Kings of War 3rd Edition: #035: Abyssals vs Northern Alliance [Dominate]

Intro and Lists

With the first game over pretty quickly, we had plenty of time for a second! Cartwright's second list was quite similar to his first for the day, and he ran another strong Northern Alliance list.

As before, there are some Snow Foxes are around to disrupt. Dwarf Clansmen were around to grab objectives, and three troops of Pack Hunters could do the same while pressuring with the bows or threatening supporting, Pathfinding charges. Two Hordes of monstrous Snow Trolls are around to do the heavy fighting with Regen and CS2. Two potent Cavern Dwellers are around again, and a unit of mighty Huscarls now join the ranks. Leading the army are his duo of Lords on Frostfangs, and a Snow Troll Prime again.

We were both exploring unit sizes for ranged units, and had decided to match-up regiments vs troops for a little added variation. He was running troops this time, so I am running my list with regiments:

This list was the more "normal" of the two lists for me from the day, if such a thing can even be said of my scatter-brained list-building ways. We've got a lot of regiments exploring some of the regimental MSU play that I like to try from time to time. Up to test for me are:

• Abyssal Guard. They seem a little expensive, but have a neat mix of stats and rules. They won't carry the day, but seem like they could be useful as smaller combat blocks.
• Flamebearer Regiments. These have been staples in my Abyssals lists, and I am trying out one more regiment than is usual for me. The plan is to stick two units with each Seductress, Enthrall stuff, and then shoot at it.  
• Tortured Souls. Without Nimble, early positioning seems to be very important. These still have potential I think, but I am struggling to use them effectively, so just need to keep at it.
• Abyssal Fiend. The Fiend can fight, inspire, score, and even lob some fireballs in a pinch. I think it has a lot of potential in a combined-arms style list, so we'll see how it does.
• Abyssal Champion & Lightning Bolt. The Champion also has potential in a combined-arms style list, especially with the Lightning Bolt upgrade. He cannot score, but should be able to contribute at just about any stage of the game.
• Seductress with Enthrall. I often take Flamebearers for my Abyssal lists, and often find myself going first, since 5" move and 18" range means I won't be able to shoot at anything with them, excepting something like a scout move. Enthrall on the Seductresses should let me draw something out and shoot it on turn 1, and that's the plan with the Flamebearers here.
• Regimental MSU. Important units for this army, like Flamebearers and Abyssal Guard, top out at the regimental unit size, so I think this playstyle might still have some potential, especially in more casual play. We'll see how this playstyle works for the Abyssals in the second game.
• Battle Report Template. This is my second try at a report using my note-taking template. I forgot my foam die to help track rounds in my pictures though, so we'll see how this goes...

I again had the slightest of edges in drops (16: 15) and Unit Strength (25:24), but I didn't think I had any good answers for the Cavern Dwellers besides avoidance. I was running a lot of smaller elements, and lacked any significant melee power. I was putting a lot of faith in my shooting this time! We both have tended towards more combined-arms lists recently, which have made for some very enjoyable games over the last year. The Northern Alliance don't have much for cavalry, but they do everything else pretty well. We should be in for a bloody game! 

Deployment and Table

We generated a new table, and got Dominate for the new scenario, which is the King of the Hill scenario. At the end of the game, we'll total things up and see who has the most unit strength within 12" from the center of the board.

My opponent decided to neglect the left entirely, instead focusing on pressuring and holding the center while pushing on the right. For his deployments we have Dwarves screening a Cavern Dweller and Lord on Frostfang, Snow Trolls screening Snow Foxes, Snow Troll Prime, Snow Trolls screening Huscarls, three Pack Hunter troops screening a Lord and more Snow Foxes, with the final Cavern Dweller out on the far-right.

A compact deployment for a strong and sturdy NA list.

I opted to go wider, hoping to encircle my opponent while bombarding the center. On the left I have two units of Tortured Souls and some Gargoyles. An Abyssal Fiend anchors the line, with Abyssal Guard and a Seductress nearby. Given the scenario, I chose to throw out the plan of pairs and really try to bring the heat down on the center field. The center of my line has three regiments of Flamebearers and the Abyssal Champion with Lighting Bolt.

View from the left. Uncontested, hopefully the Tortured Souls can do work.

A building broke up my line. On the other side of it, is another Abyssal Fiend, and more Abyssal Guard in reserve. The fourth regiment of Flamebearers ended up on the right to try and trade fire with the Hunters, and we have more Gargoyles, some Tortured Souls and a Seductress around to try and delay, pressure, or sweep around depending on how things go.

My opponent was wary of my Flamebearer regiments, and having already shown my hand with my Seductress trick during last game, he chose to go first and be aggressive; trying to dictate what I could / had to shoot at with my Flamebearers.

Top of Round 1: Northern Alliance

The Northern Alliance advanced swiftly. Both regenerating Snow Trolls were pushed pretty far up, ready to take some early volleys in the hopes that they could make it into combat quickly and the damage could be regenerated away.

Aggressive. Even the Dwarves were moving at the double!

On the right, two of the Pack Hunters gravitated towards the safety of the woods. Wanting to get line of sight from out of the woods, the Lord joins the two Pack Hunters. The third unit was wary of long flying charges, and held back, along with the Snow Foxes and Cavern Dweller. 

Go figure. Cartwright's tricky shooters have secured the woods.

Bottom of Round 1: Abyssals

The unopposed left of the Abyssals pushed up aggressively. The Gargoyles fly up their full speed and nimbly pivot, threatening some flanks already, though admittedly they aren't that scary against all the Defense 5 around these parts. The angled Tortured Souls moved at the double, but aren't quite in range for anything next turn. The other unit of Souls also moved at the double forward, but lacking nimble, cannot pivot. The goal with them was to try and get up and around and put my opponent on a bit of a clock against impending rear-charges, but lacking nimble, these are a bit hard to use and I struggled with some positioning. With things already in range for my shooting, the Seductress here flew up far ahead, evading charge arcs for now, and will look for ways to contribute in the coming rounds. My opponent knows I like them, so purposefully did not bring any individuals in hope of limiting their effectiveness.

Uncontested, but still untidy. Tortured Souls are hard to use.

My center inched back as far as they could; wary of the speedier Snow Trolls. The Fiends moved into range, and a unit of Gargoyles moved up to screen a Fiend from a horde of Snow Trolls. I forgot about the Champ's Lightning Bolt, but three regiments of Flamebearers tossed into the Snow Trolls in the center of the board, joined by fireballs from both Fiends. It's a fiery, evil cacophony, but not as effective or decisive as I would have hoped. A total of 10 damage is inflicted, and the Trolls are merely wavered. Still, for this early in the game, that isn't bad if I can remove them before Regeneration can make a difference.

The killing field.

On the right, the Seductress flies forward, and then enthralls one of the Pack Hunters, drawing them part way out of their woods. They only move 2" unwillingly, and unfortunately for me still get cover (and are still stealthy). But the Flamebearers get some lucky 6's to hit, and manage 2 damage against the unit.

Top of Round 2: Northern Alliance

On the right, all three Pack Hunters will shoot into the Flamebearers, and will remove them with a good Nerve check. The Snow Foxes charge in to disorder and ground the Tortured Souls, but fail to land any damage. The Cavern Dweller advances, juuust getting into charge range against the Abyssal Guard and Flamebearers over here. .

A very opportune flank charge for the Lord on Frostfang!

I was hoping my opponent would not see it, or risk it, but I did move the Fiend up to throw it's Fireball, and was now giving up a potential flank charge here. A resounding 10 damage is done, but thankfully for me, the Fiend holds with a Nerve check on the low side.

Centrally, the injured Snow Trolls move back to regenerate while the other unit moves up. The forward movement lets the Huscarls make a hindered charge into the screening Gargoyles. The elite warriors from the frozen north deal 8 damage, but the dice produce the feared snake eyes for the resulting Nerve Check, and the Gargoyles are unbothered.

Oh disaster! The Gargoyles are found to be quite insane. 

The central Snow Foxes rush towards the Flamebearers to threaten some disordering charges next turn, but the sly creatures do not reach anything this turn. 

The Cavern Dweller remains behind to protect the Dwarves.

With no charges, the Snow Troll Prime just moves up, as do the short-legged Dwarves. The Dwarves are still giving a (hindered) flank charge to the Gargoyles though. The Gargoyles can also reach the Cavern Dweller, who can't get away, so he turns to face things down and threaten a charge against anything threatening the nearby Dwarves.

Bottom of Round 2: Abyssals

I decide to charge the Gargoyles into the Cavern Dweller, and use that combat to move up with both units of Tortured Souls. Positioning is still a bit of an issue, but they are making progress swinging around the enemy line.

More delaying from the Abyssals. Followed by more shooting.

The Champion charges out against the Snow Foxes, but is unable to get rid of them. I believe they are perpetually Wavered from this point on.

The insane Gargoyles don't regenerate much, and will disengage, forcing another hindered charge from the Huscarls next turn. The Flamebearers all shoot into the new Snow Troll unit, dealing about the same damage and wavering them as well.

Stalled out, the intrepid Lord on Frostfang will be counter-charged by the Fiend, flanked by the Guard, and cut down. The Guard will overrun and get out of line of sight of the lurking Cavern Dweller.

A brave move, but it does not pay off for the Lord.

Out on the right, the Tortured Souls disengage, and make a hindered charge into a unit of Pack Hunters, dealing only a few damage, but still getting the disorder. The Seductress charges another, and will win her fight. These were very fortunate charges and combats for me this turn, as the Cavern Dweller has no charges for the upcoming turn. I didn't have much that could deal with it, so avoiding it seemed like the best play.

Top of Round 3: Northern Alliance

We think it's the top of 4, but that isn't actually true. I hadn't taken any notes for Round 2 (or Round 3, for reasons), and my opponent was manning the dice tracker, so with our powers combined, we screwed up significantly...

On the right, the Cavern Dweller moves towards my lines menacingly, eager to fight something. One unit of Pack Hunters will counter-charge the Tortured Souls and deal 1, while the other unit will flank charge the Abyssal Guard and deal 2. It was some pretty cold dice for my opponent.

The Abyssal Guard get lucky.

The Snow Troll Prime rolls well though, charging in and dealing 4 damage to a unit of Flamebearers, who are found to be Wavered with the check.

The Snow Troll Prime reaches the Flamebearer lines.

The Cavern Dweller on the left crushes the Gargoyles as expected, and it, the nearby Lord, Snow Trolls and a unit of Dwarves all turn to face the oncoming Tortured Souls. 

Bottom of Round 3: Abyssals

My Tortured Souls don't have a lot of great options. Aside from the Cavern Dweller, I couldn't commit them both to the same target due to spacing issues. With so much facing them, I figured future pressure was the best use them, though only one could get clear, and without Nimble couldn't reposition to pressure again next turn. The other unit could not evade, so charged into the Lord on Frostfang, since that unit cannot heal.

The Seductress joined the fleeing Tortured Souls. The Abyssal Fiend threw a Fireball into the Dwarf unit facing him, and then the Seductress Enthralled the unit, drawing them towards my opponent's deployment zone.

Centrally, the Abyssal Guard flank-charge the Snow Troll Prime, roll well and dispatch him. The Champion continues to struggle against the Snow Foxes, dealing just 1 damage and Wavering them for a second time. 

The Champion is trying his best. Or so I'm told. 

The two untouched Flamebearer units toss into the Snow Trolls, who have been getting cover from the Foxes the last few turns. The Snow Trolls had regenerated a few damage, took about the same in new damage this turn, and are just Wavered again. We are 3 for 3 for volleys wavering Snow Troll Hordes, but just can't quite get the job done it seems.

Combats out on the right. 

With shots going into the Snow Trolls, the Abyssal Fiend is forced to ignore their flank, and smashes into the Huscarls. He is not likely to break them, but he is likely dead next turn, and I want to put damage on the Huscarls for later, since they cannot heal. 

The nearby Abyssal Guard fight their Pack Hunter foes, but are only able to deal 4 damage, getting just a Waver. The Tortured Souls are able dispatch their unit though, and will remain in the woods, turning to face the center of the board. Being an individual, the Seductress is able to change facing and charge the Snow Foxes. Catching the unit of critters in the flank does nothing mechanically, but she is still able to cut them down. The Abyssal Champion should be taking notes!

Top of Round 4: Northern Alliance

We again think it is Round 5, when it is actually Round 4.

The Huscarls counter-charge the Fiend, landing a fair bit of new damage on the titan, and this will see him leave the field. The Pack Hunters will disengage and move back, giving the Cavern Dweller space to crash into the Abyssal Guard. The blows are heavy, but the monster's coordination is a bit off, and only new 6 damage is done in the end. Being Fearless, the Guard is just able to hold on against a good Nerve Check.

The Abyssal Guard takes a beating, but remains.

Both Snow Troll units continue to regenerate a few damage each turn. One unit joins the Lord in counter-charging some Tortured Souls, and together they will easily break the ghostly unit. The Lord will spin to face the center, while the Snow Trolls look chase the nearby Tortured Souls away.

End of the round.

The Snow Trolls near the center of the board is wavered and relatively safe from combats. My opponent is fine with them soaking fire and regenerating, so they stay put.

Bottom of Round 4: Abyssals

Out on the right, the Seductress charges the final troop of Pack Hunters, ending them too. The Abyssal Guards  will regenerate 1 damage, and then counter-charge the Cavern Dweller. It seems futile against Lifeleech 3, but it's all they really have for options. Thankfully, the Huscarls are still pointed at the Guard as well, so the Guard will tie up some scary units next turn and buy me some time.

The Tortured Souls on the right are in the woods, and make a hindered rear-charge into the wavering Snow Trolls. Rereading the Fly rule, the unit didn't end up touching the Difficult Terrain, so I guess this should have been a clean charge, and that fliers can charge out of terrain? We ruled it a hindered charge at the time. As such, the damage isn't amazing, but with triple the attacks, enough slips through, forcing another Nerve check, and this finally is enough to force some Trolls from the field! 

Finally, the Snow Trolls fall. 

The remaining Abyssal Fiend crashes into a unit of Dwarves, wavering them. The Abyssal Guard continues to scoot around the woods nearby. 

The Seductress hops over the Cavern Dweller, safe from charges. Trying to prevent a charge from the other unit of Dwarves against the Abyssal Guard, she enthralls them, drawing them back towards the enemy deployment zone... and scores enough hits to bring them back far enough to eye up the flank of the Abyssal Fiend nearby instead. Whoops! The Abyssal Guards provide some cover, but all of the remaining Flamebearers toss into the enthralled Dwarves, and are able to burn away the threat of a flank charge into the Fiend.

Top of Round 5: Northern Alliance

I look to have forgotten a picture. And again, we think this is Round 6. The reporting is getting a little rocky and unreliable...

The furious Dwarves counter-charge the Fiend, dealing a surprising 5 damage. The Lord opts to charge the Abyssal Guard, but is unable to break the regiment. The Huscarls and Cavern Dweller easily cut down the second regiment of Guard together, and turn to face my Flamebearers. The Huscarls change facing, and should just barely be scoring as well.

The remaining Snow Trolls face my opponent's deployment zone, giving the Tortured Souls a front charge only, while importantly still scoring for the scenario. 

The other Cavern Dweller makes a long flank-charge into the Tortured Souls that just removed the Snow Trolls last turn. The Dweller doesn't roll great for extra attacks, and just deals 7 damage to them, and the Tortured Souls hold, due to being Fearless.

Bottom of Round 5: Abyssals

Still thinking it is Round 6, the pressure is on! I need to get to the middle while killing some units.

After maneuvering on my turn.

The Flamebearers all move up and into the scoring zone. They all toss into the Huscarls. I actually remember my Champion and his Lightning Bolts, and with the few extra damage, the fearsome melee unit is blasted off the table.

After shooting on my turn.

The Seductresses fly about, and make great use of Enthrall. One yanks the remaining Snow Trolls out of the scoring zone entirely, while the other tries to pull the Cavern Dweller out of position as well. I think it still has a potential charge into the Flamebearers, but still, this move felt good.

After combat on my turn.

The injured Tortured Souls disengage from the Cavern Dweller, taking a penalized flank charge into the Dwarves as the Fiend assaults them from the front, and it is enough to break the unit.

The Tortured Souls were not charged by the looming Snow Trolls, since they needed to score. They have the inches to make a rear charge into the Lord on Frostfang, and does so, joined by the Abyssal Guard in the front, and the Northern Alliance Lord is dragged down.

Thinking that it is Round 6, and realizing he doesn't really have any great game-winning charges, my opponent opts to simply call it here. As we wrap up, I should have all three units of Flamebearers (6 Unit Strength total), a unit of Abyssal Guard (3), an Abyssal Fiend (1) and two units of Tortured Souls (4 Unit Strength total) scoring, against just the Cavern Dweller of the Northern Alliance, making it a 14-1 victory for the Forces of the Abyss. 

Game Conclusions

What a game! My opponent definitely got the short end of the stick though with a troublesome Insane Courage result to delay his potent Huscarls, and then us accidentally dropping a full round of turns. Had we known it was actually Round 5, the Snow Trolls would have for sure charged and trounced the Tortured Souls, preventing the rear-charge into the Lord on Frostfang and putting him in a bit of a better spot with his final moves on the real final turn.

Dropping a full turn does not bode well for the competency of my note taking. I had accidentally left my big foam d6 tracker at home. We were using a small tracker to help, but must have sped it up accidentally sometime around Round 2. I didn't have notes for Rounds 2 or 3, and referring to the tracker, we skipped on right to Round 4. Oops.

Generally, I think I played a good game here. The scenario was pretty ideal for this list, and my early decision to put three Flameberers near the center was the right call. I think 2&2 with Seductresses is a possible way to run these little groups, and could be viable in some match ups, but given the scenario and all the Defense 5 opposing me, I wanted that firepower more centrally located. Even with cover penalties for about a third of the volleys due to the wavered Foxes or other intervening units, the weight of fire eventually won the day.

Testing Conclusions

• Abyssal Guard. They aren't amazing, but thanks to Fearless, they do seem decent. I don't think I used them well either game, so I'll continue to explore the unit as opportunities come up. Even with the weapon-swap they don't hit all that hard, so I need to figure out what other units to run them with. 
• Flamebearers. I relied on my ranged units this game and they thankfully, ultimately delivered! Regiments seems to be the way to go. The extra Nerve is just so important.
• Tortured Souls. They finally delivered with some very important charges, but this has not been the norm for them. I don't think I was using them particularly well. With an open flank they still struggled to get into good positions and just didn't feel maneuverable. Maybe a combined-arms approach, deployed closer to some Abyssal Guard could be worth exploring. 
• Abyssal Fiend. Again, these were bright spots in the list, and I even forgot some of their rules throughout the day. They have some great Nerve for their cost, and are just really versatile units. A few more games and I'll have their rules down I think.
• Abyssal Champion. Had I remembered the Lightning Bolt during Round 1, I may have been able to shoot off the Snow Trolls and kick things off properly. In the end though, he was around to protect the Flamebearers and his Lightning did help end the Huscarls. He seemed to flub a lot, but ultimately did his job, and this seems like a great loadout for the hero, bringing a lot of utility for not too steep a cost.
• Seductress with Enthrall. These performed way better I expected them to. They were maingly fighting low-defense things, but were doing a couple of damage in each combat, and then they also got some very nice Enthralls as the game progressed, which I was not expecting. Being able to preserve these for the entirety of the game really helped me out, and if nothing else, they were a lot of fun to use!
• Regimental MSU. It is definitely a very difficult playstyle, and performance would probably benefit from running a more practiced list, but this game was a lot of fun, and the victory definitely helps my motivation to keep exploring the playstyle as the mood strikes.
• Battle Report Template. Oof. A very big fail here! When my opponent mentioned it was the start of Round 4, I was surprised, but my brain was mushy. It's been a very long and stressful few months for me. I think this sheet will get better the more I use it and the more I am used to having it around. I have 4 more printouts ready, so I'll keep after this for the next few games, and then reevaluate how I am doing.  

Rolling some dice was a much needed break for me. A big thank you to my opponent for fitting these games in over the weekend! It's always a great time throwing down and I'm looking forward to our next battles!