Intro and Lists:
I was able to spend a wonderful afternoon rolling lots of dice in Milwaukee. I got two games in against some elite Salamander lists! For the first game, my opponent ran a variation on an older list of his, which was playing around with Fire Elementals. He ran the following:
I think he ran something similar in one of our the summer games (looks like Battle 016). As-ever, he's running a very compact list with a lot of very tanky units. The crazed Tyrants are the only "squishy" thing in his list. A Prime Horde supported by Ceremonial Guard Regiments should be hard to dislodge, and the shambling elementals look to have adequate Surge support. Being a take on an older list, Pale Rider returns, and the very sharp Clan Lord on Fire Drake and his Rhinosaur support units, as ever, are still around to do the killing that needs to be done.
I brought brought two very different lists for the day's games. I've run the Snow Foxes and Magnilde a few times already, and they are becoming pretty known quantities at this point. I should hopefully be able to to use them well. The rest of the list (around 80% of the points!) leans very heavily into the Varangur's strong and varied infantry options. It's an unusual list for me, and with slower units and the most to test, I wanted to play it first. Up to test are:
- Draugr. The intriguing, non-Shambling zombies make their return! I want to use them as blockers and chaff and objective-holders and my hypothesis is that they will work best with an infantry-focused army, where their slower speed shouldn't be as noticeable. We'll see what we get for the scenario and how they actually do.
- Night Raiders. I played against them in a demo game, but didn't get a good feel for them. They have a neat mix of special rules and stats, but once they get into a sustained combat their effectiveness should drop off precipitously. I don't think they can take much of a hit, so I think positioning will be very important to get the most out of them. We'll see what I come up with.
- Huscarls. I want to get a better feel for them before doling out magic items, but the elite infantry of the Varnagur (and Northern Alliance too, I suppose) are prime candidates for some items, and two units make a showing here. They should be able to put the hurt on anything they can catch, but we'll see how they do. They will likely need support to perform well.
- Cavern Dwellers. I'm not sure if these have ever seen the table? Definitely not in 3rd. These are roughly comparable to the Chroneas from the Abyssals, being a 50mm mini-giant, for lack of a better descriptor. The hope is that these pair well with the slower infantry, but we'll see how it all works together.
- Skald with Lute. I wanted more sources of Inspiring and recently painted him up, so we'll give him a try. The Lute should be a great item, especially in this match up. With so much Def5 across from me, even the Huscarls can probably benefit from a Bane Chant.
- Thegns on Frostfangs. My Lords have been rolling poorly and failing to do damage, and I have also not used them well to get those tricky nimble charges in. As Thegns they should still be able to threaten a couple of damage on anything and be able to apply some pressure, but the demotion should save me some points, and let me focus on positioning and basics of using such a unit.
- Kruufnir. With the I points saved from demoting the Lords to Thegns, I was able to afford a troll for the list, which should give me 5 sources of Inspiring - several more sources than usual for this army. Running the legendary version of the troll is just for fun - I'm not sure if a d3 Wild Charge and Rampage is really worth the extra points, but we'll see how the deluxe version works first!
I had extra drops and extra unit strength relative to the Salamanders, so I was feeling ok going into the game. I had a good amount of chaff too, so I figured if I could use the chaff well, and if I focused on the scenario, I should be able to win.
Table and Deployment
We generated a table, got Domination for a scenario, and then got down to it. There was only one free table at the shop when we arrived, which was set up with the old Citadel hard plastic battle board. We chose to ignore the topography and treat the board's hills as open terrain. Hills were Height 3, Graveyards Height 1 Difficult Terrain, Buildings Height 9 Blocking, Fences Height 2 Obstacles, and Forests were Height 6 Difficult Terrain. All typical stuff.
 |
| View from the center, and of all the Salamander units. |
My opponent deployed pretty centrally. From my left-to-right we have Rhinosaurs with the Helm, Clan Lord, Rhinosaurs with the Boots, Fire Elementals screening the Herald, Primes, Ancients screening the Mage, the Greater Fire Elemental, the Pale Rider, and finally the Tyrants.
As the Rhinos came down, so did Kruufnir and the nearby Thegn for me. I deployed the Draugr early, keeping the Cavern Dwellers, Night Raiders, and some Snow Foxes for my last drops.
 |
| There seem to be more blurry shots than usual. I apologize in advance. This is my left flank, in case you couldn't tell. |
Left to right for me we have Draugr angled in the corner, Snow Foxes, both Cavern Dwellers, more Snow Foxes, the Thegn and Kruufnir, Draugr screening the Skald, both Huscarls, Magnilde, more Draugr, still more Snow Foxes. Then out on the far right, we have the second Thegn, and both Night Raider units.
 |
| Varangur on the right. |
With the scenario being Dominate, I was quite happy to plop down my Huscarls centrally. Each has a Draugr unit to block for them, so I was hopeful they would be able to massacre things. I wasn't sure how the Night Raiders would do, but delaying them to get the Tyrant match-up seemed like a decent idea. I also wasn't sure how the Cavern Dwellers would fare against the heavy flank of the Salamander line, but with some Snow Foxes, I was hoping to box things out long enough to wind some fights of attrition. My opponent won the roll-off and elected for me to go first.
Top of Round 1: Varangur:
We don't score until the end, so I advance pretty cautiously all around. On the left, things respect charge distances, moving up, but hoping to draw my opponent out a bit before any really important fighting commences. Only the Draugr here, who were deployed at an angle, move at the double, looking to make up for their slower speed. They were a chaffy, early drop and I don't have a great plan for them other than to start moving towards the center.
 |
| Pretty cautious moves on the left. |
The Center moves up their speeds. The Huscarls get an inch ahead of the slower Draugr. My zombies are going to be slowed by terrain, and facing off against mostly infantry, with nothing in danger of being charged right now, I am fine with taking things slow here.
 |
| The right was a little quicker, with the Night Raiders moving pretty far. |
On my right, the Tyrants aren't that fast, and are stymied by the terrain, so the Night Raiders move mostly at the double, but opt to still respect the longer wild charge distance of the Tyrants.
Bottom of Round 1: Salamanders:
On the right, I forgot that the Pale Rider had a ranged attack! A few damage are snuck onto the stealthy Snow Foxes. While they are accidentally just within range to be Inspired by the Thegn, it isn't enough, and they are burned away with a good roll for the Nerve check. The Tyrants have quite the situation ahead of them with an obstacle in front of the Graveyard, and they start hopping over things and towards the enemy.
 |
| We used an app. The fenced yard seems a bit silly. |
The center moves up as well. As do the powerful units my opponent has out on my left flank. The Rhinosaurs, along with everything else, dance around charge distances.
Top of Round 2: Varangur:
The building over on the left is isolating the Clan Lord and one Rhinosaur unit a bit, so the Snow Foxes press the issue, getting right in front of the Rhinosaurs. Both Cavern Dwellers pull up behind the Foxes, with the fuzzy screening unit protecting them from any charge from the flying Clan Lord.
The second unit of Foxes blocks the second unit of Rhinosaurs, penning them in and allowing the Thegn and Kruufnir to move up as well.
In the center, everything creeps up. The Draugr move up out of the terrain pieces and the Huscarls slow down, letting the zombies get ahead again.
On the right, both of the Night Raiders move and throw into the Tyrants, scoring a few damage. The Thegn hangs back a bit, avoiding a charge next turn but threatening his own if the Salamanders move up at all.
Bottom of Round 2: Salamanders:
The Tyrants and Pale Rider are able to catch a unit of Night Raiders, easily dispatching them. I wanted this match up, but didn't consider the charge range of the Tyrants when deploying. I suppose I could have played this more cagey? The unit near the table edge is actually out of the charge arc of the Tyrants, so that may have been a possibility, at least for a turn. The Pale Rider overruns and the Tyrants back off for their victory moves.
 |
| The Salamanders are the first to charge. |
In the center, the Greater Fire Elemental slams into the plucky Draugr, dealing a surprising 6 damage from 8 attacks. The Nerve check is just shy of routing the zombies, and they will heal 1 back from Iron Resolve. I thought the zombies were toast, but with just 8 attacks in the front from the Greater Fire Elemental, the zombies are actually pretty likely to stick around as it turns out.
 |
| The Snow Foxes flee the field, as expected. |
A bit flummoxed, both Rhinosaurs shred the blocking Snow Foxes, eager for more worthy foes. One repositions, to prevent any possible flank charges from the Cavern Dwellers by using the building to block them out. The other overruns. The Clan Lord flies and pivots and breathes fire, but rolls poorly, landing just a single damage against the nearest Cavern Dweller.
Top of Round 3: Varangur:
The Snow Foxes are all gone, but the ones on the left did a fine job, buying me time to move some heavy hitters up. This round I opt to triple charge the isolated Rhinosaurs with the Thegn and two Cavern Dwellers. Between the two Dwellers, 5 additional attacks are rolled up, and the unit is obliterated! One Dweller will turn to face the Clan Lord. The other Dweller and Thegn will face the opposite direction to threaten the center of the field. Stacked in front of the Clan Lord, he's only got one charge against them, should he choose to remain here.
 |
| Paired with the Army Painter laser, a little 45 degree marker has been a great game aid to have around. |
The newcomer Kruufnir makes the sacrifice play, charging the Rhinosaurs, rolling well and dealing a few damage and at least stripping them of Thunderous Charge for the coming turn.
The Huscarls with the light cloaks to not have any charges. I opt to delay things this turn to hopefully have a big turn next turn. Some Draugr charge out from the woods into the horde of Primes. This should have been a Hindered Charge, but I don't think I caught that at the time. They are zombies, and I don't think they do any damage anyways, so I suppose it doesn't really matter!
 |
| The Varangur delay against the Salamander infantry in the center. |
 |
| Thankfully, the Huscarls prevail. |
On the right, the Thegn has a Nimble charge around the powerful Pale Rider, and takes it, joining the Night Raiders in a fight against the Tyrants. Thanks to the volley of axes last turn, the duo are able to push through the Salamander berserkers and overrun.
Bottom of Round 3: Salamanders:
The Pale Rider nimble wheels around, and moves to breathe fire against the Draugr. Only two more damage is done, but the Nerve check is again just shy of a Rout, and they will Iron Resolve another point back. The Ancients swing against Magnilde, landing 3, but that is Iron Resolved back down to 2.
 |
| I wasn't sure if he would commit against Kruufnir, but he does love his Rhinosaurs. This was a textbook Surge use by my opponent! |
Kruufnir is out of their charge arc, but the The Fire Elementals execute a classic Surge attack, moving up and clearing the Rhinosaurs and then pivoting. They are then Surged the needed three inches to get into the flank of the legendary troll. The Rhinosaurs are disordered, and roll quite poorly, dealing only 3 damage in response. Fortunately, the surging Fire Elementals dish out 20, and scorch the troll before he can regenerate anything. The Elementals will overrun, and the Rhinosaurs will hide behind the building again to lick their wounds.
Top of Round 4: Varangur:
The stack complicates my own positioning here a bit. The Cavern Dwellers and Thegn are all Height 4, so the Thegn is blocking the vision of the Cavern Dweller behind him, and preventing a multi-charge against the Fire Elementals, who are only Height 3. Being the weaker of the two, the Thegn side-steps, which should allow the Cavern Dweller to charge into the Fire Elementals. The Dweller rolls up only 1 extra attack, and the Draugr are similarly ineffectual, and the Elementals hold. The other Cavern Dweller counter-charges the Clan Lord, who takes some damage, but also holds.
 |
| The Cavern Dwellers try to grind on their own, but aren't rolling up many extra attacks. |
In the center, the Huscarls multi-charge the Prime Horde. Bane-Chant should land on the unit on the right, and the Primes are massacred. Both will turn to face the left-hand edge of the table and the incoming Rhinosaur unit.
The Night Raiders move and pivot, looking to be free of the fenced-in graveyard next turn. Magnilde continues to poke at the Ancients, dealing another few damage, and the veteran Salamanders are soon accosted in the flank by the Thegn, and the unit is routed.
The Draugr charge the Pale Rider to occupy him, and I think they even do some damage. This should slow the Rider down for a turn. If memory serves, the Thegn is out of the charge arc and Magnilde is out of range.
Bottom of Round 4: Salamanders:
The Pale Rider counter-charges the damaged Draugr, and munches through them. The Draugr have been quite lucky this game and have done very well for me. My opponent is glad to finally be rid of them.
 |
| The Pale Rider wheels to eye up the center, though is a bit far away. |
The Rhinosaurs seek vengeance, and charge and shred through a unit of Huscarls, but the second unit of elite Varangur warriors is waiting nearby.
 |
| The grinds on the left are not going well for the Varangur. |
The Fire Elementals counter-charge the Cavaern Dweller, dealing 5 to it, but the monster holds. It's partner is not as lucky, and the Clan Lord rolls hot to beat the beast into the ground.
Top of Round 5: Varangur:
The Brew of Sharpness comes through again, and Clan Lord breaks free on the left, and I'm feeling a little vulnerable here. Amazingly, the Thegn can still see the Fire Elementals, and will nimble charge in against the them, along with the counter-charging Cavern Dweller. I somehow thought the Elementals had Regeneration, but they do not, and so the damage has stacked up, and the elementals are snuffed out. The Thegn and the Cavern Dweller wheel about to face the Clan Lord as do the Draugr.
The Huscarls charge the Rhinosaurs, who have also accumulated a few damage (from Kruufnir), and the fresh infantry unit is able to cut them down. The Huscarls I think elect to hold. They should be out of the charge range of the Clan Lord in the front, and the Pale Rider can't reach them in the rear either.
 |
| End of the Top of Round 5. |
Being a feisty individual, Magnilde swivels around to charge the Pale Rider. This should occupy it and prevent it from getting into the scoring zone this turn, while the Thegn charges the Mage (he could not reach the Rhinosaurs). Both Salamander units hold, but take a few damage and are disordered. The Night Raiders slink away from the Graveyard, eyeing up the center and the scenario for the next turn.
Bottom of Round 5: Salamanders:
My opponent has two powerful monsters left, but both have taken a bit of a beating. The stronger Clan Lord has gotten the worse of it so far. My opponent's individuals cannot score and are being harried, and he is out of any other other scoring units. He can probably drag a few things down with him, but given the scenario, he decides to tap out so we can get in another game.
A bloody victory for the Varangur! Thanks to my opponent for a great game!
Game Conclusions
Being a mostly infantry list, I wasn't sure how it would do. I think it might struggle a bit against a speedier list, but with good chaff, it proved effective against another infantry-heavy list. Overall, I think had a good plan for the scenario relying on a very potent center of Huscarls. I was able to protect them while concentrating my forces well for the important combats (committing 500 points of monsters against the Rhinosaurs to remove them; and 400 points of Huscarls against the Primes, for example). Winning those important combats decisively put me in a good position to win the game.
Despite the resulting capitulation, my opponent still played a good game. Reverting to an older list and an older way of thinking can be hard to do, but I think he did well applying some of the insight gained over the last few months to this list and to this game. The Pale Rider was deployed in the front line this time, and performed better than in some of our previous games. It did kill it's points back (Foxes, Night Raiders, Draugr), and was applying pressure throughout the game. While he wasn't that impressed with the Elementals, the Fire Elemental unit also got a textbook Surge "charge" in against Kruufnir, which was well-done and neat to see in action! My opponent also remembered to use the firebreath of the Clan Lord and the Pale Rider, which is commendable. I still think those kind of breath attacks are under-utilized by most players. Unfortunately for my opponent, despite some good moves, I was able to trade quite well and keep him on the back foot for most of the game.
Testing Conclusions
I am still pretty new to the Varangur, but I had a great time and I learned a lot from this infantry-focused list! Wrapping up with the testing takeaways:
- Draugr. With their slower speed, assisting other infantry seems like a great use for them. These blocked very well, and absorbed a good amount of damage, which let me get the valuable Huscarls to where I needed them to be. They are not flashy, but are workhorses and definitely helped enable the rest of the list.
- Night Raiders. I think ideally, these threaten other light, speed 5 infantry. I didn't have great targets across the table this time. The Tyrants had the weakest defense, but have a good charge range, so despite wanting that match-up originally, I found I couldn't actually safely fling stuff at them. Still, these did.. decently with the axes, and were able to secure that flank with some help. They weren't used particularly well, but these were fine results for an early outing. We'll play around with them some more for sure!
- Huscarls. The scenario was ideal for them. I was able to give them a great match up across the table and then protect them long enough to do some heavy lifting for me. They definitely need support, but received it this game, so they were able to deliver for me. With great stats, they should take most magic items well, though I'm not sure what I'd want to put on them just yet.
- Cavern Dwellers. They mostly rolled "1" for their additional attacks. They also didn't get into any flanks, like you'd want to do with a monster. So I can't say they over-performed or that I even used them particularly well, but they did do well enough and my opponent did dislike them, so they have potential. I think the 50mm base makes them deceptively strong? As-ever with giants and monsters, it's best not to use them alone (as shown in this report even), but they can do good work. Lifeleech isn't all that useful, but these did well alongside infantry.
- Skald with Lute. He didn't do much, but he was nice to have? I did get the spell off in the important combat against the Primes. The utility of a cheap inspiring source is great and Bane Chant is always nice to have. He's not that big of a points commitment, so I'll likely try to squeeze him in again in some future lists.
- Thegns on Frostfangs. I paid for the Snow Foxes and the 6th attack... and then forgot about it nearly all day long, finally realizing as our second game wrapped up. Oops. I think I used nimble well throughout the day, so I can't complain overall. They performed about as well as my Lords typically do, sneaking in just a point or two of damage in combat, so all things considered, I am actually very happy with the downgrade!
- Kruufnir. I have him on a 40mm, and luckily remembered to grab a 50mm for the games I will try to rebase him soon. I forgot about Rampage entirely this game, so he didn't get a great match up, and unfortunately he was sacrificed this game, and not used particularly well. He died alright though? We'll just have to run him again I think!
- Magnilde. I didn't actually pop fly at all, but she was a powerful little disruptor, mightily pinning and delaying enemy units during the game to enable my fighty units to do their thing. I've thrown her against monsters and such, but have not really used her as a unit roadblock before. She did quite well in this role.
A final thank you to my opponent for the game!
No comments:
Post a Comment