Kings of War 3rd Edition: #042 Varangur vs Sylvan Kin [Dominate]

Intro and Lists

We had tried to fit this game in as an afternoon battle a few weeks back, but were forced to cancel as the shop was unexpectedly too full with ongoing MTG games and lacked any table space for us, and my place, though nearby, was in the midst of some DIY projects and unfortunately lacked space as well. It was a bummer of a day.

Luckily, forum-goer Cartwright and I were able to get a double-header in recently! For the first game, we ran the lists from our cancelled game, and the mixed it up a bit for the second battle. My opponent was running a pretty new army for him in the Sylvan Kin, brining the following:

I had played alongside the Sylvan Kin previously in the semi-recent group game. They hard-carried us to victory there, so I figured I was going to be in for a hard game facing against them! The army has a very strong nature-contingent, and the forest is well-represented by two regiments of Hunters of the Wild and two Hordes of Forest Shamblers as well as a Tree Herder.  Two Greater Air Elementals also make an appearance. The army is a bit light on the Kin, but has three Gladestalker Regiments, and a slew of elven characters: a Master Hunter with bow, a mounted Elven Archmage with Boots of Levitation and Alchemist’s Curse, and the legendary Nimue, with a lot of spells. The nature-contingent has a lot of overlap with my Herd, so I’ll be keeping an eye on:

• Hunters of the Wild. I have used these, and have enjoyed them. We’ll see if I can pick up any tricks or insight.
• Forest Shambler Hordes. I liked the regiments appearing in the recent demo game, and I am eager to see how the hordes perform!
• Tree Herder. I have not gotten to run one yet with my Herd, but this seems like a great centerpiece model and good unit to build around. It is certainly expensive, but should be able to grind many things out. With its high defense, the Herder is likely to stick around, so the healing aura has the potential to do a lot of work throughout the game.
• Greater Air Elementals. These have garnered such a reputation in the game that even I have heard of them and their potency! They made an appearance in the group game, but I didn’t give them too close a look at the time. They look quite powerful indeed. Rumor is that a nerf is on the horizon for them, so we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
• "Meta" Elven Archmage. A wizard, on an individual mount, with Boots of Levitation, and Alchemist's Curse, seems like a common inclusion in many lists. The spell provides pretty nice damage and the combination of Boots + Mount gives the wizard a large threat range. Allegedly, nerfs / restrictions are coming for both the spell and the boots, so again, we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
• Sylvan Gladestalkers. Another unit with a bit of a reputation! They performed well in the group game, but also didn’t receive any pressure. My opponent tends to get a lot of mileage out of these kinds of units, so we’ll see how they perform this time. 

The Sylvan Kin army is a bit light on drops, but still has some terrific Unit Strength. It has a lot of scouting moves, and has with multiple Surge Casters to make good use of all the Elementals. It’s not a fully optimized list, but seems like it will be strong in every phase. 

I had thrown together a new Varangur 2023 list, though I don’t think I used too much from the newer update here. I haven’t played them for a while, and didn’t think Cartwright had gotten to play against them much at all, so I figured it was time to take them for a spin. I brought the following:

My list is an iteration on an older one, running three regiments of Mounted Sons with a lot of supporting elements. Up to test are:

• Mounted Sons. These have done well for me previously! Strong knights with CS should let them grind even if they don't get a charge. I was running them without upgrades to 
• Night Raiders. I have used these before, but I am not great at them yet.
• Draugr. A great objective camper and an ok chaff unit. I think three might be too many again, especially in a list with no serious infantry units for them to support, but we’ll see how they do.
• Snow Foxes. I have liked these before, but again think three might be too many here. 
• Horse Raiders. I have used these before, but not terribly well. We’ll see how I use them this game. Being the same height, these should hopefully be able to screen well for the Mounted Sons at the very least.
• "Meta" Magus. I haven’t dabbled much with magic spells, and am still barely picking items beyond a Lute in most of my lists. I think I picked on this concept up from a MasterSight video, and decided to try it out. With my opponent taking the same kind of loadout, we'll get even more testing in, and with all the Draugr around, maybe we’ll get a transfusion in this game too!
• Skald with Lute. This seems like a decent pick, and the Lute is a go-to item for ASB-like units in all my armies. I think he plays best with other infantry; even more so since he gained the Forced March aura. I don’t think this is a great list for him, so want to check-in at the end of the game here to see if he is a good generalist source of Inspiring, or something best run with purpose alongside other infantry.

Oddly enough, our lists have some unique parallels. More obviously, we each succumbed to trying out a more competitive pick in the mounted wizard with Boots of Levitation and Alchemist’s Curse. For those unaware, the Curse is Piercing 4 and gives more dice to hit based on the defense of the target; it is great at taking out high-defense units. The simple horse mount boosts the speed of the caster while retaining all the free pivots from being an Individual, and the Boots allow the caster to attempt a spell, even if they move at the double. This combination (allegedly set to be disallowed soon, since horses don't wear boots!) makes for a heck of a threat range on a very potent spell. We'll see which of us gets more mileage out of this pick! 

We also each have exactly 40 ranged shots. However our differences start to creep in here, as all my shots are all 12” axes while the Kin all have 24” bows. The Sylvan Kin have even more ranged options with Nimue’s spells, which will give them a definite advantage in the ranged phase. 

Overall, I have an advantage in drops and deployment, but that advantage comes through an abundance of chaff units, which may not be that impactful as the game progresses. In a vacuum I think I can handle all of the “Verdant” units well enough, but I don’t know if I have good answers for the Gladestalkers and Greater Air Elementals. The Sylvan Kin is new to me, but clearly has some strong options here, so we’ll see how the game goes!

Table and Terrain

My opponent was hosting our games, and had used an app to generate the table prior to my arrival, so we'd have a better chance of squeezing in two games. We were using typical terrain rules, with the ruins as Height 9 blocking buildings, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3. 

We rolled up Dominate for the scenario. At the end of the game, whoever had the most unit strength within 12 inches of the center of the table would prevail! Fortunately for us, our play mat had a nice circle delineating the scoring zone, which should make this easier to determine. 

Faced with a drop disadvantage, my opponent deployed compactly. From left-to-right we see the three Gladestalkers set to scout up into the forest nearby, the Tree Herder, Forest Shambler Hordes flanking the elvish Alchemist wizard and screening the Greater Air Elementals, then Nimue and the two regiments of Forest Shamblers. 

The Sylvan Kin deployed compactly, but were deceptively quick.

I figured the Gladestalkers would be in the woods, and opted to try and go wide. My early drops were all Draugr and Snow Foxes and the various Raider units. From left to right for me we have Snow Foxes screening Mounted Sons, angled Draugr ready to trudge forward, to the left of the building and towards the center, the Skald, two regiments of Night Raiders readying themselves for a forest assault. 

The Varangur are less organized.

A building broke up my lines a bit, with more angled Draugr nearby. Snow Foxes screened Kruufnir and another regiment of Mounted Sons, then more Snow Foxes screening the Thegn and Horse Raiders. My mounted Magus with Alchemist Curse sat tight in the reserves with even more angled Draugr. 

The loose right-flank of the Varangur prepares for battle.

Magnilde stalked the forest, and on my far-right were a second troop of Horse Raiders and the third regiment of Mounted Sons.

Scout Moves

All of the Varangur units deployed an inch or so back. With so many scouting moves across from me, I wanted to make sure I gave myself some space to react, especially with a wider and weaker line like mine. 

Scout moves from the Sylvan Kin.

My opponent ended up not going too aggressive with the scouting moves. The Gladestalkers took their place in the woods, and everything else moved up, but nothing moved at the double. I won the roll for first turn, and opted to take it, hoping to minimize the superior shooting from my opponent and start enveloping the enemy line.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

Over on my left, the Foxes and Mounted Sons sped ahead, moving at the double. The Night Raiders jogged ahead, screening the Draugr, but were an inch or so too far to throw their axes. (This due to the the smart positioning of my opponent, not a fault on my part; the Gladestalkers purposefully held back on the scouting move.) I briefly considered moving up more, but was wary of getting charged by the Gladestalkers. I didn't want them breaking through, and my cavalry wasn't in a position to threaten a counter attack, so I held back, thinking I could probably endure some of their shooting, but it was a bit of a pickle for me.

I did not really think through how this shooting war would actually go...

Snow Foxes scampered ahead, screening for Kruufnir and the Mounted Sons, as well as for the Thegn and Horse Raiders. With nothing to safely target, the Magus held back this turn.

The far flanks move up the quickest, looking to encircle my opponent.

Elsewhere, Magnilde got to the edge of the woods, and the Horse Raiders and Mounted Sons on my far-right zipped up forward to pressure the Hunters of the Wild. With no CS opposing me here, I figured I might be able to bully the Hunters a bit.

Nothing was in range for shooting, and there were no combats, so it was a quick opening turn.

Bottom of Round 1: Sylvan Kin

Protected by the forest, the Gladestalkers shoot out. My "shooters" are stealthy too, but the Night Raiders take 8 damage from afar and are wavered. 

The Sylvan Kin take a very slow and steady approach.

The rest of the Sylvan Kin's line makes minor adjustments, but declines to venture out. The Hunters of the Wild cannot escape, so just make sure things will hit them in the front.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

On the left, one unit of Snow Foxes swings wide around the building, eyeing up the flanks of the Gladestalkers. The Mounted Sons decide they can't wait a few more turns to do the same, so pivot and move to threaten the Gladestalkers in the coming turn. 

The Varangur left tries to pressure the Gladestalkers.

The wavered Night Raiders hang back, while their comrades move and toss their axes against a Gladestalker unit, landing a few hits with some lucky sixes, which translate into a few damage, if memory serves. Nearby, some Snow Foxes scamper in and will deal 1 and disorder a unit of Gladestalkers. 

The Varangur right flank crashes in!

Centrally, Snow Foxes look to bait a charge out from the walking trees before them, with Kruufnir, Mounted Sons and the Thegn all looking to retaliate. 

Over on the right, Horse Raiders screen for the Magus. Axes and an Alchemist Curse goes into the Hunters of the Wild on the hill, but the unit is unfazed. I opt to multi-charge the other unit of Hunters with Mounted Sons and Horse Raiders, but the Sons flub their hit rolls, missing with 10 of their attacks, and the Sylvan unit sticks around with ease.

Bottom of Round 2: Sylvan Kin

The Hunters on the hill have changed their facing a bit last turn, but can juuust spot a sliver of base from the stalled Mounted Sons, and take the flank charge, with there other unit of Hunters counter-charging, and joined by a Greater Air Elemental in the front. 

Yikes. 

Nimue is lurking nearby, hitting both the Sons and the Raiders with a Cloak of Death, and the Mounted Sons are quickly dragged down. The Greater Air Elemental and flanking unit reform, with the remaining regiment likely enough to deal with the solitary troop of Horse Raiders...

Yeah, a pretty big disaster here.

Nearby a unit of Forest Shamblers charges the Horse Raiders protecting the Magus, dealing 5 to them and wavering them.

Centrally, the Elven Archmage lobs an Alchemist Curst into the more central Mounted Sons, thankfully landing just 3 damage, and the other Forest Shamblers will take the bait and the upstart Snow Foxes off of the table.

Over on the left, one unit of Night Raiders is shot off, while the other accrues two damage from the Gladestalkers and Master Hunter. The disordered unit counter charges the Snow Foxes, dealing 4 and Wavering them.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

I opt to use Magnilde's ability to fly up and bonk the Greater Air Elemental, hoping that grounding it might help things. The Wavered Horse Raiders back off, letting the Mounted Magus slip past. The Magus will pivot, and Alchemist Curst will remove the unit. 

The wavered Horse Raiders will back up, and the nearby Draugr will flank charge the Forest Shambler Horde for ... reasons. I don't think this was a particularly good plan on my part.

View on the disastrous right.

Centrally, the Mounted Sons and Thegn will charge in against the other Forest Shamblers, The charges are all clear, but this unit of Sons fails as well, again missing more than half of their attacks. The Thegn rolls very well though, and the resulting 9 damage isn't too far off of a usual result. The first Nerve check is good, but the horde sticks around with the Inspired reroll.

The Elven Archmage was tucked away near the Tree Herder, but Kruufnir is able to nimbly get in. Reading the rules for "Bring me Their Head" it doesn't say "another" or "a different" unit, and the troll meets the keyword criteria, so we let the special rule apply here, and Kruufnir does the job himself, ending the Elven Mage and turning Defiantly towards the Three Herder. 

Some small victories out on the left.

It's a little jammed up here on the left. The Snow Foxes are wavered and opt to stay put. The Night Raiders charge in against the central unit, and with Pathfinder, are able to deal a few damage and get a lucky waver, disordering a unit. 

There is a hindered charge into the Master Hunter for the Mounted Sons, but I'll bump my own unit of raiders first in any overrun, since they are pushed ever so slightly out due to the wider base of the Snow Foxes. So, instead, the Mounted Sons trip on the fence, making a hindered charge into the front of the Gladestalkers while the Snow Foxes take them in the flank. The Sons get a Bane Chant from the Skald (though this doesn't matter math-wise), and are able to rout the unit of archers. 

Bottom of Round 3: Sylvan Kin

One Greater Air Elemental shrugs off the hits from Magnilde and squeezes along the ground and through the other combats to arrive in the right flank of the central Mounted Sons. The other flies up, and will be surged the 1 inch into the left flank. The Forest Shamblers hit the unit in the front, and another unit of Mounted Sons is swiftly cut down. 

Sneaky! The Great Air Elementals can see a lot with Height 5...

Over on the right, the Forest Shamblers countercharge the silly Draugr, landing 5 damage in against the Zombies, who will Iron Resolve 1 back later, since we didn't catch this at the time.

The remaining Hunters will hit the flank of the Horse Raiders, and reform to face my remaining units on the right. I do not catch this at the time.

Victorious reforms.

Nimue gets close and is able to land some damage with Fireball against the remaining unit of Horse Raiders. The cacophonous boom is enough to spook the horses, and the unit is Wavered.

.

Over on the far-left, one Gladestalker regiment is wavered, and the other will finally prevail over the Snow Foxes, and will attempt (but fail) to overrun to get out of Kruufnir's charge arc.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

With the nearby Snow Foxes killed by the Gladestalkers, the Night Raiders are able to square up with the remaining unit. Another unit of Snow Foxes hits the Gladestalkers from the rear. 

Movement, top of Round 4.

The Mounted Sons get another Bane Chant, and make another hindered charge, this time into the Master Hunter. I resolve this combat first, rout him, and then overrun into the remaining Gladestalker unit, which is obliterated from three sides.

Kruufnir cleanly hits the flank of the remaining Gladestalker unit, going on a rampage. Unfortunately the Troll misses 9 of his 16 attacks, and despite some damage landing, the unit holds.

The Thegn opts to be brave, and charges the Forest Shamblers. In the end, I need a 4 to rout them, and on the Inspired reroll, only get a 3. 

On the right, Magnilde vents her frustrations into Nimue, who takes the hits like a champ. I had failed to notice that the Hunters of the Wild changed facing with their victory, and will move the Magus right into their range and arc. Alchemist Curse lands, and I get them to 10 total damage, and then roll another 3 on the check, letting them stick around, unwavered.

Bottom of Round 4: Sylvan Kin

Nimue disengages and jukes around, and Cloak of Death hits Magnilde, the Horse Raiders, and the Magus. The Hunters of the wild then charge down and into the Magus, dealing 4 and wavering him. 

Pre-combat.

One Greater Air Elemental crashes into the Flank of the Thegn, and together with the fearless Forest Shamblers, the Elementals are able to bash him down.

The Greater Air Elementals hunt with impunity.

The other Greater Air Elemental is surged into Kruunir's flank while the Gladestalkers counter-charge the troll in the front. A total of 10 damage is done, but thankfully Kruufnir is found to be insane.

Top of Round 5: Varangur

The pressure is on!

Over on the right, Magnilde will beat on Nimue again, and will rout them this time. The mounted Magus backs off, and the Horse Raiders change facing. They throw their axes into the Hunters of the Wild... and nothing connects, so no Nerve check is made..

The right flank is not having a great time this game.

I don't have the best of options in the center. Kruufnir regenerates 4, and goes in against the Gladestalkers. He is joined by the Snow Foxes in the flank. Additionally, the Night Raiders hit in the unit in the rear, as due to angles, they were unable to fit in a multi-charge against the Tree Herder with the Mounted Sons, or charge or throw at anything else. The Gladestalkers slain, but as should be expected, the Mounted Sons are unable to really dent the Tree Herder on their one, especially since they are still charging through the woods and are perpetually hindered... They manage 5 damage against the Herder, which is about as-expected.

The Gladestalkers are removed! We'll take the small victory.

I hadn't really messed with the positioning of the other two Draugr units since the start of the game, but they are still safe and poised to hop into the Dominate Circle next turn.

Bottom of Round 5: Sylvan Kin

The Tree Herder backs off. Positioning-wise, the Mounted Sons are in for another hindered charge next turn as they are still clipping the forest with a corner of their base. 

Kruufnir fighting for his life.

Kruufnir was victorious, but there was not much for him to do. The Greater Air Elementals now hit him in the front and flank, with the Forest Shamblers also hitting the flank. The Shamblers alone do 14 to the Troll, and he is soon seen off the field. 

Elsewhere, the Hunters go into the mounted Magus again, landing a few more damage, but just waver him again.

Top of Round 6: Varangur

The The Mounted Sons take another hindered charge into the Tree Herder, as there are no other legal targets. They get a bane chant, land a few more damage, but the Herder isn't going anywhere. Still, they are scoring for the scenario now, so they've got that going for them.

Overview of the battlefield.

The Snow Foxes and the Night Raiders do into the central Forest Shamblers, and are able to pop the unit, who started the turn with double-digits of damage.

Magnilde hits the Hunters of the Wild in the flank, and rolls well. They need Insane Courage and do not get it.

The Horse Raiders trotted over to throw into the other Forest Shamblers, who I thought were more wounded than they were... but none of the axes hit. 

Both Draugr units hop into the scoring circle.

Bottom of Round 6: Sylvan Kin

The Herder and both Greater Air Elementals hit the Mounted Sons, all in the front, and will crush them.

My opponent doesn't think that the Forest Shamblers can rout the Night Raiders in one go, so they charge the Snow Foxes instead, and will remove them, and will reform to face the Night Raiders.

End of Round 6.

As the round concludes, the Varangur has two regiments of Draugr (2 each for a total of 4) and a regiment of Night Raiders (2) for a total of 6 Unit Strength for the scenario. The Sylvan Kin Have a horde of Forest Shambles (3), and a Herder and two Greater Air Elementals (1 apiece), for a total of also 6 Unit Strength!

....and then we then roll up a round 7.

Top of Round 7: Varangur

Well, the Varangur are out of options. The mounted Magus tries, but nothing is in range even with the full move. 

The Skald goess in against a Greater Air Elemental. The hope was to disorder it, and limit it's options a bit, but no hits land. The Draugr charge the Herder, trying to disorder it to stop surge and simultaneously hide behind it. The second Draugr unit changes facing to complicate any charges from the Greater Air Elementals.

The Night Raiders are able to charge the Forest Shamblers, and land some damage. They are uninspired, but the nerve check is 1 below what I need to rout them. The Horse Raiders would have loved to have joined this combat, but could not see over the Height 3 hill to see the Height 3 Shamblers, so no charges for them, and they just move up to score. 

The Varangur is out of steam.

Bottom of Round 7: Sylvan Kin

The Night Raiders get a frontal charge from the Forest Shamblers and a rear charge from the Greater Air Elemental and are routed. The other Greater Air Elemental gets a frontal charge into the Horse Raiders, but we don't even resolve the combat. With the Night Raiders falling, the Sylvan Kin take the lead with unit strength, and secure the victory!

Game Conclusion

I was a bit rusty - we haven't had a tactical game in a few months. My deployment could have been a little better and my strategy needed some work, such as putting the Night Raiders up against the Gladestalkers. Letting my Magus get charged for no reason in Round 4 was incredibly unfortunate for me and should not have happened! 

I was pleasantly surprised with clawing my way to a draw as we ended Round 6. Unfortunately I was out of units and steam while my opponent was not, and Round 7 let my opponent squeeze out the win with their monsters. As-ever, my opponent played a clean game with his list. Well played and congrats on the win!

Testing Conclusion

It was a great game full of stuff to look at, so let’s get down to it!

• Hunters of the Wild. I appreciated these much more after playing against them. With great stats and 15 attacks they are good generalist units, able to hold their own while slipping in a few damage in each combat against most things.
• Forest Shambler Hordes. I didn’t have a lot of combat units, so these were surprisingly difficult to deal with as it turns out. They don’t have a lot of bells or whistle but Fearless gives them a lot of staying power and I was impressed.
• Tree Herder. My opponent prioritized the support and Surge casting. Height 5 lets him see a lot, and he was able to cast Surge on anything he wished to. I didn’t track the Radiance of Life heals, but that aura did quiet work throughout the game. The Herder was expensive, and didn’t contribute much to any combats, but was a powerful pick that I had no real answer to as the game went on. Very cool to see this guy in action!
• Greater Air Elementals. Once melee combat breaks out in a few places it is incredibly hard to deal with these. Having both monsters come in against the same unit of Mounted Sons at the bottom of Round 3 was demoralizing, as I realized I just had no answers to them. A very strong unit used very well by my opponent.
• Meta Elven Archmage. My opponent didn’t roll great with Alchemist Curse, and the hero was taken off the field early. It was not a great showing for the Archmage. 
• Sylvan Gladestalkers. They parked themselves in the woods and were a general nuisance I didn’t have a great answer for. With the Master Hunter nearby, all 40 ranged attacks were in these woods, and were hard to dislodge given that they were in cover with Stealthy. 
• Scout. My opponent definitely used it, but nothing was too daring. The Gladestalkers mostly just lined up their shots, and I think this reserved approach to Scouting moves was the right call here. 
• Mounted Sons. All three of my regiments underperformed consistently this game, often missing to hit with half their attacks whether it was a clear charge or not. It was hard to compensate for that underperformance when they were really my only heavy hitters in the list. 
• Night Raiders. The Night Raiders proved to be a pretty poor choice to face the Gladestalkers. While I have my own stealthy, and Pathfinder and Thunderous Charge, the raiders need to get close to do anything, and I should have supported them better. These were not used well.
• Draugr. It was obviously a mistake to charge them into the flank of the Forest Shamblers. The other two units were used well though, lurking and waiting for the end of the game. 
• Snow Foxes. These wily beasts actually performed quite well, getting up and into the Gladestalker Regiments. The Foxes won’t rout them, so will need follow-up support, but on average should be able to disorder the shooters. A nice niche application for them.
• Horse Raiders. I don’t think they were particularly used well. Given their ranged attack option, 
• Meta Magus. Unfortunately, Famulus doesn’t work with the Curse, but I didn’t remember the special rule at all until most of the way through the second game! Here, with the Boots, I could have easily avoided the Hunters and still gotten the spell off against them – I missed them reforming in their victory and that is entirely on me. So, this was not the best outing for me and my competitive pick either, but I can see why folks like this setup.
• Skald with Lute. Forced March didn’t come up at all. The Bane Chant was nice, but didn’t really swing any fights. The list felt a bit awkward for him, and I think another Thegn on Frostfang or something could be a getter generic pick in the future.
• Chess Clock. This was our first time using the chess clock. We started with an hour and ten minutes apiece. We paused it a few times for quick pictures, and had a few small goofs, but at the end, we each had time left on the clock, and combined had about a half hour remaining. Not bad! 

Win or lose, I have been adulting too much lately, so it was wonderful to get this game in! Thank you to my opponent for fitting this in and for hosting!