Kings of War 3rd Edition: #038: Herd vs Brothermark [Invade]

Intro and Lists:

The internet had been hooked up at the new place for about an hour when I received a message from friend and forum-goer Cartwright, wondering how the move had gone and if I'd be down for a game the following day, as he'd be in town. Packing and the move had completely dominated my time for the last few months, but being unexpectedly done with the old apartment ahead of schedule, I happily agreed to dig out an army and throw down! I did have some second thoughts when I saw the list he was bringing though:

Wowzers! He has been experimenting with his Brothermark for a while now. The cadre of specialist warrior heroes has been fun and fluffy, but replacing most of them them with two hordes of Ogre Palace Guard seems like a definite upgrade, as these can score and they can both give and take greater amounts of damage during a game. His list still retains a few supporting heroes though, mostly for heals and Bane Chant and minor buffs. Also returning to the battlefield is an Ancient Phoenix, and a pair of knightly regiments from the Order of the Abyssal Hunt, a horde of Paladin Monster Slayers, and a slew of lousy Penitents which has become a staple in his list. Rounding out the list this time was a supporting horde of Spearmen: generalists and tar-pits extraordinaire. The Herd relies on a lot of Thunderous Charge to deal their damage, so this is actually a very nice pick against the army I brought. Overall, the Brothermark had a very strong-looking list with a lot of unit strength and an amazing amount of Nerve to hack through before I could get to anything worthwhile. I was going to be in for a very tough game!

I have been running back and forth between abodes after work and on the weekends for the last few months, sorting things out and fixing things up. With the big move happening just a few days prior to our game, I really only had had time to unpack toiletries and a few essentials so far at the new place. So I fell back to running a slight variant of the previous Herd list, from Battle 037, which was still packed up. Being essentially the same list with two small changes, all the same things are up to test:

• Tribal Spears. The little regiments have done well so far. Phalanx should hopefully dissuade enemy cavalry while the extra attacks (over say, Tribal Warriors) should help a bit on the offense, and we'll see where they end up contributing. I am bringing only one regiment this time, so no need to worry about deploying side-by-side at least!
• Lycan Regiment. The second Spear regiment was dropped for this list, and was replaced with a regiment of Lycans. The regiment is unlikely to do much in any frontal charges, but with Nimble and their very high speed, I am hoping they can get into the backfield where they can be very threatening with flank and rear charges and complicate the decisions for my opponent..
• Spirit Walkers. The horde was ok, but seemed like a huge commitment for list-building. Having just Thunderous Charge for offensive special rules, I think that the regiments will still need some babysitting with Bane Chants or additional supporting units, but we'll see how the regiments feel this time. 
• Longhorns as Regiment. The regiment performed very well last time. Anything they hit should feel it, so we'll try to protect them this time and see how they do on the offense. 
• Hunters of the Wild. They have good general stats, but have struggled to deal damage previously, and really want a Bane-Chant whenever they can get it. They will be in competition with the Spirit Walkers for receiving those spells, but we'll see how they do and how well I use their scout move this time.
• Wild Gur Panthers. These are my chaff right now. They don't hit particularly hard, but they are very speedy. We'll see what they die to and how they perform for the scenario.
• Hydras. It's a monster with good nerve, and while most of the army has Thunderous Charge, it has Crushing Strength. It think it has potential to hold the line and grind out smaller units, like the Penitents, but as mentioned in the hobbying post, I don't think these will be competitive picks since the special rules of Regen and Multiple Heads work against each other. Still, monsters are fun, so we'll give them another try!
• Great Chieftain, Cat and Horn. Its a pretty deep kit again, but I am hoping it will give the Chieftain some tactical options. The aura for Wild Charge should be nice against all they enemy infantry. I think I need to pair him with some sources of Brutal to get the best use of the Dread aura, but a debuff is a debuff, and it could always make a difference. We'll see how the kit does.
• Druid with Bane Chant and Heal. I still think these are good buys and likely a go-to-source for sources of inspiring for my version of the army. Last time they flubbed their spells, so we'll see how their magic does this time. Will heal of Bane Chant be cast more? 
• Silent Hunt Formation. This formation grants the Ensnare and Deadly Snare special rules, with the latter damaging enemy units if a formation unit is charged while touching difficult terrain. This combination seems like a lot of fun, but will be highly dependent on the table's terrain. Still, we'll see what they can accomplish, and how well I use their Scout moves.
• Scout. I would say that I am slowly figuring out Scout. I have an assortment of Scouting units in the list again to test myself, so we'll see how I do.
• Herd MSU. To restate it quickly here, MSU for me in Kings of War is anything regiment-sized or lower. I really do like the playstyle of lots and lots of regiments, and quite enjoyed my previous attempt with the Herd. Scout moves really open up a whole new aspect of play, so we'll see how I do this time. 

Table and Terrain:

There is a game store near my new place. I had heard about it before, but had never been, and so we agreed to check it out. I packed up a mat and some spooky terrain, and we were able to squeeze in on a table for a few hours. The terrain is standard with the fences as Height 2 Obstacles, the graveyard as height 0 Difficult Terrain, withered forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, hills as Height 3 Hills and the mausoleums are Height 9 Blocking terrain.

We set up the terrain, and rolled up Invade for the scenario. I won the roll off, chose the side I was already standing near, and we got down to deploying things. 

My opponent deployed very compactly, whereas the Herd went wide.

The dependable-but-expendable Penitents wisely came down early for my opponent, while I dropped an assortment of Gur Panthers, Tribal Trappers, Hunters, and the unit of Spears, spreading out along the table early. As more of his stuff arrived in the center, down came my Hydras and Longhorns. The enemy cavalry were very late drops, and would be a concern for me. This concern was exacerbated by my own goofs, failing to deploy my individuals sooner, and spoiling my drop advantage a bit. 

Left-to-right my opponent had the Order of the Abyssal Hunt regiments supported by the mounted Priest (heal and BC), a forest, and then the rest of his units in a layered formation. Ogre Palace Guards lurked near the woods, supported by the Exemplar hero, with Penitents forming the rest of the front line for the Brothermark. The Ancient Phoenix, Paladin Monster Slayer Horde, Priest with Martyr's Prayer, and Spearman horde formed the second line. The third line was the second unit of Ogre Palace Guard, waiting in reserve to see where they may be needed.

View from my left.

I had my Lycan regiment off on the left. Due to my goof, I believe they were the last real unit I deployed, and unfortunately placed here to just try to delay the enemy cavalry rather than do anything adventurous. Nearby we had the Great Chieftain, Panthers screening Spirit Walkers, a Hydra, a Druid, Panthers Screening Longhorns, the second Hydra and the Tribal Spears. I was not thinking, and should have kept them as a late drop to try to counter the cavalry , but they were deployed early to help secure the woods instead. 

View from my right. Thank goodness I have pathfinder or the graveyard would really slow me down.

Continuing on down the table, we have the second Druid, Panthers screening some Trappers, Hunters of the Wild, Spirit Walkers at an angle, more Trappers, the Tracker Softhoof, and lastly, the second unit of Hunters of the Wild is out near the table edge on the right.

Post-scout move. All my stuff moved up as far as it could.

Facing infantry (or nothing), I scouted everything up as far as I could. I  won the roll off for first turn decision, and decided that given the scenario, I should definitely go first.

Top of Round 1: Herd

I was afraid of the Order of the Abyssal Hunt regiments out on the left. So I advanced, but hung back, safely out of their charge range. I had a slight speed advantage, so could force the issue as needed in the coming turn, but my goal was to just toss a few units their way and slow them down. To aid in my efforts, one of the Gur Panther units nimbly started zipping over to reinforce my left. 

The Herd moves around to contain the enemy heavy cavalry.

In the center, I advanced, but held back as well. The Herd isn't great at sustained combat, so I didn't want to start any fights yet. 

Cautious advances in the center.

Over on the right, I had Scouted up but was facing nothing. The Hunters moved up and pivoted, looking to advance and pressure the flanks in the coming turns. The nearby Trappers and Tracker do the same, but are unfortunately not able to shoot anything this turn.

With nothing to fight, the scouting units start to swing around.

Having Scouted up and stayed put, the other unit of Trappers are able to loose their bows into some Penitents, score some damage, and get a lucky Waver. 

Bottom of Round 1: Brothermark

The Priest is quick to render aid to the injured Penitents. The Brothermark's infantry lines shuffle around but try to maintain a united front. 

The Brothermark infantry shuffle while the cavalry seek out some early combats.

The cavalry have no charges, but keep pace with the Ogre Palace Guard nearby on the other side of the woods. All are angling around to make some charges next turn. Lastly, the Ancient Phoenix shoots into some Gur Panthers, but the beasts hold.

Top of Round 2: Herd

The Gur Panthers all stride forward as I attempt to delay. One blocks for the Lycans, one for the Spirit Walkers, and one for the Hydra. They are not long for this world, but should open up some trades in the coming turns.

The containment attempts against the Brothermark cavalry continue.

The Longhorns stalk near the center, waiting to see what the Brothermark will do. Meanwhile the  towering Hydra and Tribal Spears take advantage of being speedier than the Penitents, and threaten some charges next turn. 

The Herd makes use of its greater speed, threating safe charges against the Brothermark next round.

The Hunters of the Wild and Spirit Walkers on the hill have no charges (the Penitents are just out of range of the Hunters), so elect to hold on the hill while the other scouting units continue to swing around. 

One unit of Trappers moves, incurring a penalty, but both units and the Tracker hero shoot into another unit of Penitents (second from the right), dealing a combined 7 damage and getting a lucky waver on that unit now. 

Bottom of Round 2: Brothermark

The Penitents getting wavered are annoying, but the Brothermark aren't too eager to move out and get swarmed. The Brothermark's infantry continues to shuffle around and creep forward, with some of the Penitents getting into range of a few things now. 

The towering Ancient Phoenix shoots down into the Spirit Walkers, but they shrug off the Firesparks.

The Brothermark strike first, though not everything goes as expected.

All the action is over on the left with the Brothermark trying to clear out the Gur Panther units. One regiment of Penitents charges in, deals a few damage, and should rout their prey. The Ogres catch their unit in the flank and obliterate them, and then turn to face my lines. Both regiments from the Order of the Abyssal Hunt charge a unit of Gur Panthers, which proceeds to take 11 damage but is found to be insanely courageous... 

Top of Round 3: Herd

My brain is mush, so we talk through my options a bit, to make sure we get things right. I decide to have the insane Panthers withdraw from combat, and then back up, passing through the Lycans. This lets the Lycans, Great Chieftain and Spirit Walkers charge the inner unit of knights. The Spirit Walkers catch a Bane Chant from the Druid nearby, and the first regiment of knights are felled. The Lycans stay put to take the charge from the remaining knightly Order next turn, while the Great Chieftain and Spirit Walkers back up. The mounted Priest isn't going to charge in, so this gives them wider arcs so that they can attack something next turn.

Counter attacks from the Herd.

The Hydra goes into the Ogres, hoping to occupy their attention next turn to save my other units from their wrath. The Longhorns will go into the Penitents, obliterate them, and then change facing slightly to threaten the Ogres next turn as we determine that the Paladin Monster Slayers are out of range and cannot charge them next turn.

The Herd continues to construct and pressure without fighting yet.

The Trapper units shoot into more Penitents, but fail to damage. Softhoof though sees between the Hunters and the building, lands some damage on the first unit from the right, and Wavers them again. 

Bottom of Round 3: Brothermark

The wounded but unwavered unit of Penitents takes a charge into the Hunters of the Wild, deals 4, but fails to break through. The rest of the Brothermark's infantry line continues to trudge forward.

In go the Penitents, leading the charge as the Brothermark try to break out.

The Ancient Phoenix flies up, and Cloak of Death hits the Hydra and the Longhorns. The Phoenix then shoots its firesparks at the Longhorns, dealing 4 to them. The Ogres catch a Bane Chant, deal 10, and with the Cloak of Death damage and Brutal, and to my dismay, are just able to get the rout on the Hydra on the reroll forced by Inspiring. Unfortunately, no extra attacks for the beast this time! Kudos to my opponent for killing it in one go.

The Hydra is slain outright!

The Order of the Abyssal Hunt gets their charge and deals 9 damage to the Lycans, but luckily the beasts are only Wavered.

Top of Round 4: Herd

The wavered Lycans disengage, but I forget to roll for regeneration. Their move allows the Chieftain to charge in the front and slide down. My opponent points out the the stalled Order has a flank open to the nearby Spirit Walkers, and the phantasms take it, and get another Bane Chant. Together, the Chieftain and his ghostly kin drag down the second unit of decorated knights. The Chieftain will overrun, and the Spirit Walkers will spin around to threaten the Ogres.

The Herd continue to claw down the knightly order.

The insane Gur Panthers charge in against the Ogres to delay them. The Ogres should be unable to disengage and charge anything else, due to their wide frontage - hopefully pinned in place for a turn. The Longhorns are unfortunately in a pickle, and cannot pivot through the Ancient Phoenix to charge anything else, so they take the only charge they can into the fiery bird. A good amount of damage is dealt, and the Phoenix is wavered!

Battle is finally joined on the right.

Over on the right, the Spearmen are able to avoid the Hunters of the Wild, but the wavered Penitents are not so lucky. The Scouting moves start to pay off now, and the Hunters catch the Penitents in the flank, and shred them. They sit still, all but forcing a charge from the Spearmen next turn.

The Spirit Walkers and Hunters of the Wild multi-charge another unit of Penitents. The Spirit Walkers get the clean charge, are charging off the hill, and get a Bane Chant to decisively shred the Defense 3 unit. This was a bit of a misplay, and I should have attempted a Heal on the injured unit of Hunters.

In the center, the Tribal Spears and Hydra hold back. The Trappers on the hill are joined by Softhoof, and they shoot into the Penitents blocking for the Paladin Monster Slayers. 

Bottom of Round 4: Brothermark

The wavered Ancient Phoenix backs away from the Longhorns, who are then charged by the Paladin Monster Slayers. The Paladins are a strong unit, and even hindered, are able to land 10 damage and rout the already injured Longhorns. They will overrun to avoid a flank by the Hydra, but will roll too high, and expose themselves to a flank by the Spirit Walkers out on my left instead.

Yes, that is definitely a hindered charge!

In the center, the Exemplar and a unit of Penitents will crash into the Tribal Spears guarding the Hydra, and scatter them. The Hydra has a possible flank charge though, and the Penitents will victoriously back up to deny it.

Before combat Bottom of 4.

The Paladin remains where he is to protect the Penitents. I am unlikely going to be able to pop the Exemplar with the Hydra, and positioning-wise, I would need a second pivot to get around him and into the front arc of Penitents. A nice play from my opponent!

After combat, bottom of 4.

The Ogres deal 6 more damage and finally trounce the insane Gur Panthers, and turn to face down the Spirit Walkers on my left. Unfortunately the insane Panthers don't appear to have gotten the memo, and reappear in my end of turn positioning picture. Writing the report, I thought maybe the Penitents failed to rout theirs in Round 2 and these were lurking in the background, but thumbing through the pictures again and again, I think I must have got distracted cleaning up that combat, or in helping move the victorious Paladins on the hill for their overrun. Neither of us catch this error at any point.

The Panthers are back for more...

I think this is the first time we've had a unit return to the battlefield like this. This is simultaneously a big blunder on my part, and ultimately not all that impactful as the rest of the game unfolds. 

Top of Round 5: Herd

Seemingly hungry for more punishment (again, oops), the returned and insane Gur Panthers charge in against their worthy Ogre foes, letting the Spirit Walkers hit the flank of the Paladin Monster Slayers. They get a Bane Chant and land around 12 damage on the unit, but the horde holds.

I remember to roll for regeneration this time, and the Lycan regiment rolls well and recovers about half their wounds. The beasts move up and pivot once, getting out of the charge arc of the Ogres while threatening them next turn.

The resummoned Gur Panthers charge back in, eager for more.

The Chieftain goes after the Mounted Priest, scores some damage thanks to duelist and gets a Waver on the spellcaster. The remaining Hydra ignores the Exemplar Paladin and takes a flank-charge into the Ancient Phoenix, as this takes the Herd's titan over the line to score for the scenario. A few damage is done, but the bird persists, having already regenerated back most of the damage caused by the Longhorns on the previous turn. Regeneration 3+ is pretty solid.

Elsewhere, Softhoof, the Tribal Tracker and leader of the formation charges the Exemplar Paladin, deals some damage thanks to charging off the hill, and wavers the enemy hero. The nearby Trappers charge down off the hill as well and into the remaining, injured unit of Penitents. About half the attacks connect, and the Penitents, having already taken some damage previously, are routed.

The Herd finally connects with the main Brothermark lines.

The other Spirit Walkers get a Bane Chant, and crash into the reserve Ogre Palace Guard, getting some damage on them and tying them up for a turn. 

The two units of Hunters assail the Spearmen, with one getting into the flank. This is great for me, as the Hunters are one of the few things in the army that do not have Thunderous charge, negating the effect of the spear phalanx. No Bane Chants are free for their attack, but the Hunters are able to claw down the Spearman and see them off the field. This was a very lucky result for me as the Spearmen were fresh and this result was in no way guaranteed. The damage was decent but I had some lucky  high Nerve checks to see them off the field.

The final unit of Trappers mill about, continuing their arc into the backfield of the Brothermark. They had no charges, nor targets to shoot at, and I wasn't sure what to do with them at this point. They are just out of position.

Bottom of Round 5: Brothermark

Disordered again, the Ancient Phoenix backs off, but Cloak of Death does hit a four units (Chieftain, Hydra, Druid, and Spirits). The aura have been proving quietly effective game-after-game. The horde of Paladin Monster Slayers counter-charge the Spirit Walkers, landing 21 hits which then manifests in 18 damage, and the phantasms are dissipated. The Paladins will shuffle sideways and with the majority of their footprint over the line, are scoring. This also keeps the Lycans in the front arc.

The Ogre Palace Guard vanquish their nemesis again, and turn to face the Lycans, not wanting to give them a flank or rear charge either.

The Brothermark notch some victories, but are still largely contained in their corner.

The other Ogre Guards crush the other Spirit Walkers, and will victoriously change facing to get all three of the nearby Herd units into the front arc. 

The Ogre Palace Guard stand tall and defiant.

The Exemplar Paladin is headstrong, passes, and offers a stern rebuttal to Softhoof. Even with Ensnare, the Tracker takes 4 damage off of 5 attacks, and is wavered in return.

Top of Round 6: Herd

The Hunters of the Wild units will multi-charge the Ogre Palace Guard. Each will receive a Bane Chant, and claw down the powerful guards. The Lycans nimbly dodge the remaining Ogre Palace Guard, though I probably could have moved less and used the nimble pivot to threaten a charge on something in a potential Round 7 as well, or even charged the Ogres and tied them up for a turn and prevented them from scoring at all in Round 6. Oh well.

Having regenerated down to 1, the Lycans nope out from any more combats.

I forget to roll for its regeneration, but the Hydra pivots, in order to threaten the remaining Brothermark units in any potential Round 7. The Ogres will need to expose a flank to score (and honestly, looking at the picture, they might not be able to move far enough to get the majority of their base across). Having taken double-digits of damage already, the Hydra could get lucky against the Paladins too, so the threat from it is serious.

The Hunters are both buffed and cut down the Ogre Guards.

The Tribal Trappers move, to also try and threaten the Paladin Monster Slayers in a potential Round 7. Only the central unit is in range with their bows, but a lucky shot lands with a 6, and Wavers the unit.

Bottom of Round 6: Brothermark

We talk through the remaining possibilities and decide to just call things here. The Herd are ahead, and given angles, my opponent can't really threaten enough of my units to make a difference to the outcome if the game. 

The Brothermark have the Paladin's scoring for 4, can get the Phoenix over for an additional 1, and might be able to get the Ogres across for 3, for a best-case scenario of 8. The Herd has both units of Hunters of the Wild scoring for 6 total, and both Trappers scoring for another 4. The Lycans have 2 Unit Strength, and the Hydra has 1 more, which would bring this to a 13-8 victory for the Herd as we reckon things at the end of the game.

Game Conclusion

The scenario was very favorable for me. Aggressive scouting moves were the right call, and the Herd securing the first turn was critical. All this really let me apply pressure and box in the Brothermark despite their strong list. As a casual player, as always some minor misplays throughout, but the general decisions to pursue early containment and then delay the main infantry combats until I was able to envelop the Brothermark's line were the right strategic calls on my part. 

The insane Gur Panthers really messed things up for my opponent. Nearly 500 points of hard-hitting cavalry was stymied by a single chaff unit and the advance of the Brothermark cavalry was then picked apart. The accidental return of the Panthers was something we missed entirely, and is a pretty big whoopsie. It's a definitely blunder on my part, and one I hope will not happen again from me, but I don't think it was that impactful on the outcome of this game, thankfully.

I really liked my opponent's list, and I think the Ogre Guard are great inclusions for the army. They are definitely going to cause me some future headaches! Overall, my opponent played a good game and had a lot of smart plays, but I made the right big strategic decisions early on, and ultimately just had too many little things go my way, resulting in the win for the Herd.

Testing Conclusion

• Tribal Spears. I knew I had a drop advantage and I knew he had scary cavalry, but I still deployed them very early as a bit of a throwaway chaff unit. I misused these. 
• Lycan Regiment.  They got very lucky, being only wavered after taking a full cavalry charge from the Order of the Abyssal Hunt, and they stuck around to complicate movement decisions for my opponent as the game went on. Overall, the regiment unit was quite fun to use. 
• Spirit Walkers. The regiments surprised me this time. They got into multiple combats and were able to contribute a lot of damage throughout the game. Fearless was great and these were just nice to have around since they were getting charges and Bane Chant was landing. They swiftly accrued damage on themselves with their low defense though, so they seem fun and viable for me, but are a bit of a liability as well. 
• Longhorns as Regiment. I forgot about Rallying entirely, though don't think any instances for its use came up. They had some decent damage output, but my opponent did a great job zoning them out with Penitents and then the Ancient Phoenix, and making sure they did not get into combat with more meaningful units. I still like the unit, but well-played to my opponent to so effectively sideline them this game.
• Hunters of the Wild. Scout was used well enough, getting them up to start zoning areas out, and they did great once they got into combat. They definitely want support (via Bane Chant), but received the spells when they needed them this time and did very well in all their combats. 
• Wild Gur Panthers. Even without the insane courage result (and the goof returning them to the battlefield) they were still moving up to take the initial hits, so I think they were used well enough as the chaff they are. They have been taken out of necessity, but are growing on me in their chaff role since they are just so speedy.
• Hydras. They are still cheap, so I haven't soured on these yet! I was sad that the Ogres were able to pop the one Hydra in a single round of combat, but my opponent played that situation well getting the Bane Chant onto the Ogres and maximizing his chances there. These still didn't do great for damage output, but they did hold the line well enough.
• Great Chieftain, Cat and Horn. I don't regret the kit, but Duelist was the only thing that felt impactful this game, letting the Chieftain drag down the mounted Priest. Neither of the auras had any profound moment to stand out and be noticed in how things played out, but the Horn still felt nice to have and it seems like a decent upgrade if you have the points. 
• Druid with Bane-Chant and Heal. Every Bane Chant landed this game, making up for their last showing. There were a few times I should have cast Heal, but I did not attempt it at all. Heal comes with the Druid automatically, so I'll have plenty of chances to try this again. Even without their stock spell, the utility of the Druids felt amazing this game.
• Silent Hunt Formation. The special rules didn't come into play at all as the relevant terrain was avoided. Softhoof had one fight where ensnare came into play, but the Exemplar rolled hot and didn't care about it. The formation is fun, but I'm finding it a little hard to use well. Additionally, since the units are not very defensive, I think sitting back with the formation is a mistake. I think you want to be scouting up and shooting and charging, and then letting the special rules come into play as your opponent tries to counter-charge you. Food for thought.
• Tribal Trappers. They had a great time shooting into Penitents, but that seems like an ideal target. Neither were positioned or used particularly well, but found ways to contribute throughout the game. Not a bad showing for the unit. 
• Tribal Tracker. Through the power of reading we determined that duelist only works with melee attacks, making this more of an odd pick on the Tracker, since he doesn't even get Thunderous Charge for his melee attacks. A lot of shots did land, so he was nice to have, just used a little awkwardly by me. I don't think I'll take the Cat next time, and just see what he can do plinking away at things with the bow.
• Scout. I was able to recognize that I was up against infantry, so everything got to move up the max and really apply pressure. These aggressive early moves zoned out space on the table while not giving any possible Round 1 charges to my opponent, should I not get the first turn. I think I used Scout very well this time! 
• Herd MSU. I think I did well here! While I did run some duplicated unit, nothing was deployed right next to the same unit, and my side of the table had a nice combined arms feeling. Exploring this playstyle is still a little pet project of mine, and I'll continue to return to it with different armies as the mood strikes me. But to summarize, I think it is a viable style for the Herd, and I got the victory here against a tough-looking list, so that is a confidence booster for sure.

This was a very welcome reprieve from all the big responsibilities that have been eating up my time recently. I still need to unpack and reorganize most of my fun stuff from the big move, but I should hopefully be back hobbying and playing more games sometime in August.  A big thank you to my opponent for fitting this in!

Hobby Update: Herd Rimewings (Scorchwings)

While the Griffon purchases didn't pan out for Scorchwings, things ended up ok there, and Ebay came to the rescue for my Scorchwing desires. Up now are for the Herd are some new Scorchwings! Or maybe Frostwings, given my painting theme. Rimewings?

The new regiments.

I picked up some Chaotic Beasts for about half-price on Ebay. I don't often shout-out specific sellers, but I've purchased from Mindtaker Miniatures a few times now, and each transaction has just been great. Their shipping costs are a little higher, but every mini has been expertly packed, and I've had nothing but good transactions so far. This Ebay bundle had the 6 Chaos Furies (which may show up as Harpies sometime after the move). All the minis have tongues and claws and wings, and were pre-owned and so came pre-assembled. Mindtaker individually-wrapped everything, and it all arrived safely, and I continue to be very impressed by the seller.

They can be combined to make a horde, if needed, though I need to pick up a movement tray.

As an old Chaos player, I must say that I begrudgingly like the design of these newer chaos minis. The designers look to have made a nice amalgam of chaotic influences. You've got nice Slaanesh hooks and tail-claw-things, Khorne neck frills, Tzeentch avian features, and the bulbous bellies courtesy of Papa Nurgle. Plus, the wings are all various heights, so even on their normal oval bases there were no issues with bumping when grouped together. Well done! 

I really liked my Mounted Scouts in the Kingdoms of Men, and the Scorchwings here look to perform a similar supporting and harassing role. However, the Scorchwings have better Speed, Melee, Ranged, Defense and Nerve values, plus have a more commanding height to see targets, and get both Fly and Thunderous Charge 1, making them much more survivable and much more of a threat than my beloved Scouts. They should be a lot of fun on the table, and may even win some melee combats!

These got finished up in late June, and while I am quite eager to try them out, this is likely the last post for a bit. My wife and I are in the middle of a protracted local move, and most of my hobbying and gaming stuff is packed up already. It is unlikely anything worth posting about will manifest in July for me, but I should hopefully be back sometime in August.

Hobby Update: Herd Flying Beasts of Nature and Woodland Critters

A year or so ago, I picked up a Wizkids Griffon as a potential new mount for running another General on Winged Beast. There wasn't enough good sitting space though. More recently, in April / May 2023, I was looking for a D&D mini for a new campaign, and noticed that some smaller griffons had been released. Already in the midst of hobbying up a bunch of Herd, I decided to pick some up, along with another larger griffon, with the aim of making a few "Scorchwing" units, with a parent teaching their offspring to hunt. 

Unfortunately, most of that order was a bust. The hatchlings were way smaller that I thought they would be, and the unit looked terrible when grouped together. Fortunately, army rosters in this game are pretty deep, and with some time to ponder, I was able to salvage most of those spring purchases. Up now for the Herd are two flying Beasts of Nature, and a regiment of Woodland Critters!

The trio, finished.

As already mentioned, these minis are all from Wizkids. While I have advocated for minis from this manufacturer before, my opinion has somewhat cooled. All of the models here required a lot of mold-line clean-up. I scraped off so much I felt the need to re-prime. Not the end of the world for a wargamer, but more work than advertised, I think. Additionally, the bases for all of the minis in this post were warped. The hatchlings were able to be bent and smushed into working order, but the base for the larger griffons proved to be too hard. For the Griffons, I glued them on as best I could, and then buried the join in snow effect and glue. Had I not been doing a snow theme, putty (or drywall compound, like with the hydras) on the bottom and then sanding it all away would have been a possibility, though a time-consuming one. The price is still pretty hard to beat for these, especially for anyone familiar with GW pricing, but the quality of these minis seem to have slumped a bit.

The rocky base was significantly warped for both minis.

On the table, I'll need to pay to get the wings, but that cost of 190 makes them rather comparable to the General on Winged Beast from the Kingdoms of Men. The General has Thunderous Charge 1, 2 more attacks and 3 more Speed (for 10  Speed total). He also has humanity's Very Inspiring rule. The natural version for the Herd has Pathfinder and Vicious, and has a slightly higher Nerve than the human-affiliated option. You can pay to get two extra attacks, but without the TC and with only 7 Speed, I'm not quite sure if it is worth it. The threat of the General has been the speed and hitting power; the natural version lacks both. If you have the points, more attacks doesn't seem like a bad buy, but is not something I plan on prioritizing for the initial tests. Edit: Looks like this was an error in the list builder, and the upgrade now grants Fly and Speed 10. The General is still a better buy, but the speed makes the natural version more attractive than it was.

Side and back view. 

I am even less sure of the Woodland Critters as a unit. I think it wants to be chaff? Generally, the Herd is a very speedy army, and the Critters have good special rules for movement, with Fly and Nimble, but Speed 6 isn't quite speedy enough to get ahead and interdict, even for friendly infantry. The Critters have Pathfinder and Vicious, but are also stuck with Melee 5+ and no other benefits for offense. With Defense 2, the unit doesn't seem meant for combat. In many respects, the Critters are similar to the Imps of the Forces of the Abyss, but more expensive. 

The leftover hatchings.

At some point, I'll try the Critters out, but they seem pretty underwhelming on paper. As chaff, they will definitely die, but it will likely take some care to make sure that that event happens when you want it to. With the low defense, I don't think I can even relegate them to objective-camping, as anything and everything has a chance to damage them and then good chances to see them off the table, and I don't want to bother to inspire them if they are in this role. It's an odd unit, and one I don't think I'll run often, but we'll give it a try sometime and see if it has any surprises for us.