Kings of War 3rd Edition: #045 Kingdoms of Men vs Ratkin [Dominate]

Intro and Lists

I was fortunate enough to be able to trek over to the Milwaukee area and squeeze in another game before the year wraps up. Opposing me was my opponent from Battle 044, who I discovered after the report is on the forum as SquirminVermin. I recently recommended their own blog, the Nerd's Tale, and should also note that they are the driving force behind the Kings of War Wisconsin Group, which I don’t think I’ve plugged previously. If you are in the state or even just nearby, feel free to join and check us out, and definitely check out my opponent’s online stuff as well! For this game they brought their wonderful Ratkin:

I had never faced the Ratkin before, nor really read through their roster even. This was going to be exciting! I couldn't quite grok all the detail all at once, but he had three big infantry hordes, two giant rats, some Hackpaw Cavalry, some chariots (doomwheels) which sounded scary, and an assortment of support characters for healing. Since I didn't know details at the time, I couldn't really plan around things, so I'll try to highlight in the report as I learned more about the units in-game.

For me, while I enjoyed the previous battle immensely, I was not happy with my own play. While dice were dice and there were still some bright spots and pleasant surprises for me, I obviously struggled more than a little with properly using the new horde-sizes, and forgot to deploy the Captain entirely, which was a brand new gaming error for me. In between gaming meet-ups I tend to bounce around between my armies, but for our rematch I decided to just make a quick tweak to my original list, and give it all another go. I ran the following:

For this game, I wanted to focus more on my deployment without tricks and possible crutches, and to find a better item for the Knight Horde. As discussed in the conclusions last game as well as on my forum thread, J Boots on the horde is not a particularly good buy. So the big tweak was dropping the Scrying Gem and J Boots for Brew of Strength on the Knight Horde. So, up to test for me are:

• Knight Horde with Brew of Strength. I think you want them as killy as possible. Brew of Sharpness was suggested, but hitting didn't seem like the bottleneck for their damage dealing to me. With just TC on my knights, I figured they might be bogged down too easily, and that was more of the bottleneck. So I decided to give them Brew of Strength this time. This should make even frontal charges from the knights super-extra scary and help them grind a bit, should they be disordered.
• Bowmen Horde with Fire Oil. These moved around a lot and were not used well last game. In retrospect, I think these should generally be out on a wing holding things down. I kept forgetting about the Blade of Slashing last game, so I dropped it and picked up Fire-Oil for the Bowmen, thinking that could be a good item for them. 
• Foot Guard horde with Chalice of Wrath. The Guard did well last game, though they only got into one combat, and never took any damage. We’ll see how things go this time for them.
• ASB with LL1 and Lute. He was supporting the Foot Guard Horde last time, which didn’t see a ton of action. We’ll see if LL comes into play this time, and what he gets up to.
• Captain. Well, if he makes it to the table this time I’ll call it a personal victory! Hopefully we can see how Rallying feels. Leaning into the redeploy did me more harm than good last game, so the goal with it here is to not plan around it, and just use it tidy up my lines if needed. That’s a better place for a newbie to start exploring with him I think.
• Ballistae. Firing lines can be an issue for war machines, but the starting 4+ to hit coupled with the older points decrease makes these very attractive, and I really liked running them last game. The Captain’s redeploy could be really great for them as well, sneakily fixing those pesky firing lanes... There is some potential here, so we'll keep them around.
• Pikes. I was pretty careless with these last game, especially when one considers just how much cavalry the enemy had. They are not chaff. My goal is to focus a bit more on deployment and aim for that “combined arms” approach this time with them.
• Rampage Giants. My default for Giants has been to give them Slayer, since that was their stock option when 3rd Edition launched. Giving them Rampage last game was a happy surprise for me as it game them way more targets against the predominately human army, but I don't think it's a bad option generally either, so I want to play around with this a bit more, and do so with a bit more intentionality. They still need support though, so we'll see how they do.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamers Realm again, and my opponent was setting up as I arrived. We had some height 3 hills, height 6 forests, height 2 obstacles, a height 9 impassable building, and we ran the bone terrain as height 3 impassable terrain.

We agreed on Dominate so would be focusing on the middle of the field. My opponent won the roll off, and got to deploying. 

An extra speedy flank from the Ratkin!

Left-to-right, he had his Hackpaw Regiment, Hackpaw Troop, Scud Lite, the Scurrier with the wings, the Tunnel Runners, and Marcus Jerome Venomfang, the ASB. All were fast units and all trying to use the building to hide from my two war machines. 

A very numerous Ratkin center!

The center was nuts, but given the scenario, that makes sense. In the front we have the two hordes of Shock Troops (Prince Lafayette's Royal Guard in blue, and Cheesar's Elite Ratorean Guard in purple). Betwixt them is the Tangle. Behind the tangle is Mama Tiamat the Brood Mother and Hairless Potter, the healing Warlock. Behind all that was a reserve of simple warriors and a small group of adorable yellow Vermintide. The Brood Mother has Radiance of Life for a free heal, and Ratkin infantry gain Rallying at the horde size, so mutual buffs seem to the be reason for running a big stacked blob like this. Hiding out in the woods nearby were both Mutant Rat-Fiends Friends. It is an splendid army with a lot of character.

The scenario being dominate, he dropped a horde of Shook Troops near the center, so I opened with my Foot Guard opposing them, and then built my own line around them. I wanted to deploy things back a bit in case he was aggressive with his multiple hordes, figuring the extra space should let me react and fight my way into the middle of the board if needed at the end of the game.

My left, with Giants opposing the speedy Ratkin units.

Left-to-right my line was double Rampage Giants, General, Bowmen, then Pikes, Militia, and both Ballistae. The line continued with my Foot Guard Horde, my ASB with Lute, Pikes, Militia and the Captain. I had a slight drop advantage, and closed out with the Knight Horde and General out on my right for deployment.

My right, entirely unopposed, though the forest should protect the Ratkin a bit.

Apparently the new Clash rolled Redeployment into a new special rule, which we could not find at the time. We did the Captain redeploy before scout moves, but at home and digging through the app, it looks like the new Redeploy is after all deployment and after all Scout moves, so I played this wrong. It would not have changed anything for me. I wanted to get Pikes near the Foot Guard over to the left instead, and everything beyond that was a bonus. The other Pikes moved up to better intercept for the Bowmen, and the Militia on the left was moved back by the Foot Guard to throw themselves in front of any Ratkin hordes, or just cower behind that small impassable skull terrain and wait for the late game.

 

Redeployment. Mostly adjusting the Pikes.

My overall deployment plan was a horde in each third of the board; Ballistae in the most open section; and regiments and Giants where ever they seemed appropriate. Overall, my deployment went much better for me this game. I had some nice central firing lines for the war machines; Foot Guard ready to contest the middle; Bowmen out on a flank and my scary stuff out on each of the wings.

A daring scout move from Scud Lite!

Since we goofed the Redeploy timing, my opponent did his Scout move after my redeploy, moving his little flier known as Scud Lite up into the center. Scud Lite apparently usually hunts wizards (and unicorns), and didn't have a ton of great targets on my side of the field. He could have gone further, but opted to give me a dilemma, since the Hackpaws were in range to avenge him.

I won the roll off for first turn, and with war machines, decided to take the initiative. Hopefully I can wear down the rats a bit before the lines clash in the center...

Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

I decide to take the bait. Scud is only 10/12 and uninspired currently. I have war machines and wanted to lean on them in these early turns, and I don't want this little guy in my back field. The Pikes near the hill deployed on the line, but are still out of range. So a General charges out, and we get to a rare first-turn melee combat! Unfortunately, the General doesn't roll well to hit, and this only results in 3 damage, arguably, about as-expected. I needed a bit more luck to scare the Scurrier away, but Scud Lite is just Wavered, and the General is in danger.

A charge in the top of Round 1!

Fortunately, my shooting phase was better. The Ballistae shoot into the Tangle and land 3 damage. The Bowmen take a movement penalty for moving up and securing the hill, but manage to land 3 damage against the Hackpaw troop too, and the Inspired Nerve check is enough to see them off.

The knights push up aggressively. 

The Militia move up, looking to use the height 3 blocking skull terrain to hide them. The General on my right can do a nice 20" fly and nimble pivot to threaten the Friends near the woods, and the Knight Horde advances to do the same while staying out of their charge range.

Bottom of Round 1: Ratkin

The Hackpaw regiment rushes too save Scud Lite. I thought they hit harder, but apparently just have Thunderous Charge 1. Still, they crash into the flank of my General, get Bane-Chanted, do 10 damage, and then see him off with two sets of 6's on the inspired Nerve checks. Fearful of the Giants, the Hackpaws turn to face the nearest one.

Scud Lite is saved by the Hackpaws. The Tunnel Runners are about an inch out of the Giant's range.

The heavy center of the Ratkin line bulges out, trying to compensate for the aggressive right-flank of the Kingdoms of Men. The Tangle gets a Radiance of Life, forgets about Regeneration, but then gets a Heal, and its damage is wiped clean.

The Ratkin shift around to deny some charges.

The Mutant Rat-Friends back up and out of the forest, denying the knights a charge. The forest should block line of sight of the General to the main Ratkin line, delaying things over on my right, as I am not eager to charge him in solo against both the Rat-Friends.

Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

I feel like the Knights should be getting into combat... but with no available charge on their turn, I just look to apply more pressure. The General flies up, safely threatening the flanks of more Ratkin units, and the Knights inch up to threaten the Friends again while also staying safe. Having the longer charge range is great!

More positioning out on my right.

Over on the left, the Tunnel Runners are too far away to charge. I wanted to get the Pikes up to block them up a bit, but they are too near the table edge. Moving too far up just gives the Tunnel Runners an easy flank charge, so they move 5 and pivot, keeping the Runners in the front. 

Charges at the top of Round 2.

I send the rampage Giants in against the ASB and the Hackpaw Regiment. I roll the ASB fight first, dealing 9 damage, routing him, and then pivoting to face the contraptions. The second Giant also does around 9 damage to the Hackpaws, and without a source of Inspiring, a good Nerve check sees them off too, with this Giant turning to face the contraptions as well.

The Giants claim their first victims.

I could have probably made better victorious positioning moves here, but overall I think I've got a good numbers here and am liking my chances against his fast stuff, even with Scud being free now.

My ranged phase goes very well again. Up against all this Healing, I decide to try and ignore the hordes and shoot at the supporting characters. Upon learning that the Tangle had Regeneration, the Bowmen actually make use of their Oil item, gaining Piercing 1 and landing some good damage against it. Their volley is joined by some Ballista shots as well. The Tangle is shot off the field!

Bottom of Round 2: Ratkin

Out on the right, the Mutant Rat-Friends go back-to-back, wary of the flying General. Cheesar's Elite Ratorean Guard enters the woods, and pops their Plague Pots, gaining Ensnare and Stealthy and daring a charge from the horde of Knights.

The Rats cower! To be fair, being fearful of big flying things is probably pretty on-brand for a rat.

Mama Tiamat, the Broodmother, moves out of range of the flying General along with the other horde of Shock Troops and the Vermintide. The red horde of Warriors still waits in reserve, waiting to see how the Giants move in my turn.

The Tunnel Runners trample the Pikes!

The Tunnel Runners don't like their chances against the Giants. Position-wise, they may only be able to charge one: I am not sure if they would have been able to fit in between the Giants to charge the Giant further back in its front arc. Still, the Runners are able to hit the Pikes with impunity. Ensnare helps, but the Runners land 8 damage on the Pikes, and then roll an 8 for the Nerve check. Uninspired, the Pikes are routed. My opponent decides to overrun, looking towards a speedy getaway around the hill, but only rolls up a 2.

Scud Lite is just out of range of my nearest Ballista, so shaking off his near death experience, he moves up into their flank, eyeing a charge next turn.

Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

I do not want the Tunnel Runners in my backline. They have no charge next turn though, which is a blessing for me. One Giant just turns to face them. The Giant has a big front arc, and with the table edge nearby, I should be able to catch them next turn. My remaining Pikes pivot and move, looking behind the Bowmen and hoping to pin the Runners down if they are somehow able to make a break for it, with an unexpected Nimble or some such that I am missing.

Boxing in the Tunnel Runners.

Out on the right, I decide not to charge the Shock Troops and their Plague Pots. Hindered and Ensnare doesn't sound like a fun time for my Knights. The General nimbly flaps 10" the flank arcs of both Mutant Rat Friends. 

Shooting goes well again. The Bowmen and Ballistae land 7 into the horde of blue Shock Troops known as Prince Lafayette's Royal Guard, and with the Aegis, they Iron Resolve down to 6.

Bottom of Round 3: Ratkin

Wary of a Giant getting around the building and behind Ratkin lines, the red horde of Warriors are finally sent out to plug that gap. I am ok with that, as it should be a decent test for Rampage. The  combination of the building and table edge also precludes the rats from contributing much else to this fight: there just isn't a lot of space for the red Warriors to scoot and make room.

The Rats look to protect their backfield and their units.

The blue Royal Guard get a Radiance of Life and a Heal, taking them down to 2 damage if memory serves.  My opponent expected the red Warriors to immediately die, so along with Tiamat the Brood Mother, they position themselves to hopefully take down the Giant in the following turn. The adorable Vermintide bravely position themselves to protect the flank of the Shock Troops from my General. The equally adorable Friends both turn to face the General again.

The Tunnel Runners try to move, but moving at the double would take them off the table. A normal move and pivot can't escape the sight or arc of the Giant, so they turn to face.

Scud Lite the Scurrier attacks the first Ballista, and with 12 attacks, does 10 damage! He then discovers the operator is insanely courageous...

Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

Having dodged the miasma of the Plague Pots, now I decide to send in the Knights against the Shock Troopers. I thought there were more similar to my Foot Guard, but I learn that they have Phalanx from their Halberds upgrade. This is not a good fight for the Knights! The Knights are hindered and up against Phalanx, and land a meager 10 hits but get 8 damage on the board, with the Captain contributing another 1 damage to the cause.

The Knights commit to a terrible combat.

My flying General was hoping to pincer the red Warriors with the Giant this turn, but the Warriors moved out of range. I decide to send the General in against the Vermintide, looking for an easy pick-up, but he flubs, only deal 2s damage, and the Vermintide holds strong.

The rampaging Giant wades into the Ratkin Warriors alone. The extra attacks rolled up are good, and I think 8 damage is done, but the unit easily holds. 

Despite no Rampage trigger, the other Giant also rolls ok for the extra attacks, deals 7 to the contraptions, and manages to Waver the Tunnel Runners.

For shooting, the Bowmen continue to hold the hill, firing into the Brood Mother. The insane Ballista operator does nothing, content to just be in the way, but the other fires over the heads of humans and ratkin into Mama as well. I think 7 damage hits, and she is wavered too.

The Foot Guard advance 10", abandoning my trap for Scud Lite.

I had been laying a trap for Scud Lite. Last turn, the Foot Guard had pivoted to get the Ballistae into their front arc. The plan was for the Ballistae to move back, and let the Foot Guard charge in and finishing him off. With the first Ballista holding, I opt to keep the Ballista shooting as long as they can. The Foot Guard jump up 10" with a Militia turning back to try and deal with Scud Lite, though I don't think they have the charge range to get beyond the Ballista.

Bottom of Round 4: Ratkin

The Mutant Rat-Friends finally split up. One swivels to commit to fighting the Knights next turn, and the other pulls up behind my remaining General. If he is grounded, he is likely done for.

Encircled, the Ratkin fight back.

The red Warriors counter-charge the Giant, dealing a surprising 8 damage to the towering monster, though thankfully the Giant is unfazed as they are found to be insanely courageous. Hey, go get 'em big guy. The Vermintide countercharge the General, but 4 hits translates into 0 damage, even with Vicious. The rats of the Royal Guard continue to wait patiently for their turn to fight the Giant, as my opponent is expecting him to break through next turn.

The other Shock Troop, Cheesar's Ratorean Guard, get a solid heal from Hairless Potter the Warlock, and pop the Blood of the Old King. A reroll in each step deals 2 to themselves, and they deal 10 to the Knights. They were Rallied and Inspired, so were going to be hard to move, but they are found to be insanely courageous as well now.

Scud lands a few more damage, and routs the ballista operator this time.

Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

It's time to remember to play the scenario! The Foot Guard move and pivot, getting up near the center and are definitely scoring. The Pikes are stumbling over the obstacle, but should be able to get into place next turn with another similar move. The Archers need to move and pivot, and one more move and pivot should hopefully get them in as well. A Militia Mob wheels out from behind the skull terrain, currently scoring, and things are looking pretty good for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Kingdoms of Men move out and into the center.

The remaining Ballista and Bowmen on the move again shoot into Tiamat the Broodmother. She got a Radiance of Life heal last turn, but I think that was it. She is wavered again. The Bowmen missed, but the war machine landed 2 damage if memory serves. Rallying has saved her in both instances, 

The Giant fighting the Tunnel Runners will get it up around 15 damage and beat it down this turn, then turn to face the center. The other Giant again cleaves into the horde of Ratkin Warriors, but fails to rout them. I've been rolling hot with the extra attacks, getting 8+ on 2d6, but the horde has been getting some heals and it's just a lot of Nerve to cut through. 

My Knights countercharge Cheesar's Troops. Phalanx will penalize them again, but they and the Captain roll a bit closer to average this time, and are able to rout the unit, since Hairless Potter the Warlock doesn't inspire anything despite looking amazing in his little hat.

A horde of Ratkin falls!

I believe one needs to be disordered to lose Fly, so my General disengages from the Vermintide and flies a short distance away, safe for next turn.

Bottom of Round 5: Ratkin

The red Warriors counter-charge the Giant again, dealing a fresh 4 to bring him to 12 damage, but roll up a 5 for the Nerve check, and the Giant is perfectly fine to continue on with this grinding combat.

One Mutant Rat-Friend finally gets to fight something, and makes use of Strider to charge the Knights, dealing 7. They are rallied and Inspired by the Captain, and Waver, but it was close.

A close-up shot.

The Royal Guard Shock Troops also decide it is time to play the scenario, and they now turn to face the center. The Vermintide is left to block up the Giant, should it break through next turn.

Combats and such at the end of Round 5.

Scud Lite gets into the other Ballista, deals 5 damage, but fails to rout it.

Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

The Knights pass their Headstrong check, and counter-charge the Mutant Rat Friend. It's only Defense 4, and with Crushing Strength from their item, Knights roll well just well enough to see if off the table.

The Captain had overrun 6" after besting the Shock Troops last turn. This turn he charges out to boop the other Mutant Rat Friend, and being Mighty, will prevent the Friend from really helping or scoring as the game concludes.

Things start to get crowded in the center.

The central Militia see a flank and take it, charging the Royal Guard Shock Troops. They deal just 1 damage, which is immediately Iron-Resolved back... Though the General nimbly flies back to threaten the rear of the Shock Troops should this go to a Round 7. The Giant that beat the Tunnel Runners is a few inches shy of being able to charge the unit, but moves up as well for a potential Round 7.

The Giant swings again into the red swarm of Ratkin Warriors, dealing a fresh 9 and getting them just a point from being devastated if they weren't Rallied. With Brutal, the Giant should easily see them off, but the Warrior rats are now found to be insanely courageous! Sheesh.

Maybe I should just never charge with the Militia? That might be a good rule of thumb.

We now spring the new Militia trap against Scud Lite, with the Ballista moving back to make room for the charge. The Militia get no hits against the pesky Scurrier.

Bottom of Round 6: Ratkin

The now-insane red Warriors countercharge the Giant, again. Now unwavered, we realize that there is just enough room to get Mama Tiamat in against the Giant as well on a charge. In the ranged phase she will attempt a Drain Life, score 1 point, and Rout the Giant since he is uninspired! He must be traumatized from all the rat-bashing. Magic and spells are still largely unexplored for me, so even on the receiving end of things, it was neat to see a unit get in and mix it up like this. I guess I didn't realize that the spell could be cast by a character in combat themselves, which definitely makes it a bit more of an interesting choice.

The Ratkin are finally able to reinforce, brining in Mama Tiamat and her magic.

Scud Lite breaks away from the Militia, and goes after my ASB. He deals just 3, but the ASB is wavered.

The Mutant Rat-Friend counters the Captain and deals 5, but the Captain sticks around and prevents this Friend from scoring.

The center is a bit dicey in retrospect. My Militia were scoring, but the Royal Guard counter-charge them, deal 19, and rout them. I charged in looking for the disorder, and playing for a Turn 7 to clean up this horde completely. I hadn't measured, so with the Militia obliterated, the only two things I know are scoring are our  respective hordes, so I think charging in with the Militia could be considered a mistake on my part.

The Ratkin has just enough space to reform when counter-charging.

We take stock of the table and the time, and decide to just call the game here instead of rolling for a  potential Round 7. This is as good as it's going to get for the Ratkin.

The table when we called it. The Royal Guard was undamaged and had het to use their victorious reform... but they will have something scary in every arc no matter how they swivel.

For the Ratkin, the Royal Guard Shock Troops are scoring, for 4 US. I didn't measure them last turn as they moved as far as they could, and it would be what it would be, but the Bowmen (3 US) and Pikes (3 US) do make it into the zoen to join my Foot Guard (4 US), tipping the scenario into my favor. 

It is a 10-4 victory for the Kingdoms of Men!

Game Conclusions

My opponent's army is just fantastic with lots of cute stuff and interesting conversions, plus lots of fun custom banners. Everything looks really crisp and the classic green bases really make the paint jobs pop. In short, I love it!

The Ratkin seem like one of the more complex armies to run. While most rosters started 3rd Edition with lots of fancy keywords, the conditional inspiring and such have largely gone away. Not so with the Ratkin! Their list-building looks to take a lot of effort, and my opponent was going through an additional hoop avoiding a lot of the shooty "Tek" units and going with a grindy, healing list. I think using Scud on defense to intercept my flier and try to pin him down for a Friend to then bash in the following turn, or deploying the red Warriors wider on the flank instead of in reserve makes this a much closer game as it's harder to jump his line.

Game-wise I think my opponent was just unprepared for dealing with my fliers, despite even taking one out in Round 1. My Generals are just passable combatants (just ask the Vermintide, or Scud Lite!), and not usually significant threats on their own. Fliers are hard to deal with, and while he was very cognizant of protecting his flanks and reactively denying my charges when he could, but it basically took both Rat Friends out of the game entirely. As long as he was reacting, I was happy to move around and just pressure things with my General for most of the game. Having shooting, I was able to apply pressure from Round 1 onward, and with my opponent reacting to my fliers, he was never able to really get his own plan going.

Testing Conclusions

• Knight Horde with Brew of Strength.  Charging in against the Plague Pot timing is probably the only what I could have done to use these worse! Pressuring the right flank was fine as they were tying up about twice their points between the horde and two Friends, but when it came to combat, charging into the forest against a unit with Phalanx was not great. Still, despite all that they were able to bully their way through the horde over two turns, making use of their Brew of Strength like I intended. They survived long enough to get a counter-charge off against the Friend, and making it to the end of the game was unbelievable. I still not the biggest fan of the horde, as it is just so unwieldy, but Brew of Strength was a much better choice, and they were able to bully things this game for sure. I can't say they didn't perform well.
• Archer Horde with Oil. These overperformed too. Rolling 20 dice led to some lucky hit rolls, and up against a lot of Defense 4, those bonus hits snuck some additional damage in, especially in the early turns. Pairing them with the Giants was also a good call as the Giants pushed out so my opponent couldn't pressure the Bowmen. Cartwright was on to something! 
• Foot Guard with Chalice of Wrath. As in the previous game, I wanted to try and preserve these so they could be a late-game threat. The scenario made this approach even more imperative. With my opponent not pushing through the center early on, I was content to sit back with these and let the game unfold for a bit. Not an exciting game for them, but they did their part.
• ASB with Lifeleech 1 and Lute. He was babysitting the Foot Guard both games, which have been played pretty conservatively. Two games in a row and the new buff still hasn't come up at all! Yes, it is a buff, but it still doesn't synergize all that well with the army, and is limited to infantry only. It just feels awkward. Since I've usually been running an ASB anyways, we'll continue to play around with this though, and I have some other list ideas to try and explore the buff with him.
• Captain. He made it to the table this time, and did some good work for me. Using the redeploy for tweaking and not for tricks worked much better for me this time aroudn. More Inspiring was nice to have since my Generals are busy flying about, and Rallying even let the Knights stick around to attempt their Headstrong check when fighting the Friend. It turns out, when he makes it to the table, he does ok and contributes to the game! A nice choice, and we'll run him again.
• Ballistae. As before, these performed surprisingly well. I think at least one shot got through every turn, and even with just a d3 Blast, that's pretty solid output for just 60 points.
• Pikes. My original plan was to stick these on either side of the Foot Guard horde, and I had deployed one early before seeing my opponent commit all the cavalry out on my left. Redeploying the early unit seemed like a good idea. They did ok, but didn't do too much, and have been dying quicker than expected. Giving a source of Inspiring (ASB with War Bow), and/or updating them with Indomitable Will could turn them into better roadblocks.
• Rampage Giants. Rampage really worked well against the Hackpaws, where I rolled up more than average for the extra attacks, and trounced the regiment in one go. I rolled equally well in the three grinding combats with the horde of red Warriors... but just couldn't get through the tar pit. There is a facet in this evaluation that I am struggling to express here. We'll see if I can make more sense of my thought with some extra time or a future game. In short, I still think both Slayer and Rampage are viable choices for Giant, but since the extra attacks have such a wide variable, I don't know if it makes a huge difference.
• Militia. They were around? Statistically they should have done a few damage in each of their combats, but flopped. I want to get a bit more mileage out of these cheap units (Regiments of stuff like Militia, Draugr and Zombies), but I think it might be better in many cases to just move them around and not give up the free countercharge. I think I'll try a more passive approach with these kinds of units in my next games.
• Rallying. Rallying played a huge role this game. It saved the Brood Mother (Mama Tiamat) from dying a few times, put some normally close checks out of my reach several times with the red Warriors, and then on my end, it let the Knights survive and only be wavered in Round 5.

I had a great time seeing my opponent again so soon and seeing the scampering Ratkin in action for the first time! Many thanks to my opponent for fitting this game in!