Additionally, a unit of Gargoyles sat near a building. My plan was for this trio to work together, to make sure the Molochs accomplished something in the center. 

I realized the artillery of the Abyssal Dwarves had Indirect Fire, so if I was crafty, I could get in pretty close but out of charge range with some Gargoyles, so that was my main plan there for the second troop. As a backup, the Abyssal Horsemen would be close behind. The remaining Imps, Flamebearers and my Fiend would attempt to push up this flank, win, and then descent upon the center later on.

Basically everything on the opposing side but the NA Lord made it into this shot, so this is pretty representative of their deployment. The Ice Queen is lurking somewhere nearby as well. 

On the opposing side, the Lord on Frostfang was on our far left flank, looking to swing wide on the ground against the thin line of the Undead. The Clansmen helped anchor that flank. The Pack Hunters and a horde of Ice Elementals hid in the woods. The second horde aims to help the Naiads take the center, and the Ice Queen, nicknamed Elsa by the boys is somewhere around there too. One unit of pesky Foxes hides behind the Naiads, with the second one assisting the Dwarves, most likely waiting to run out and protect the war machines.

I was not too familiar with the Abyssal Dwarf list. As usual we exchanged lists ahead of time, but I didn't get as much prep as I wanted to in the days just prior, and so shorted reviewing the dwarf list as I was figuring on them being on my side. The list looks to revolve around a horde of Decimators (which as an old history buff I wish was called something else, as decimation was a thing. Call 'em Devastators or something), supported by mortars and a lot of Immortal Guard regiments, several of which were in a neat formation.

The Mortars had a decent firing lane into the center, and were protected by the Halfbreeds and a unit of plain Immortal Guard. The bulk of the Abyssal Dwarf looked to secure the center, maybe hoping to even box us out of it. The Decimators look like a solid unit, but with only 12" range, I was hoping they could be ignored for a while. 

Top of Round 1: Team Older and Wiser

Team Older and Wiser secured the first turn and decided to take it. They have a slight war machine advantage, and wanted to start cutting through the zombies as soon as they could, since that might take a while. 

The Naiads and a unit of Immortals from the formation took the hill. The Decimators scooted up, and the reserve unit shuffled around from behind the building to follow the horde, deciding to commit to the center as well and joining the dwarven queue towards the melee.

The Dwarves advance! Sort of. I think only the two Immortals in the formation (the front line) moved at the double. The rest shuffled.

The rest of the NA line advanced tentatively as well. He has been wary of my General on a Winged Beast from our prior games. He was keenly aware that this Vampire Lord can actually do stuff though, so he was hoping to mitigate the damage it might do by delaying the coming encounter. Most NA units moved up, but nothing moved foolishly into charge range of the foul, flying beast, nor outpaced their Abyssal Dwarf allies.

Wavered!? Ouch.

The only notable interactions this turn were some mortar shots against my Gargoyles on the right. War machines are fickle, but some shells land as intended, and some damage is dealt, and my opponent scores a waver.

Bottom of Round 1: Young Bloods

Our turn is also pretty quick. The wide Undead center shambles forward, only slightly quicker than the Abyssal Dwarves. Mhorgoth tosses out a Mind Fog against the Naiads, getting a lucky boxcars result on the check while the Werewolves and Vampire Lord jockey around on our far left flank.

Ha! Another Waver!

I let the Zombies move up, with my Molochs slowly moving to form a second line. I am perfectly alright with the Zombies taking the charge. With no immediate danger, the Soul Reavers pivot and move, waiting to do the same next turn to face back towards the center. 

My Abyssals, along the table edge.

My right flank moves up, with most things moving at the double. I thought wavering units really jammed things up, but my opponent didn't think so, and I couldn't find anything supporting my position, so the Horsemen scooched on through the scared Gargoyles and up a ways to get within 12" and threaten the war machines. They were in charge range of the Halfbreeds, but not the Immortals, and I was just fine with that. I figured with my Regen, Lifeleech, CS as well as just being a larger unit. I could take that charge and grind them out if he took the bait.

. 

Top of Round 2: Team Older and Wiser

I must not have snapped a picture of this turn. My phone camera has been acting up, and it might be getting time for an actual upgrade. On the far left, the NA Lord utilized nimble and scooted just out of line of sight of the Vampire on Dragon. The rest of the line held back, tentatively, not wanting to outpace the Naiads.

On the right, the Halfbreeds do charge my Horsemen, but the latter hold as intended after taking 3 damage. A unit of Immortals has no charges, but moves up at the double to help their Halfbreed associates out on future turns. The war machines lob shots into one of the Zombie hordes, and I think the Iron-Caster throws a fireball into the Imps to remove them.

Bottom of Round 2: Young Bloods

My Horsemen gladly counter-charged the smaller cavalry unit, and managed to bully and rout them, all while regenerating a wound and lifeleeching another back. The Horsemen are performing as I had hoped! The wavered Gargoyles recover their senses (and regenerate most of their wounds), but the Immortal unit coming to support has actually has boxed my Gargoyles out of a good place to land out beyond the Horsemen, so they just move up and lurk menacingly for now. 

A mixed bag here. Hopefully my concentration of force will prevail.

The Fiend tosses a fireball and the two Flamebearers throw their fiery bolts against the blocking Immortal unit, deal 5 damage, but do not rout them. Again, I didn't read the Abyssal Dwarf list carefully, so had no idea they Def5 and -/17 until I started rolling. Focusing fire is a good idea, but with Regen as well, these Abyssal Dwarves are sturdier than I had anticipated! Very cool stuff.

I am not sure what the other Gargoyle troop is doing this turn. I think think the Infernox had a long charge, but it would be into the flank of the squishy Flamebearers, so I wanted to either screen that out for sure, or if my opponent declined the melee, at least maybe draw some potential fire away from the zombies with them this turn. Typical chaff stuff.

Over the line, Lord on Frostfang! The Succubi are on the hill, but the neat hill-helpers are all in use.

Munching on the NA Lord would have been nice, but the Vampire Lord flies out and into the lines of the rest of the Northern Alliance in search of larger prey. As the turn wrapped though, we noticed the Vampire had nimble. So he was later pivoted to look down the whole flank of the Northern Alliance line. Very scary!

Top of Round 3: Team Older and Wiser

The Dragon is a very significant threat, and the NA move to interdict. The Clansmen move to face it, as do some Ice Elementals, with the latter flinging a number of icy shards into the flesh of the undead beast through the cover of the forest. Free from the terror that passed overhead, the Lord on Frostfang looks to do something similar to the Undead lines, and charges into one of the regiments of Werewolves. Unfortunately, the Lord fails to rout the monsters, fails to waver them, and sits, open to a retaliatory counter charge as well as a flank charge by the other regiment in the coming turn.

This wasn't going to end well.

In the center, the Pack Hunters charge but flub miserably against the Skelton Troop while the Naiads do better against a Zombie Horde, and start tallying up damage there despite having to charge through the nearby fence. I think they manage 5 damage this turn, which isn't terrible for being hindered.

The Abyssal Dwarves are more successful, and both Immortal regiments from the formation charge the second Zombie Horde, obliterate it and then both back up. Doing so prevents the Soul Reavers and Molochs from each charging an Immortal regiment. Given the wide frontage of the Molochs, if the Soul Reavers charge one Immortal Regiment, my Molochs simply can't fit against the other regiment with the Infernox where it is. The Abyssal Dwarves are proving to be a crafty bunch...

Top of Round 3 with everything pushing back. Or just trying to, in a few cases.

The Foxes charge into the Flamebearers, and do 6 damage to them. These Foxes are nasty little units! The Immortals counter-charge the Horsemen, deal 4 new damage, and get the waver. The mortars fire against my Fiend and score some damage as well. I believe the Decimators and Iron-Caster shoot the screening Gargoyle unit, removing it easily with that weight of fire.

Bottom of Round 3: Young Bloods

My young teammate and I strike back across the entire field. On the left, the Werewolves converge on the Frostfang Lord and tear both the rider and mount to shreds. The Vampire on the Dragon finds a long flank charge and shatters a unit of Ice Elementals in one go. Apparently that's how you beat that unit. I should be taking notes.

The center is a bit nuts, and the positioning is made so much worse with all the hills. The fearless Skeleton Troop swings back and manages three wounds, but my Succubi are jammed up behind this. The Zombies slap the Naiads, who keep regenerating the wounds they've taken.

Not a good photo of the situation with the Imps, but a pretty nice shot from the left flank. Those Werewolves worked well. I wonder if a more layered/ staggered approach with them would be useful with the dragon in the future.

We all talk things out, and I opt not to charge the Molochs at all. Instead, the Imps run up to block up both the Immortals and the Infernox, skewing itself awkwardly in front of them. I think we did it all correctly, but didn't get a good picture to demonstrate. Basically, to charge the Soul Reavers next turn, the units would first bump into the Imps, so the Imps need to be charged instead and thus the Soul Reavers protected. We typically have not been this jammed up before, so the particulars hers are a newer issue for us, rules-wise.

In the center then, just the Soul Reavers charge one of the Immortals in the formation, and cut them to bits. It is frightening how effective this unit is. The Imps just clog things up to protect the vampires, and the Molochs sit tight for now.

On the right, the scrums continue. The Fiend joins the beleaguered Flamebearers, but rolls very poorly against the Foxes. They are wavered, but that was definitely not the rout I was hoping for. And I think this is a misplay on my part, as the Fiend has Brutal, but I don't think that factored into the calculation. The perils of learning a new army!

Top of Round 4: Team Older and Wiser

The center starts getting messy, and it looks like I lack a picture of this turn as well. The remaining unit of Ice Elementals pivots and shoots into the Vampire Lord. I believe they are then surged into his flank, and ignobly drag the Vampire down. This kind of combo is what makes the Ice Elementals so scary to me, and the NA player is using them quite well here. 

Infernox and Immortals smash into the Imps, with the latter in their flank. The Imps die, but hey, they are chaff and they did their job well. The Naiads slam back into the remaining zombies, dealing 8 damage now, and getting them up to 13 while the Pack Hunters regiment finally best the Skeleton troop, moving up in victory.

I don't recall what the Fox on the right did. Wavered, I think it disengaged and moved back, which I think allowed the Decimators and hero a better window to fire into my Flamebearers, taking them off the field? Whatever happened, that group of Flamebearers is toasted and gone.

Bottom of Round 4: Young Bloods

The Werewolves rage along the left flank, one charging the Clansmen and wavering them, while the other finds a lucky flank charge against the Ice Elementals. The Succubi, several turns late, do finally close with the Pack Hunters and shred them. I believe Mhorgoth game the Succubi Bane-Chant this turn, which I am not sure is legal (I don't think the core rules have group game rules) but also not a great idea anyways, since they have the Hammer of Measured Force. In victory, the Succubi reform slightly, to face the flank of the Naiads with more certainty, given the jumble that is the center.

The messiest battle to-date. Hills in the dominate zone are a bit rough. Fortunately, these are quite gaming friendly, with their flat tops. 

Meanwhile, the Soul Reavers charge the remaining Immortal unit from the formation, and the Molochs finally charge in against the Infernox, and both units are destroyed. With the latter, I had to push through the ruins, but since that corner was missing, I was able to fit and do this. The core rules suggest this type of terrain has a set boundary for clarity. I don't tend to "hug" terrain super-closely, but it would probably be a good habit for me to briefly discuss each piece with future opponents.

A tight squeeze. 

On the right, the Gargoyle finally gets into one of the mortars, does 6 wounds, but fails to rout it. Those things have Def5, which was surprising! Still, now disordered, it won't be able to shoot, and the one remaining mortar hopefully won't be enough to make a big difference elsewhere.

The Fiend finally smacks down the wavered Foxes, and reforms in victory to face more towards the center, looking to play the scenario in future turns since it actually has a unit strength. The remaining unit of Flamebearers scoot around to throw against the Decimators, who are just barely in range. I believe 2 damage is done, which isn't much, but these guys don't regenerate, so any damage is  quite welcome in my book!

The Abyssal Horsemen continue their fight with the Immortals and prevail. I get distracted trying to help elsewhere though, and don't reform. I also don't notice until we are well into the next turn. That is a huge mistake, given the scenario. They can't even fit to charge the mortars in the corner, so yeah, this is just a big mistake from me.

Top of Round 5: Team Older and Wiser

I apparently failed to take any pictures this entire round. I was a little shy on sleep. 

The Ice Elementals turned to fight their Lycan assailants. Wavered, the Clansman tremble, but should be counter-charging, though nothing significant lands. The Naiads continued their slog against the zombies, regenerating a lot of wounds and dealing something like 12 to their shambling adversaries. The Zombies fall, and the Naiads attempt to overrun to get away. They don't go far, and the Succubi still have their flank.

The Decimators pivot slightly and turn to face the Soul Reavers and Molochs, choosing to fire into the former, dealing around 8 damage if memory serves. The first nerve check routs them, but we realize Mhorgoth is still around, and thusly inspired, the Reavers hold on their second test. The remaining unit of Immortals continues to scoot around the back line, trying to to get around the building in an attempt box me out of the center zone. 

On the right, the unengaged mortar does land at least one shot against the Fiend, taking it up to 5 wounds, but it is still quite hale, and unfazed. I haven't used it well but that things is a beast.

Bottom of Round 5: Young Bloods

The Succubi take the flank charge against the Naiads, but fail to rout the fishy folk. I think we get them up to 16 damage or so here? But the Ice Queen is still around, and the duly inspired, the Naiads hold. 

The Werewolves shred the Clansmen on the second attempt, and then turn to face the center, aiming to get into scoring position next turn.

The now-bloodied Soul Reavers and hearty Molochs charge into the Decimators together dealing 20+ damage and easily routing them. I think the Molochs tried to overrun? I think that was a mistake. I think I should have backed up instead. I was trying to get out of the way of the rest of my forces as they moved towards the center. The ruin zones out most of that already. Backing up towards that gets me out of the way much better I think, and would let the Molochs protect / avenge the Soul Reavers if the Immortals charge them, and otherwise just sidestep or change facing and still be scoring. So this is another positioning error from me.

The silly Horsemen turn and move as far as they can towards the center, while the Gargoyles deal another 5-6 damage to the Mortar, routing it this time and lining up the other war machine for some round 6 fighting.

The Fiend charges against the Decimators, hoping to delay them slightly, and keep the corridor open between the two buildings to let the Abyssals swarm the center in the coming turn.

Top of Round 6: Team Older and Wiser

The eldest wants to concede, but his dad suggests they keep playing. The Naiads countercharge the Succubi, but even ensnared themselves, manage see them off easily. That was disappointing, but my Def3 isn't all that great with so many attacks coming my way. The Naiads also prove their worth as an anvil unit, regenerating down to just 9 damage from something like 16 wounds they had going into the turn. In victory, the back up and into the center zone to be scoring as the game concludes.

The remaining Decimator unit actually withdraws from the Fiend, and then charges the bloodied Soul Reavers. More damage is dealt to the vampire soldiers, and the Reavers are soon dragged down by the Abyssal Dwarves, who are now scoring as well.

The remaining Ice Elementals fights the Werewolves, but apparently fails to rout them. I did not pay close attention to this fights, and unfortunately the lack of pictures can't help me out.

Bottom of Round 6: Young Bloods

The Werewolves shatter the last horde of Ice Elementals, with one Werewolf regiment now moving into scoring position, but only barely.

I really want the Molochs to get into the zone this turn, but they are slightly boxed out by the Fiend. So the latter actually needs to move away, to let the Molochs move and pivot to get into a scoring position. Again, if I had backed them up in Round 5 or victoriously repositioned the Horsemen in Round 4, I would be in a much better position now.

The Abyssals clamber over one another in an attempt to claim the center. It does not go well.

I eye up some potential moves. I look to move the Flamebearers into scoring position and the Horsemen eye a charge against the flank of the Immortals, but can't fit. The Iron Caster is slightly in the way, and can't fit if I move my Flamebearers into scoring position. So I charge the Iron Caster with the Horsemen, and Immortals with the Flamebearers. This is another pretty significant mistake on my part. The Horsemen have both a higher unit strength and better attacks, so it is way more important to get them in against the Immortals. I should have had them charge in instead. That would have won the game, even if the Immortals were not routed. Oops! I had tunnel-vision with the Flamebearers and just did not see this.

We were trying to wrap up, and so I do not roll combats for the mortar or Iron-Caster, opting to rewind and play the Iron-Caster at least if we go to a round 7. At the turn wraps, it's a 7-7 tie, due to all my movement and positioning errors over the last few turns. For scoring units Team Youngbloods has the Molochs 3, Werewolves 2, Flamebearers 2 vs Naiads 4, Immortals 3 from Team Older and Wiser. Despite the fierce fighting, the actual center is surprisingly empty, with most of the scoring units just barely meeting the scoring criteria.

Had we rolled up a 7th round, the Youngbloods would likely have seen a commanding victory. At the top of the round, the Naiads would likely need to reform to avoid some nasty flank charges from the Werewolves. The Immortals would likely countercharge the Flamebearers, and may even see them off with some lucky rolling, but Team Older and Wiser would likely remain at 7 unit strength as they are out of other scoring units. 

At the bottom of the round, the Youngbloods should have been able to have the Fiend pivot 90 degrees and move in to contribute, with the Horsemen likely getting in as well, maybe even with a charge against the Immortals this time. The second Werewolf regiment could have charged the Naiads, or just moved in to score. However, we rolled up a commanding 1, and there was no Round 7. 

Our first group game concludes with a surprisingly strong tie! 

Game Conclusion

This was a pretty casual game, so I will only dissect my own play and list. Game-wise, boy oh boy did I definitely make some mistakes! All my chief mistakes related to positioning: I should have remembered to victoriously reform the Horsemen Round 4; I should probably have moved back with the Molochs Round 5 instead trying to overrun; and charging with the Horsemen Round 6 to sneak in that little bit more of unit strength would also have been the better play there.  Plenty of chances to better secure the win, and I just didn't take any! Oh well. I am no pro, and had a few intervening months since the last battle, and with not having fielded the Abyssals before, I am still pretty happy. Lots was learned!

For my list, I think I did ok for a first outing. I liked the Flamebearers and am very glad that they are no longer irregular! Hitting on 4+ and having Piercing makes them a decent unit to form the core of the army. The Succubi did ok for being all on their own. The Molochs mostly took up space, but did survive. The chaffy Gargoyles and Imps were mostly used well. The Fiend floundered a bit in its melees, but I also misplayed it a bit, forgetting a few rules. It is so versatile I think it has a lot of potential, though I think my model is a little too small and I'm not sure if I'd proxy the Fiend in this way again. Overall, I was quite happy with my list.

Lastly, report-wise, my attention span definitely suffered. I was trying to learn an army, play against an army I had not encountered before, help keep the kids engaged, help out where I could with rules and stats and such, as well as take pictures. The latter in particular suffered greatly this time around, and I took about 60% of what I would normally take to document a battle. I am hoping to do some mega-battles in the future, and this seemed like a good trial run for figuring out possible pitfalls for a successful report of that nature. Lots for me to consider before I tackle a huge game I think.

All in all this was a great time and I am looking forward to the next group game! Many thanks to my opponent and his boys for a wonderful afternoon!