Kings of War 3rd Edition: #039: Group Game [Pillage]

Intro and Lists:

Free days have been scarce, but my friend's progeny challenged the adults to a battle and the stars and schedules thankfully aligned! They'd field 1300 points each of Undead and Abyssal Dwarfs while we, being presumably wiser, would fight from a bit of a disadvantage, fielding our newer armies of Sylvan Kin and Herd, and running each at 1250 points. This should be an interesting game!

The youngest fielded the fearless Undead, with the cool and mighty Vampire Lord on Undead Dragon returning to menace the battlefield once again. Some Zombies shambled about, joined by the spectral flying Wights and Wraiths. Two newer regiments of Werewolves joined the ranks as speedy new additions, and a Balefire Catapult stood by to bombard the adults should they try to be too tactful. The list had a nice variety of units, and was much speedier than a normal Undead list.

In contrast, the Abyssal Dwarf was just a few units ran in multiples. Two regiments of Decimators could threaten things from afar with their mobile Katsuchan upgrade (a one-use long-range indirect rocket launcher similar to the full war machine), and their blunderbusses should soften up any foes getting too close. Three regenerating Immortal Guard regiments would hold the line, each with Throwing Mastiffs and extra items. The core list was very sturdy! Rounding out the list was a Dragon Fire-Team, a mobile "super-shotgun" war machine, and a Hellfane, a titanic monster an overwhelming amount of melee special rules, plus pistols (mid-game we discovered that the Hellfane was not an abomination himself, so that particular upgrade was a dud edit: post-game, we learned that auras benefit the unit with the keyword, in addition to the unit itself). The titan would be difficult to engage, let alone defeat, though that could be said of this entire army!

The adults each brought our newer nature-themed armies, with my friend running the new-to-blog Sylvan Kin which are already nicely painted up. A horde of Forest Shamblers should hold the line, accompanied by a powerful Tree Herder. Gladestalkers could scout and skulk around with a Master Hunter, and a Greater Air Elemental and Elven Archmage with Alchemist's Curse will be on hand to zero in on important threats. His initial army thoughts can be found here, over on the forum, and his opening list looks to explore the things from those posts. It was a small army, but definitely had some punch.

Lastly, I fielded the Herd, opting to continue the MSU (regiments-max) playstyle and explore triple Scorchwings and double Longhorn regiments. These would be supported by a Druid and a Great Chieftain, since the points values forbid a second Druid and I still wanted some more Inspiring. Like the Undead, I wanted to play with some Lycanthropes, and brought a regiment of my quick Lycans which should be able to intercept for me, and lastly, my own scouting Tribal Trappers to help apply some early pressure of my own. While packing up, I realized I had no Gur Panther chaff this time around. Across the table, the youngsters had also neglected chaff (and heroes), opting for more and more combat units. Without much chaff in any list, each fighting unit was even more important, and it seemed like this should be a very quick and bloody game!

Table and terrain:

We rolled for scenario and ended up with Pillage, something I look to have only played a few times. We ended up with 6 (immobile) objective markers, which were the white game chits. Three objectives ended up nearish the center line along the left, and out on the right, two near our deployment zone, and one in theirs.

The table was set up when I arrived. As is usual for us, the ruins were Height 9 blocking buildings, the forests were Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences were Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills were Height 3. The armies for the youngsters were out as well, so upon winning the roll off for sides, we opted to be lazy wargamers and picked the empty side. To speed things along, each team deployed one unit from each army for each deployment alternation, and soon, we had a board filled with units.

The view from the left, plus first three Objectives, all near the center line along the left.

The youngsters had neglected chaff and inspiring for more units. Not needing to worry about inspiring bubbles, they intermixed their battle lines. On the left, both Werewolves screened some Decimators. Behind the woods were Undead Wraiths with J Boots screening Undead Wights. Abyssal Dwarfs held the center, with Immortals, the Hellfane, Decimators, the Fire-Team, and more Immortals holding strong. Behind the Fire-Team lurked the mighty Vampire Lord on Undead Dragon, supervising. A horde of Zombies plopped down on one objective while a regiment and the Balefire Catapult took the nearby hill, with the last unit of Immortals lurking in reserve.

View from the center.

The Herd had taken the left side of the battlefield, with Scorchwings screening Lycans, then the Druid, Scorchwings screening Longhorns, the Great Chieftain, Longhorns, and finally more Scorchwings screening Trappers. 

View from the right, with two of the remaining tokens. The Zombie Horde sits on the final objective.

The Tree Herder took the center field, supported by the Archmage and Forest Shamblers. The Great Air Elemental set up near the woods hoping to harass some zombies, while the Gladestalkers arranged themselves near the woods, ready to scout up to secure it.

Better view of the opposing line. The dragon dissuaded scouting too far ahead.

Deployment done, Team Old scouted up with everything, to varying degrees. I had planned on zipping the Trappers forward to join the Gladestalkers and working with them... but the flying Undead Dragon dissuaded me from moving too far. I kept them out of range, while my ally offered up the Tree Herder for the Vampire's only charge. The Forest Shamblers scooched up to threaten a counter-attack, and the Gladestalkers moved the most, moving up and securing the forest. 

We lost the roll for first turn to the youngsters, who surprisingly opted to have us go first, unsure of what they wanted to do. 

Top of Round 1: Team Old

We moved up to take some shots. Over on the left, two regiments of Scorchwings were able to focus fire some Werewolves, to the tune of 2 damage. The other regiment shot at some dwarves, but could not get through the armor. My Trappers move up, but still can't quite get into range of anything, so they hang back to support the Tree Herder, should it get charged.

Not a great start for my shooting... and long range of the Lycans means they are threatening everything that had the gumption to shoot.

Thankfully, the Gladestalkers were able to advance into the forest with the Scout move, and so could now shoot freely into the Balefire Catapult. The elvish focus-fire proved more effective than mine, and the war machine is seen off the field.

Bottom of Round 1: Team Whippersnapper

I get caught up in other things, and apparently fail to take good pictures. This unfortunately continues to be a theme for this report... On the right, nothing really changes. The Immortals there continue to hide behind the hill and hold that objective. Zombies shuffle around, but not aggressively, and the horde holds their objective as well. With the catapult gone, the Undead have no shooting. 

The Vampire Lord holds back while the strong Abyssal Dwarf center advances. The Hellfane is able to land some shots into a unit of Scorchwings, but they hold after taking 4 damage.

I do take a picture going into Round 2 though.

The Wraiths and Wights shimmer into the forest while the Werewolves charges out. The boots on the Wraiths are unused. A mere 2 damage hits my Lycans from the Werewolves, but the other unit makes it into some Scorchwings, and shreds them while regaining 1 damage via Lifeleech. Victorious, they make a full 90 degree pivot.

Top of Round 2: Team Old

Having held, the injured Scorchwings catch a heal from the Druid and hit the Werewolves in the flank while the Lycans attack the front. I unfortunately only manage a total of 6 damage, and the Werewolves are only wavered. 

The uninjured unit of Scorchwings hops the dwarven center, eyeing up a long of potential flank or rear charges in the coming turns. 

Most of the rest of my line, mainly the Longhorns, scooches back a few inches. The battle is going poorly, and with only Defense 4, I don't really want to trade the Longhorns for anything just yet.

Elsewhere, the Sylvan Kin stalk. The Greater Air Elemental threatens some charges next turn while the Gladestalkers fire on and remove the regiment of Zombies, with one regiment moving up while the other camps the forest and objective there. The Forest Shamblers threaten retaliatory charges should the Tree Herder be assaulted, but mostly hold back, camping the other objective near our deployment zone.

Bottom of Round 2: Team Whippersnapper

The Wraiths leave the woods to dare a charge from the Herd, while the math skills of the youngsters are put to the test. Out on the left, the Decimators flank-charge the stalled Scorchwings, while the Wights hit them in the rear with a staggering 54 attacks. Insane Courage is not rolled, and the unit disappears with a thump and a swirl of bloody feathers. The other unit of Werewolves gingerly moves, pivots, and starts to stalk around the building to get behind my lines.

We're going to need more dice! The Scorchwings are in for a world of hurt.

The Vampire Lord pivots a bit, and turns to face the intrepid Scorchwings that hopped the main line of battle. Fortunately, the Frost Breath is a bit of a dud, and only three damage is dealt. Unfortunately, the nearby unit of Decimators also turns to shoot. Fortunately, the Hellfane didn't move, and is providing cover, and only 1 more damage slips through when all the shooting is done with. The Nerve Check is low, and I really luck out. I totally forgot how many things nearby had Steady Aim, and it is entirely chance that lets the Scorchwings live.

The Scorchwings live!

The Hellfane and and Fire-Team shoot into the Tree Herder, but given the high armor, the evil dwarfs are barely staying ahead of Radiance of Life.

Top of Round 3: Team Old

The Herd's lycanthropes finally prevail over their gothic cousins, and I opt for a risky overrun that on 3+ will get them out of the arcs of the Wights and the Decimators, but I roll up a 1. Had I simply pivoted, I would have gotten pummeled, so the risky play definitely seemed worth a try.

I opt to charge some Longhorns into the Wraiths, who catch a Bane Chant and pummel the ghosts. My young opponent was putting a lot of faith in 6+ stopping me, and then countering with the Wights and things, but the Longhorns delivered, and just about any result on the Nerve check would have seen the ghosts rout. These Longhorns are under threat, but at least they killed something.

The Greater Air Elemental catches the rear of the Decimators who had turned to shoot the Scorchwings sneaking into the back field, and scatters the dwarfs. The elemental swirls around to face down the Fire Team. The surviving Scorchwings hit the rear of a unit of Immortals while the Tree Herder hits the unit from the front, and the Immortals here are beat down while the Archmage lands 5 damage on the Hellfane from Alchemist's Curse.

The Sylvan Kin continue to rampage along the right-hand side of the battlefield, with the Master Hunter and Gladestalkers shooting into and removing the Zombie Horde with some hot hit rolling.

Bottom of Round 3: Team Whippersnapper

The Lycans are multi-charged with Wights in the Flank and Decimators in the front. The Wights deal 20, the Decimators 2, and the Lycans are swiftly felled.

Some big damage dealt this turn. Fortunately it was mostly overkill.

The Immortals, Hellfane, and Vampire on Undead Dragon go into the sacrificial Longhorns, just daring the dice gods for an Insane Courage result given how many points are committed here. The Vampire deals 8; the Hellfane 9; the Immortals 3, but the dice gods are unmoved. Reforms are a little messy, but in the end the Immortals pivot 90 degrees towards the center, the Hellfane backs up a few inches, and these moves allow the Vampire to pivot slightly, to avoid some potential flank charges. 

End of Round 3.

Out of frame, the remaining Werewolves moved around the building and into my backfield, threatening the other unit of Longhorns with a long charge. 

Top of Round 4: Team Old

The Greater Air Elemental swiftly ends the Fire Team while the Archmage lands another devastating Alchemist's Curse into the Hellfane, blasting the titan off the field. I can't remember if much other incidental damage had accrued on the titanic dwarf, but Alchemist Curse definitely did some work this game against the titan.

Retaliatory strikes, though the Herd is getting a bit desperate..

The Great Chieftain and Longhorns went into the flank of the nearby Immortals, crushing the dwarfs, given the reforms of the Decimators and Wights, the Longhorns victoriously changed facing to stare down the Werewolves.

The Druid moves up, but is not mighty, and can't really dissuade the Lycans. Her Bane Chant into the Tribal Trappers misses.

Still, the Tribal Trappers are charging off the hill into the front of the undead dragon and getting a bonus Thunderous Charge. No attack even hits. The Scorchwings hit the flank of the Vampire Lord, but only manage 3 damage... It is a disappointing combat to say the least.

The Tree Herder, Master Hunter and a unit of sight-seeing Gladestalkers can't quite fight this turn, but  all start to move in on the isolated Decimators for Round 5. They greedy dwarves were unwilling to give up the objective here, but time is against them. 

Bottom of Round 4: Team Whippersnapper

With such a big momentum shift against them, the youngsters are losing some interest... Progressive scoring would have been really interesting to see here, with multiple objectives claimed so early.

The youngest chooses to have the Vampire Lord counter charge the Scorchwings, who slays them,  and then reforms to face the unimpressive Tribal Trappers. The Werewolves have charges into the front of the Longhorns or the flank of the Trappers, but go for the riskier play of charging the Druid and hoping for an overrun into the Longhorns. The Druid does take some damage, but holds with the reroll.

The momentum of the game has shifted.

The Wights reform to threaten the rear of the Longhorns and defend the Vampire Lord, and the Decimators fire into the Great Chieftain, dealing 3 damage, but the Chief holds with the reroll.

Top of Round 5: Team Old

The Tree Herder, Master Hunter and Gladestalkers descend upon the isolated Immortals, cutting them down in one combat step, and I start to take pictures of that side of the battlefield...

Oh look, a shot of the other side of the table. It's about time.

The Greater Air Elemental hits the Vampire Lord in the flank, while the Tribal Trappers again try from the front, rolling very well and dealing 4 damage to help out. The Air Elemental does much better for its damage output, and we get exactsies on the re-roll to rout the mighty Lord. The Trappers victoriously side-step, looking to claim the central objective in Round 6 while still threatening to shoot of charge if their foes advance.

The Great Chieftain charges the Wights to keep them off the point and away from the Longhorns for a turn.

More combats, top of Round 5.

The Druid makes way as the Longhorns charge the Werewolves, and trounce the unit. Double 1's are needed to stay, but not rolled. The Longhorns reform to face the nearby token.

Bottom of Round 5: Team Whippersnapper

The youngsters are reduced to one unit apiece. They started quite strong, but luck has turned against them. The Decimators arm their launcher, but I don't remember what or if they hit anything. The Wights deal 15 to the Chieftain, and slay him, opting to overrun, but are slowed by the building.

Top of Round 6: Team Old

While the building stopped them from making too long an overrun and opening up a flank charge... the Wights are still spotted by the Longhorns, who charge in. The Wights healed from Lifeleech a bit, but take 10 new damage, and are defeated with a decent Nerve check.

End of the game, and Team Whippersnapper is wiped out.

The Greater Earth Elemental charges the Decimators, and with some lucky rolling, see the last Abyssal Dwarf unit off the field as well this turn. 

Bottom of Round 6: Team Whippersnapper

The youngsters are tabled, and at the end of combat in Round 6, every token is held by Team Old. The game is over, and the challengers defeated.

Game Conclusions:

I have been away from the table for a while, so it was a treat to get back and roll some dice, especially for a group game. The Herd had a rough go of things early on, but despite using the Scorchwings poorly, I was able to pull myself together, and then delay, endure and distract. I took the brunt of the hits which let my ally hard carry for us as the game went on. It appears he didn't even lose a unit! 

Kudos to the kiddos for issuing a challenge and then sticking it out. It was a hard-fought game from this side of the table, and the end result does not do the story justice. A progressive scoring system would have been neat to see and might be something we that may want to look into for these unique one-off games. A big thanks to my friend and his kids for hosting me for the afternoon!

Testing Conclusions:

This was a very casual game, so nothing was explicitly up to test, but like any game, there are some things worth discussing afterwards.

• Scorchwings. These were a fun unit, but used poorly, particularly early on. I thought the Werewolves were Def4, so I trusted that my units would be luckier from afar, but with an equal threat range at play by moving up the shoot, the Werewolves just shut them down. In retrospect, I should have played more with persnickety charge ranges instead of risking shots. 
• Longhorns. Unfortunately one unit needed to be sacrificed due to my early misplays, but the other unit made up for it. They worked quite well and I'll likely play around with these as regiments some more.
• Werewolves. These seemed like a really fun pick for the Undead. They are insanely speedy, and were able to apply lots of pressure, letting the slower units move up untouched. The regiments were able to peel away and get different things done which was neat to see in action. 
• Abyssal Dwarfs. I liked the checkerboarding regiments, and am definitely looking forward to seeing these again sometime! It was a sturdy list, but luck was not with the Hellfane and his soldiers for a few crucial rolls.
• Sylvan Kin. Their debut went frighteningly well! Gladestalkers were quite the rage for a while, and I can see why! The elvish warriors were terribly effective this game, as once the Catapult was offline, nothing on that side of the table could contest them.  The elementals and such overlap with the Herd list, so it was neat to see them on the table. The Forest Shamblers babysat an objective for most of the game, but the basic Tree Herder was impressive and I am looking forward to running my own at some point. 
• Battle Report Template. Checking in at a few points during the game, I could see that my notes were sparse, and consciously wrote some things down. Since my phone was out the entire time I thought I was keeping up with taking pictures though. I was not. Thanks for sticking through to the end of the report. The template has worked well for my single player games, where there is a bit more down time for me, but there was just a little too much going on here to keep up with on the day. Will consider some tweaks and give it another try. 

A big thank you to my nature-protecting ally and his kids for spending the afternoon rolling some dice!

Recommendation: One Page Rules 3.0

Life still hasn't quite slowed down enough for my liking, so I am just posting another recommendation for now. I have actually recommended them once before, but a new release deserves a new recommendation in my book. in my book One Page Rules has just released a 3.0 versions of their main rulesets! 

In the years since my earlier post, I did actually get in a handful 2nd Edition games from one of the larger-scale fantasy rule sets. Kings of War is still head and shoulders above OPR for my own preferences, but OPR was still a fine system, and one I wouldn't mind exploring a bit more. A quick readthrough of 3rd  and some of my armies (I am by no means an expert) looks to have made a number of very welcome improvements. 

It is a flexible system, but that is a bit of a double edged sword. For Fantasy, so you can go with regiments or blobs (and the rulesets play slightly differently, with regiments worrying about pivots), and 3.0 has optional force creation rules, and three ways to choose from for units/models drawing line of sight during the game. This variety is arguably good as you can tweak stuff to play the game you want, to, but can also be a detriment as it is harder to get on the same page as your opponent. Still, the core rules remain simple and streamlined, and with the alternating activations, this should be a fun and quick way to introduce folks to wargaming, or get some use out of some long-neglected models. Check it out!

Hobby Update: Herd Longhorns

I've squeezed in a bit more hobby time recently, and up now is another regiment's worth of might Longhorns for the Herd!

The combined unit. A full regiment of Longhorns.

The Longhorns have really surprised me in my recent games. It seems that I am not a keen observer of unit changes... Back in Second Edition, they were just ok, and not particularly special. In Third Edition they gained more attacks and a cute Rally Aura. I really like the design of the Ancients of the Salamanders and the Legionaries of the Riftforged Orcs, both of which Inspire, so the latter ability caught my eye. However, I've come to think of the Rally Aura as a bit of a list-building trap though, since it only buffs the "Tribal" units. It's a nice bonus, but not something to try and build around when the army has so many other interesting units. All that said, the simple extra attacks are amazing, and while they cannot grind as well as Huscarls (now knows as Hearthguard, with the recent updates to the Northern Alliance), they should still hit hard on the charge and be a nice hammer unit for the Herd. 

The rear troop.

Hobbying-wise, nothing special is going on. The exact ratio of the snow basing is hard to nail down, so I did the bases up at the same time I was working on the new Rimewings. Doing up a couple of bases at the same time helps tie the various units together overall. The Longhorns got the usual Herd colors, which are detailed elsewhere in the blog, though on a whim I used Citadel's Temple Guard Blue for some touchups, and it matches pretty closely with the Glacial Blue and such from Reaper that I have been using, which was a nice surprise.

The front troop.

The minis are GW sculpts, and came pre-built from an ebay bundle. This particular purchase was very much desired, but I had some minimum bids unexpectedly win, netting me about two dozen of GW's smaller Ungor with many still on sprue. Hobbying can be such a Sisyphean endeavor... I'm not sure if I want to build them up yet, let alone what unit I'd want to aim for. Should I wish to double-down on running some tribal units and really test out the Rallying of these Longhorns though, it looks like I'll have the chance. We'll see what the future holds for the Herd's lists!