Kings of War 3rd Edition: #041 Undead vs Herd [Modified Control] Demo Game

Intro and Lists:

The previous battle was a demo game out at a local shop. It happened to be a 40k gaming day there, and as one does with wargaming days, folks were wandering about to see what other folks were playing, how games were going, and admiring models. I got to chatting with someone who had heard of Kings of War, but had not had a chance to play it yet, so we traded contact info. He was most interested in Nature as an army. I didn't have enough stuff to run them on their own, but was able to get some decent overlap from my existing collection of Herd. On the day I gave him a few variant lists to choose from, and he picked the following:

A regiment of Spirit Walkers unlocked some Wild Gur Panthers and Scorchwings. A powerful pair of Forest Shamblers make their battling debut, and the little warband is led by another newcomer, the Gladewalker Druid. I was happy my opponent chose this one as it was the only list that was able to fit the Ring of Harmony upgrade in, letting her cast her supporting spells twice per turn, which I figured would pair very nicely with the was keen to test out!

A bit foolishly, I chose to run an unusual army, the Undead! I've had them around for quite some time, but the collection still feels a bit weird for Kings of War. My main opponent faces them often in games with his boys, so I just haven't been inclined to run them much myself, but this seemed like an opportune time to do so! I was hoping that having two armies featuring some Surging units would open up some dynamic positioning and help demonstrate the rule more.

Table and Terrain:

The shop was very busy with some D&D adventure league stuff, but we managed to snag a small table section and get things set up. It was nice to see a bustling local shop!

As is usual for me, the mausoleums were Height 9 blocking buildings, the forest was Height 6 Difficult Terrain, the graveyard was Height 1 difficult terrain. I ended up being a little light on terrain, apparently forgetting to toss some hills into my plastic travel bin.

After the scouting move. 

As is typical for my demo games, I deployed all my stuff first, and then let my opponent deploy  his entire list afterward. Given the scenario, I wanted to leave the Skeletons safe in their corner. The remaining Undead deployed in a mirrored fashion with Wraiths flanking the Zombies and the towering Goreblight in the middle of the line.

My opponent put the Spirit Walkers opposite the Skeletons, the Scorchwings and Panthers in the center, and then the Forest Shamblers and Gladewalker Druid out on the flank, looking to make use of Surge and "surprise" flank charges. The Herd got their scout moves, moving close to the maximum distance.

Top of Round 1: Herd

After the scout moves, the Herd was off and running! My opponent was a gaming veteran and was quickly grasping the gist of things. He immediately realized that it he was too aggressive, I'd be able to get some charges off on my next turn against the Forest Shamblers. So, one moved up and pivoted, and the other just moved up a few inches, and both were well out of range of the nearby Wraiths.

Herd movement, top of Round 1.

The rest of the Herd line was equally cautious. The Scorchwings barely got into shooting range, scoring three against some Zombies, while the The Gur Panthers hopped up about 12 inches near the center of the board, threatening charges next turn. The Spirit Walkers lagged far behind, hoping the Undead would advance more so they could get the charge in a future turn.

Bottom of Round 1: Undead

Unfortunately for my opponent, my Undead are all slow and shambling! They are not going to be advancing quickly to anywhere. Most things do move up a few inches though.

The Wraiths attack.

The Wraiths make a hindered charge into the Wild Gur Panthers. The Herd's center is weak, so I am hoping to get a little lucky and remove some speedy unit strength early on. Only one damage makes it through though, but the unit is wavered with a high Nerve check.

Top of Round 2: Herd

Shaken, the Panthers disengage, and then back up, which creates spaces, and allows the Scorchwings to charge in against the Wraiths, though dice are cold and none of the hits translate into damage.

The Wraiths hold, unimpressed.

The Spirit Walkers sidestep, hoping to support the Scorchwings while preventing any charges from the Skeletons just yet. The Forest Shamblers start to swing around, but had no charges. The Gladewalker Druid heals the Panthers to full and declines to cast a second spell.

Bottom of Round 2: Undead

I opt to commit against the Scorchwings, but the Zombies end up sliding down to touch the graveyard, and will be hindered. Unfortunately, the Necromancer didn't have enough inches to block out the difficult terrain. Still, he attempts a Bane Chant for the Wraiths, but whiffs. Four damage is done, but the birds are found to be Steady.

The Scorchwings take a hit, but hold.

Elsewhere, the Wraiths make an unhindered charge into a unit of Shamblers, dealing no damage, and the central Zombies and Goreblight shuffle around awkwardly in the center.

Top of Round 3: Herd

My opponent looks to maximize units entering combat this turn. The Spirit Walkers hit the flank of the Zombies, and cut them down with ease. The Panthers can just see around the Scorchwings, so both units charge the Wraiths, but with the Scorchwings disordered, and together, only manage one damage.

Both Wraiths units hold, easily.

One unit of Forest Shamblers counter charges the Wraith unit, managing no damage, while the other unit smashes into the remaining Zombie unit, dealing 6, but the Zombies lack the brains to care.

Wounding on 2's is great and the Spirit Walkers do excellent work against the Zombies.

The Gladewalker Druid heals a few damage around the Herd lines, keeping units topped off and fresh.

Bottom of Round 3: Undead

The lumbering Goreblight pivots and moves, and then gets the 2-inch Surge needed to arrive in the flank of the Spirit Walkers, with the Skeleton Warriors making a hindered charge over the obstacle and into the front of the spirit unit. The Goreblight rolls up all 6 extra attacks, but very few of them actually hit. Around 6 damage is done in total, and the Herd's phantasms stick around.

The Goreblight gets prepper for Surge.

The Wraiths countercharge the Scorchwings to keep them disordered and tied up, dealing 4. The other Wraith unit rolls well against the Forest Shamblers, dealing 5 damage with some hot dice. Even the Zombies manage a point of damage against their unit of Shamblers.

Top of Round 4: Herd

The move phases have not been as dynamic as I was envisioning! Slow, independent slogs are breaking out across the field. The Gladewalker Druid heals the Spirit Walkers for 3 and Scorchwings for 4 with some hot heals.

The Spirit Walkers countercharge the Goreblight, dealing 3, but the monstrous construct holds. 

The Panthers are a little blocked up. They cannot squeeze between the Forest Shamblers and the Scorchwings to get at my Necromancer, and the same positioning also prevents them from getting into the flank of the Zombies. We let them get a flank charge into the Wraiths, with the countercharging Scorchwings joining in and shuffling down to make room. Together they deal 1 damage. 

The Wraiths continue to hold.

Both Forest Shamblers fail their rolls, dealing one apiece to both Def 2 Zombies and Def 6 Wraiths out on my right.

Bottom of Round 4: Undead

Everything is boring, and just counter charges. The Goreblight and Skeletons are able to best the Spirit Walkers this time, with the Skeletons holding and the Goreblight victoriously pivoting to see the engaged Scorchwings.

After movement, bottom of 4.

The Wraiths land a few more damage on the Scorchwings, but fail to rout or waver them since they keep getting healed up. The Zombies and other Wraith unit return the courtesy to the Forest Shamblers and flub their rolls this time. I don't think any damage is done.  

Top of Round 5: Herd

The Herd continues to heal up nicely. The Forest Shamblers finally crunch through the Zombies, and Turn to face the rear of the Wraiths, who continue to hold out. 

Bottom of Round 5: Undead

My Wraiths land three damage against the Shamblers and prevail against them. They'll turn to face the other unit of woodland creatures.

The Skeletons hold, looking to secure the quadrant. The Necromancer tries and fails to Bane Chant the Wraiths fighting the Scorchwings, but the Goreblight charges in as well, rolling another 6 for his extra attacks. The Scorchwings have continually been healed up, but enough new damage is done between the two Undead units to finally break through. The Wraiths spin to face the Gur Panthers and the Goreblight gets 4 for his overrun, making it squarely into the other left quadrant.

I was not diligent in tracking turns, and we think it is the end of Round 6, and being a demo game, my opponent decides to just call it here.

From my orientation, the Goreblight holds the upper left quadrant, and the Skeletons hold the bottom left, with the Wraiths having the majority of their footprint there as well.

For the Herd, the Panthers have the majority of their footprint in the bottom right, with the Shamblers overpowering the Wraiths there anyways.

In this modified scenario, all quadrants were worth 1 point, so this would make it a 2-1 victory for the Undead!  

Game Conclusions:

The final turns were very quick, and my photos incredibly blurry that it's not worth posting them. It was a bummer to accidentally drop a turn, but that's how it goes sometimes. I was taking decent pictures early on, but not taking great notes to keep us on track since we were busy talking, which is where the focus should be in a game like this! 

Being a demo game, we were mostly looking to show off the basics of the rule set, which my opponent grasped pretty quickly. My opponent really liked the early moves, settling in on a strategy, and then jockeying for positioning and such. However, with everything devolving into mostly solitary fights, the game's later turns weren't as interesting as I was hoping for, and it was a good time to call it quits anyways. 

Still, it was a pleasure chatting with him for the evening. He's a heck of a painter and mostly a skirmish-scale wargamer but we may see him across the table again sometime! A big thank you to him for speaking up randomly in a shop and for giving Kings of War a try!

Testing Conclusions:

A small scale demo game isn't the best testing ground, but it was neat to see a handful of new units on the table and in action!

• Gladewalker Druid with Ring. We talked through Surge options a fair bit, but my opponent declined to cast it at all during the game, and I only cast it once. Still, the Ring was interesting, and the double heals for the Herd were rolling hot, and kept the army grinding well. We didn't fret on this in-game, but she could run into some line of sight and positioning issues in a larger game. I think sticking her back behind a battle line and looking sideways down it should be a good place for her though. 
• Forest Shamblers. Scouting with them was neat, but they were a bit isolated this game. With only CS1, they need some support. As regiments they each unfortunately flubbed their rolls more than a few times during the game, leading to a lackluster performance, though that is on the dice, not them! Spamming regiments and utilizing Surge could be neat to try, and a horde or two could easily apply a lot of pressure in a larger game. Overall, a little disappointing for a first outing, but plenty of potential to continue exploring I think.
• Scorchwings. These probably could have been more cagey, flying around and shooting more, but they held their own in the melee better than I thought they would. They seem like quite the versatile unit and should be fun to play around with more in the future.
• Goreblight. I remembered Cloak of Death about halfway through the game, and just decided to ignore it for this game, rather than back up a suddenly remember a rule to my benefit in the middle of a demo game. Still, the Goreblight still impressed me. The high defense and high nerve makes this monster pretty attractive. Hitting on 4's is a bit rough, but I like the model, so if I run Undead again, we'll see the monster again as well!
• Kitted Necromancer. An Inspiring necromancer is a bit of an Undead staple I twould think, as having access to good Surge and other spells is important for the list. The vicious aura for keyworded zombies was neat and fluffy, but not impactful this game. I think I had 3 rerolls, and maybe one turned into damage, since the aura helped the Goreblight as well. The aura could be a fun option for larger units of Zombies though, where you are throwing around a lot of dice.
• Wraiths. They ended up being probably the most impactful units of the game, which felt bad since they were in my list - usually I'd like to empower the new player instead. I knew they were tougher than they might appear, but figured the lower Nerve would let the aggressive Herd grind them out over a turn or two. Unfortunately, that's not how it played out in the game.

All things considered, this was a very pleasant evening, even if it wasn't the most dynamic of games. Thanks again to my opponent for making time in his busy schedule to try something new!