Hobby Update: Ogre Sergeants with Heavy Crossbows

Spoilers if you haven't read it, but my Battle 020 with the Stormcast Ogres wasn't a great showing for me. I had a lot of fun trying out a more elite army and had a whole lot of fun exploring the quirks of large infantry, but the Ogres definitely require more finesse than I had anticipated.

In the game I was exploring Shooting Hordes. They cost 230 points, and need another horde to unlock them, since they are irregular units. Given the investment, they need to deliver, and I do not have the skills to make that happen yet, so when writing up the report and thinking about what to run next, I looked at shrinking down the Shooters into regiments, so as not to rely on them so much.

Regiments are a little better at 140 points, though they still need something to unlock them. The regiments gets 9 attacks, and with Heavy Crossbows those are at 30" and with Piercing 2, but the unit also has Ra5+ and Pot Shot. The Pot Shot is crippling, as if you move, you need 6's with half your attacks. You do not really want to move these if you have any other available shots.

Sergeants with a Heavy Crossbow cost 120 points, have Ra5+ but also get Steady Aim. The downside being that they go from 9 attacks down to 5. But Steady Aim is still a significant buff. The Sergeant not only has the same Unit Strength as a regiment, but also gets a +1 boost to Waver and Rout values, and is a source of Inspiring as well. 

Seeing all this, I opted to buy some Ogre Sergeants. The minis were second-hand, found on ebay, and were under $20, which is my cutoff for impulsive purchases like this. They came assembled and primed in the Retributor gold color, or something close enough! We've had a few nice days, but I wanted to paint these up quickly and did not want to try any cold-weather priming. The minis look to be a unit of Vanguard Raptors, assembled with the crossbow option, which works very well for me, as the crossbows look the same as the other shooters. These also have neat ornamentation on the helms, which should make them look more like individual heroes.

The new trio. They do look rather heroic, don't they? 

The Sergeants got the same slapdash paint scheme as the rest of the army: Dark pauldrons and hanging skirt strips, a light wood color for parts of the crossbow, and some brown and grey bases with tufts. So long as they are primed gold, its a very quick process, and these were done over a few hours, including the dry time for the basing paste.

I could have just taken a few minis from a unit of Shooters, but figured three more minis for the army would not be too terrible... I think the units and Sergeants should probably fulfill different roles, so new models would let me do some side-by-side testing too and see what those might be. We'll see how that  testing goes and when, and if getting new minis was a foolish call...

At 140 points I think the Shooter Regiments could be good for some light area-denial, and chaff-related duties (clearing enemy chaff, taking a charge, etc). I think my plan would be to set them up early to lay claim to a firing lane, and see how that works for them.

I think the Sergeants here are going to be little anchors and damage dealers, sprinkled around the battle line, functionally similar to the Warlocks, but more expensive and slightly less dependent on  their deployment. The Sergeants can inspire, and with Steady Aim and 30" range, they should be able to put a point of damage where you need it, but probably not much more than that, so if you focus-fire or supplement with other ranged attacks, so much the better for chip damage. As needed they can move up, alongside other units, to extend their own reach, like Warlocks. Unlike the Warlocks though, the Sergeants can threaten things in melee with their CS2.

The Ogres were are a pretty unique army to field. I am looking forward to giving them another try sometime, and these heroes should give me a few more ranged options to explore in the future.

Hobby Update: Abyssal Archfiend and Second Abyssal Fiend

I made a number of purchases in November. Honestly, most of these were probably not great or timely acquisitions, though thankfully nothing was particularly expensive. I've been trying to rein in my hobby spending again, especially now since it's gotten colder and started snowing during November... Winter is the time to fight the grey unpainted legions, not add to their ranks!

The Abyssals got the bulk of the recent reinforcements. I saw a used Archfiend, assembled and primed for sale online some months ago. When I stumbled upon him again recently, and even discounted now, I decided to pick him up. I also picked up another 20 used Flamebearers, also assembled and primed, as those have been working for me lately, and would let me use up the last few Lower Abyssal bodies I have sitting around too. All this for under the MSRP of a normal Mantic Archfiend. Used miniatures are great! The Flamebearers will take some time to work through, but since they are already primed, I can hopefully get to those over the winter. For now, I just hobbied up the big things. 

The Archfiend if a very big model!

The mini is made from a hard (but thankfully not brittle) resin, which has proven to be nice. The model has a long, devilish tail which seems like it should snap, but the resin used has enough "give" to have not broken yet. The mini was purchased secondhand so came assembled, but it looks like the pieces needed a fair amount of cleanup that was not done. The upper shoulders have a bit of a gap with the rest of the body, and there were a few small circular spots here and there that looked like leftover nubs to sprue attachments. Just behind the skull was one, so I added a small greenstuff boney spike to disguise it. If you buy this new-in-box, definitely consider dry fitting everything before you glue it together!

The Archfiend is nice, big "heavy flier" for the Forces of the Abyss. This kind of monster is an inspiring flier on a titanic base with great combat stats like CS3 and Me3 and Def5, usually has 17/19 Nerve, about 10 attacks (the Archfiend has 9), and a special ability or two, one of which is usually some kind of ranged attack, like a breath attack. The Undead's Vampire on Undead Dragon is one of these, as is the Elf Dragon Kindred Lord. Many armies have access to a similar heavy flying unit. They all cost about the same, and are one of the few units in any roster to exceed 300 points, weighing in around 305 points usually. They are all big, flying hammers, which will do a lot of damage if you can protect them. 

The second titan was another Abyssal Fiend, made from another Minotaur Labyrinth Guardian. I got mine on sale - it was just too hard to pass up another big toy for $12. I used cheap Reaper Miniatures things for years, but all these newer pre-primed D&D-style minis are pretty slick too. I like purchasing something from the FLGSs I play at, just to support them a bit and thank them for the table. Many shops have had a selection of these kinds of minis these days, so they are definitely worth checking out given their prices. They do technically come primed, but I'd suggest at least giving them a rinse and a dry before you do anything with them. Some have had a bit of hydrophobic ... coating, residue, film, or something on them that interferes with paint thrown directly on them. A rinse and dry has worked, and you can always prime them again if you want to.

Second Fiend.

I have used the lesser Fiend I think at least twice on the table, but neither attempt was noteworthy. They have decent combat stats and abilities and Nerve, but I have tended to over-estimate their combat effectiveness on the table. They only have 7 attacks - so you really don't want them charging something in the front, nor being the main damage dealer in a melee. They just don't have the attacks to swing that in your favor. I think their usefulness might actually lie in them having a Fireball attack, letting then advance and threaten a bit at range (especially in conjunction with things like Flamebearers), though using the Fireball and attempting this approach is something I have yet to really use in-game. I'll just need to test and play more I suppose!

A trio of titans for the Forcess of the Abyss.

The various Fiends are probably too expensive to all run at once, but I would still like to attempt some mega battles at some point, and the Forces of the Abyss seem like great antagonists, so they'll be good to have around I think. I will get some use out of them eventually!

More miscellaneous Reaper Kobolds to run as Imps. 

The last addition to the Abyssals right now are more Imps. This was not a necessary purchase - I don't need more Imps, but I saw a neat pack while killing time in a shop, and decided to pick them up. A lot of Abyssal players don't like the Imps, preferring Gargoyles and other units (like Ghouls, and even more expensive Seductresses and Tortured Souls) to complicate the enemy movement phase and act as chaff to set up good trades, but they are cheap and I have liked having a regiment or two around in my games, so I will continue to run the little guys when I have the points to do so. 

And that's it for the Abyssals for now! I have a few more lists done up to test, so we'll see what December is like for games!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #020: Ogres vs Undead [Fool's Gold]

Intro and Lists

I was treated to another weekday game from Cartwright. He decided to mix things up, fielding the frightening and numerous Undead that his youngest son normally fields. Knowing this, I was expecting a Vampire on Undead Dragon, Soul Reavers, and lots and lots of zombies. Knowing how he runs the Penitents in his Brothermark army,  I was interested to see if the zombies would appear as wide blobs to tar pit my units, or as regimental blocks for additional drops and a slightly more diffused presence on the battlefield. We agreed to hop over to the Big Red Book, as we were both using Mantic's new list building Companion program. His army consisted of the following:

My hunch proved somewhat correct! The Vampire Lord on Undead Dragon was left behind, probably because it is a huge model. However, there were some Soul Reavers and a lot of Zombies, and the latter did indeed end up being fielded as numerous regiments, reminiscent of his Brothermark army. The Zombies would take up a lot of early drops and cover a lot of real estate. Doing the heavy lifting for the list would be doubles of Soul Reaver Infantry regiments, Wight Hordes, and Balefire Catapults. Also run in doubles were the more chaffy Wraiths and supporting Liche Kings. If seemed like a pretty competent list, and well thought out, like normal. It had a surprising amount of drops, lots of Nerve and Unit Strength, and a good number of very dangerous hammer units. I was quite excited to see how it would perform, as this is actually quite similar to the bulk of my own Undead collection! 

I decided to try something different as well. I have a few armies in storage that have not seen the table for 3rd Edition yet. I feel the need to justify having them, and will try to get a game in with each in the next couple of months. For this game I eventually settled on running the Stormcast Ogres, which I  had painted up over the summer. Up to test are the following:

• Ogre Warlocks. I took them as they are cheap sources of Inspiring, which I badly need in a list this big. I know Lightning Bolt 3 isn't really strong enough to be reliable, and they would likely need a different spell to be potent. But I am not current on what magic is good these days, so we'll see how the trio perform with no bells or whistles to get a baseline for them.
• Hunters. I think these could be a decent thematic basis for an army, and given how Potion of the Caterpillar is going away, these could perform alright in multiples. I need some unlocks anyways, so we will give them a go.
• Shooter Hordes. These were ubiquitous way way back in early 2nd Edition with strong stats and lax ally rules. They still seem like a decently strong unit, with some very nice range, and a fair amount of Piercing, so any shot that does hit should have a good chance to wound. I am relying on them to do some heavy lifting this game. Pot Shot will be very rough though, so smart positioning will be needed. We'll see how I good I am putting them on the table, and how well they do in the game!
• Boomer Regiments. These were taken mostly for fun. With only 12" range on the Boomsticks, I didn't expect them to do much against anything scary since the Wights, Wraiths and Soul Reavers are all pretty speedy; if I can shoot them, they can charge me. But they might be able to pick off Zombies or take some charges to help the rest of the list out. Move and Shoot can be powerful, so we'll see how they do on the field and what lessons can be learned.
• Warrior Spam. The nerve is a bit low, but I think they have decent stats otherwise. My theory was that I should be able to cover a lot of area, and anything that isn't readily addressed should be able to punch above their weight with the flank charges. However, they are being countered a bit with the cheaper Zombie spam, so we'll see how that theory holds up here.
• Retributor Warriors. I don't actually know what Ogres would normally run. I figured having a second horde wouldn't be a terrible idea, and that the additional CS from the Brew should let help out against all the scary stuff.
• All Large Infantry. Unlike my opponent, I didn't bring a very varied list. Everything I have is large and on foot, and while they move 6", a lot of his Undead stuff is actually quicker than me. 

Match-up wise, he had a few more drops, though that should hopefully be mitigated a bit by the Scrying Gem. I had a slight edge in the unit strength, but a distinct lack of variety to my units. Would simple brute force be enough to overcome the Shambling Undead and their Surge shenanigans?

Table, Deployment and Scenario 

We still had the goal to play through all of the scenarios together, but I had left the list of games played at home. My opponent did have a nice new set of Bluff Tokens though, and so we gave the Fools Gold Scenario a try, knowing we had never played with those before. For the uninitiated (like us), for this scenario each player gets a set of 5 Bluff Tokens, one worth 2, two worth 1 and two worth 0. We deploy those on the opposite side of the board, like Objective tokens, but with the value face down, so it is blind to our opponent. After Round 3 everything flips up, and work as Objective Tokens worth the printed value. It seems like a neat scenario, and rife for trickery and mind games.

We traded token drops, with my opponent making decisions, and me shuffling the tokens up and dealing them off the top. I figured learning an army would be tough enough, and didn't want to overload my brain, so the scenario and guile took a backseat here. With a wide army and Speed 6, I was hopeful that I'd be able to adapt when the tokens flipped.

We generated the terrain and shuffled it around. The forests are height 6 difficult terrain, the chapels height 9 buildings and impassable terrain, hills height 3, fences are height 2 obstacles, and the graveyards were height 2 difficult terrain. Previously I had played the graveyards as height 1, which I think I will revert back to. They should provide cover, but not obscure infantry movements. The Ogres are all Height 3 though, so this wasn't that big of a deal.

From the left, getting most of my opponent's stuff in frame.

We forgot about my Scrying Gem a few drops in, so accounted for it nearer the middle of the deployment phase. I only got one extra drop out of my opponent for it, and I had to deploy first, so it did not really pay off as much as I would have hoped, especially against this list and all the Zombies.

The rather sparse center.

Being a new army for me, I wasn't sure what to really do with my deployment and mostly winged it. All the Boomers and small Warriors came down first to spread my presence around. Seeing some big drops from my opponent, the hordes of Warriors and Hunters came down later on my left. The Shooters came down very late to take the center, forgetting that the graveyards would be providing some decent cover, but this was probably still the best place for them at the time. 

At the end of it, my opponent had one overloaded flank and then had two similar supporting blocks off on the center and on the right. He continues to plan out battle groups very well with his list building. The left was the overloaded flank with the two Liche Kings, two Wight Hordes, two Wraith Troops and two Balefire Catapults atop the hill. I believe I picked sides, so whoops. That would have been a nice place for my Shooters, though they would have just drawn out the Balefire shots all game without much recourse, so it's ok I guess. Lessons learned already I guess! The center was pretty sparse, with three Zombie Regiments and one Soul Reaver Regiment. The right was three more Zombie Regiments, the Soul Reaver Regiment and the Necromancer.

I gave up on my right pretty early on, with two Boomer Regiments, two Warrior Regiments, and a Warlock. My center was my two Shooter Hordes, and seeing how much was arriving against my left, all my units ended up here: two Warlocks, two Warrior Regiments, the Siege Breaker Regiment, the Hunter Horde, the Warrior Horde with the Brew of Strength, and the Boomers with the Boots.

My opponent won the roll off for first turn, and wisely took it.

Top of Round 1: Undead

Not much happened in the center or on the right. The Zombies all shambled 5" up, supervised by the nearby Soul Reavers for tight uniformity. On the left, the Wights advanced, each screened by the Wraiths and supported by a Liche King. Even these, part of a larger grouping, are nice self-contained little formations with a terrifying amount of Surge at their disposal. My opponent writes some thoughtful lists.

All the excitement is on the left.

The Balefire Catapults fling their payloads at a unit of Ogre Warriors, and the Liches shoot Lightning Bolts as well. Things hit, but the damage rolls aren't too great, and thankfully, the Warriors hold.

Bottom of Round 1: Stormcast Ogres

My right was similarly boring. Things moved up. Some of the things were units of Boomers with aptly-named Boomsticks. Unfortunately, those only have a 12" range, so the action is a little slow here, as I don't really want to charge ahead, given the number of units against me. 

The snowfall outside was messing with my camera a bit. Or maybe I need a better camera. Anyways, this is the first non-blurry shot of this corner of the table, so enjoy! This is what's going on here.

On the right though, I do ready up a Lightning Bolt, and my opponent points out the Ogre Warlock special rule, which I had completely overlooked up until now. I knew that was a similar ability for the Nomagarok unique character in 2nd, but I didn't realize that this had been moved to a generic ability in 3rd, or that it was counting so many unit sizes. This is neat and opens up some more build ideas, though it does mean I will not get that full benefit on my right, as I deployed a little poorly with the Warlock on the very end. Anyways, I toss the lighting, and manage to score 2 damage on some Zombies. 

Alright! The first combined volley is off to a good start. It's just Zombies, but that is still one less unit to worry about later.

In the center, I was hoping for 1st turn and a volley against the Wights, but that was not to be. Both Shooter Hordes fire their bolts into the Zombies screening the Soul Reavers. I roll a bit above average for hits, find it hard not to wound Zombies, and manage to rout them. It's not much, but it is a start!

The Ogres occupy the difficult terrain, bracing for the faster elements of the Undead.

On my left, I move up. Things stick close to the terrain, looking to force Hindered charges. Firing angles are a little rough, so each Warlock here flings lighting into separate Wraith units. I think 2 damage gets through to the one on the flank, and nothing against the one nearer the middle.

Top of Round 2: Undead

And with Round 2 underway, we are suddenly into it! I didn't really measure, and the Wraiths have a nice front charge into the Boomers with the Boots. The other Wraiths move forward and pivot, getting into the flank arc of the same Ogre unit. The Liches cackle and surge the murderous phantasms into the Boomers, and once connected, the Wraiths align flush and then slide down, with the smaller 100mm frontage on the Wraiths enabling all of this. The Balefire Catapults fire again, but I don't think hit anything this turn.

A lot of unexpected violence here. Probably didn't seen the Wraiths approaching with all the daylight.

Unfortunately for my opponent, we don't catch that the Wraiths have Strider, so shouldn't be hindered, though we will catch that in later turns. Considering that they are Hindered, their damage output is good, but the Boomers are only wavered. I was sloppy in not measuring and was expecting one more turn to prep before we got to fighting here.

Already lacking some targets here. Positioning is definitely very important with these.

In the center, the Soul Reavers pivot and run for cover, urging the Zombies ahead to screen until the Vampires can reach the graveyard. We talk it out, and the Shooters on the right would be shooting into cover against either unit while the Shooters on the left look to have open edges against both units.

A slow and steady advance.

On the right, the formation is mostly unbloodied, and continues to slowly push up. However, lacking ranged attacks, nothing much happens here. Still, these little formations are neat to consider. That's a lot of Nerve to attack through, and the Soul Reavers should be able to easily dispatch anything that tries to attack through the Zombies. I think three Zombie Regiments might be overkill, and might suggest placing the Soul Reavers off-center like bricks to get some line of sight, but some very cool list ideas from my opponent here. I will definitely be borrowing some of these for my Undead, whenever they may hit the field.

Bottom of Round 2: Stormcast Ogres

Keeping on the right, my Boomers are just in range. I was hoping to split fire a bit, but the shots aren't terribly cooperative, with most things missing. The two regiments and the Ogre Warlock are only about to do 9 damage between them to the zombies on the flank, bringing them to 11. The Zombies hold.

Shooting wasn't as effective as I was hoping. Fortunately they have not quite closed with my lines.

One unit of Warriors moves to zone out the hill a bit, threatening flank charges to anything approaching the Boomers. The other unit sees an opening, and makes a hindered charge into the flank of the screening zombies in the Center. It is close, but those Zombies are indeed dispatched, and the unit reforms to get both the Soul Reavers and remaining Zombies into their front arc. Unfortunately, we were at the edge of the graveyard, and the reform puts my front edge outside the terrain, meaning unhindered charges next turn for the Undead.

Not quite sure what to do but wanting to do it quickly, the Siege Breakers move at the double at their odd angle. Depending on how the Zombie combat goes, they might be able to fight some Soul Reavers, otherwise my plan was to get them to try and reach the back lines and go after the undefended catapults.

The Shooters are letting me down a bit. 

The Shooters are in a tough spot. One moves up and pivots, to fire into some Zombies off on my right, (the ones way back by the chapel) but Pot Shot is indeed very rough, and only 2 damage goes through from the halved attacks. The other unit moves as well, though I can't remember why. I think I forgot I was Height 3 and this was me trying to plan ahead. The Zombies were in combat, and I think I wanted options against the Soul Reavers here going forward. Unfortunately, moving again puts me at 6's to hit, with only half my attacks, so the better plan would likely have been to sat back and fished for 6's with all my attacks. I am definitely learning a lot this game! Even a pretty straightforward army like the Ogres has a learning curve.

A very messy left flank.

On the left, the wavered Boomers mess things up, and it is probably far worse for me than for my opponent.  We don't think the Boomers can really get out of the way, so they jam up the Hunters. I just don't know what to do with either of these here. In retrospect, maybe moving the Hunters sideways towards the middle might have been a good idea, to get unstuck and better fields of view come what may on the next turn. 

I move one Warlock into the graveyard, zoning the hazard out, allowing the Warrior Horde with the Brew an unhindered charge into the terrifying Wights, and 7 damage is done. This Warlock zaps some lightning at the Liche King for fun, and sneaks one damage in. The other Warlock moves, and facing the center ... I don't recall what he did. I think nothing. I think I was just getting him out of the way. 

Positioning with these Large Infantry casters was actually pretty difficult. The Periscope item should be helpful for casting buffs, but for Lightning Bolt, you really don't want to be casting against things that get cover bonuses. My positioning for the Warlocks was pretty bad all game honestly, and something to focus on should they hit the table again.

The injured Warrior Regiment bravely charges the other Wight unit, as damage is damage and aside from Lifeleech, my opponent has no healing. I believe they manage two damage... which isn't much, so we'll but that theory to the test it seems...

Top of Round 3: Undead

My opponent wanted to explore surge a bit, and definitely had some tricks! The left continues to devolve for the Ogres. The Wraiths in the flank disengage, and use their move to go sideways, back towards my deployment done. They will get surged into a flank charge against the Hunters, and with Strider, the Wraiths are unhindered, and will do a respectable 7 damage. Had I shuffled the Hunters sideways last turn, that could not have happened, so this was a very smart play by my opponent.

Very cool use of the Wraiths. I did not see this coming.

The other Wraiths will charge the Boomers again, routing them, and the Wraiths will swirl back a few inches in victory. 

Bad news all around for the Ogres here. Picture from the end of the turn.

The Wight Hordes both countercharge. The Warrior Regiment is obliterated and the Horde takes 8 damage, but holds. I had deployed both of these hordes after the Wights came down, and was counting on them to deal with the Wights, but the Wraiths were just so darn disruptive. Props to my opponent!

The Breakers are gone, meaning the catapults will likely continue shooting all game now. I don't have anything quick to catch them. 

The center does not go well for the Ogres. The Siege Breakers had ventured forth, and this turn met multiple catapult hits and a Lightning Bolt from a nearby Liche King. I had prioritized movement, so all the shots hit their flank, ignoring the Big Shields they were lugging around. The Breakers are broken. Additionally, the surviving Soul Reavers and Zombies annihilate the Warriors near the graveyard.

Ouch. Not a great situation for the Shooters.

On the right, some Zombies spy the lurking Warriors, and charge, ending awkwardly on the hill, hitting the Warriors for 1 damage. The rest of the Zombies shamble up into charge range, still supervised by the Soul Reavers.

The skirmish on the right.

All things considered, not a great turn for me, but all my hordes are still on the field, so we'll see what can be done to salvage this!

Bottom of Round 3: Stormcast Ogres

On the right, the Boomers inch back. The Zombies will still be within 10" to charge, this should just get them out of range of the Soul Reavers, in case I am missing anything. The Warlock and Boomers fire again, but again, it is not very convincing. The Regiment on the flank is already in double-digits of damage, but the shots just aren't landing. I think the Lightning Bolt whiffs first, dealing no damage and requiring a volley from a Boomer unit, leaving only one Boomer unit to fire at the central Zombies. At the end of the phase, he flank Zombies take a few damage and are routed. The central Zombies take a meager 2 damage, and hold. In better news, the Zombies fighting the nearby Warrior Regiment were already damaged, and so the Warriors are able to smash their way through to a victory. I didn't want to risk a surged rear charge from the remaining Zombies, so instead of turning to face the center, these warriors continue to lurk, to try and support the Boomers more next turn in this little shooting gallery. There are a few points to be had out on this flank, so we'll see what can be done.

Not great. I'm not sure what that token is doing by the Warriors though?
The Boomers are standing on the 1 Points Objective Token here.

The Shooter hordes are again in a rough spot, due to my poor positioning. From the graveyard, the Soul Reavers can catch the right-most unit with a charge next turn, even if the Shooters were to back up. The Shooters are still Ogres though, and have the inches to charge either. I opt to charge the Zombies. The charge will be hindered, but with the low defense, I might be able to get them, or at least get some damage going. I don't. I do a mere 2 damage to the Zombies. 

Thankfully, the other Shooters have a clear shot into the Soul Reavers, and fire. The Vampires are not deep enough into the cover to get any benefit. Unfortunately, the dice are not with me here either. I need 5's so it's not great, but out of 18 attacks, one hits. For what it's worth, it does go on to wound.

Oh... Shooters... oh... no...

On the messy left, the Hunters countercharge the pesky Wraiths and rout them, turning to face forward again. The Warrior Horde countercharges the Wights, and gets them this time, and they bravely turn to face the second horde of Undead.

Everything here is beat up, but the Ogres have taken the worse of things.

The Warlocks toss some boosted Lightning Bolts into the surviving Wraiths, but one Warlock is in the way of the other, granting some cover, and only 2 damage results from the little storm and the Wraiths hover, menacingly. While Nimble, the Warlocks are not individuals, so positions has been a bit rough for me with so much going on. Things to keep in mind for the future!

View from the table edge on my right. 

At the end of the round, the Bluff Counters are flipped, and I eagerly look to see how my strategy of ignorance will pay off. From my perspective, the following tokens are in play from what I placed, corresponding roughly to  2' by 2' squares on the board: Undead Left 1 Point, Undead Center 1 Point, Undead Right, 2 points. Ogre Left has 2 Points, Ogre Center has 1 Point, and Ogre Right has 1 Point.

Top of Round 4: Undead

On the right, the Zombies take a charge against some Boomers, looking to disorder and delay them, while the Soul Reavers back up to claim the 2 point objective. It's not flashy, but it is a good call. With only 12" on the Boomsticks, if I do get into range, they can simply charge me on the next turn, and without some amazing chip damage and focus fire, which I seem unlikely to produce, the Soul Reavers are likely to survive the game.

The Balefires continue to deliver. Generally. Always take war machines in multiples!

The lurking Warriors are targeted by the Balefire Catapults, and the shots land, horrifically, and the unit is destroyed. In the graveyard, the the Soul Reavers and Zombies multi-charge the Shooters. Hindered, the Soul Reavers do 8 and counter charging, the Zombies do 3. Damage is healed from Lifeleech, and the Shooters are wavered!

Lots of neat plays, and I still have a horde... but it is not looking good for the Ogres.

On the left, One Liche King throws a Lightning Bolt into the unengaged Shooters, dealing one damage to them. The Wraiths move up and pivot, and the other Liche King surges them into the Flank of the Warrior Horde. Fortunately, the Wraiths have an off turn, and only deal 2 to the Warriors, who hold. The remaining Wights have the boots, which are popped to grant an unhindered charge against the Hunters. While the Wights are still Ensnared by the Hunters, far too much damage goes through, and the Hunters are ignobly destroyed. I had tried to get them up against the Wights for testing, but they just got out-played and beat up. 

Bottom of Round 4: Stormcast Ogres

The left fights back as best it can. The Warriors countercharge the Wraiths. Defense 6 isn't as impactful with the CS2 on the unit, and I deal a fair bit of damage, but will fail to rout the Wraiths. One Warlock bravely advances, looking to stymie the oncoming Wights. Angles-wise, the Wights will not be able to multi-charge the Warriors with the Wraiths. Both Warlocks toss Lightning Bolts into the Wights, but only 1 damage goes through, since they are in the woods and are getting cover. 

What a mess. And I can't even get rid of a troop here.

In the center, the wavered Shooters disengage, giving the other horde another chance. It's a weird angle, but we rule they can see the vampires. The Soul Reavers are in cover now, so I need spikey dice, needing 6's to hit now. Again, one hit and one damage goes through, which will be negated again by the Lifeleech in the coming bloodbath. The Shooters here are consistent in their output I suppose, but 1 damage a turn from this unit is not going to be enough to do anything significant. Especially with Lifeleech in play. These are worse than war machines...

Both Shooters are still struggling.

On the left, I multi-charge the Zombies with both Boomer units, and destroy them. The nearby Warlock is just close enough to be boosted by the Boomers, and fires a Lightning Bolt into the Soul Reavers, resulting in one damage. 

The Zombies had taken 2 damage last turn, Lifeleeched 1 back, but were now smacked down by the Ogres. This is more what I was hoping for, in taking so many regiments. The flanking Boomer regiment will reform to face the Soul Reavers hunkering down off in the distance.

At the end of the Round, the Soul Reavers hold the 2 Point Objective in the Undead Right section, the Boomers hold the 1 Point Objective in the Ogre Right. The unengaged Shooters hold the 1 Point Objective in the Ogre Center, and the Ogre Warrior Horde holds the 2 Point Objective on the Ogre Left while fighting off the Wraiths. Technically, I am ahead as the Round concludes, but that doesn't seem likely to last.

Top of Round 5: Undead

On the right, the Soul Reavers stay put. They aren't in any real danger, and need to hold the Objective.

The Undead prevail against the wavered Shooters.

Over in the center, the Soul Reavers and Zombies again multi-charge the wavered Shooters. Both are hindered charges since the Shooters withdrew last turn, but if memory serves, the same damage is done, another 8 from the Soul Reavers and 3 from the Zombies, and the Ogres are knocked into the open graves nearby. The Soul Reavers reform to threaten the other Shooters, though are not quite in charge range yet. The Zombies change facing as well, looking to shamble back to claim the 1 Point Objective in the Undead Center area.

What is left of everything on the left.

My opponent finally keeps things simple on the left, with the Wights making a hindered charge into the impeding Warlock, the Wraiths countercharging the Warriors, and both Liche Kings tossing Lighting into the other Warlock. 

The Warriors are dragged down by the Wraiths, and the apparitions overrun to claim the valuable 2 Point Objective over here. The hindered Wights deal 6 damage to the Warlock, but the caster holds, and is only disordered. The Lightning Bolt rolls are great, and deal 5 damage to the other Warlock. 

Bottom of Round 5: Stormcast Ogres

Lacking units mean lacking options, but it also means the turns start to go by really quickly. The disordered Warlock countercharges, as I don't know what else to do, but does no damage. The second Warlock throws a Lighting Bolt into the Wraiths, I believe finally routing them this turn. The Warlocks do have a Unit Strength of 1, so I do have the potential to score in scenarios like this, which is neat.

It has certainly been bloody over here.

In the center, the Shooters shoot into the oncoming Soul Reavers, who are in cover. The Shooters deal no damage that I can see, per the other pictures. I was relying on them to tip the scales, and they have just not delivered. A huge portion of that is unfamiliarity with them, and bad deployment, but they seem to be cursed by very low dice as well.

I eventually remembered to bring their damage dice with them.

One Boomer regiment stays behind to guard the 1 Point Objective. I am writing the repot and I need to put some points on the board here! The other marches after the retreating zombies, hoping to harry the Zombies as they withdraw, and stop them from claiming that Objective. They do deal a few damage, but the Zombies continue shambling on. As I recall moving at the double would have just opened them up to a charge from the hunkering Soul Reavers next turn, which seemed foolish. So, scooting and shooting it was for right now.

The Warlock threw more Lightning into the Soul Reavers, but I don't think anything landed this time.

Top of Round 6: Undead

The Balefire Catapults fire, and land some hits against the pursuing Boomers, blasting them off the field. Well, so much for that idea. The Zombies continue to shamble towards the Objective in the Undead Center, while the Soul Reavers continue to hold the Objective in the Undead Right. The Soul Reavers in the graveyard creep towards the remaining Shooter Horde, getting into charge range, but wisely not quite leaving the graveyard.

On the left, I think one Warlock is shot through by Lightning Bolts, and the other is crushed by the Wights, who I think are able to secure the 2 Point Objective with a tiny overrun. The turns were quick, and I didn't have a lot of down time to take pictures, and was not taking good notes.

Bottom of Round 6: Stormcast Ogres

On the right, the Boomers are facing no opposition, and remain, keeping me on the scoreboard. The Warlock goes to pursue the Zombies now, throwing some lightning, but I don't recall if any damage was actually dealt.

Last picture of the report, taken sometime during my turn of Round 6.

I decide to charge the Soul Reavers with the Shooters, to see how that goes and to roll more dice as the game concluded. It does not go well. I am hindered and so am hitting on 5's, and have no idea how much damage is dealt, if any. The Undead are winning 4-1, and we then roll up a Round 7.

Top of Round 7: Undead

The retreating Zombies continue on, claiming the 1 Point Objective in the Undead Center. The Balefire Catapults only have the remaining Warlock as a target. As a Large Infantry, he's not getting the benefits of all the Individual special rules, and the shots land, blasting him off the table as well. The Soul Reavers countercharge, and I do not remember the outcome, nor have a picture to help my memory. 

Bottom of Round 7: Stormcast Ogres

I do nothing significant on my turn. I don't recall if I even had the Shooters left to fight with. I don't think so. 

The Undead turn up the heat to win 5-1, but I'm still on the scoreboard!

Game Conclusion

As always, this was a very fun game against Cartwright and it was very neat to see some different armies on the field for both of us and have us each work through those. 

The Undead list was indeed interesting and as always, my opponent played a good game! I will need to borrow some of these ideas when mine hit the table. The Zombie Regiments did take up a lot of drops and board area, though I think 6 might be a bit much. Two regiments seems ok for objective sitting though, and two regiments plus two hordes seems like a nice split. Surge was used to great effect, especially on the left against my poor Hunters. The Balefires did work as the game went on, but the commanding hill helped them out, as did my small unit sizes.

The Ogres meanwhile were very nearly tabled! I put a lot of faith in two Shooter hordes and they did not really deliver. A big part of their lack of performance was from bad positioning, requiring multiple instances of shooting into cover and/or of needing to move, but the dice rolls were also pretty bad as well, exacerbating my issues with the unit. The Shooter horde requires a surprising amount of finesse to use, which I simply did not have here.

Testing Conclusion

• Ogre Warlocks. I am indebted to my opponent for pointing out the Ogre Warlock special rule when we got into the game. I had missed that, and the extra dice to the spells makes them far more viable! Deployment and positioning really matters for them though, and these were not used particularly well by me. More experience will help.
• Hunters. I still think these might be ok if you need the unlocks. And I think running in multiples might be good, especially since they have the Pathfinder special rule and that is harder to get these days. However, this was a very poor showing for them. Shambling and Surge really hamstrung them this time, so I will need to give them another go sometime.
• Shooter Hordes. I wanted to deploy these together in order to focus fire things down, but I think they were deployed pretty poorly, and I should have paid more attention here. If you play with a wide open killing field in the middle all the time, these would be great, but terrain really complicates things. Had I gotten first turn, a double-volley against the Wights might have me singing a different tune though. With practice, I think the Hordes could be viable, but I think next time I would bring these as Regiments, deployed early just to cover the obvious firing lines and try some area denial. This approach could even pair nicely with the Pathfinding Hunters. Rereading the army list though, giving an Ogre Sergeant character a Heavy Crossbow might be an even better option over running a Regiment of Shooters, as for some reason the Sergeant here gets Steady Aim, which is a huge benefit. I will need to try out both some time.
• Boomer Regiments. These ended up being an even weirder unit than I was giving them credit for. The Boomstick range is just so low! Even with Steady Aim, I think you'll likely only get one volley off against most aggressive things. I am now wondering if a Horde might be a better way to run them? Maybe the extra attacks would let you just shotgun through stuff and make the most of your (likely) only Boomstick volley. Something to consider. An Item like Blessing of the Gods should help them out, but that might be throwing good points after bad. Additionally, a Boomer Sergeant gets 8 attacks at range, almost as much as a Regiment. You give up a sliver of Nerve and skimp on the melee attacks, but will save a staggering 50 points. The should be about 2 damage a turn, and might be useful to interdict as chaff, or to guard flanks or something. These various Ogre Sergeants just seem ridiculous!
• Warrior Spam. I only took 4 regiments, but these worked out ok actually. I think I could lean into this more even, replacing the Boomer Regiments. These did take some effort to remove, and did ok overall. 
• Retributor Warriors. This Horde and the Brew of Strength was good to have around, and they worked out pretty well. That said, they needed a magic item, so a Siege Breaker Horde would seem to be the go-to for this kind of unit, as the Big Shield and extra CS seems to be worth the cost, and you can take more than one unit.
• All Large Infantry. This did bite me a bit. I didn't have anything truly speedy enough to go deal with the war machines. I am not going to buy any "goblins" or chariots or anything, and being Large Infantry, I can't even use the Wings of Honeymaze item. So I will need to figure out the army's ranged options more to give me that versatility and help with board control and such. 
• Conversion Trays. This was an army I did up for potential introductory games, building the minis on round bases and then using trays, to highlight the unit-approach Kings of War takes, and hopefully show to prospective players that they could grab or make some trays and give Kings of War a go with armies they already have, thus lowering the barrier to entry. I didn't have any issues with things falling off in-game, and the 40mm round bases translate easy to 40mm rectangular trays. This was good, and I'm making some progress on wrapping my head around some other multi-system armies.

Building a list for an unfamiliar army from scratch is a tall order. I didn't give the best of showings, but I definitely learned a lot, about both lists, and had a great time doing so. A big thanks to my opponent for fitting the game in on a weekday!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #019: Forces of the Abyss vs Salamanders [Modified Raze]

Intro and Lists

I was in Milwaukee for two games, and while my opponent had brought a second list featuring some Surge and Fire Elementals and such, he really liked how this first list had performed, so opted to run the same list from Battle 018 in our rematch. He ran the following again: 

The list had an elite and sturdy center of Ceremonial Guard, Ancients, and Primes would hold the line, supported by the Pale Rider, an Ancient Phoenix and two Mage Priests to get access to Fireballs and Heal and Bane Chant. Two hordes of Rhinosaur Cavalry and a kitted out fling Clan Lord on Fire Drake would likely overload a flank and push forward hard. It was a very sturdy list with a lot of healing.

I switched things up and brought the list above. This is still pretty standard for me with Molochs and Flamebearers and Horsemen, supported by Gargoyles and Imps. Up to test for the list are:

• Triple Flamebearers. What match-up will they get this time? How will they perform?
• Abyssal Horsemen. I continue to use heavy cavalry rather poorly. I still like the concept of this unit, but keep failing. How will they do this time?
• Chroneas. Testing a new big bad monster thing! It can remove damage from nearby friendly units be causing some damage in melee, so it seems like it wants to be fighting, so I will try to obligue and give it a good test.
• Molochs without sacrificial Imps. I had been taking the imp upgrade as a reflex, so I wanted to try them without it this time. We'll see if that works or will bite me. 
• Seductress with Windblast. I still think the Seductress is great. I took the Windblast spell. I like Windblast as a concept, but could never quite get it to work in 2nd, largely due to lack of games and experience. With the points saved from the Imps, I'm having another try at the spell, so we'll see how and if it gets used.
• Manifestation of Ba'el. It is proving to not be as killy as I assumed, but still provides a ton of utility with Regeneration, Stealthy and Lightning Bolt. The From the Pit I Curse Thee" ability is some neat disruption, so we'll see if that gets used as well, like to disrupt some Rhinosaurs.
• Low Inspiring Abyssals. I didn't bring a ton of Inspiring stuff with this list, and two of my three sources are fliers that will probably be off and doing their own thing. Will this bite me?

Table, Deployment, and Scenario

We rearranged some terrain, keeping the standard height 9 buildings as impassable terrain, height 2 obstacles, height 3 hills, height 1 difficult terrain pond, and height 6 forests. We decided to stick with some objectives. I offered up Raze and Salt the Earth, and we went with Raze. However, in flipping between the scenarios, we set it up right, but I completely missed everything about how this scenario scores. He and I have even played this scenario before, though it was back in July.

The board.

My opponent placed Objectives 1-3 and I placed 4-6, though we did alternate (1-4-2-5-3-6). The red token is the center objective, as my opponent only had 6 of the cool marker zones. The modifications we accidentally made were playing this were as follows:

• The central Objective can be controlled and contested as normal. 
• You can control the Objectives you placed. 
• Each Objective you control will score you a point at the end of the game. Normally if you control it, you can claim it, gain a permanent point, and remove it from the battlefield.
• You can only contest the Objectives placed by your opponent. 

I had the book open so this is entirely my fault for goofing on the scenario scoring. I have not quite made it through all the scenarios yet, so I unfortunately need to refamiliarize with each and every one as it comes up again. Hopefully I'll get better with the scenario accuracy over time! Sorry!

For deployment, one of my pictures got corrupted, but I got most of it here. My opponent went with a somewhat refused flank, occupying only about half the table to focus on the two same-side objectives of his. The Rhinosaurs and Clan Lord took the table edge, looking to bully that flank. The Ancient Phoenix sat nearby to support. The line of Primes, Ceremonial Guard and Ancients took the center,  with the sturdy Ancients on the flank of the line. These were supported by the two Mage Priests and Pale Rider again. The Komodon artillery monster sat on the far flank of his battle line. It is height 3 and ignores obscured, so should have a decent field of view on the center, and anything of mine that tries to take the central hill as the game progresses.

The picture from my left is broken, so to kick things off, we have the center.

With most objectives on the left side, I figured the Rhinosaurs and such would be coming down here. I wanted to place the Molochs and Chroneas here, but donked up the measurements with a nearby building that split my line. Molochs are very wide! A unit of Molochs, Gargoyles, Imps, the Chroneas and the Lower Abyssals all hold my left flank. The other Molochs deployed nearby, just on the other side of the pesky building. 

Opposing the Salamander infantry in the center were my Flamebearers. I decided to deploy all three more shoulder-to-shoulder this time to try and focus fire more. The Seductress and second unit of Imps flanked the Flamebearers, looking to intercept any threats to them, and the former able to Inspire them if needed. 

The surprise threat coming from my right.

I again outdropped my opponent. Instead of forming up on the same flank, I opted to go wide. As I recall the Gargoyles, Horsemen and Manifestation of Ba'el all came down pretty late for me, and were threatening to swing wide and hit the Salamander line from the side. My opponent continued to win the roll offs, and again made me take first turn.

Top of Round 1: Forces of the Abyss

As in the previous game, making me go first was a good call by my opponent. He has nothing in his list that scouts here, and my list is very similar, so I am again down a full turn of my Flamebearer shooting. 

Everything creeps up. A bit.

My left hops up around 5". The my center creeps up just 2" I think. Unconcerned, the Imps on my flank hop up to contest Objective 1, should my opponent get any ideas... this is a bit overzealous, but betting them forward will also be better if I need to intercept anything. With nothing from my opponent on this side of the table, they aren't blocking line of sight or anything by moving on up.   

The Imps are again drawn towards the objectives...

Completely uncontested, my quick right flank zips up to exert pressure. Thankfully, I was able to deploy the Horsemen late and angle them, so they are able to gallop their full 16" forward. The  flying Gargoyles join them, ending up just a little ahead of the Horsemen. The Manifestation led from the front, moving nearly the full 20" and already threatening the flanks of a few things in the battle line of the Salamanders.

This flank is quick!

With movement done but nothing to really roll for here, I pass the turn. 

Bottom of Round 1: Salamanders

My quality of my opponent's forces on the left are higher, but I do have more stuff. He marks out my charge distances and gets just a bit behind them. Being quicker, he should be able to charge me next turn, and positions an inch or two back  in order to do that, while denying me anything on my upcoming turn. All standard posturing and positioning.

The dance around the Rhinosaurs and Clan Lord continues into this game.

The Ceremonial Guard, Ancients and Pale Rider all move and pivot to deny the Manifestation any flank charges and brace for all the speedy elements I have running up.

The Komodon spews, and blasts into 3 damage against the objective-loving Imps, who hold. All turtled up, and with no melee combats to work through, my opponent passes the turn back.

Top of Round 2: Forces of the Abyss

The hills are funky at the shop, with a bunch of crags on the ends. We are ignoring the crags, but I ask my opponent if his intent was to be on the hill with the Ceremonial Guard. They look like they are to me, and he confirms that yes, they look to be on the hill to him as well.

The Manifestation pivots, flies 10" over to the other side of the building and nimbly pivots again to face the Salamander center. Having just moved his speed, he can cast a spell, and casts his a Lightning Bolt into the Ceremonial Guard. The Flamebearers all move up to get within 18", and they all throw unbothered into the Guard as well. I believe we technically get the Ceremonial Guard into double digits of damage. To cap off the ranged phase, I throw a Wind Blast at them, pushing them back a few inches. Ultimately, the Ceremonial Guard do hold, but if memoery serves, I think they did need the reroll to stick around since the first Nerve Check was blazing hot.

There we go. Fire everything!

The Horsemen secure Objective 6 while the Gargoyles careen into the Komodon. Hitting the monster in the flank proves effective, and a few damage lands on it, and with a Nerve check slightly on the higher side, the monster is chased off the field. It's lucky result, and I'll gladly take it!

Mid movement Top of 2.

I like the chaos I am causing on the right, so the left, I back up, denying charges to everything but the plucky Imps, hoping to stretch out my opponent's lines a bit.

Bottom of Round 2: Salamanders

I look to have missed a picture here. The Pale Rider charges the Gargoyles in the back field and routs them, then pivots slightly back towards the middle, but still wary of the Abyssal Horsemen, and keeping them in the front arc. Things shuffle about. All the Heals are pushed towards the Ceremonial Guard, and I think all but 3 damage is removed, much to my dismay. On the left, the Rhinosaurs and Clan Lord move up again. I believe the Clan Lord uses its Firebreath against the Imps, and they take a few damage and are removed. This was a great use of the Firebreath attack.

Top of Round 3: Forces of the Abyss

While they were indeed pushed back, the Ceremonial Guard had advanced again on my opponent's turn, retaking the hill. However, the Primes are now on the hill as well. I decide to throw into the smaller unit. The Flamebearers scooted up to get into get into range with a few inches to spare, and Manifestation of Ba'el swooped up to exert some flying pressure while unleashing more lightning. The regiment proves and easier target, and is routed with this volley. While the Manifestation is a bit forward, he is still out of charge range of the Ceremonial Guard, and out of range and arc of the Ancients. 

I think this was just prior to the next salvo.

My opponent is looking to pressure the left and make use of all these expensive hammers. The Seductress Wind Blasts the more central unit of Rhinosaurs back a few inches. It's a nuisance, but I don't think actually changes anything for the coming turn.

Messy on the left here.

Lacking the Imp screen all of a sudden, I just seek to preserve the Chroneas and Molochs from the Clan Lord, and position things to complicate matters. The Gargoyles protect the front of the Molochs, as there is only about 50mm between flank of the Gargoyles and the table edge, so no charging them. The Chroneas is tucked between the Gargoyles and Lesser Abyssals with no room for the Clan Lord to land in the front there either. The Rhinosaurs have some options, but it's against Gargoyles and the Lower Abyssals, so overall, I am ok with this.

Bottom of Round 3: Salamanders

The Salamanders take those messy charges on my left. The Clan Lord and Rhinosaurs with the Blessing of the Gods attack the Lower Abyssals. The other horde attack the Gargoyles, and the Phoenix gets close to trigger Shroud of Death on some Abyssal units, though the Chroneas is a bit out of range of the effect.

The 1 Damage here is from Shroud of Death. Don't worry, the melee was far more violent!

The Lower Abyssals and Gargoyles are both easily routed. Victorious, the Clan Lord pivots to prevent the Chroneas from being able to pivot and double charge the Rhinosaurs on the far side along with the Molochs. I agree to this. However, we do not have the same talk regarding the Clan Lord's positioning. The Rhinosaurs that defeated the Lower Abyssals change facing towards the center of my depolyment zone, wary of the other Moloch horde.

The center, at the end of Round 3

The center of the Salamanders pushes up, with the Ceremonial Guard getting another healing effect and looking to close the distance to start brawling with the Flamebearers. The Ancients meander forward to try and threaten the Abyssal Horsemen, as the Pale Rider and a Mage Priest throw ranged spells at them, scoring some damage against the cavalry.

Top of Round 4: Forces of the Abyss

There was an obstacle behind the building, and I figured I would not be able to break either Salamander unit, especially with a hindered charge, and thus would be fighting against both in the following turns. I think they can grind a little better than normal cavalry, but not that well. The Abyssal Horsemen were drawing the attention of a significant amount of things, so I have them back up out of charge range, to preserve them for later, and due to their cowardice, they do not regenerate anything at all. 

The Manifestation of Ba'el doesn't have a great charge. He'd be going in to the front of the Ceremonial Guard, as the nearest Rhinosaur unit is a few inches out of range. I think I will need him to win the left flank though, so he flies up far, getting a lot of flank edges into his new charge arc.

On the left, the positioning hadn't really changed. We had discussed the Rhinosaurs being protected from a multi-charge and agreed to that. Revisiting the flank on my turn though... I see I have at least a third of the Clan Lord's flank edge in the charge arc of my Molochs. Declaring the multicharge, the Chroneas hits the Clan lord in the front, shuffling to center, and then a pivot and move gets the Molochs into the flank. 

This was unfortunate for my opponent, but hard to avoid with just combat reforms. My opponent had actively looked to avoid a multicharge against the Rhinosaurs on the far side and achieved that. But we have several inches between us, so that safety can only happen if the Clan Lord stays put to effectively zone out the Chroneas pivots and moves. Had the Clan Lord backed up, it would have been protected from this flank charge (especially ignoring the corner-clipping charges), but then I could have multi-charged the Rhinosaurs, which he explicitly didn't want.

The Molochs and Chroneas knock the Clan Lord off the Fire Drake. The victorious Chroneas backs to to try and give itself options next turn, and the Molochs change facing to square up with the Rhinosaurs on the far flank. The the other infernal horde charges into the Rhinosaurs nearer the building, who hold.

Bottom of Round 4: Salamanders

The Rhinosaurs strike back, and the Phoenix is still around here, healing with the aura and with the spell while hurting the Abyssals with the Shroud of Death. Unhindered and unbloodied, one horde smashes and routs the Molochs on the fark flank. The other horde, which looks to have been healed to full, countercharges the other Molochs. The Molochs take so much damage they get into "needing Inspiring Courage" range and are routed with boxcars, twice, but as we remove them, my opponent realizes the Rhinosaurs were disordered and countercharging, and should have rolling to damage on 4's not 2's. The Chroneas's time rifts were too strong here for us! My opponent insists we rewind, and this time, far less damage is done and the Molochs do hold. 

Violence follows the Rhinosaurs. As usual. They are quite the powerful unit!

The Salamanders shoot more ranged attacks at the Horsemen. I think one of the Mage Priests does get a heal off on the Ceremonial Guard, but with the Phoenix and it's aura and heal elsewhere, the damage is finally starting to stick around on the Ceremonial Guard.

The Ceremonial Guard advances at the double, looking to kill something next round.

In the center my opponent advances as far as he can with the Ceremonial Guard, but he can't quite catch the Flamebearers yet. I've been diligent with keeping them about 16" away from their targets and they started scooting back again last turn, fading back into the forest. Still, I think the Ceremonial Guard should stomp through any Flamebearer unit it catches, and it should catch something next turn.

Top of Round 5: Forces of the Abyss

The Manifestation of Ba'el charges the Blessed Rhinosaurs in the flank while the Molochs with the new lease on life attack again from the front. The Rhinosaurs here are ground down. 

A very bloody flank. The Chroneas has Shroud of Death too, but I forgot to trigger that all game.

I didn't want to leave the Rhinosaur unit untouched again, so opt to have Chroneas charge the other horde in the front, dealing a few damage and disordering them. Losing the Thunderous Charge 2 should let the Chroneas survive the  counter attack from the Rhinosaurs next turn. I maybe should have kept the Manifestation facing this flank, but I do not. It is Round 5 after all, and wanted the Ceremonial Guard in its sights to apply pressure, and the freedom to play the objectives as needed for Round 6.

The Ceremonial Guard are routed, and things are looking good for the Forces of the Abyss.

In the center, I consider having the Seductress speed-bump for the Flamebearers, but my opponent reminds me that horde would then overrun into the Flamebearers anyways. The Seductress flies to get into the flank facing of the Ceremonial Guard instead. With no significant heals, the damage had added up a little since the last salvo. The trio of Flamebearers throw into the Ceremonial Guard again, piling on more damage. The Seductress then Wind Blasts them a few inches sideways. Only the right-most Flamabearer should be reachable for a charge now, due to pivots and angles, and that should be a hindered charge into the woods. This should maximize the chances of survival for the Flamebearers. It is decent planning from me. However, with the lapse in heals, the damage accumulates nicely, and the Ceremonial Guard are crisped and routed.

The Abyssal Horsemen pivot and move to get behind the building. The building blocks charges from the Ancients and the Pale Rider, and line of sight from the latter completely for now. The Ancients are only Speed 4, so could probably move at the double to claim Objective 1, but would not be able to charge the Imps who are a little too far away. Should they claim the Objective though, they would get their bread buttered by the Abyssal Horsemen. Since we donked up the scenario rules and were not removing claimed objectives... well, this is a pretty bad proposition for the Ancients, so they are effective zoned out.

Bottom of Round 5: Salamanders

My opponent concedes on this turn and I fail to record any of the particulars, either with photos or with notes. Round 4 was quite distressing, and with how we goofed the scenario, this is looking rather grim for him in the long run. 

Game Conclusions

Goofing the scenario is unfortunate. It's just reading, but I usually compartmentalize it, skimming for the important part I need at the moment, like how to set it up. The only upside here was that we were both wrong from the beginning, and therefore both on the same page. I should start to recognize the scenarios better with some more games played and this should hopefully happen less frequently. My apologies to my opponent for the mix-up. It would have been closer had we been scoring the scenario correctly, but I think I would still have had the edge going into the late game even if we had been playing correctly.

I would say that I definitely learned from the first game, though still have much room for improvement, which makes sense as I am bouncing around playing all sorts of lists and not fine tuning things. While I would have liked to have had both Molochs on the flank, I failed to measure that out, but that turned out ok in the end, as the second group coming in from the side was probably more concerning than a straight-on brawl would have been.

The biggest deployment improvement for me was holding off a bit on the Flamebearers, in order to get them all deployed together opposite the Ceremonial Guard. Even this was still not great given the hill that I didn't quite account for, but ultimately this worked out too.

I was able to put some very scary things out on the flank very late during deployment, and with a good juke from the Manifestation, really split the Salamander lines up. The Horsemen continued to distract, which let me mess up the Salamander center. The Lightning Bolt dice were a little spikey, but everything else seemed pretty normal. Better deployment led to better match-ups for everything, and that situation negated the need for me to feel like I needed to go for greedy plays. Overall I think I just played a good game this time around.

Testing Conclusions

• Triple Flamebearers. With better deployment, I was able to focus fire, and doing that against better targets, hey, go figure, these performed much, much better than the last game! It seems that I am starting to learn the army a little better. I will need to keep their deployment needs in mind for future games. Regiments have been fine, but I may try downsizing to troops to mix things up. 
• Abyssal Horsemen. I mean, they survived this time, which is a plus. I think I am still ultimately unimpressed with them right now, and I think I should be looking for a replacement to get some speed into the list  collection.
• Chroneas. It did ok, but it wasn't a very extensive test. I forgot to trigger my own Cloak of Death at all, but the monster looks to have some promise, especially alongside some powerful Molochs.
• Seductress with Windblast. Given the lack of Inspiring in the list, I was holding her back just in case, but that did let me test out Wind Blast. It was a nuisance for sure, but wasn't that impactful. I had tried a bit in 2nd Edition to make this work, and still don't quite "get" it. I think there are better uses for the Seductress.
• Manifestation of Ba'el. I was also able to make good use of the Lightning Bolt, adding in some extra damage to support the Flamebearers. He wasn't in any real danger this game, and with just the threat of being around contributed a lot, so I think I really used him well. I haven't tried the "From the Pit" ranged attack to disorder things yet (that might be some nice anti-Rhinosaur tech, though getting close enough to still use a ranged attack might be difficult), but overall, I think I am starting to get the hang of him. He's not even as killy as even the General on Winged Beast from the Kingdoms of Men, but has more utility and tricks it seems.
• Low Inspiring Abyssals. Since the Chroneas was with the Molochs and the Seductress with the Flamebearers, I didn't really have any issues. I think if I built my lists smarter, and focused on having little battle groups like my opponent here does, I could stand to run just a few sources.

Thanks again to my opponent for braving the snow to get this pair of afternoon games in!