Kings of War 3rd Edition: #054 Abyssals vs Brothermark [Pillage]

Intro and Lists

I was treated to an unexpected weeknight game against friend, fellow-blogger, and forum-goer Cartwright the other day. He brought his Brothermark over to Madison, running the following:

Oh boy! That’s a unique take on the Brothermark. Not a cavalry unit to be seen at all, and none of the heroes are mounted either! Infantry, healing, and war machines looked to be the idea of the day. The Penitent regiments are one of his hallmarks though, and with their innate CS, have been able to deliver some surprises on spikey rolls. Three other infantry hordes (Bowmen, Paladins, and Spear Men-at-Arms) will all be hard to move, and the Ogre Palace Guard will be a threat to anything they can catch! Triple war machines should be able to threaten things at range, and two Phoenixes, Iron Resolve, and large collection of healing spells should easily keep all his units healthy and hale. 

I had been cooking with some more Abyssal MSU ideas when our correspondence for this meet-up popped up, and decided to go with a light iteration on my first attempt before I drastically changed things up. 

• Succubi Regiments. Squaring off against another Abyssals player last game, I noticed that basic Abyssal Guard, Flamebearers, and Succubi are all 150 points now. That ability to quickly mix-and-match should be fun to explore in the future! I haven’t been a big fan of Succubi before, but wanted to give them some tries again, given the points decrease. Getting Pathfinder via The Lurker is definitely a nice upgrade, and lets you stick them in the woods for -2 penalty to be shot at, but the upgrade almost seems like a trap since you aren’t preserving TC or anything, so I wanted to try them without it. 
• Abyssal Guard. I really liked how well they played with the ASB, but I dropped one regiment to try out the Succubi. We’ll directly compare these and see which perform better here!
• Flamebearers. The Flamebearers really underperformed last game, but I wanted to give them another try before veering into anything too extreme. 
• Oathbreakers. With so many regiments, it’s hard not to include these! Since I am constantly switching between armies, deployment is always tricky for me. Ideally I think you want these as a bit of a second line, but we’ll see where they end up this game.
• Gargoyles. These are always great chaff units. Being able to nimbly fly up and block something is huge, and hopefully I use them well this game.
• Tortured Souls. These arguably did too well holding things up last game, but thick chaff seemed like a great role for them. I’ll need to position these better this time around, and we’ll see what they end up fighting.
• Chroneas. I noticed these were the same exact points as the newly discounted Abyssal Horsemen. Since I have been completely unable to get the Horsemen to work for me, it was an easy decision to swap these out. I was musing that Abyssal MSU might struggle against Def6 or shooting-heavy metas, but the Chroneas should help against the former, using good stats, CS3 and Cloak of Death to help get through armor. We’ll see!
• Abyssal Fiend. I still like it, and think it is a fabulous support piece. We’ll see how it does this game and if I can learn anything else about it.
• Harbinger. Still just running the one, and I think that's alright given the number of Flamebearers around. We'll try to stick him by the Oathbreakers and see what good he can do for me.
• Despoiler Champion. He's a cool little model, but a bit odd to use. We'll try to instigate some fights with him and see what we can learn.
• Seductress. On paper she has a lot of utility. I'm bringing her again to enable some Round 1 shooting if needed. After that, we'll see what Fly and Duelist can do for me. 

It should be an interesting match up! No cavalry means I should be able to set the pace of most engagements, however, with all the heals and Penitents around, anything I do fight I need to rout, lest it get healed up or I get dogpiled in response.

Table and Terrain

We were out at a Madison area game store, making use of their terrain. We 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 pond as Height 1 Difficult Terrain. 

We neglected about a third of the table. This is all the tokens and all the deployments.

We got Pillage for the scenario, and I rolled up a miserly 1 for our extra tokens, meaning we'd only have 5 immovable Objective Tokens to fight over. My opponent won the roll off for the initial placement. Opting to force me to pic and deploy first. 

I chose to swap sizes. Most of the tokens were on these two-thirds of the table, and I wanted a clearer battle line with all the units I needed to move.

A building split my opponent's line. On the left from my perspective he ended up with the Spear horde, Augustus, Bowmen horde blocking for the regular Phoenix, and the Exemplar Hunter. In the right corner, he had a stacked line, with Penitents alternating with heroes at the front. We had two Penitents and the Priest screening the Ogre Palace Guard, then the War Wizard screening the Ancient Phoenix, and then two more Penitents and the Exemplar Paladin screening the Paladin Monster Slayers. Both Artillery and the Arbalest were tucked into the corner.

My first few drops were the Tortured Souls. Against war machines, I wanted to keep the Gargoyles back for a bit to try and send them after those. Seeing the Penitents come down early, and with some good clear terrain, so I decided to try and shoot from the corner and push from the center early on. 

Left to righty I had Tortured Souls screening Gargoyles, Abyssal Guard, Despoiler Champion, Chroneas, Fiend, and the Succubi. I wanted to send the Succubi after the Bowmen, but was being out-dropped. Still, this didn't seem like a terrible spot for them. Then I had Tortured Souls screening the Oathbreakers, the Harbinger with Lute and some Gargoyles in reserve, then two regiments of Flamebearers, the Seductress, the Fiend, and the last unit of Flamebearers.

My opponent had better long range shooting, but when he won the roll, he opted to have me go first, potentially denying me a turn of Flamebearer barrages. 

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

Fortunately, I came prepared! On the right, The Seductress flitted ahead around 10", and Enthralled a unit of Penitents forward 2". The Flamebearers all advanced 5" and with Enthrall, that mean the lecherous Penitents were in range for Firebolts! I land 12 damage between the 3 units, and am able to scatter the unwashed regiment.

Movement in Round 1.

The rest of the line moved up haphazardly, since I was a bit indecisive. On the left, The Tortured Souls flew up as far as they could given the terrain, and the Gargoyles stopped just behind them. The Abyssal Guard advanced about 9" stopping a bit short of the forest. The Despoiler Champion zipped up 12" and would be just shy of a charge into the Bowmen since our deployments were apparently slightly back. The Chroneas and Fiend moved up, and the titan will have a charge into the Bowmen next turn, as the closest point is just within range.

Centrally, the Gargoyles flew up at an angle to lurk behind the woods. Succubi and Tortured Souls drew up behind them, with the Oathbreakers and Harbinger lagging behind, but being supportive.

Bottom of Round 1: Brothermark

On the left, the Spear Men-At-Arms move and pivot, but are keeping things in their charge arcs and trying to corral the Abyssals. The Bowmen, Phoenix and Hunter fire into the Despoiler Champion, putting him at 7 damage, and rout him off! The Champion had regeneration, so this is a bit of a shame.

The Champion falls!

One regiment of Penitents hangs by the building, while the other just gets into the woods in order to spot the Gargoyles and force them to move. The Ogre Palace Guard wait patiently.

Movement on the right for the Brothermark.

The Ancient Phoenix inches closer to get into Firespark Range against the Flamebearers on the hill. The war machines join in too, but the sights are not quite set yet and many of the artillery shots go wide. Only 5 damage lands, and the Flamebearers will hold. 

The War Wizard will land a Hex on the Fiend guarding the Flamebearers.

The remaining Penitents, Examplar Paladin and Paladin Monster Hunters will all hold, trusting in the artillery fire.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

On the left, the Gargoyles nimbly fly around to threaten the flanks of the hordes while the Tortured Souls charge the front. They deal 4 damage, but I am certain we missed the Phalanx interaction with fliers here, so this is far more effective than it should be. 

Charges to tie up both Brothermark hordes. 

The Fiend charges the Villein Bowmen, landing 6 damage and disordering them. With both hordes occupied, the Chroneas and Abyssal guard move up, though the latter can only get into the woods this turn. The Chroneas is just in range for Cloak of Death to hit the Bowmen and Hunter.

Centrally, the Succubi sidestep. I kept bumping them and the Tortured Souls around, so opted to leave them both mostly where they were. The Penitents should be able to charge the Tortured Souls, should they wish.

The central Gargoyles are in an awkward position since I had pivoted them towards the war machines. I actually don't have the space to land them to threaten the Bowmen, and sight-wise, I can't see any of the war machines. I am also wary of the Examplar Paladin, so decide to just awkwardly fly behind enemy lines, landing safely, but unable to threaten anything next turn. 

I am equally indecisive with my Seductress. I would like to charge the War Wizard, but that seems suicidal. I believe the war machines are out of range. She hops up to get into range next turn, and then I try Enthrall on the Penitents in the woods, tugging them one inch towards the Ancient Phoenix. I didn't want to pull anything else around incase it was successful and would give my opponent a new charge on his turn. 

Hexed, but with the rest of the Brothermark holding, the Abyssal Fiend holds as well. The Flamebeaters all toss into the Penitents on the far flank screening for the Paladin Monster-Slayers, will land a combined 13 damage, and rout them.

Bottom of Round 2: Brothermark

On the right, the war machines and Ancient Phoenix fire at the same Flamebearers. The devils had regenerated a few damage, but the artillery has their number now, and the Flamebearers are brought up to 15 damage total, and then routed.

Middle of ranged combat for the Brothermark. The Hunter is lining up his shots against the Gargoyles...

Centrally, the Penitents side-step to get back into the woods, while the Ogre Palace Guard continue to hold still and be patient, and wait for the chaff to commit to something.

The War Wizard attempts another Hex onto the Fiend, but misses this time.

On the left, the Phoenix and Hunter target the Gargoyles swinging wide. The Phoenix lands 4 and the Hunter lands 3, and the Gargoyles are shot off, to my surprise. I was expecting the Phoenix to heal and the Hunter to charge something, but a good call from my opponent to pick away at units.

The Bowmen Countercharge the Fiend, landing 1 damage. The Spearmen catch a Bane Chant, and land 10 damage on the Tortured Souls, trouncing them, and pivoting more, now that both of the outflanking Abyssal units have been dealt with.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

The Abyssal Guard make their hindered charge into the Spearmen, looking to keep them tied up. The Guard roll quite poorly landing just 3 hits which then translates to just 1 damage which is then Iron-Resolved back. Oops. 

I decide to try and take the Bowmen off. The Fiend countercharges and is joined by the Chroneas and the Tortured Souls, and at this point we remember to apply Phalanx. The Chroneas hits a lot of units with Cloak of Death, but rolls up just a single attack for its extra attacks. The Bowmen end up at 16, rallied and Inspired by Augustus, but I manage to just roll well enough to disperse the unit! The Fiend will have it's one wound absolved by the Temporal Ruptures of the Chroneas, and will victoriously turn to face the Spearmen, and the Chroneas and Tortured Souls will face to the right, ignoring the Phoenix and hoping to swing around to help the other side. 

Still wary of the Exemplar, the central Gargoyles will just change facing to spy the war machines, keeping their distance from the paladin.

Movement for the Abyssals.

Speaking of, the Seductress has a charge into the war machines now, and the Exemplar is not quite in range to charge her either next turn. She takes her charge, descending upon the Arbalest. She lands 5 damage, and wavers the crew. It's not nothing, but not what I was hoping for.

The Wizard wasn't able to land Hex last turn, and this is probably the best target I have at the moment, so the Fiend and both Flamebearers throw into the wizard. He's an individual, but apparently cuts quite an imposing figure. One regiment hits just once and then fails to damage. The other regiment lands no hits. Sheesh. The Fiend has his revenge though, landing 4 from the Fireball, and wavering the War Wizard thanks to Shattering. Again, it's not nothing, but not what I was hoping for here.

The Succubi, Oathbreakers and Harbinger sit back, at a bit of a standoff with the Penitents and daring them to advance first through the woods.

Bottom of Round 3: Brothermark

And apparently the Brothermark do dare! The Paladin Monster Slayers move up, threating my shooters now. Spacing-wise, I will not be able to back up to escape.

The remaining Brothermark infantry advance towards the objective tokens.

The Ancient Phoenix flies up, just into range for Cloak of Death to hit the Fiend and some Flamebearers. It will spray Firesparsk, and both artillery pieces will fire into the Flamebearers, bringing them to 7 damage, but the devils hold.

The Penitents advance as well, with the Ogres scooting up slightly as well, but careful to just give the Gargoyles a flank charge and not a rear.

The Spearmen issue a stern rebuke to the Abyssal Guard.

The Spearmen catch a Bane Chant, and countercharge the Abyssal Guard, showing them how it's done. They land 9 damage, but the inspired Nerve check is just shy of a rout. Being Fearless, the Guard will stick around for a second attempt.

The Hunter charges the Tortured Souls, with 3 blows connecting to disorder and ground them. 

The Phoenix will shoot into the Gargoyles, land 3 damage as well, and will waver them, which is pretty unfortunate for them.

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

The wavered Gargoyles stay put, and regenerate nothing. I can't think of anything clever to do with them.

The Tortured Souls will countercharge the Hunter, and Lifeleech some damage back. The Chroneas charges the Hunter as well, rolling another 1 for his extra attack, and hitting him and the Phoenix with Cloak of Death. The Hunter will be felled, with the Chroneas using the Temporal Ruptures to waive away the last point of damage on the Tortured Souls.

Charges for the Abyssals.

The Abyssal Guard will regenerate a surprising 5 of their damage, bringing them down to 4. They will counter charge the Spearmen dealing 9 damage this, and be joined by the Fiend dealing 6. Augustus is both Rallying and Inspiring, but I have Brutal to negate the former, and I am just able to squeak the Nerve check to see them off the table. Both will just about-face, with the Fiend ignoring the Phoenix. 

Movements in Round 4 for the Abyssals.

The Succubi make a hindered charge into the Penitents. Bane Chant from the Harbinger is missed, though he is just within range for the Rampage Aura to help the ladies out. The Succubi hit just 8 times, but land 7 damage, and manage to waver the Penitents.

I consider using the Seductress to charge the War Wizard, but with the Exemplar Paladin close by, opt to finish off the war machine. I didn't think of it at the time, but I could have used Enthrall to pull the Paladins backward and maybe escape with the Flamebearers. I think I'd need 3" from the spell though, which isn't reliable.

One unit of Flamebearers zips up as a sacrifice. The Paladin Monster Slayers can only charge this unit next turn. The unit on the hill cannot back away from the Penitents, so just changes facing. Both Flamebearers and the Fiend will sling their ranged attacks into the Paladin Monster Slayers. In retrospect, the Ancient Phoenix probably would have been a better target, given the lower Nerve, but I have learned to just ignore Phoenixes, for better or for worse. Targeting the hard also forces my opponent to use spells and such to help them, so it's not a terrible call either way. Some damage lands, but it's a horde, and they endure it.

Bottom of Round 4: Brothermark

The Paladin Monster Slayers charge the blocking Flamebearers, and will cut them down with ease, and then overrun in victory.

The Ancient Phoenix moves up, landing Cloak of Death against both Flamebearers and the Fiend. The bird then sprays Firesparks into the Flamebearers, joined by artillery fire. The Flamebearers had regenerated down to 4 damage, but took 10 new damage from Cloak and ranged attacks, and are routed!

The nearby Penitents choose to not charge, but just move up even with the bird to prevent a flank charge from the Oathbreakers into the of the Ancient Phoenix.

Movement for the Brothermark.

The War Wizard hexes the Fiend again, and the Exemplar Paladin moves up to support as well. I believe the Priest tries a Martyr's Prayer for the Penitents.

The Penitents fighting the Succubi are Wavered, and the Ogres enter the woods just enough to get line of sight for the coming turn.

Augustus and the Phoenix try to delay and contest things.

Over on the right, Augustus rear charges the Tortured Souls, hoping to ground them, and he does, landing 2 damage. He scoots down a bit, but ends 1" away from the Chroneas. As it happens, this may have been a game error. We were fighting an individual here last turn, so I think he should have slid to center and then bumped the Chroneas 1" back to keep the spacing. At the time this didn't cross our minds, as the Chroneas was a touch forward, preventing a clean slide.

The Phoenix rear charges the Garyogles and trounces them. In victory, the Phoenix will turn, looking to contest objective tokens in the final rounds.

Top of Round 5: Abyssals

It's been a bloody game! 

My shooting-heavy right has disappeared! With the Paladins overrunning, the Fiend can't back up and get away either. He is hexed, and just pivots. 

The Chroneas isn't nimble, so can't charge around Augustus to thump the Phoenix. I opt to bring the Chroneas back towards my lines. Should the Ogres advance much further, I might be able to flank them with my temporal monster.

The Succubi charge the Penitents and rout them. The ladies will victoriously back up 1", not quite getting out of the woods, and the Ogres can still see them anyways, and the Chroneas should be able to see the Ogres if they take the bait.

Supported by artilleryh fire, the Brothermark start to steamroll.

The Seductress charges the War Wizard, and lands 5, but the caster is merely wavered. I believe Radiance of Life from the Ancient Phoenix had healed him up a bit after the Fireball, and/or the Priest targeted him and not the Penitents with the Martyr's Prayer.

The Tortured Souls countercharge Augustus, with the fiend coming up to help out. Together, the duo knock down the legendary cleric, and together can keep control of this token against the nearby Phoenix. 

Abyssal Guard tend to their wounds, and guard a token.

Bottom of Round 5: Brothermark

The Ancient Phoenix upgrade removes Nimble, so it flies up with a pivot to try to play for a token in the coming rounds. Cloak of Death masterfully hits the Succubi, Oathbreakers, Harbinger and Fiend - all of my remaining units on this side of the battlefield.

A great Cloak of Death!

The Paladins charge the Fiend, land 12 new damage on him and lay him low. They are atop a token, but will spin around to see if they can fight anything in the final turn.

The isolated Phoenix over on the left flies down, looking to make a play for a different token, knowing it can't win out on either of these.

The Ogre Palace Guard make a hindered charge into the Succubi, who also have Ensnare. They are joined by the Exemplar Paladin, and will surprisingly best the temptresses. The Ogres rolled well as I recall, and the added damage from the Examplar is enough to doom them, even Rallied by the Oathbreakers and Inspired by the Harbinger.

The remaining Penitents started with a corner in the woods, so make a hindered charge against the Oathbreakers, and land 3 damage thanks to some hot hit rolls.

The artillery line up against the Seductress. She is an Individual and Stealthy, but one shot manages to hit, deal 2 damage, and waver her, saving the War Wizard.

Top of Round 6: Abyssals

The Oathbreakers decide to countercharge the Penitents and hope for the best. They can't reach any other token, so can hopefully contest this one. The Harbingers confers Rampage, and the Oathbreakers roll hot, landing 12 damage against the Penitents and rout them. They overrun 1" to claim to the objective token, since their US is greater than that of the Ancient Phoenix.

Movement for the Abyssals.

The Chroneas still has a flank charge into the Ogre Palace Guard, and with Strider to ignore the Obstacle, takes it. He rolls up 2 for his extra attacks (hey, finally not a 1!) and they apparent came to play! Those 8 attacks works into 8 hits and then 8 damage for some hot rolling, but he isn't able to best them. 

The Tortured Souls give chase to the Ancient Phoenix, looking to negate the bird's Unit Strength if there is a Round 7. The Fiend sits back on his objective token, as do the Abyssal Guard. 

Bottom of Round 6: Brothermark

The Phoenix flies down to claim the objective token the the Abyssal lines had left behind.

The Ogre Palace Guard will disengage from the Chroneas taking a penalty, and make a hindered charge into the flank of the Oathbreakers, dealing 9. The Ancient Phoenix is also in the flank, and lands 4, and the Exemplar Paladin joins in on the Ogre's side, contributing 3. The Oathbreakers are brought to 19, devastated, and then routed! The Ogres swivel about face to eye up the Chroneas, but it and the Phoenix are scoring this token. 

An unexpected sandwich as the Brothermark play for the win.

The Priest will syphon off some wounds from the Ogres (I think 4 is the number), bringing himself up to 12 damage, per the picture, but I haven't been documenting his use well this game. From Round 3 onwards he's been syphoning stuff off and dutifully punishing himself as I recall.

The Paladin Monster Slayers just hold, standing atop an objective token. Making this 3-2 for the Brothermark as the Round ends. But we roll up a Round 7!

Top of Round 7: Abyssals

I consider sending the Seductress after the Inspiring Priest who has been martyring himself, but the Examplar Paladin is also Inspiring the Ogres, so she can't really tip the tide there. Instead she goes in against the War Wizard again, and is able break him this time.

Final charges of the game.

I don't think I can break the Phoenix with just the Tortured Souls, nor break the Ogres with just the Chroneas. The only thing they can multi-charge is the Ogres, so in they go against the injured Ogre Palace Guard. The Tortured Souls do well, landing 6 damage and bringing them up to 10 damage. The Chroneas rolls up 4 extra attacks now, and while the details escaped my notes, I am able to best the Ogres in the melee.

Playing for the Scenario, both will overrun, and both need to get 2 inches closer to contest this objective token. The Chroneas rolls a 1. the Tortured Souls roll well enough, but we maintain a 1" gap between them and the nearby Exemplar Paladin, boxing them out as well.

Bottom of Round 7: Brothermark

My opponent does nothing for his turn. As we read it, the Fiend and Guards control 2 tokens for the Abyssals, and the Paladin Monster Slayers, and Phoenixes will claim 3 for the Brothermark in a narrow victory.

After the game, we checked the rulebook and were messaging, and determined we played the final overrun wrong. The Chroneas would still be out of range and unable to score. But the Tortured Souls should have overrun as far as possible. The Paladin will stop their movement, but he will be the unit pushed back to create the 1" buffer. The Tortured Souls would thus have been able to contest that objective token, and negate the US 2 of the Ancient Phoenix, meaning this is a ding-dang tie game!

Game Conclusions

It was a great game, and harder to get more evenly matched than a draw!

With so few objective tokens, we ended up ignoring about 1/3 of the table, turning this into a bit of a slugfest! The war machine firing lines weren't great for my opponent, but I had titans, and things worked out ok for him since I needed to take the hill in order to shoot with the Flamebearers. My opponent's no-cavalry list was a bit of a gamble, but with Iron Resolve and all the heals available to him, it didn't seem a bad take on the Brothermark at all. Neat to see a variety of heroes in action too.

Strategically, I think lining up the Flamebearers against the Penitents was the right call, as picking away at that unit strength was a good way for me to approach the scenario. Still, this was a lot of points invested into shooting, and I don't think the Flamebearers would have been nearly as effective if the Penitents were in hordes or my opponent was a bit more aggressive with them. I really lucked out with my Nerve checks to beat the Bowmen and Spearmen each so quickly, and was pretty happy with how that flank went, and how fun the Chroneas was to use.

Testing Conclusions

• Succubi Regiments. Fresh, and having their Ensnare paired with a Hindered charge, I really thought these could hold and survive against the Ogres! The brutes rolled very well though, and the Paladin in the flank didn't help matters. I'll keep testing them out for a bit, but they are a odd unit and very fragile considering their points. They might be best against things like shooting hordes (but those don't seem to be that prevalent) or stuff like Zombies, but I am just not sold on the utility of the unit overall yet. Lurker/Pathfinder would have been helpful in their initial fight against the Penitents, but also pretty expensive, and that still seems like a bit of a trap upgrade. I want to try them stock a few more times before exploring any upgrades or items.
• Abyssal Guard. Fearless is just amazing on them, and it is what makes the unit work. If they can just hold on the Nerve check, like they did here, they can do great work in a list. I'm not sure if the unit by itself is strong enough to spam, but I really liked the unit here.
• Flamebearers. This was a really intriguing game for them! Being unable to effectively shoot in Round 1 without trickery is undoubtedly good for balance, but makes them a bit harder to use well. I took the hill to shoot, and did manage to scorch off two regiments of Penitents without any additional support. Then they started taking return fire from the Brothermark via the Phoenix and war machines and loosing units and didn't have the numbers to effectively burn away much. 
• Oathbreakers. I think they want to be a second line unit (like my opponent was doing with the Ogre Palace Guard this game, but they aren't particularly potent. Reinforcing a Flamebearer battle group or something might be something for them to do in the future though. The legendary unit probably isn't worth the 25 points extra over the usual Abyssal Guard, but I do like my models and the aura is helpful, so I'll continue brining them along for a bit.
• Gargoyles. I forgot how useful the Phoenixes could be with their height and shooting, and just how fragile these units can be. I don't think I used these particularly well. One got shot off, and that happens, but had I not pivoted with the other in Round 1, it could have been charging war machines in Round 2. I think my mantra for using fliers offensively is you can never have a dead turn with them; you should always be positioning them in a way to threaten something and give your opponent something to think about on their turn. 
• Tortured Souls. Setting aside the Phalanx/Flying goof when charging the Spearmen, I was really happy with these and how I used them. They did more consistent damage this game, and were generally a nuisance for my opponent to deal with. They seem good as blocking chaff, and as "pinning" units, flying up to charge in disorder something and keep them in place for a turn.
• Chroneas. I've run them before, but I had honestly forgotten about this unit until I was scrolling through the army roster after the Abyssal mirror-match last game. The melee damage output wasn't quite here this game, but Cloak of Death was fun to use, and the damage negation was real slick with him coming in on a later turn instead of the instigator of the fight. I liked the monster, and think it has potential for this playstyle.
• Abyssal Fiend. I still like the unit a lot with this playstyle. 
• Harbinger. I am liking this unit as well. The buffs have been nice. I've only been running the one, but Rampage has been pertinent in the recent games. I forgot about the ranged attack this game, and it isn't much, but is potentially enough to justify running one stock.
• Despoiler Champion. Ouch! Not a great game for him. I think his place in a list like this should be over with the Flamebearers, intercepting threats and letting them do their thing. 
• Seductress. The first round shooting trick worked well here, but after that she struggled this game, needing multiple rounds to rout both a war machine and a lowly spellcaster and not even earning her points back when all was said and done. Assassin characters are in a bit of weird spot, but even with flying and the Periscope, she felt underwhelming as the game went on because her damage output just wasn't there and she kept getting bogged down. The legendary Seductress Mau'ti-bu-su has Brutal d3, but no spells. Maybe Pipes of Terror could be a possible upgrade for the Seductress in the future? 

The tweaked list was the right list to play this time. With more normal dice, this game gave me a lot to consider and plenty to learn from. It's always a pleasure throwing down with Cartwright, so many thanks for him fitting this in! We were very evenly matched with this draw result, so I am greatly looking forward to our next bout!