Hobby Update: Second Batch of Smashy Skeletons

Up now is the second big batch of Skeletons with two-handers for the ever-growing ranks of my Undead army!

The first batch was started over the fall and was finished up about a month ago. While my intent was to do these all up at once, all my various projects just got to be too much for me, and I had to break things up into smaller more manageable parts.

Another horde's worth of smashy skeletons, in blue rags.

The first batch utilized a lot of weapon swaps, which mostly worked, but was a lot of work snipping things down, and then getting the right amount of cement to get a join without taking too long. These were much easier! As-before, I snipped off the speartips from the base Oathmark Skeleton box, but this time I used spare Mallets from the Mantic Dwarf Shieldbreakers, which came with hole and could be dropped right onto the spear shafts.

A regiment with square hammers and blue rags.

Everything still had to be posed and the rags needed to be green-stuffed, but the weapon-construction was at least very streamlined.

The second square hammer regiment.

I had about half of these from when I was considering starting a Free Dwarf army, and Joe, our local Dwarf player, hooked me up with the rest that I needed to complete these. I now have a horde's worth of square hammers in blue rags, and then another horde with varied dwarf hammers in green rags.

Another horde with green rags an a variety of dwarven hammers.

Aside from the new mallets, everything else was the same. Minis were posed, green-stuff wraps applied to the hands, the bases pasted, and then everything was primed with a bit of a zenithal approach using up the last of a gray rattle can as the base, with a blast of white from above.

A regiment in green rags.

The ground on the miniature's stands got hit with a black base coat, and then bones got hit with a Palld Bone Speed Paint from Army Painter. I went back with Agrax Earthshade from Citadel to darken up some of the sockets and such, and then the shafts got a darn tan kinda color, the metals a gray metal, and the rags blue or green, depending on the unit.

Another green regiment.

Assembly was the biggest hurdle, and these otherwise painted up quickly. Once painted, I glued them to the base, added paste around the stands, and then carefully applied a black base coat to all the ground, so that the stands of the mini and the new unit base all had a strong black base coat. This took several layers of paint, but we got there. 

With the base coat done, I dry brushed a dark gray and then a light gray, and then went back with a handful of cheap brown craft paint for my mud coloring. Then one night after work was spent applying the glaze for the shiny mud effect, and then the following day the Poly-Fil Fog Effect was added. 

For those keeping count at home... that is 7 regiments-worth of smashy skeletons in my collection. That might be overkill?

We've seen them on the table twice now, in Battle 095 and Battle 096. Surge and reforms have proven to be a little tricky in the midgame, but otherwise they are performing as-expected. As mentioned elsewhere, the inspiration is the Brothermark Penitents, which are a cheap unlock, a decent chunk of Nerve for the points, and a few damage a round in melee if left alone. The Skeletons get an extra point of Nerve as well as Fearless, so they seem like a decent way to clog up the board if I feel like it. They Undead have been a lot of fun so far, and we'll see what they can do in the future!

Ghouls Galore

Up now are more Ghouls for the Undead! 

I did a small group up back in August, had some leftover bases, and figured the Ghouls could use some reinforcements. The models are GW Ghouls again, since I found some good ebay bundles. The minis came assembled and individually-based, but otherwise uunpainted. Most were cemented to those bases, and were a little difficult to pry off. Additionally, many had mold lines or bad snips that I struggled to find. Throughout the project I was scraping and filing and then repainting as there were just so many lines and nubs that I was never quite able to get them all. We struggled through and I think I got most of them by now though.

Painting-wise I tried a variety of skin tones, from my traditional Cadian Fleshtone and Kislev Flesh from Citadel, but branching out also into Elven Skin from Two Thin Coats, as I really want to transition over into dropper bottles for everything. The paint pots are just killing me with all the crusting over and such. I try to be tidy, but so few of mine close nicely these days. Two Thin Coats seemed to work well (so long as you follow their name!), and I think dropper paints are what I'm going to experiment with and try and pick up for my FLGS game day tributes going forward.

Just one group shot for them.

I have only played a handful of games as the Undead. Looking at some old notes and some old discussions online, folks more experienced than I really liked Ghoul troops in 2nd Edition. I have hobbied up two troops already, but wanted a few more to try out some of these older builds and ideas for myself. I have a background in history, so like tracing evolutions and trying to put things into proper context. 

Back then the troops could obviously just screen and/or die, but were seem to be used primarily to help with scenario play. Before Unit Strength was a thing, just the unit count mattered, so a few extra troops in the late game could easily put one over the top in a scenario like Dominate, and some cheap troops were great to grabbing tokens and such too. 

Ghouls still look intriguing for 3rd Edition play, as the regiments are US3, and Ghouls generally are a pretty quick unit for the Undead, don’t shamble, and aren't too expensive. The inspiring Ghast had a TC aura for them, which was just rolled into the base unit instead of a purchased upgrade in the new Clash 2025, making all these Ghouls even more interesting for a weirdo like me. They are more expensive than their Zombie or Skelton counterparts, and aren’t as supported in the army with keywords and special rules stuff, but since they don't Shamble, I think there could be a place for Ghouls in 3rd, and I’m excited to get them on the table sometime and see what they can do!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #102 Abyssals vs Northern Alliance in Stockpile

Intro and Lists

I was lucky enough to squeeze in a weekend game against Trevor of Data and Dice! Trevor fielded the Northern Alliance, running the following:

As-ever, it's a strong, sensible list, and we've seen much of it before. Returning is a strong center of Dwarf Clan Warriors, ensnaring Ice Naiads, and hordes of Snow aaaaaaaaaaaaaTrolls to all hold the line. Frostclaw Riders return to threaten from afar, and Snow Foxes are around to interdict. Hrimm the legendary giant returns to smash things, and he's really buying into Snow Troll Primes. That makes a lot of sense! They are amazingly priced, and provide a ton of utility. A notable inclusion is a flying Ice Blade berserker elf to disrupt and duel. Notable exclusions are no Pack Hunters, Ice Queens, or Bolt Throwers. The list wants to get in and grind.

I brought the Abyssals. I still had a few ideas surrounding the Nagarri and the recent Clash 2025 refresh to explore, and wanted to do that sooner rather than later. Up to test was:

• Lower Abyssals with two Handers. The Lower Abyssals got nerfed in the revamp, as their unit was blended into the Abyssal Ghouls. The smashy horde was fun the little I used it, and Brew of Sharpness to let them hit on 3’s made them a rather frightening unit, especially to try and grind against. They hit on 5’s now, which demands a revisit and a reevaluation. 
• Lower Abyssals with Shields. Newcomers! My gut says hitting on 5’s is a big nerf, and that the shielded version should be more attractive, and these should just be around to tar pit, but I wanted to directly compare the two horde options. Perhaps we’ll be surprised.
• Gargoyles. Good, reliable mobile chaff. We’ll see what they end up doing.
• Molochs. I haven’t run these in a while, as I was taking my Abyssals down an MMU path focusing on Abyssal Guard. That was fun, but with the revamp, it feels like the Abyssals are being pushed more towards horde-focused play, so we’ll bring these out as well.
• Imps. They are not popular from what I’ve seen, but I have liked the Imps previously, and think they have a lot of potential. They are cheap objective holders or short and sensible additional chaff for your army, which should pair nicely with most infantry play. Fury is a nice addition here as well, as if they hold, they can help you push back. 
• Nagarri. Their stats are frustratingly mediocre, and they have a huge footprint. This should not be a frontline unit; it should be back and protected, letting other units take hits and then make use of their aura. I tried them once before, and they got unlucky. Being me, I am doubling down and trying two units this time to make sure I get some testing in. We’ll see how two bubbles with the Regeneration 4 feels with a few hordes on the field!
• Abyssal Champions and Lighting Bolts. Firebolts from Warlocks gave me a fighting chance in my last game against the Halflings. I decided to go for Champions and Lightning Bolts to try out some older thinking. We’ll see how the Bolts fare. 
• Efreet. I had a weird amount of points left, and opted for the Efreet. Efreets with Boots of the Seven leagues (Scout) or Boots of Levitation (move at the double and still cast) were fads years ago (I think all the way back in 2nd?), when cover was a little less impactful and Fireball was a little bit more powerful. He cannot Inspire, and cannot score, but he can be a nuisance, and we’ll see how that feels.
• Zaz the Betrayer. I’ve run and liked Zaz before, as LB and BC are two good spells to have around, in just about any list. The betrayal  mechanic is neat, but you need to bully a chaff piece and not something critical, which is why I brought a few extra imps and such.
• Manifestation of Ba’el. As a mini-monster dragon, I’ve really liked the Manifestation on his on in some previous games, though shooting and wavering has been a bit of an issue. I have nothing to mitigate that, but he plays nicely with the Regen 4 bubble, so we’ll see what he can do. He’s a double neat option for this list, as if both Zaz and the Manifestation come down on the same flank, they can throw a lot of lightning in the early turns. Adding in two Champs with Lightning Bolt as well, and I think we might have a surprisingly effective ranged phase.
• Command Orders. The Command Orders for the Forces of the Abyss are decent. A surprise Fireball (with Shattering) can help, and rerolling a units Regeneration rolls repeatedly can be quite powerful. With the latter Order, you really need to lean into some more defensive units, so they can stick around to be regenerated. We’ll see how the Orders do this game.
• Command Dice. I had a weird amount of points left over at 135. That is enough for the Despoiler Champ and Staying Stone.. but I figured more Command Dice would be a better use of the points. So, we've got the 2 Reds on the Champs, and the stock Efreet with what was left. We’ll see if I can get lucky with Command Dice this game. 

Table and Terrain

Trevor was kindly hosting us, and had set up a board prior to my arrival. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the big rocky tree line on left the and rocks on the right as Height 9 blocking terrain, the three forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, literal sticks as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the field as Height 0. 

We wanted to continue exploring the new Clash, and went with a new scenario for us: Stockpile, which works oddly, with piles of Loot tokens. There would be a central pile of 3 Loot Tokens, and two more piles with 2 more Loot Tokens each. You needed to touch a pile to pick up a token, and could inly pick up a token if you controlled the pile with greater Unit Strength. We'd each get to place a secondary pile, and Trevor had to place first, opting for one slightly right of center. I placed second, and went for the far right. Given the Frostclaws, I did not want these piles spread out.

View of the center Pile, from the left.

As-expected, the Northern Alliance came down mostly across from the tokens, with Frostclaws as the final drops looking for flanks and better angles of attack. From left-to-right we have the Frostclaw Horde and Regiment unsupported, a stack of Snow Troll Prime, the Snow Trolls with the Chalice, and Snow Foxes. The flying Blade, Dwarfs screening Foxes, Naiads screening another Snow Troll Prime, and Dwarfs screening the Prime with the Wand. On the far-right was a narrow corridor along the table edge, with Hrimm and Snow Trolls with the Staying Stone.

View from the "center" of the board, with all three Piles.

For the Abyssals, my Manifestation and Zaz were some of my final drops, coming down late to try and bully the unsupported Frostclaws. From left to right for me we have the Manifestation, a dead zone with a building, Imps screening Molochs, the Efreet, Zaz, Imps screening Nagarri, shieled Lower Abyssals with Gargoyles in reserve, an Abyssal Champion, more Molochs, and then an awkward grouping with the second Champ, Lower Abyssals blocking for Gargoyles and Nagari with Imps in reserve. 

View on the far-right.

I won the roll for turn order, and decided to go first, in order to make the best use of my Lightning.

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

I roll up 3 Swords for my Command Dice.

On the right, things move forward. The stack on the far flank was a little awkward. I deployed a bit poorly, and I wanted to get the Imps up, but moved them last over here, and had moved everything up too much for them to jump up. So, they stayed in reserve.

Moving up, and throwing some lightning.

I wanted to try and bully non-regenerating units with my lightning. Hrimm could actually be a decent choice, but I went with the Dwarven Clansmen nearest to the Giant, as it has a lower Nerve. Both Champions throw, and each helped to bring them to 3 damage, and the regiment easily holds.

The Molochs moved up to end clear of the obstacle, and the horde of Lower Abyssals with shields entered the woods. 

The terrain is already slowing me up. In retrospect, I probably should not have put them behind the woods. I need to get to the middle, and I am not running the Herd, and need to get to the middle for the scenario. 

Positioning on the left, with Lightning Bolts going into the Frostclaw regiment.

On the left, I do some measuring. My opponent deployed the Frostclaws a bit back, so Zaz cannot hit them with Lightning Bolts even if he moves. Fortunately, I have 3 swords, and use them for Far Spell to get the inches to the weaker regiment. The only real disposable unit here are imps, so he Betrays them to boost his bolts, landing 3 hits into 2 Damage. The Manifestation moves up a few inches, and throws more lightning into the regiment as well, contributing another 3 hits into 2 Damage. The regiment wavers, which is an ok start!

Bottom of Round 1: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 4 Swords with his Command Dice.

The Frostclaw regiment is wavered but Nimble, and so backs up and pivots, putting some good distance between the birds the demons. He spends 2 Swords on Endurance to heal them down to 3 damage.

Positioning for the Frostclaws and Snow Trolls.

The Frostclaw Horde can't really escape, so it takes the hill. Being a flying unit, it will not get TC charging off the hill, but this does get it within 18" to try to attack the Manifestation of Ba'el with some Ice Bombs, and two damage does land.

The Snow Troll Prime hops up with confidence. 

The flying Ice Blade gets 3 on his Wild Charge, which is just enough to reach the Efreet. He flies in, lands just 7 damage, but is able to rout the spellcaster, and is safe from reprisal charges. Well done!

The Snow Troll Prime runs up to touch the center pile of Loot, and picks up one token. Meanwhile, a unit of Snow Foxes runs up to bait out some hindered charges.

A slow advance out on the right.

The Naiads are flanked by Dwarven Clansmen, and all move up, keeping the line tidy. The Prime with the Wand Hexes the Abyssal Champion on the far right. 

Over on the right Hrimm and the Snow Trolls move up. With Speed 7, Hrimm has charges next turn while I do not.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

I roll up 4 Swords for my Command Dice. 

I hold things back so the Imps can hop up out on the right. If Hrimm wants to go in, he'll be charging in alone. The Gargoyles slide down, just looking to get line of sight for delaying charges in the coming turns. The hexed Champion holds. He's got Regeneration, and the Nagarri are right there, so I decide to push through the Hex, throwing more Lighting at the Dwarfs again. The Champ gets 3 hits and 1 damage (so, dealing 1 and taking 6).

Layers of disorganized positions on the right. But I am checkerboarded-up nicely.

Wary of the Ice Blade, the other Champion leaves the woods, which will give him respite for a turn. He too throws into the Dwarfs, landing 2 damage to bring them to 6, and the regiment is found to be Wavering.

I almost get out of the woods.

Centrally, Imps charge out. The ones screening the Nagarri make a clean charge into the Snow Foxes, landing 2 and the Foxes hold. The Lower Abyssal horde moves up behind them, but is still just clipping the forest this turn. I thought the imps might be able to do it, but they are hitting on 5+. In retrospect, I should have just charged the hindered horde in as well here.

Zaz backs up to throw Lightning at the Ice Blade, Betraying the Gargoyles. I land 4 hits, but only 2 damage into the Blade, with my Gargoyles taking 4. I spend 4 Swords to give the Gargoyles Fireball, and they deal 2 damage to the character as well, and I will get Shattering on the check. Unfortunately, he's only on 4 damage, and is Fearless and Inspiring, so the Ice Blade hangs around.

I gotta say, it was not a good turn for shooting. I managed to deal more to myself than my opponent.

In gots the Manifestation!

On the left, I do some measuring, and send in the Manifestation against the Frostclaw horde. He gets in, lands 5 damage, and they are disordered, but fine. Additionally, the regiment is within range, so I use "From the Pit" to disorder them. The Frostclaws are all tied up for a turn! Everything here is Height 4, so the Manifestation can only be counter-charged by the horde. He's didn't regenerate anything this turn, so is still on 2 damage, but fighting just the one unit for the next turn, and with Inspiring and Fury, I think he can do this.

Bottom of Round 2: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 2 Swords for his Command Dice.

On the left, the Frostclaw regiment is disordered and on 3 damage, and so just moves to spy the flank of the Manifestation, so it can help in the coming turns in the epic aerial fight.

My opponent puts both Swords towards Endurance on the Frostclaw Horde, to bring them down to 4 damage as they countercharge the Manifestation. They deal 4 to him, bringing him up to 6 damage... and then get 10+ twice on the Nerve checks to just rout him off. Well then.

It is a Horde, but I figured the Manifestation could come through here.

The Ice Blade slices at the Gargoyles, landing 3 to bring them up to 7, and he will get the rout. He then overruns greatly, escaping into the woods, and cover.

Fighting in the center.

More Snow Foxes scamper up to delay my Molochs, while the Snow Trolls and Prime thump on the Imps. The multi-charge sees the Trolls and their Prime both slide down land on the pile, and will each take a new token from the center. Sheesh.

Foxes struggle against the Imps in front of the Lower Abyssals with shields, and they will land a few damage into the Imps and waver them.

The Abyssal Champion near the woods is Hexed.

Movement on the right. It's messy for both of us at least.

Hrimm scooches up, and uses Icy Breath on the injured Abyssal Champion. The Champ takes 3 more damage, and is wavered.

Positionally, the wavering Clansmen do nothing, the Naiads and the fresh Clansmen inch up, Primes shuffle about, and the other Snow Troll Primes pivot slightly to threaten the middle.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

I roll up 5 for my Command Dice.

On the right, the Imps change facing to let the Lower Abyssals go into Hrimm. They do a little better than expected, and smack the giant for 6 damage. 

The Nagarri are going to be stuck behind the Lower Abyssals, and I want them to try and do something, so they move and pivot, looking to maybe push towards the center.

Making things messier on the right.

The wavering Abyssal Champ should get a free individual reform, so he takes that, and then backs up towards my opponent's line. I should have been trickier to ended up nearer the obstacle though.

The Gargoyles fly up, trying to give their lives to protect the Molochs as they charge the Snow Troll Prime. They land 14 damage (looks like 9 damage expected), and pick the character up.

Shooting into the Snow Troll Prime.

Centrally, the Nagarri skulk mostly out of the woods, but can't quite make it. I spent 4 Swords on a Fireball into the Prime with 2 Tokens, landing 3 damage.

After some discussions, Zaz Betrays the Nagarri, boosting Lightning Bolt into the same Prime. I hit 4 times, damage the Nagarri for 4, and the Prime for 1. Again, not a great shooting phase for me, and I've dealt more to myself than to my opponent.

The Imps are Furious, and counter-charge the Snow Foxes. The taller Lower Abyssals can see over the Imps and into the Foxes, and want to join, but the stack makes it difficult to do so. The Imps shuffle down as far as the can, but the Abyssals cannot hit the front facing, as they cannot pivot through the Imps. I can pivot the other way to hit the corner of the Snow Foxes, and we call it good enough. 

Even with smart charges, I don't think that's right though. In retrospect, I think the Imps should be blocking this multi-charge.

Lots and lots to deal with on the left.

The Molochs thump their Snow Foxes and then sidestep, to get out of charge range of the Frostclaws.

Thankfully, the Snow Troll Horde will be out of it for a turn.

Having won against the other Snow Foxes, the Imps sidestep, getting 2 inches, and are able to gum up the Snow Trolls and the Prime. The Lower Abyssals with the shields strongly overrun, getting in the faces of the untouched Dwarf Clansmen and Naiad horde.

Bottom of Round 3: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 5 Swords for his Command Dice.

The Frostclaws move out, swinging wide for very threatening charges, and taking shots into the Molochs, landing 4 damage, since we are giving them a cover penalty.

Very threatening Frostclaws indeed!

The Prime counter-charges the plucky Imps, with the horde of Snow Trolls joining in. Victorious, the Prime will back up, but just an inch. He's got two tokens, and is injured, so the unit of Trolls just holds when it is time for them to reform.

The Lower Abyssals hold strong.

Both the Dwarfs and the Naiads have their bases in the forest, and so are both Hindered going into the Lower Abyssals with shields, and only 5 damage lands. 

The other horde holds as well.

The Gargoyles made things as messy as they could. The Molochs take a charge from the injured Dwarf regiment, who lands just 1 damage. The Prime with the Wand charges the Gargoyles and eyes the flank of the Molochs.

The Ice Blade flies out, smacks the injured Abyssal Champion around, routs him, then gets another good roll to back up past the obstacle.

The Snow Trolls could see the Gargoyles, and were in their flank, but could not reach. So they join Hrimm with a charge into the Lower Abyssals with smashy weapons. 13 damage lands, but the horde holds. Hrimm is pushed town on the token though, and picks one up, as my horde is not touching the pile to contest. 

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

I roll up a staggering 9 Swords for my Command Dice. However, we realize that I should be down one red die, since I lost a Champion. I suggest we roll a red die and subtract the swords, and go down to 8. 

We finally deal with the Ice Blade, but it's too little too late.

On the right, the Lower Abyssals countercharge Hrimm, and bring him to 10 damage. I spend 4 Swords on the rerolls for Regeneration, and do go from 13 to 7 to 3 damage. That felt really good.

I don't know what to do with the Imps. They aren't able to get in against Hrimm, so they pivot and move forward. If the horde survives again, I might be able to block or something? This unit was not used well this game. I think 

I am short on Inspiring sources, so the Abyssal Champ charges the Ice Blade, with the Nagarri making a hindered charge. I use a sword to reroll a damage from the Champ, but it fizzles as all the eventual hits connect anyways. We are able to bring the berserker up to 11 damage, and do get the rout. Victorious, the Champ sidesteps 2" towards the center line, and the Nagarri overrun 1", and are still stuck on the obstacle. 

The Molochs are fighting an injured unit of Dwarfs. The horde lands 10 damage, and will rout them. I need 2" if I want to back up and get the Prime into front arc, and decide that it is just safer to change facing a bit. This gets the Prime into my front, and I am still threatening the Naiad horde.

A powerful bunch of regeneration rolls.

Centrally, we measure, and due to other units, if the Lower Abyssals counter-charge the Dwarfs, the Naiads are still in front arc, so that's what we do. The Dwarfs are fresh, but the Abyssals land 4 damage, but the regiment is found to be insane. They weren't in danger of routing, but yeah, they stick around.

I want to try and hurt the Prime, but can't really do anything. Sending the Champ to fight the elf berserker and Inspire that flank seemed like a better call, and I don't like the idea of sending in Zaz, with no CS at all. If Zaz goes in, then I also can't multi-charge the Snow Troll Prime unit, due to the huge frontage of the Nagarri.

So, the Nagarri and the Molochs make hindered charges into the Primes. Each unit started at 4 damage, and dutifully regenerate down to 2 thanks to the aura. Zazz moves up and pivots. He Betrays the Nagarri for 1 extra die to Bane Chant the Molochs, and brings the Nagarri back up to 4 damage.

The Molochs land 9 damage, and the Nagarri contribute 2, all in the ballpark of reasonableness for damage output. They're at 11, I have Brutal, but they are Inspired, and the second check just wavers them, which seals my doom.

Bottom of Round 4: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 3 Swords for his Command Dice.

Both Frostclaw units take the flank into the Molochs. I thought they had TC1, but it's TC2, so they're hitting harder than most knight units, given the number of attacks they have. The Molochs are devastated and routed.

The Frostclaws descend. Ouch.

The wavering Snow Trolls have the Chalice, and they and the Prime will charge the Nagarri, and devastate and rout them as well, as is proper. 

Big losses for the Abyssals, and big reforms for the Northern Alliance.

+wThe Dwarf Clansmen disengage and back up. I think the Swords are used for Tactical Retreat to get the Naiads back a bit over 3" and get the Molochs into their front arc. Terrain stops you from moving at the double, so this made sense to us. 

Hrimm is fighting atop the pile again, and takes another token. This time the and the Trolls are joined by the Prime with the Wand, bring the horde from 3 to 19, and get the rout.

The Abyssals throw in the towel.

And that's game! I don't see a way back, and with rain and sleet forecasted for my drive home, I choose to concede.

Game Conclusions

The scenario was neat! It was my first go at it, and I stumbled a bit. Picking up the Loot Tokens seems hard to do, unless you end up fighting for a few turns atop them, like my opponent did. Very neat to see how that unfolded this game, and I think I need to figure out a way to threaten the piles earlier than I did here the next time I play.

I didn't deploy the best, but given the general unit match-ups across the table, I still thought I had a fighting chance at this. Unfortunately the Manifestation seriously biffed it, failing incredibly hard while the flying Ice Blade did exceptionally well, and this large asymmetry in the early game quickly swung things firmly into favoring the Northern Alliance. I stumbled a bit trying to scrap my way back into the game, and just could not get there.

Testing Conclusions

• Lower Abyssals with two Handers. They rolled really well against Hrimm, and as infantry, were a good unit to throw at the Giant and stymie his slaying abilities and keep him away from the Molochs. Unfortunately the Giant was supported, and with help, eventually won that particular brawl. As-theorized, hitting on a 5+ is a big nerf for this smashy unit, and the predicted 3-4 damage just won't win grinds.
• Lower Abyssals with Shields. Newcomers! I deployed them poorly given the scenario, but as-theorized, this unit did a little better than the smashy version, as it just needed to hold. Still, it's a unit with stats that skew toward the "trash" end (towards Zombies, Skeletons, Scarecrows, etc.) for a hefty points increase, due to regeneration. I think with shields is probably the way to run Lower Abyssals now, but this still just felt bad.
• Gargoyles. They did ok? One died blocking for Molochs and the other did technically slow down the killing spree of the Ice Blade. I would rather be using these to protect a position, but given that I was on the back-foot, these did ok.
• Molochs. As we have seen from the Herd's Guardian Brutes, Def4 can be really rough on your expensive hammers. It was neat to see them on the table again! I do think the upgrade is essential though, as Brutal is handy, and Vicious is great with those crushing attacks. As the only hammers in this list, I think I needed to invest more in Bane Chant to help them out. They need to break the unit they are fighting, given their lower defense.
• Imps. Furious chaff, a scoring unit, and low cost are all big plusses, and I still think they have potential. With Command Orders and random Fireballs possible, I think they are even more attractive. However, I used these poorly overall, and they gummed up my movement. You need to be very cognizant of their low speed. I should look to Orc lists and Orclings for tips. 
• Nagarri. I think my approach of using it as a second-line supporting unit is the right call given the stats, but they felt like dead weight. It needs to be doing something else besides the bubble to be worthwhile I think, otherwise it just feels like a 160 point upgrade or tax.  
• Abyssal Champion. The champs were neat to see on the table again, and Lightning Bolt 5 gives them some nice utility. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to focus my Lighting as much as I would have liked, and just the two of them wasn't able to pressure enough. Conversely, Hex and a duelist was a lot of pressure for them, and I didn't make the best decisions.
• Efreet. We'll shun him! I knew there was a flying assassin, but I was mostly concerned with the Frostclaws over there on the left. Wild Charge (and getting the maximum 3 inches on it) made the difference for the flying Blade, and really opened the game up for my opponent. This was a great use of a flying assassin character, and a cautionary tale of just running an extra individual these days, as triple attacks via Duelist is quite strong!
• Zaz the Betrayer. I did ok with the Betrayal rule, but his utility seemed to fall off as the game progressed. I still think he has potential, and generally pairs nicely with the Manifestation, but he requires a bit more finesse than I brought this game.
• Manifestation of Ba’el. Another unit with a lot of potential, but apparently absolutely no luck this game! I used him about as well as I could have I think, even getting use out of the revised From the Pit, but the early lightning didn't pay off enough, and he was thumped in a combat he should have survived.
• Command Orders. Overall, I think I made good use of the Orders this game, squeezing out little advantages here and there, especially in the early game with the Far Spell. I still think that the Abyssals have some decent army-specific Orders, but more testing is needed to see how one gets the most use out of them. 
• Command Dice. I had some good successes this game, and throwing more dice at this rather than more quality dice felt better? I still think 20 points is probably all I want to spend on extra dice though, since Orders are one-use. Again, more testing is needed, and I still want to get through a few games with the rest of my armies before forming too strong an opinion on this.

These are always very insightful games, and win or lose it is always a pleasure to be playing against Trevor! I'm very glad we could fit this in!

Hobby Update: Great Chieftain with the Horn

 Up now is a new hero for the Herd, a Great Chieftain with the Horn of Migration!

In profile. I might try to highlight the horn at some point.

I’ve enjoyed trying to learn the Herd, but they remain a very tricky army to play. One of the hurdles for the army has been my sources of Inspiration. In some of the more recent games, I was a little flummoxed by my rather uniform Speed 6 and inability to advantageously start fights against other similarly-speeded units. I had this conversion idea kicking around for many months, so I decided to hobby him up, and then pop outside on a calm but chilly November day to prime him.

The conversion was done in conjunction with the recent Flaxhoof miniature, though done several weeks after I had already finished up the centaur. The centaur had an RGD Centaur for the horse part, and the upper body of a Warhammer Gor for the human part, meaning I still had the lower Gor body to work with. I had bought a bunch of Warhammer Forsaken bits as 8th Edition and the End Time occurred, and had some leftover torsos. I sanded down the armor so it looked less mutated, and then shoved some green stuff into the gaps, to make it easier to glue on other bits. I used a Bestigor head, Gor arm, and a Marauder Horsemen musician arm for the horn. A few other bits added here and there, and we’re all set.

Another profile.

The posing was certainly difficult though! The torso cut with the leg positioning and the horn all proved more extreme than I had thought, so I added some sprue bits to the base so the hoof could connect at and angle and the figure could be more vertical. The priming was white (out of everything else, apparently), but got the usual coloring, including the Marid Blue. 

On the table, the normal Chieftain looks a bit underwhelming. He seems based off of the Kingdoms of Men General on foot, a hero that doesn’t see much play. For 10 extra points, he gets an extra Speed, TC1, and Pathfinder though, which isn’t bad. The issue is that’s he’s a melee individual hero, and at 12/14, if you send him in with the wrong multi-charge, he could be speed-bumped as your opponent countercharges and then overruns into your fighting unit. Melee individuals are risky!

From the front.

The unique Horn increases his cost, but somewhat mitigates that risk, nudging him into more of a supporting roll with both the Dread and Wild Charge Auras. He can still fight, but doesn’t need to, if you are worried about reprisals. The latter should help my Speed 6 stuff start fights just a little better once stuff like the Centaur Striders are gone, and Dread should help me break units. The only bummer is that the Guardian Brutes, my typical hammers, have Brutal, so it may behoove me to put the Chieftain with other units. We’ll see how it all shakes out. 

After running a number of unwieldy lists that over-invested into aspects of the Herd to really test those things out, I’m ready to reorient and try some more balanced and thoughtful approaches to the army. The Chieftain here, along with Flaxhoof should provide some neat avenues of play, and I look forward to testing them out soon!

Hobby Update: Lower Abyssals with Shields

Up now is a second horde of Lower Abyssals, this time with shields!

The horde, stretching the limits of my little light box.

I avoided Lower Abyssals for a long time. I stared the Abyssals back in 2018 (first units here), porting over a lot of Warhammer Fantasy stuff iwnto Kings of War, as well as odds and ends from other ranges for characters and such. I didn't even play a game with the army until 2022, when I was getting out of Covid isolations and started playing games with Trevor of Data and Dice. Gaming fueled hobbying, but preferred Flamebearers, but eventually the first regiment of proper Lower Abyssals was done up in September of 2022 (link here), taking smashy weapons. I wanted to do up additional units of Lower Abyssals, but I wanted uniformity to the units - not the mess of tridents and whips and stuff that came with the kit. I wanted Lower Abyssals with swords and shields, but didn't like the shields in the kit, and needed more swords too. The kit only comes with one of the big axes per sprue, so I needed more boxes, and the one regiment was all I was going to get to without additional purchases.

I tried a lot of what I would call MMU play, and while I wanted additional units just to check them off, I needed bits, and lacked the motivation to buy more boxes and hobby up any hordes, until inspiration struck over the summer after the doubles tournament, where my partner was also running Abyssals, but in a way very different to my approach. Motivated, I bought the last box I needed, and got to work, finishing the second regiment of smashy Abyssals in July, 2024 (link here).

I now had enough bodies and weapon bits for the second horde (plus some additional bodies), but I still needed shields that I liked. Fortunately, I finally found some in the Oathmark Skeleton box, so I started on this horde with swords and shields over the summer.

A regiment's worth.

Hobby-wise, we've already covered the gist of these. The minis are Mantic, all using the left handed broken swords from the kit, and shields from the Oathmark Skeleton box. The bases are the same rocks and lava which is a base of Deathclaw Brown for the edges, layered up with more and more vibrant yellows. The minis got some old Pink Horror skin, and then a variety of metallics. The only notable change to the paints here was using a darker Warplock Bronze on the shields. The horns and bone bits were Ushabti Bone with a brown wash, and then since I didn't overdo it with the wash, I actually tried highlights on the bone, running some Screaming Skull along the edges of the boney bits. 

My hobbying is usually pretty rough and basic; I do what I can, and get everything to about the same level of goodness. I don't attempt techniques like this often, but I do like how these turned out. One advantage of my "good enough for now" approach to painting, is that I can go back and do touchups later, as my skills improve. I might (slowly) touchup the rest of the Flamebearers and Lower Abyssals down the road. We shall see.

The other regiment.

Crunch-wise, the Clash 2025 refresh for the Forces of the Abyss brought some big changes to the Lower Abyssals. Essentially, their unit entry got rolled up with the weaker Abyssal Ghouls, and so while they got a points discount, they are now hitting on a 5+ in Melee.

My gut says this is a pretty crippling nerf to the smashy option but a boon to the shielded option, as they are primarily around to just hold the line, and the price decrease will be welcome and worthwhile, but especially with the new Nagarri units around, we could be surprised at which horde is actually more effective overall. Testing is needed! I’m looking forward to getting both of the hordes on the table sometime to compare and contrast.

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #101 Abyssals vs Halflings in Plunder

Intro and Lists

I was fortunate enough to attend a recent weekend meetup, getting in a game in against Rob and his Ravenous Halflings. He had recently attended the Renegade GT, I believe taking 5th place, and was continuing to play around with his standard list in advance of the first-ever Northwoods GT coming up in January, and facilitated by our local Mantic Pathfinder. Rob brought the following:

Much of the core list and concept remains the same, though he continues to iterate. Leading, as-ever, is the dynamic duo of the Muster Captain and his Strider Aura, and Sauceror and her variable auras, the upgraded Iron Beast, and the upgraded Stalwart Horde known as the Heroes of Hodenburg, now with the Brew of Strength. Double Poachers, Grenadiers, Harvesters, and Juggers returned, along with some Wild Runners with guns. His thing to test was a mounted Feast Master to hunt characters. I was recently informed that there was an errata so that the Scythe and similar items doesn't work on attacks with an explicit, separate attack value, so I pointed it out and we discussed before hand. This can be found on Mantic's website. There are three FAQ/Errata docs, and two erroneously share a link name, so you do have to do some digging to get there, unfortunately. Still, I think Duelist could be nice, and Rampage should still trigger in Melee, so we'll see what the Feast Master can add to an already scary list.

I brought the Abyssals. I am not going to bring them to the GT, but I wanted to get going on some games to explore the Clash 2025 refresh for the army. Regeneration is the name of the game here, and I am leaning into both Fearless and MMU play, hoping that I can stick around after getting charged, regenerate, and then strike back. Up to test are:

• Quad Abyssal Guard with two-handers and Rally. I’ve enjoyed a regiment here and there previously, as Fearless is great and really works nicely with their Regen. The recent Clash update gives them Rally for other lesser Abyssals, which is a little reminiscent a little bit of the Herd’s Longhorns, and seems worth exploring, if only for the sake of comparison and curiosity, so we’re bringing out the lot of them to see how a line of these do.
• Gargoyles. Great chaff, but my only chaff in this case, so we’ll see what they can accomplish. 
• Abyssal Horsemen. I have never gotten these to work for me. They always seem to catch a couple points of damage on the approach, waver, not regenerate anything, and die without accomplishing too much. The recent Clash update gives them Fearless though, which is an amazing buff, so we’ll try them out. 
• Tortured Souls. They have decent threat range, and Fearless can help then hold up units when they shouldn’t. They don’t Regenerate, but they’ve been great instigators, so I wanted to take at least 2. 
• Abyssal Nagarri. The newcomers! (Hobby post with more thoughts can be found here.) The Abyssals got several new units with the Clash rework, and this looks like the most interesting, as any nearby units with Regeneration get that bumped up to Regeneration 4+. The rest of it’s stats stink though, so it will need to be protected, and run as a second line. We’ll try that approach, and see how the Regeneration 4+ Bubble feels.
• Chroneas. The Chroneas has been a solid pick again and again. Once again we have a Fearless unit, it has good CS and Strider, and can help to heal stuff with Temporal Ruptures, or try to grind with Cloak of Death. 
• Basic Abyssal Harbinger. He’s usually got the Lute, but I dropped that in favor of trying out some Command Dice for the Abyssals. I like my ASB-like units to do something besides inspire, and the Harbinger actually has 18” Firebolts, so we’ll see if that feels like enough.
• Abyssal Warlocks with Drain Life. I have only run these a few times before, but like their concept. I’m playing around with Regeneration in the list, so wanted to double down on them, and take Drain Life as well. Hopefully Regeneration and DL will help keep my Fearless Abyssal Guard fighting for longer.
• Despoiler Champion. I like my old mini, but an uninspiring guy just to instigate hasn’t been a good use of points previously. The Clash rework gave him Inspiring though, and he comes with Regeneration, so we’ll get him on the table again and see how he does.
• Command Orders. I am trying to get 1-2 games in with every main army of mine before forming any strong opinions on this divisive new optional rule. Unlike a lot of my armies, the Abyssals actually have decent orders (Fireball 8 and reroll Regeneration for a unit).
• Command Dice. My tests so far have just used the baseline dice. I can only use the orders on a single unit, but since I want to test out Regeneration, I bought an additional white dice to try and more consistently get that order off.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer's Realm in New Berlin, a fantastic little shop that I haven't been to in ages. They have a wide selection of games and an awesome little consignment area. They do have an assortment of terrain and mats, but in advance of the GT, our TO and local Mantic Pathfinder wanted to use his and get a little playtesting in to see how durable and readable everything was. The GT was going to have a terrain schtick, with more woods and/or hills per table, maybe or maybe not replacing other terrain features, so we wanted to get some testing in here too, to see what felt like a playable but thematic balance for the terrain.

We were using our typical terrain rules, running the big rocky tree line on left the and rocks on the right as Height 9 blocking terrain, the three forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, literal sticks as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the field as Height 0. 

We rolled up Plunder for our scenario. Five grabbable Loot Tokens are lined up in the middle of the board in no-mans-land. Each token is worth 1 Point to start, and we each upgrade a token to be worth 2 Points, so we are fighting over 7 Points-worth of stuff for the game.

Set-up. The far-left and center token will each be worth 2 Points.

The halflings saved their Juggers for late, as is their usual approach. Left-to-right we had Juggers, Grenadiers, Juggers, Stalwart troop in the woods with the Must Captain behind, the Iron Beast, the horde of Heroic Stalwarts with the Sauceror behind, both Harvesters, the other Stalwart troop, and the Feastmaster. The Poachers deployed behind the hill, ready to scout, and the far right had the Runners with guns and the other Grenadier unit.

Deployment.

I haven't run the Abyssals in a long time, and wasn't entirely sure what to do with the list, so I tried for a strong center to play with the Regeneration 4 bubble. With the big impassible terrain on the left, I wanted to push out from there. Left-to-right for me we have angled Abyssal Guard with a supporting Despoiler Champ and Gargoyles in reserve. In the woods are Tortured Souls and the Chroneas. The center had Abyssal Horsemen with the Harbinger behind, and then triple Abyssal Guard with the Nagarri and a Warlock behind. The other woods had the other Warlock and other Chroneas, and my earliest drops were out on the far right, with Tortured Souls and reserve Gargoyles. While I would love to run around and grab tokens with the Gargoyles, against this army, I felt like the Gargoyles must be sacrificial chaff, and so wanted to keep them back a bit.

 

Scout moves.

For Scout moves, the Poachers took the hill, getting a majority of their bases onto it. The Halflings then won the roll for turn order, and opted to go first.

Top of Round 1: Halflings

The Halflings spent 20 points to purchase 2 Red Command Dice for the game. For Round 1, they get 6 swords to play with, and the Sauceror gets Rally 1.

The Halflings are already setting some traps.

Out on the left, the Grenadiers make use of the big blocking terrain, hopping up to grab the 2 Pointer here right away. After some measuring, we determine the Despoiler Champ will have a charge next turn, so the Grenadiers turn to face, and set up some threatening reprisals with the Juggers.

The center pushes up, cautiously. 

Everything else stayed out of charge range. Centrally, the Harvesters motored around the hill. The Nearest one gets the Silent Feet order for Stealthy, and the other two swords are spent on rerolls for some of the ranged units. I will note / commend Rob for his game aids. These little laminated blurbs were really slick and really seemed to help keep track of everything Order-related.

Strong shooting from the Halflings!

The Poachers scouted into the hill, and getting first turn, they were able to take advantage of the extra height, and shoot without penalty into my Gargoyles, dealing 8 damage and will pick them up. The Wild Runners and their guns positioned to safely unload into the Tortured Souls, landing a hot 6 damage, roughly twice what should be expected.

Bottom of Round 1: Abyssals

I spent 20 points on Command Dice as well, buying a White die. I roll up 3 swords for Round 1.

On the right, the Tortured Souls don't have any charges, and can't back their way out of this. If I back up, I'm just getting shot at again. With hot shooting in Round 1, the only real play is to try and stall for time. They move and pivot, getting behind the blocking rocks. I spend 2 points on Endurance, and one on a reroll to hit for a Warlock.

Positioning on the right.

Nearby, the Chroneas moves up. The forest slows her down. The Guard-heavy center moves up, screened largely by the hill from the Harvesters. The Warlocks keep pace, and fling into the Stalwart troop, landing 3 damage, and getting a surprise waver!

Positioning in the center.

The Nagarri are a new unit. I want to make sure their leader point is in between the Guard units so that they can see and maybe charge stuff, but with the very wide frontage, they hang back in reserve so they'll hopefully have room to pivot. The horsemen move and pivot, and has a charge into the Heroic Stalwart Horde unless they move back. We'll see what other charge options pan out.

Positioning on the left.

Over on the left, I like my Despoiler Champion. I like that he Inspires now. I should deal with the Grenadiers and their token somehow before they lug it away, but I don't want to throw the Champ away to try and force the drop. Fortunately, the Tortured Souls over here also have a charge, so I use them instead. The Gargoyles fly up to screen, and the Champ and the Guard move up to assist. The Souls do best the Grenadiers, and change facing, 

Reforms for the Forces of the Abyss.

It's a big investment over here, both in terms of points and units, but I am feeling good about my chances overall? I am expecting to lose both fliers. But the Despoiler is nimble, and should be able to disorder one unit of Juggers while the Guard and Chroneas take the other. I think I can survive the counter-charges, even from the Iron Beast, and feel like I can win this flank.

Top of Round 2: Halflings

The Halflings roll up 5 swords for their Command Dice, and the Sauceror gets Rally 1.

On the left, the Halflings start with just a single Jugger charge into the Tortured Souls, but quickly decides to send both Juggers in to make sure the Tortured Souls are bested. This is wise from my opponent, as they are Fearless, and could contribute a lot if they stick around. The Juggers will bring the Souls to 19 damage, and will indeed get the rout, secure the token, and make some reforms.

Victorious reforms from the Halflings.

The Muster Captain is over here, and his Strider aura applies to the Stalwarts as they run out to charge the Gargoyles. Three damage is done, and the Gargoyles ... Waver, thanks to the Inspiring of the Despoiler Champion.

The Halflings tidy-up their line.

With Rally, the Halflings don't have many charges. I think the Harvester was in against the Guard on the right, but the Poachers choose to shoot at them instead, along with the Runners. Eight damage is done, but the Guard hold, thanks to Fearless. 

The Feastmaster moves up, and is given the Sneaky Feet Order for Stealthy, making him very unattractive for my shooting, and the Runners get a reroll.

Positioning for the Halflings.

On the right, the Grenadiers don't have a charge, but nimbly fly up and pivot to say hello to the Tortured Souls.

Bottom of Round 2: Abyssals

I roll up 5 swords for my Command Dice, and will have some big decisions to make this turn, essentially to try and deal with either the right or left flanks.

I go with what I'll call Option 1, and I decide to work on the right flank. The Tortured Souls are injured, but are Fearless, and could potentially get the upper hand out here. They turn, and I spend 4 swords for a Fireball into the Grenadiers, who do not have Spellward. Just 1 damage is done, and even with Shattering, the Nerve check is low, and they stick around. I was hoping for a  waver, or at least more damage to try any pick these up later in the game.

Positioning on the right.

The Chroneas moves up to threaten both Poachers on the hill, as well as the Wild Runners. My last sword is spent on a hit reroll for a Warlock, and they both toss Firebolts into the cavalry. Five damage hits, and I get a waver on them.

Charges in the center.

The maimed Guard take the charge into the Harvester and land a strong 4 damage. The goal is to take up space, grind and see if Regeneration can work out for the new Abyssals. They started on 8 damage, and do regenerate down to 4, so, so-far, so-good!

The central Guard unit peels off to try and protect the flank of the push, and they should have a few charges next turn.

The Nagarri get their leader point onto the hill to see things and to keep the Regeneration 4 bubble nice and central. 

The Horsemen have a charge into the Stalwart Horde, and I opt to take it to try and grind. I am not expecting to move the horde, but I still only deal 5 damage. It's a close call when we go to measure, and this does not go my way, and the Iron Beast is in the flank of the Horsemen 

The still-messy left.

On the left was a mess, and my potential Option 2. The gap between the Gargoyles and blocking terrain is 40 some millimeters. I could have spent all 5 swords on Stubborn to remove Wavering from the Gargoyles. They can't back up as they will land atop other units, but they could have moved sideways, allowing the Despoiler Champion to nimbly charge the rear unit, and get the Abyssal Guard in against the Stalwarts (they weren't going to fit through to get in against the other Juggers). Ultimately I choose no to do this. I can't disorder the second Jugger unit, and think I need both disordered if I have a chance of grinding, so I hold.

We measure, and the Chroneas is just barely in the front of the Stalwart troop, so this doesn't go my way. It's still a mess here. The Gargoyles regenerate 1 damage, getting down to 2, and then the Chroneas moves up to dare charges, and the the rest of the units hold.

Top of Round 3: Halflings

The Halflings get Lileleech 2 from the Sauceror, and a staggering 8 on their Command Dice.

With the Abyssals failing to do anything on the left, the Halflings look to press their advantages. The unit closer to the center of the table has the token, and needs to drop it in order to nimble back up and get out of range of the Chroneas. The other Juggers maneuver around to make future positioning  even more difficult, and the Stalwarts go back into the Gargoyles, dealing 2, who are the found to be quite Insane. Great performance, wrong time!

Already some huge charges in Round 3.

My opponent isn't inclined to let me really test out regeneration! Command Dice are spent on Endurance and some rerolls in the center, with 4 swords remaining. Movement is ridiculous, but it does appear that the Harvester can actually shoot the gap and hit the Nagarri with a single pivot, so the contraption lurches forward. It's a clean charge, and the Harvester even picks up the 2-Point token on the hill out here. A total of 6 damage lands, plus Brutal, and the Nagarri are trounced with a pair of good checks. No more testing for them this game!

Positioning on the left and in the center.

The Iron Beast goes into the flank of the Horsemen. It only rolls up 1 extra attack, so it's the best possible situation for me, but the cavalry are still brought up to 16 damage and routed. Victorious, the Stalwarts back up an inch, and the Iron Beast swings to face the front.

The other Harvester counter-charges the Guard, joined by the Stalwart troop. They started on 4 damage, and are brought to 10, with Brutal. They are rallied, but two more good checks see the unit off as well.

The rest of the Command Dice successes were spent on Low Blows for the Grenadiers, giving them TC. They charge in, land some damage, get Brutal 2, and the Tortured Souls are obliterated.

The Grenadiers get into the backfield.

The Feastmaster charges a Warlock, landing 3 damage, and getting a disorder. I remind him that the wavering Runner can still back up, and then do so to escape the Chroneas. The threatened Poachers back up as well, and they forget to fire. That error is a plus, but the game is basically over already.

Bottom of Round 3: Abyssals

I roll up 3 swords for my Command Dice. 

The Warlock fighting the Feastmaster should be safe from the Grenadiers due to the intervening woods blocking line of sight, and not knowing what else to do, I just charge back at him. I find out that Warlocks have Regeneration, but don't roll any successes. Wanting to delay here, I spend 2 on Endurance, to get the heal.

Movement on the right.

The Chroneas here has no charges, and so just moves to grab a token while threatening both Poachers and the Wild Runners again. The other Warlock gets an accuracy reroll, and moves and Firebolts the departing Wild Runners, landing 2 to take them to 7 damage total, and I do pick the unit up.

Least bad options at this point.

The center is toast. The least bad charge is the Guard into the Heroic Stalwart horde. Rampage triggers from the Harbinger. The horde took a little damage, Lifeleeched some back, and end the turn at 9 damage, and completely unbothered. The only plus is that the Guard here are Inspired and relatively safe, so still might be able to do something to help out.

The other Guard unit charges the Stalwart troop that took the early damage and the early waver. They take 1 from Cloak of Death from the Chroneas, and this Guard unit does 3 damage to take them to 7 total, but it's a troop, and I luckily am able to pick them up and reform, to fit both Harvesters in the front.

The Chroneas tries to unstick the left flank.

Out on the left, the insane Gargoyles regenerate 1. They countercharge, with the Chroneas hitting the flank, devastating the unit and routing it, and then healing the Gargoyles completely with Temporal Ruptures. Unfortunately, things are still gummed up for reforms, but the Iron Beast isn't looking at us, so there's a chance. The Chroneas victoriously backs up to grab a token, and the Gargoyles overrun to make things messy for the Juggers. 

That's a great overrun!

I've lost a lot and the Regeneration testing is out the window as well. The hope now is to lose the center and scrap on the flanks and see what the Forces of the Abyssal can throw together.

Top of Round 4: Halflings

The Halflings roll up 7 swords on their Command Dice, and get Brutal 2 for the Sauceror's aura.

The Juggers are in the front of the Chroneas, but can't connect on that face or align, and cannot glitch through the Gargoyles. We questioned that at the time, and my brain has been mush lately, but we did rule that correctly. Additionally the other Juggers can't sneak past to get the Despoiler Champ either. It's Gargoyles or nothing, so good job, chaff. The left is actually looking ok? 

Yeah, that was a good overrun.

The Halflings opt for nothing. The Muster Captain charges the Gargoyles, takes a Strength reroll, lands 4 damage, and finally removes them. The Muster Captain overruns to help block out the Chroneas. 

The Juggers near the block hedge back up, and with the Muster Captain overrunning, are safe from the Abyssals thus turn, as the Chroneas will need to pivot early to avoid the Captain, and then miss the Juggers entirely.

The Halflings start to constrict the remaining Abyssals.

Centrally, the Iron Beast moves up and pivots, to crush my hopes on the left. This movement gives the other Juggers on the left line of sight to the Abyssal Guard fighting the Heroic Stalwarts. A striding flank charge from the Juggers with the horde in the front will pick this regiment up.

The Harvesters both go into the last regiment of Abyssal Guard, and will devastate and rout it, with the damaged one getting an Endurance heal. Both will sidestep in victory, and both will get onto the hill, threatening some Thunderous Charges next turn.

The Harbinger's day is looking more terrible by the minute.

Some Poachers get the Low Blows order, gaining TC1, and both spring forth from behind the hill's crest in a charge into the Chroneas, and will land a combined 8 damage, unfortunately a bit above the expected results. Despite not shooting for a round, they have had a decent game shooting stuff and pulling me out of position.

Some good melees this turn. 

With some more good dice, the Feastmaster lands all 5 possible damage into the Warlock, and wavers him. I have Fury (and Regen), but this is some good damage from these units.

The Grenadiers head off to do Grenadier things.

The Grenadiers start wheeling around to go pick up the token on the far right in the coming turns.

Bottom of Round 4: Abyssals

We've both invested 20 points for additional dice. I don't know if anyone has mathed out optimal dice buys yet? I roll up 5 swords for my command dice this turn, and because I am tallying things for the report, I can say that I'm trailing behind by 9 successes in the head-to-head! Command Points aren't everything though, and I'm still fighting on.

On the right, the Chroneas countercharges the outer Poachers, as I am trying to escape the Harvesters. The Warlock moves and casts a Drain Life into the Poachers, trying to prop up the Chroneas. I believe I rolled this wrong. If memory serves, I was hitting on 5's, but I think Spellward and Stealthy should be stacking, and this should be a poor play. A charge from the Warlock would have been the better play I think. Anyways, the magic dice are underwhelming all the same, and I deal just 1 damage, and just heal the Chroneas down to 7 damage. 

The Abyssals continue to try to play for the tokens on the right.

Cloak of Death triggers, Drain Life hit for 1, and the monster rolls decently to take them up to 9 damage, but the Feast Master is just in range to keep the around, but wavered. The Warlock fighting the Feast Master is out of range for the Temporal Ruptures, regenerates nothing. He furiously counter-charged the Feast Master, but only landed 1 damage, and the Halfling hero is unbothered.

Not even least bad plays open anymore. I'm running out of units!

The center just has my Harbinger, who backs up, and tries a Firebolt into the Juggers. I land 1 damage, which is immediately Iron Resolved off.

The left is still a mess, as both Juggers are healthy. The Despoiler Champ runs up to grab the two pointer and force a decision. The Chroneas has only one charge, and takes it, into the Muster Captain, landing 4 damage, and just getting a waver. 

I would like to protect the Chroneas with the Abyssal Guard, but I do not have the inches to move, and so I need to charge something, and can only just reach the Iron Beast, shuffling down to hit the obstacle, and make it a hindered charge. Still the Guard land a crazy 4 damage. The output is great, but it's too little too late and I don't think I have the units to win unless I get very lucky.

Top of Round 5: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Wild Charge 3, and the Halflings get on my level, rolling 3 swords for their Command Dice this turn.

The Juggers charge the Despoiler Champ, beat him up and take his 2-pointer. The Muster captain holds, and the other Juggers make a hindered rear charge into the Chroneas. The dice tracker says 5... I don't think we tripled these attacks! Expected damage should be 12. 

Final positioning for the Halflings in Round 5.

The Iron Beast counter-charges the last Abyssal Guard unit, and lands 6. Even uninspired, the Guard holds firm.

The Saucer's Wild Charge Aura lets the Heroic Stalwart horde reach the Harbinger with a charge and slay him. The Harbinger has my additional Command Dice, so I'll be back to the baseline dice on my next turn.

Mid-movement in the top of Round 5.

Out on the left, the wavering Poachers withdraw and back up their maximum, allowing the remaining Poachers to flank the Chroneas with a Harvester off the hill. 

The Feastmaster withdraws from his warlock fight to fight the other Warlock, lands 3 damage, and even gets the Waver. The hope was to threaten the Grenadiers with this Warlock next turn, so there goes that plan. Speaking of, the Halflings and their jetpacks do zip up to grab this token.

And final positioning on the right for the Halflings in Round 5.

The other Harvester flank charges the other Warlock, and will pick him up.

My opponent does pass the turn, but I haven't got a prayer anymore, and concede.

A victory to the Halflings!

Game Conclusion

I won’t dwell on the details here. I am certainly a bit rusty with the Abyssals, but I also feel like the biggest mistakes this game were made during list-building. The Halflings play a very dynamic game, and could out shoot me; charge further, and a few Def6 units proved to be better at grinding than MMU Regeneration. It was a tough match, but I put up a fight and learned a lot.

Testing Conclusions

• Quad Abyssal Guard with two-handers and Rally. I think four regiments with CS was a bit unwieldy, but I had to test it out! With regimental play, I needed these to hold just a little better, and essentially needed to be lucky. I continue to like the concept of Rally, but it continues to feel not very impactful, with close odd continually breaking away from me. These were Def4 though, so a bit more likely to accrue damage. I think a few (say, two) units of Def5 will be more fruitful at holding, supporting, and playing around with Regeneration builds. I think CS Guard have a place, but more as a second-line unit. 
• Gargoyles. One was shot off due to the Halflings getting first turn, and I had a love // hate relationship with the other. It was fun to see it scrap and survive, but I would have liked to have seen how the piece trading went had they routed initially, like I had planned on. With them holding, I did a bad job at adjusting, just freezing everything in place, and I think that’s a hole in my play. Having a plan and it being delayed isn’t great, and instead of freezing I should still be looking to adjust things, like sidestepping the Despoiler Champ for better future angles and stuff.
• Abyssal Horsemen. The Horsemen demonstrated another hole in my play, reminding me of why these haven’t really worked out for me before. True, previously they would get shot at and wavered, but when they did get the charge, they were often isolated, like they were here. If I run these, I need to be running more speedier elements with them (more Gargoyles, Tortured Souls, even grounded Abyssal Fiends) so that these don’t turn into the Light Brigade. I was hoping to start a piece trade, grind, and test regeneration on them this game, but an unsupported charge was a bad plan.
• Tortured Souls. I still like them, and they are still good at starting fights and holding things up and taking a bit more to remove than one would think. I think deploying on the flank was a bit of an error, given how mobile I know the Halflings can be. 
• Abyssal Nagarri. These got really unlucky with an weird charge, hot dice, and a pair of good Nerve checks. I think running them as a second line was the right call though, and my analysis in their hobby update was generally correct. Their stats are not great, they aren’t going to fight or grind well typically, and the only reason to take them is to play around with the Regen 4 bubble. 
• Chroneas. Against the mobile Halflings, I couldn’t really support them as well as I would have liked to. They quirky are expensive, but I still like them.
• Basic Abyssal Harbinger. As my ASB-equivalent, he sort of did stuff, but going up against Def5 and Def6, I was really missing his usual Lute. Wanting to get the Warlocks close testing out Drain Life, I also didn’t position him well to make use of his aura for the Abyssal Guard. The basic Harbinger can be useful, but I think the Abyssals will probably want to get a little more out of their heroic slots.
• Abyssal Warlocks with Drain Life. Their basic Firebolts were more attractive than the spell, due not only to Spellward in this particular matchup, but also the spell’s short range. I was moving and Firebolting in the early game, making it harder to get in and cast the spell when the combats started. The extra attacks and scoring potential make the basic Warlock more attractive than the Basic Harbinger… but a basic Warlock feels wasteful. Spellcaster 2 is a nice starting point for Arcane Knowledge spells, and could be a good avenue to explore in future lists. I like the Warlock. I think there is a lot of potential here, and will be playing around with him more for sure.
• Despoiler Champion. Getting Inspiring from the rework is great, as another scoring source of Inspiring is always fun to have. He had a tough game though, and didn’t get to fight anything. More testing is needed!
• Command Orders. The Abyssals have some decent orders, but I couldn’t really get them going this game. Rerolling Regen wasn’t great since my regiments kept getting bested; and Fireballs didn’t really work well against the innate Spellward on many of the Halfling units.
• Command Dice. We each purchased additional dice, but the success discrepancy was massive. I don’t know if anyone has mathed out the best buys for additional dice yet, or if I was just really unlucky here.

Rob and his Ravenous Halflings are always great to see across the table. He’s a strong player with a strong list, and although I’m usually running something silly and know I have a tough game ahead of me, it’s always a pleasure as the games are so dynamic and I learn a lot. Thanks for the game!