Kings of War 3rd Edition: #053 Abyssals vs Abyssals [Invade]

I achieved a blog first the other day with an actual mirror army match-up between the evil Forces of the Abyss and the evil Forces of the Abyss! What was supposed to be a friendly sporting event out on a grassy field far from the chasm of the Abyss devolved into vicious blows over who would wear the coveted Abyssal Red. It happens! Opposing me was SquirminVermin from the wonderful Nerd’s Tale blog, running some recently painted Abyssals: 

His list had a lot of things that I had run myself and  liked, such as the Molochs, Warlocks, Seductress and Manifestation of Ba'el; it had a lot of things that I hadn't run yet but could appreciate like the Horde of Lower Abyssals , Legion of Larvae and the Hellhounds; and it had a few head scratchers for me, like the Fiendish Ambush Formation. Overall, his list looked good to me! It had some speedier hammers, a few hordes that I'll need to worry about, and had more of a focus on melee. So the report isn't too confusing, we'll call his list the War Pigs, in honor of his nicely painted horde.

And we'll call my Abyssals the Oathbreakers for the purpose of the report! My Abyssal list were aimed at exploring some “regiments-maximum” Multiple Small Units playstyle ideas of mine. The thinking is, since Kings of War gives a discount for running larger units, if regiments are the largest you can go, then running a lot of those particular regiments makes slightly more sense. Hopefully. Some of the recent Clash changes have even bolstered this idea of mine! The Abyssal Guards and both got cost decreases in Clash, and the Harbinger gained a Rampage 3 aura. All-in-all, Abyssal MSU seemed like a fun idea to explore again, so here is my newest attempt! A lot of these units have not only hit the table before, but even performed well, but up to evaluate is basically everything, since it’s been a while since I’ve run the Abyssals, and MSU can be a wonky lens to look at some units.

• Abyssal Guard with two handers. These have done ok in the past. They have good Nerve and Fearless has been great at allowing them to hold on to make use of Regeneration, but they’ve struggled a bit to deal sufficient damage against sturdier targets. We’ll see what support they can get this game, and if the Harbinger’s encouragement can help them slay anything.
• Flamebearers. The Flamebearers have been great, and are as close to a staple of my Abyssal play as my scatterbrained approach to playing allows. Three regiments has felt like a sweet spot in some of my other lists, so we'll start with that here as we explore some MSU again.
• Oathbreakers. These did not get a cost decrease, so may not be as good a relative buy these days, but with so much infantry around in the list already, I figured they should be looked at again. Rally has been a really hit-or-miss for me, but last game it saved my opponent from a blowout, so we’ll see how they do here. 
• Gargoyles. These have been fabulous in previous games, and are a lot of fun to use. I think my goal will be to not get into a Gargoyle-on-Gargoyle fight this game.
• Abyssal Horsemen. Stat-and-ability-wise, these had always seemed like a neat unit to me, but were just way too expensive for what they did, since they could break anything on their own, and had a hard time surviving anything hitting them in order to make use of their very expensive Regeneration rule. They recently got a cost decrease as well though, and with the beatings I’ve taken from the Abyssal Halfbreeds recently, I figured they deserved another try.
• Tortured Souls. I have struggled to use these well. Hitting on 4’s they don’t always have the best damage output, and lacking nimble, they aren’t great at flying around and flanking and causing my opponent headaches. This game, I want to focus on using them to just tank and delay scary things for me, and see how that works. Hopefully that approach gives my Flamebearers time to roast some opposing units.
• Abyssal Fiend. This has quickly become one of my favorite units, even if I can never quite remember Brutal! It’s got good stats and can contribute to both melee and ranged fights, making him a splendid addition to MSU specifically, and a great way to anchor a battle line generally. 
• Abyssal Harbinger. The main newcomer! Hobbied up long ago, we’re taking him with Lute of Eternal Darkness, because that’s my favorite way to run an ASB-equivalent unit. However, the main thing to explore today is his Aura. 
• Seductress with Enthrall and Periscope. It’s a little expensive, but I wanted to set up my sneaky Enthrall trick for potential first round Flamebearer shooting. I am not going to be gunning for first turn, but it's here if I need it. (Previously, many opponents have looked at my Flamebearers, and given me first turn, as with 18” range and a 5” move, I’d be at 23" and unable to hit anything. Enthrall can change that, as the Seductress should be able to pull something forward an inch or two to let a few Flamebearers shoot at it.) I only had 5 points at the end, so instead of a Gnome Glass Shield, I am giving the Periscope a try. Theoretically this should hopefully let her cast her spells and charge in to assassinate characters with a little more ease, but we'll see how it goes. 
• Despoiler Champion. He actually debuted long ago, but that was a particularly odd game, and like the Horsemen, I wanted to give him another chance. I considered giving him the War Bow to turning him into a tiny Abyssal Titan, but opted to run him without items for now. We’ll see what he gets up to this game on his own, and we can then theorize what might help him out in the future.

Kings of War has no shortage of armies, and while we’ve started to have adjacent armies squaring off in the blog before, this was my first mirror match-up. Even so, in a testament to the variety and balance of the game, we had very little overlap with our choices. With two very different approaches to the Forces of the Abyss hitting the table, things were going to be interesting! My opponent's list favored melee combat, so my Flamebearers would need to step it up in the early game before the battle lines closed!

Table and Terrain

We were back at a very pleasant shop in New Berlin. We used a mix of terrain, with some of his new buildings for blocking terrain, and some of my old stuff for the rest. We mostly used the typical terrain rules, with the buildings as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, stone fences as Height 2 Obstacles, the Hills as Height 3, and the graveyards as Height 1 Difficult Terrain. I won the roll off, picked the lazy gamer side, and we got down to it.

Deployment for the War Pigs.

My opponent ended up with the Molochs, the formation Succubi screening the Warlock named Dongculus, then the formation Flamebearers screening the Abyssal Guard (Royal Guard). Centrally we had the formation Lower Abyssals screening the Lower Abyssal Horde (War Pigs) with the Verminlord Warlock supporting. Out on the right, we had the Succubi Larvae, Seductress, Hellhounds, and Ma'su'su's Vile Brood screening the Manifestation of Ba'el.

My sparse right.

Opposing the Manifestation were some Gargoyles, Tortured Souls and Abyssal Horsemen. The Horsemen were my last drop, and after some indecision, I placed them just behind the Tortured Souls. I had no Inspiring out here, and figured layering might lead to more survivability for this delaying flank.

My stacked left.

The rest of my line was a Fiend to exploit a small gap behind the cottage, angled Abyssal Guard, Despoiler Champion, the Oathbreakers and other Guard unit set to take the hill, with Garyoyles and the Harbinger with Lute behind. Flamebearers, Seductress, two more Flameberers, The second Fiend, and the other unit of Tortured Souls in reserve. My first drops were Flamebearers. My plan goign into the game was to delay on my right, shoot with my center, and push with my left.

There were no scout moves, and my opponent won the roll off. He looked at all my short-range shooting, double-checked the ranges, and then opted to go first, throwing me for a loop.

Top of Round 1: The War Pigs

Over on the left, the Molochs and Succubi advanced extremely warily. I don't think either even moved their full Speed. His Flamebearer and Lower Abyssal Troops from the formation moved up, bringing the more important units up with them as well.

The War Pigs leisurely set out.

It wasn't tactically important, but I did get a better close up shot of his Flamebearers and Lower Abyssals, which were very snazzy. Instead of the hand-held firebolts from the kit, he opted to have his troop toting along some actual fire, which let him play around with hobbying up a lighting effect. I thought it was really striking, and just wanted to showcase it.

So bright! And the Piggies look amazing on the table.

Over on the right, the Larvae moved up, the Hounds moved and pivoted slightly, and Ba'su'su's Brood and the Manifestation of Ba'el moved up ever so slightly, not wanting to give my Gargoyles a good charge and a change to disorder them. With a good range on Lightning Bolt through, the Manifestation zaps into the Gargoyles, dealing 2 damage, but the uninspired Gargoyles manage to keep it together.

The Larvae slither forward!

With no big moves, little shooting, and no combats, the turn was quickly passed to the Oathbreakers.

Bottom of Round 1: The Oathbreakers

On my left, I choose to be a bit unsporting, and bring the Fiend swiftly up near the gap by the cottage. In deployment we had checked, and it's around 125mm wide... too small for the Molochs, but just fine for the Fiend! He skulks around, and is completely safe from the nearby Molochs. 

The Oathbreakers move up. 

The Despoiler Champion moved and pivoted, out of range for the Molochs. A unit of Abyssal Guard stood nearby, while the Oathbreakers and other unit of Abyssal Guard took the hill. Charging off it should be fun! The Gargoyles stayed put, as I just wanted to use them to run up and block, not charge, though I suppose I could have nimbly moved them over to the left just to give them some charge options too. Eh, not a big deal there.

First kills go to the Oathbreakers!

My Seductress flitted up, and attempted to Enthrall the enemy Flamebearers out of cover, though I don't remember the results of the spell. Two Flamebearer regiments toss into them, landing 6 damage. The third unit throws into the troop of Lower Abyssals, with the Fiend lobbing in a Fireball for good measure. They do a combined 4 damage. The shooting output is a little cold so far, but the Oathbreakers do manage to rout both opposing troops.

Over on my right, my Gargoyles manage to regenerate both points of damage from the Lightning Bolt. I have no charges here, and am seeking to delay, so I hold here, not wanting to give the Manifestation a free charge next turn.

Top of Round 2: The War Pigs

The Succubi move out of the woods, deftly getting 11 inches away to threaten my infantry on the hill while denying me a charge of my own. With the woods unoccupied, the Molochs sidestep 3, to get into the Woods, and out of the charge range of the unsporting Fiend lurking near the cottage. 

The Warlocks fling their bolts into my Seductress. They should be getting Stealthy penalties as well as the one from her being an Individual, but we forget the former. Thankfully, only two damage is done to her, and she even holds strong for me.

Moves from the War Pigs.

The Royal Abyssal Guard occupy the graveyard, with the War Pigs (Lower Abyssal Horde) moving up and getting into range for a charge into the Flamebearer line next turn.

A little wider shot, and with shooting damage applied.

Over on the right, the Vile Brood takes the hill to threaten charges, while the Manifestation hangs back to deny my any. She hits 7 times with the Lightning Bolt, and manages to shoot off my Gargoyles this round. The Larvae continued up, and the Hounds pivoted to try glare at the center of the field.

Bottom of Round 2: The Oathbreakers

On the right, I believe inch backward, I think to deny a charge from the Manifestation? I don't remember exactly. Whatever the details were, passivity was not the correct call here. I want to delay, but my opponent has a shooting advantage with the Lightning Bolt, and a greater charge range. Protecting the Horsemen is fine, but the Tortured Souls should have moved up enough to threaten a charge of their own, and forced a decision from my opponent here.

On the left, the Fiend slinks around the cottage, but has no charges this turn, nor is in range for any Fireballs. Shucks. He's not Nimble, so it seemed best to point him in the right direction.

Moves from the Oathbreakers.

The Gargoyles flap up to get in the way of the Succubi. Pivoting-wise, they ladies shouldn't be able to reach my Abyssal Guards on the hill next turn like they had hoped. They should have limited options next turn. The Despoiler Champion moves and pivots to be around to threaten things a a nimble little monster next turn, and my own Abyssal Guard and Oathbreakers largely sit still.

The Flamebearer regiments struggle to land even two damage against the Royal Guard...

My Seductress uses Enthrall to pull the enemy Abyssal Guard out of cover, and my Flamebearers try to shoot them off. One regiment lands 2 damage, the second lands no hits, and the third lands a few hits that don't damage. I figured the regiment was the better choice, but maybe softening up the horde of War Pigs would have been the better call?

Speaking of, the Tortured Souls move up and land about an inch away from the Horde of Lower Abyassals. Being a wide infantry horde, they can't pivot through my unit to charge anything else, so they should have very limited options next turn as well. My Fiend holds. The lurking Hellhounds shouldn't be able to fit in his front arc, so I deem him safe.

Top of Round 3: The War Pigs

It's turns out he wasn't safe! I presumed that the Hellhounds were in the Fiend's front arc. As such, if they charged the Fiend, they would not have had enough room to end their move, and thus, could not charge. The Tortured Souls would definitely be in a for a bad time, but that's what they are there for! 

Unfortunately for me, I never point this out on my turn.  Looking at the pictures, It seems I may have bumped him at some point on my turn to my own detriment. When my opponent checks on his turn, the fearsome Hellhounds are just in his flank, and my opponent gladly takes this charge, and I don't blame him! This is 100% on me and could have been avoided with a little more diligence or communication.

The Hellhounds are hindered, but have the Brew of Sharpness, and also get a Bane Chant from my opponent's Seductress. They roll a bit above what should be expected, dealing 17 damage to the Titan, and run him over!

And suddenly, I have ferocious Hellhounds eyeing up my line.

The War Pigs Lower Abyssals roll less well though, only dealing 4 to the Tortured Souls holding them up. The Molochs are hindered, but thump the Gargoyles and decide to risk the flank charge from the Fiend. They choose to overrun. 

The Succubi try to sashay away, and my opponent's Abyssal Guard regenerate 1 damage and charge mine, and we replace my base since the Bloodletters remain impossible to rank up in any game. The Royal Guard from the War Pigs roll hot and deal an impressive 7 damage to my Guard unit despite not getting Bane Chanted. But Inspired and Rallied by the nearby Oathbreakers, my unit holds. 

Out on the right, the Larvae continue to move up. The Manifestation and Seductress leave to fly up near the Lower Abyssal War Pigs, and the Vile Brood charges my Tortured Souls. They hold.

Bottom of Round 3: The Oathbreakers

Over on the right, my Tortured Souls countercharge the Vile Brood. Technically, I should be able to multi-charge, with the Souls as the first unit, and then sliding all the way down to make way. With the building though, the first unit would barely have more than a 5mm connection, and that just feels underhanded. 

Ultimately, I take my chances with just the Tortured Souls, but they flub a bit, and the Vile Brood has a higher-than-normal Nerve, and will end up sticking around. Having not moved the Horsemen in any way, they'll be stuck for another turn now. It was an error to be so passive here on the previous round, and another error this round to do nothing to try to unstick them, but we'll chalk this up to learning how to use the Tortured Souls better.

The flank charge against the central Fiend really puts my main line in jeopardy. I was hoping for one more round before needing to deal with them in any way. I consider spinning around and firing all the regiments into the Hellhounds, but they would have cover, and that doesn't seem like a good plan. I choose to sacrifice one unit with an unhindered frontal charge into them, managing to deal 2 damage to the beasts and disorder them.

The Seductress pulls the Verminlord Warlock out of the graveyard, and the two other Flamebearers regiment throw into the caster, landing 8 damage, but the Warlock amazingly holds, though this wasn't an Insanely Courageous hold, and he should be Wavered.

Movement in the bottom of Round 3.

The Despoiler Champion really wants to charge the Succubi in the flank. There is just over 50mm space between the Molochs and my opponent's Abyssal Guard, but pivot wise, I can't make it work, since I can't align with the rear of the Guard to slide on by. If only the Molochs had overrun one inch less! Instead, he makes a clearn frontal charge into the Molochs, joined by the Abyssal Guard, with the Fiend making a hindered charge over the fence into their flank. I choke hard. In the flank, the Fiend only hits 5 times, and wounding on 2's, only sticks 4 damage with Vicious. The Guard only land 3 damage, and the Despoiler Champ misses all his hits. The Molochs end the turn on 7 damage, about half what should be expected, and are completely unfazed by the triple team when we go to test them.

Shooting in the bottom of Round 3. The Warlock hangs on, but barely.

My maimed Abyssal Guard regenerate 3, and countercharge their more armored opposites, with the Oathbreakers getting a Bane Chant from the Harbinger, while hitting the unit in the flank. The Harbinger's Rampage aura helps both units, and they butcher the opposing Royal Guard, about the only thing that goes well for me this turn!

Top of Round 4: The War Pigs

The Succubi charge my maimed Abyssal Guard. With the formation they have Thunderous Charge, and while one Warlock misses with Bane Chant (we'll say this was the one that should have been wavered) the second spell attempt connects, and they will devastate and then rout this unit. They cannot prevent a multi-charge, so opt to give the Flamebearers the flank.

The Succubi make it into combat! The Warlock accidentally tries to do things.

The lucky Molochs will sacrifice their Sacrificial Imp, and regenerate 4 of the 7 damage, and then countercharge the Abyssal Guard fighting them, popping the Fiend and Despoiler out of this combat. After taking about half what would be expected for damage, the Molochs will deal about double what is expected for damage, leaving the Guard on 15 damage! Fortunately for me, the unit is Inspired and Rallied, and I am able to get Insane Courage for one of the results. 

The War Pigs will countercharge the Tourtured Souls, roll nearer the expected results for damage, and it is enough to best the phantasmal swarm this turn.

The Manifestation of Ba'el arrives.

The Hellhounds will countercharge my Flamebearers, with the manifestation of Ba'el hitting them in the flank, and the Flamebearers are obliterated after taking 24 damage.

The Larvae wheel around a bit, and the Vile Brood lands another few damage onto the Tortured Souls, who continue to hold, and hold up the Horsemen as already discussed.

Bottom of Round 4: The Oathbreakers

The Despoiler Champion is a surprising Height 4, and having been popped out of the Molochs combat last turn, nimbly charges Dongculus, the Warlock. Unfortunately, this is a frontal attack, and the Champion only lands a few damage, and the Warlock holds. The other Verminlord Warlock had a few damage already, and takes a flank charge from my Flamebearers, and thankfully, I am able to rout this unit off, and turn to face the Manifestation and the War Pigs.

The Oathbreaker lines charge, but are stalling out and starting to run out of units.

The lucky Molochs are flanked by the Fiend, and hit in the front by my Abyssal Guard (who regenerate 1 of their 15 damage...). I roll better in the combat this time, dealing 17 damage (around 14 damage expected) and bringing them to 20 damage total! We then try to test them and find the Molochs to be quite Insane...

The Oathbreakers charge the Succubi in the front, becoming Ensnared. The Flamebearers hit the flank, and get a Bane Chant, but my dice are perpetually cool, and we come in a bit under the expected result, dealing just 11 damage to them. The Nerve check is also just a 4, so the Furious Succubi are wavered, but stick around, and will still be fighting next turn.

Over on the right, I finally pivot the Abyssal Horsemen fully now, though it is far too late. The Tortured Souls continue against the Gargoyles, landing another lackluster 1-2, and the latter will hold. 

Top of Round 5: The War Pigs

The Larvae have a frontal charge into the Horsemen, and gladly take it. The roll hot, and deal 4 damage to them. 

Oof! Not a good use of a cavalry unit, that's for sure.

The center is also floundering for me. The Molochs regenerate enough to not be devastated anymore, and countercharge the Fiend. They continue to roll quite well though, landing 10 damage against the Fiend, though it holds. 

The War Pigs start gobbling up my remaining regiments.

The unlucky Abyssal Guard get flanked by the Manifestation of Ba'el, are easily devastated and then easily routed.

The Hellhounds flank the Flamebearers to easily devastate and then rout them as well. The Succubi countercharge, get a Bane Chant from the Seductress, and deal 8 to the Oathbreakers, who hold.

Bottom of Round 5: The Oathbreakers

The Fiend counter charges the Molochs and is finally able to see them off after the third attempt. 

The Despoiler Champion charges the Warlock, and wavers him, though the caster does have Fury. 

What is left of the Oathbreakers try to fight back.

My Seductress is in the flank of the opposing Seductress. While this won't do anything for the scenario, I decide to charge her. It's a niche case, but as we learned a few games ago, hitting her in the flank,  she'll align to my charge, but being in her flank, Ensnare won't actually apply. I am able to deal 5 damage and rout her.

The Seductress for the Oathbreakers is the the victor!

Finally in a combat, the Horsemen countercharge the Larvae, and my dice continue to underwhelm. They Regenerate nothing, only hit 4 times, and land just 3 damage against the Legion. I'm Ensnared and disordered, but this is still a bit depressing. I've never used the Horsemen well, but I think this showing has been their worst outing yet!

In better news, the Vile Brood didn't regenerate much last round, and the Tortured Souls finally kick it into gear and rout the fancy Gargoyles. This being round 5, they opt to overrun and abandon the Horsemen, to at least try to put something on the board for me.

Top of Round 6: The War Pigs

I am fresh out of pictures it seems, but I did take some notes. The Oathbreakers are charged by the Hellhounds and the War Pigs, and seen off the field. The Manifestation nimbly flies around, flinging a Lightning Bolt at the wounded Abyssal Fiend. A few damage is done, but the Fiend thankfully holds.

The wavered but furious Warlock Dongculus counter charges my Despoiler Champion, but doesn't land any damage.

The Larvae again go into the Horsemen, deal 2, and on 6 damage total, will Waver them.

The Manifestation (1 US) , horde of Lower Abyssal War Pigs (4 US) , regiment of Hellhounds (3 US) and Legion of Succubi Larvae (4 US) are all scoring for my opponent, giving him a staggering 12 points as the top of the round ends.

Bottom of Round 6: The Oathbreakers

The Despoiler Champion (1 US) charges in against the Warlock, routs him this time, and then overruns to score. 

Similarly, the titanic Fiend (2 US) is able to turn and run to score.

The Tortured Souls (2 US) are able to fly up to score as well.

The wavered Horsemen have Fury, but I don't recall rolling any attacks for them. Regardless, they are still Ensnared and Disordered and aren't going to be able to cut through the Legion of Larvae this turn.

The Seductress tries hitting the Hellhounds in the rear, but she's just an individual. Some damage is done, but the Hounds are still in single digits of damage, and hold.

We agree to call it here, as this is the best showing I am going to be able to put up. The Abyssals win! 

...and by that I mean that the War Pigs win 12:5! Congrats to my opponent!

Game Conclusions

Well, well, well, MSU is still quite challenging to play! Writing up the report and double checking the math at a few points, my dice were very cold, but I can't blame those rolls. There is plenty to learn from, and I definitely had a few blunders of my own making, namely boxing in the Horsemen and accidentally giving up a flank into the Abyssal Fiend in Round 3. 

The Horsemen error, that is getting boxed in by a Waver or a combat, happens. Again, I was too passive. Against superior charge ranges, I should have been looking to initiate a trade offering up the Tortured Souls while keeping the Horsemen back far enough to be protected. And when layering, you just need to deny space for them to land, I could have remained an inch and a half back and prevented the pile-up tactically, even if my strategy on this flank was bad. 

The accidental flank on my Fiend is poor communication from me. I should have taken time on my turn to highlight what I was seeing at the time, to set it in stone. Things get bumped. The Fiend didn't move on my turn, so it could have still done whatever was needed if we measured and my opponent disagreed with the arc or it was a close call in reality. You can pre-measure in Kings of War, and with that positioning being an important part of my plans going into the next turn, I should have communicated here. Again, when we measured on my opponent's turn, it was definitely a flank charge, and I cannot fault him for wanting to take that!

Dice aside, my opponent was really able to capitalize on both of these big errors of mine, and I never really recovered from them. He played a solid game with some fun and intriguing units, and definitely earned the win! The army looks great on the table, and I look forward to fighting his Abyssals (or any of his armies) again soon!

Testing Conclusions

• Abyssal Guard. Math was on their side in all of their fights, but the dice never were. Still a good unit. I still like the two handers, but it was neat to see the Def5 version in action as well. If you already have a lot of monsters and other hammers, the defensive regiment should be a good buy to hold things up.
• Flamebearers. These were a big investment, and didn’t pay off this game. These have generally been quite good, and started off well, but had cold dice the rest of the game. My targeting priority could probably be questioned as well. Typically it’s a better idea to focus down regiments, given the lower Nerve value, but I think there was an argument to be made for trying to roast the lower defense Horde in Round 2 instead, since the Fiend could only hit that Horde. 
• Oathbreakers. These were fine, and Rallying was helpful, even from a confidence standpoint. I think running all three of the Guard-like units together was too much though, so I’ll need to deploy better/differently as I play around with this playstyle more.
• Gargoyles. They both did fine. Just eating Lightning Bolts over on the right was not ideal, but certainly not bad. Still a great chaff unit.
• Abyssal Horsemen. A textbook example of how not to use a cavalry unit! 
• Tortured Souls. They arguably did too well at holding! Grinding for three turns against the Vile Brood was unexpected though, and a bit of a bummer. The Regiments definitely don’t have reliable damage output, so just blocking things up seems to be the best play with them. 
• Abyssal Fiend. Still a very fun unit for my playstyle. 
• Abyssal Harbinger. Bane Chant was great to have, and Rampage triggered a lot this game, but again while the math was there, the dice were not. Hero slots are still at a premium, but I could see an argument for including one of these now, especially if you have fighty infantry like the Abyssal Guard or Succubi.
• Seductress with Enthrall. She’s still a great unit to have around. It’s hard to go wrong with a flying assassin! Enthrall is still a very nice trick to have with the Flamebearers, and I was able to pull a few things out of cover for better shooting attempts. The Periscope was nice to have, but that's primarily because she didn't run around fighting things. If you have the points, it or the Gnome-Glass Shield have been good picks.
• Despoiler Champion. At Height 4 he can see a lot, which is great for a nimble monster. He did not have the best game here, but he definitely has some potential. 
• Hellhounds. These were certainly interesting! They got several flank charges against me and obviously performed quite well for my opponent. The Abyssal Horsemen are not working well for me, so I might need to try these out sometime. 
• Succubi. My opponent was able to use these well, though they had help from the formation (TC) and got a Bane Chant in their combat. They have a lot of attacks, but can struggle to damage anything besides light infantry. Even with Ensnare, the can often take a lot of damage in return since their Defense is so low. They aren’t a great battle line unit, but do seem like on ok instigator unit. They did get a cost reduction since the last time I last ran them, so they should be worth exploring as a one-off in the future. 
• Succubi Larvae. These aren’t really my thing, particularly with my own Abyssals, but I can definitely appreciate them! As a legion they force your opponent to come up with a plan. I would have liked to have seen how the Tortured Souls do against them, but as mentioned ad nauseum already I was far too passive with my right, and boxed myself in. They had a fine time languidly strolling across the battlefield to eventually charge and pin down my cavalry.
• Fiendish Ambush Formation. I dismissed the formation long ago. I think it's meant to be a way to gently incorporate the suggested Starter Set into larger games? The troops are throwaway units, though it does give the Succubi Thunderous Charge, which is quite helpful. Still, probably not something I would consider running myself.

This was my first mirror match-up, but my opponent has played a few already. So far, he has played (and bested!) mirrors for Undead, Brothermark, and now for the Forces of the Abyss. He's got quite the streak going! He's also been recently accepted as a Pathfinder, and is running a league/campaign for the region. It's got a map, and upkeep costs and everything! Unfortunately that's a bit too much for my current availability, but it looks to be off to a solid start, with a lot of different armies represented. A big thank to you my opponent for running that and for fitting this in, and congrats on the win!