Kings of War 3rd Edition: #069 Herd vs Abyssals [Pillage]

Intro and lists

I was lucky enough to be able to stick around and fit in a second game. The Imperial Dwarfs had moved on to other tables, and the Herd found itself consolidating their recent gains in the underground holds. These holds are apparently well-traveled, new foe soon approached! Running it was our local Mantic Pathfinder, the organizer of the league, fellow Brian, and blogger behind the Nerd's Tale. He was running his Abyssals, bringing the following:

He's got a lot on his plate these days, so his slow-grow league army is just building up to his completed 2300 list, which we have actually seen before, back in Battle 053. His army originated with the Ambush box, so for fluff, he chose to run the appropriate formation, which has a regiment of Succubi with Thunderous Charge, and and awkward troop each of Lower Abyssals (also with TC, apparently) and Flamebearers with a Fireball. The Hellhounds with the Brew of Sharpness return, as do a horde of Lower Abyssals, kitted for defense. We have an expensive Abyssal Guard unit with the Brew of Sharpness, some Gargoyles buffed to be Ba'su'su's Vile Brood, and a Seductress and an Abyssal Warlock as supporting spellcasting and inspiring units, with multiple Bane Chants to go around. It's not how I would run the Abyssals, but as we've seen before, this list can be dangerous! The drunk Hellhounds are terrifying and the Abyssals in general have enough tricks and versatility to pull out some wins with smart play.

I ran the Herd again, wanting to explore my new Centaur units more. Up to test was everything:

• Tribal Spears. I didn't have the points for any waver mitigation here, but Thunderous Charge is still a great purchase for them, and the unit is a great starting point for building a list. 
• Harpies. Flying chaff is good, and these are probably worth the 5 points over the Gur Panthers, but I have liked both. I only have the one unit here, so we'll see how I use it.
• Guardian Brutes w/ Staying Stone. The Brutes feel like one of the few hammer units the Herd can run, so I feel compelled to bring them. As Large Infantry though, even the horde can be prone to wavering early on. I could only afford the Staying Stone for them this time. This seems ok in a pinch, and hopefully it will be enough to keep them in the game!
• Centaur Bray Strider Regiment. I think it will be a long time before I am competent or confident with these. They are just such a weird unit! We'll take a closer look at them in their Hobby Update post, whenever I am able to actually get to that, and for now, we'll just charge things and see what I can learn.
• Centaur Bray Strider Troops. I am running troops of Striders as well, to try and give me some additional perspectives. The troops are cheap enough that they could be used of as chaff, and they might be able to rout things if they get some flank charges. 
• Centaur Bray Hunters. I liked the Scorchwings, but struggled to make them work. These are cheaper, non-flying versions of that unit, so we'll see if it's a cost issue or a skill issue!
• Druid. My go-to unit for Inspiring and support. Not flashy, but she has been effective when supporting Brutes and Spears.
• Chieftain on a Chariot. He lacks Pathfinder (and Strider), so he doesn’t synergize well with the rest of the army, but there may be a lane for him in a terrain-light meta like this. I don't have the highest of hopes for him, but we'll see what he can do here.
• Centaur Chief. Like the Centaur units, the hero version here has some peculiar stats, but at 110 points base, one or two might not be bad to have around to help keep my line covered or add in a few damage here and there. We’ll see how he does!

Table and Terrain

As mentioned already, I was holding down the dwarf hold, and it is the same table, and even the same sides as before. We followed our usual terrain rules, playing the buildings as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, the fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and the Hills as normal Height 3 hills. And as before, we are unfortunately a little light on usable terrain for the Herd.

Pillage! With the objectives marked up.

We rolled for a scenario and got Pillage, but rolled low, with just 5 objective tokens scattered across the battlefield. I won the roll off for sides, and picked the same side as before. With three tokens lined up on the left-hand side, I wanted to castle up in the corner and march up this flank, fighting for these three tokens. 

The table! With a lonely Centaur Strider troop.

Left-to-right, my opponent had the formation Flamebearer troop, Abyssal Guard with the Warlock, the formation Lower Abyssal troop, the Vile Brood of Gargoyles, the Succubi in the woods, the Lower Abyssal Horde, and the Seductress babysitting her Hellhounds.

The overwhelmingly stacked Herd left.

As mentioned, I aimed to stack my left. With the Lower Abyssal Horde coming down early on the other side, I was able to do so pretty effectively. Left-to-right we have the Centaur Hunters blocking for the Centaur Strider troop, the Brutes and Spears with the Druid and Harpy in reserve, the Centaur Strider Regiment, the Chieftain on a Chariot and the Centaur Chief. Out on the far right was a long Strider troop to maybe contest the objective token there.

I won the roll off for deciding the turn order. Seeing my Hunters paired up against the Flamebearers, and knowing they couldn't reach me, I opted to go second and play more reactively... but going first would have been a much better choice, in order to swiftly capitalize on my opponent being all spread out. 

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

The Abyssals move forward. Out on the right, the Lower Abyssal Horde moved up, securing the token. The Vile Brood flew up and over, flying towards my right corner. The Hellhounds moved up slightly, looking to threaten some reprisals if the Herd's Chariot and Centaur Chief turned aggressive.

The Abyssals advance, cautiously.

The Succubi in the woods moved up, but were wary of my charges and stayed just out of range.

Over on the left, the Flamebearers took the hill but couldn't fling at anything. The Abyssal Guard moved up, aiming to secure the objective in the midfield soon, and the Lower Abyssal troop guarded an objective near the building. The Warlock moved up with the Guard to support them.

Bottom of Round 1: Herd

The left is pretty well going to plan. The Flamebearers did take the hill, and can be seen. The Strider troop runs up at the double, with the Hunters moving up pretty far as well, and nimbly pivoting, to spot the Flamebearers. The Hunters loose, and land a nice 5 damage into the Flamebearers. The Nerve check is just average though, and they are merely wavered.

Opening moves for the Herd.

Nothing can charge, but with Abyssal units jumbled on the right, my stacked left moves out to exert some pressure.

The Harpies remain behind. The only Abyssal unit I am really afraid of and want chaff for are those Hellhounds, and think I should have enough to delay them between my two Chiefs, who are moving to interdict things. They are safe from charges, but moving out to threaten the Abyssals. 

The Tribal Spears move up, offering a charge, and that charge might not even be hindered. I don't recall. The speedier centaurs are around to support, as are the Brutes, though the latter are gumming things up slightly trying to keep a firing lane open. Writing up the report, that's silly. The Flamebearers on on a hill, so my Hunters could still see them even in the Brutes were further up. This is another misplay from me; the Brutes should have been more aggressive.

Eh... no thanks!

Out on the right, the Centaur Strider troop pivots and moves and is able to get out of the Gargoyle's line of sight. This was my first move order of the game. Looking at things while writing, that seems like an suspiciously far move. Striders are not nimble, so appears to be an illegal move from me. Apologies to my opponent! 

Had I caught this, the Striders should be moving up and pivoting 90 degrees, to get about even with the objective token. The building should block the line of sight from the Vile Brood, and they could make a break for it next turn.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

The Vile Brood takes the hill, looking to chase down the illegally fleeing Strider troop.

The Lower Abyssal Horde moves forward at the double to make way for the Hellhounds, who are now realizing they need to be on the other side of the table if they want to fight anything. They pivot and move, looking for the quickest way over. Luckily for them, there isn't too much difficult terrain.

The Abyssals start repositioning.

The Succubi advance, threatening a charge into at least the Chariot next turn. They are positioned in such a way that anything charging them will clip the fence when it shuffles to center. Coupled with the Succubi's Ensnare... this is very uninviting.

The Abyssal Guard back up.

The Abyssal Guard back up, wisely evading a charge from the Tribal Spears. The wavering Flamebearer troop holds, as do the Lower Abyssal troop, guarding their objective.

I believe the Warlock casts his Scorched Earth spell against the Centaur Strider Regiment., dissuading them from charging.

Bottom of Round 2: Herd

The Centaur Striders are not nimble, so the troop takes an uphill charge into the Flamebearers. The Druid tries but fails to Bane Chant them, but that's ok, as this was actually not needed, and I am still damaging the unit on 2's. The Striders will best them, and victoriously change facing. I believe they are out of charge arc of the Abyssal Guard, which I count as a win. 

The Herd, moving up.

The Centaur Hunters hold, and shoot into the Lower Abyssal troop, taking a cover penalty. They land no hits. Tribal Spears move up to press some issues next turn.

The Brutes pivot really awkwardly. They had no charges this turn, so I think I am lining them up to charge out of the woods if the Hellhounds or Succubi get feisty next turn.

The Chieftain on Chariot backs up, denying a charge from the Succubi. My game plan is to just fight for these three tokens, so if the Succubi want to fight, they'll need to abandon their obstacle and come to me.

The Centaur Chief delivers! And Escapes!

Being an individual, the Centaur Chief has a charge into the Vile Brood. He charges out, lands a few damage, and gets a nice Nerve check to rout the Brood. He needs to sidestep 2" to get off of the hill in order to hid behind it, and I roll up a 3! This was probably a bit of a greedy play, but it definitely paid off. He's got CS2, but with just 4 attacks, isn't likely to do much damage, and this was a very lucky outcome for me.

The Centaur Strider troop out on the right continue running across the field. The new plan with them is to run back and hold the objective in my back left. The Harpies abandon it, looking to interdict if needed, or potentially fly over the Abyssal lines to snag an objective in the late game.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

My opponent spots a mistake from me! The Abyssal Guard can juuust squeeze in and connect with the Centaur Hunters, and so takes this charge. They deal 8 damage, but the Centaurs miraculously hold with just a 5 on the dice for the Nerve Check. Kudos for my opponent for spotting this; there are a number of things I could have done differently here, and dealing with this is going to be a pain.

The Abyssal Guard make a clever charge to get out of danger.

We measure the charge are of the Chieftain on Chariot, and the Hellhounds move up, staying just outside of it. The Hellhounds have a lot of attacks, but still only have TC1, and my opponent is wary of giving that up.

The Seductress moves up to encourage the Succubi, and the Lower Abyssals pivot and move, plodding out towards the left-side of the table now.

Bottom of Round 3: Herd

Being an individual, the Centaur Chieftain can still see the Hellhounds though, and charges in for the disorder. The thinking here is that I can charge in and disorder them, and if they countercharge, they need to get lucky to break the Chief, and if they don't the Chariot will have a rear charge. If they do get lucky, the Chariot can still charge in, and hopefully hold them up for the rest of the game. The Centaur Chief charges in, and deals his 2 damage, and disordering the Hellhounds.

Charges for the Herd.

The Tribal spears move up, threatening a charge into the Lower Abyssal troop. I don't think the Succubi can charge or be charged by them next turn.

The Brutes pivot, awkwardly, again, ponderously and ineffectively looking for a fight.

I'm not sure what the heck my plan way, but the Centaur Hunters disengage, and them nimbly move away. This is silly as I am still in charge arc and charge range of the Abyssal Guard. I think I was overestimating my chances against the Abyssal Guard with the Strider troop? The Striders have just 6 base attacks. They are charging, and get a Bane Chant, but deal just 5 damage, and will not break them.

Moving the Hunters is another big mistake from me this game. I'll chalk this up to inexperience with new units.

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

The Abyssal Guard obviously eagerly chase after the Hunters, and the unit continues to capitalize immensely from my positioning errors. The Guard are able to hit the Hunters in the flank, will regenerate some damage of theirs, and then will devastate and then rout the Hunters. Once victoriously reformed (just spinning 180 degrees), the Guard is out of charge arc of everything the Herd has around! A great play from my opponent to punish me here.

The Abyssals cut down one unit while evading at least three others.

The Abyssal Warlock rear charges the Centaur Striders. I thought he had just 2 attacks, but he has 5! I must be confusing him with the Ogre Warlock. Thankfully for me though, the dice trend downward, and he only lands 2 damage, about half what would be expected, and the Striders hang around.

We realize that the Seductress can see the Centaur Chief, since the Hellhounds are just Height 2. With Duelist, she flies in, lands 6 with the Hounds contributing a pitiful 4 (about half what is expected usually), and the Chief is devastated and routed. The Hellhounds will change facing, to eye up the Chieftain on Chariot, who is too close to get away.

The Centaur Chief is slain.

My opponent realizes that it is Round 4. He needs to either aggressively push with the Lower Abyssal Horde or hold back, and opts for the latter.

The Lower Abyssal troop holds, sitting on an objective, as do the Succubi, who are still being coy, and loathe to give up their nearby obstacle when they are up against the Herd.

Bottom of Round 4: Herd

The Centaur Strider troop makes it over to my far left, securing a token for me. The Harpies fly up, looking to fly over and secure the objective on my far right in the coming turns. They are out of range of the Hellhounds, but not the individual Seductress.

The Chieftain on Chariot charges in against the Hellhounds, and deals 2 damage. It's a clear charge and he has a lot of modifiers for damage, but a mere 5 attacks is still swingy to hit with. The Hounds are brought to 4 damage, and hold. The whole goal here is to delay the Hellhounds, so this is actually fine by me. This situation also gives the Seductress some hard choices, as Bane Chanting the Hounds is important to get through the Chariot's Def5, but giving up another Objective to the Harpies could end up very badly for the Abyssals.

The Chieftain on Chariot charges in! Unfortunately, it's a front-charge.

The Tribal Spears charge the Lower Abyssal troop, and mulch them. They victoriously change facing, spinning around.

The Centaur Strider troops countercharges the Warlock, and receives a Bane Chant. They deal a ridiculous 5 damage off 6 attacks and get a waver. 

The Guardian Brutes pivot, preparing for a charge from the Abyssal Guard. 

Again my plan is to delay, and I am currently holding three tokens, so the Centaur Strider regiment continues to be held in reserve, standing by in case the Hellhounds or Succubi move in as the game concludes. The game have been a mess for me, but I am liking my position overall.

Top of Round 5: Abyssals

The Succubi pack it up, and start to sneak around the building, to play for that objective. They should be able to see the rear of the Tribal Spears, so I need to remember to move the horde on my turn. These Succubi get TC from the formation, and 60 attack in the rear on 3's and 3's would not be good for me!

Moves and charges from the Abyssals.

The Warlock has Fury, so countercharges my Centaur Strider troop, dealing another 2 damage and wavering them now.

The Abyssal Guard charges in against the Guardian Brutes, and deals 5 damage, but the Brutes hold. 

The Seductress opts to Bane Chant the Hellhounds, who countercharge the Chieftain on Chariot, dealing a staggering 9 damage. (This is actually not far from what was expected, but far more than I was expecting given their output last turn. I did not have a good grasp of their stats.) Inspiring himself, the Chieftain manages to barely hold on, and is also unfazed.

The Lower Abyssal horde sits tight, securing the only objective for the Abyssals currently.

Bottom of Round 5: Herd

The Tribal Spears change facing, and my opponent lets me know that I can pivot enough to have the building blocking line of sight to the Spears, so I do that. 

The Herd holds and counter charges.

The Guardian Brutes countercharge the very troublesome Abyssal Guard, getting a Bane Chant from the Druid. The Guard have regenerated down to 2 damage the last few turns, but the Brutes roll a little better than expected, landing 12 new damage on the Guard. The Guard are -/16, need insane courage to hold, and do not get it.

The Chieftain on Chariot kicks it into gear, and lands 4 more damage onto the Hellhounds, who are found to be quite insane when we go to test them.

The Harpy flits away, looking to secure the unclaimed token off on the far right.

Aftermath of Round 5.

At the end of the round, the Herd holds 3 tokens with the Harpies pursuing a fourth. The Abyssals have just the one, held diligently by the Lower Abyssal Horde.

Top of Round 6: Abyssals

The Abyssals are in a bad spot for the scenario. The Seductress flies out and hits the Harpies in the rear. She deals a sultry 4 damage, but the Nerve check is low and the Harpies are disordered, but unbothered.

The Abyssals try, but there is not a lot they can do at this point.

The insane Hellhounds countercharge the Chieftain on Chariot, and will drag him down. I think they are in charge range of the Centaur Striders, as they look to victoriously back up afterwards. The Hellhounds are speedier than the Striders, so are likely still threatening a charge themselves.

Final moves for the Abyssals.

The Succubi get uncomfortably close to the Tribal Spears, but thanks to the honesty of my opponent, can't charge this turn due to lacking line of sight around the building.

The Warlock charges the Centaur Striders again, and lands another 1 damage, bringing them to 5. The Nerve check is low though, and they stick around.

Bottom of Round 6: Herd

The Tribal Spears (US4) are holding the objective against the Succubi (US3). I still opt to charge in as I'm Ensnared, but wounding on 2's, and was curious how that would play out. I manage to slip 7 damage onto the Succubi, which is about what would be expected. 

The Harpies politely excuse themselves from the Seductress, and move out to secure the objective token out on the far right.

The Centaur Strider troops charges in against the Warlock, but I don't think lands any damage. Unable to help, the Brutes look on while guarding their objective.

The other Centaur Strider troop secures a token.

The Centaur Strider regiment backs up, denying a charge from the Hellhounds in a potential Round 7.

At the end of the round, the Abyssals hold one objective with the Lower Abyssal horde. The Succubi are contesting, but losing out to the Tribal Spears. The Spears, Harpies, Guardian Brutes and Centaur Striders also all claim tokens for the Herd, making the game 4:1 in favor of the Herd.

But we do roll up a Round 7!

Top of Round 7: Abyssals

Still, the Abyssals are in a rough spot. Winning isn't likely, and but we use the chance here to look at how one could mitigate a loss in a tournament setting.

The Seductress pursues the Harpies, and defeats them. The character can't secure the token, but does prevent the Herd from keeping it.

The Warlock disengages from the Centaur Strider Troop. He's Nimble, so runs over to help the Succubi with the scenario. With his presence, the Unit Strength is now equal here, so no one is scoring

The Warlock nimbly flees, to provide some unit strength against this token.

The Abyssals end the round with the game 2:1 in favor of the Herd.

Bottom of Round 7: Herd

The Centaur Striders give chase to the Warlock, but are not nimble, and can't catch up or get close enough to contribute their unit strength here.

So the Tribal Spears charge back in against the Succubi, getting a Bane Chant. A similar amount of damage is done to them again, and the ladies are routed, securing the objective for the Herd again. They spin around to face the Warlock, but it's the bottom of 7, and this is not needed.

The Herd manage to grind it out.

The Herd brings it back to 3:1, and the game ends. A victory for the Herd!

Game Conclusion

Giving my opponent the first turn was a bad call on my part. My hope was that the Flamebearers would take the hill, and then my Centaur Hunters could then canter up and pick them off for free... but that was the really only reason I had to give the initiative away, and his opening moves were definitely not guaranteed! I kinda got my wish here, but this turn order was not a good decision from me to start things off.

I felt like I had a better deployment and a better plan going into the game, and it should have been mine to lose, though I seemingly tried my best to do so! Sheesh. This was a bad game for my positioning, and my opponent used those Abyssal Guards to masterfully punish me and tie things up. Still, despite some terrible plays on my part, my overall strategy worked in the end, and I came away with a win after a very fun game!

Testing Conclusion

• Tribal Spears. I could have used them a little more aggressively, but they still got the job done , besting two units and ended the game on the field! You can't ask for more than that from an anvil unit. Thunderous Charge makes all the difference with them though, as I think is a must-buy upgrade for them.
• Harpies. They were around to delay if needed, but then with nothing to block, they made a play for an objective in the late game, which was a good way to use them. They did just fine! 
• Guardian brutes w/ Staying Stone. I struggled with my positioning this game, and didn't use them particularly well. Still, given my strategy and the scenario, things worked out for them. 
• Centaur Bray Strider Regiment. Not a particularly great test for them, since they didn't see combat, but strategically, they did a good job for me, giving my opponent pause and zoning things out. 
• Centaur Bray Strider Troops. Early nimble goof aside, they each had an alright time. The troop units have so few attacks these are even harder to evaluate than the regiments! They seem ok in a blocking or anti-chaff role, or to initiate piece trades, or to sit back and hold objectives... but overall are a weird unit that I don't really understand yet. After just one showing, that uncertainty is completely fair though! I'll just have to try them out some more.
• Centaur Bray Hunters. I still like the unit style, and they had a good opening, but my brain just checked out and I did not use them well as the game went on. 
• Druid. Not a stylish pick, but this is still working for me.
• Centaur Chief. The Chief had a stellar game, getting very lucky against the Vile Brood. This kind of disrupting role seems ok for him, though 4 attacks means he probably isn't going to be very consistent. 
• Chieftain on Chariot. The Chieftain and his ride worked about as good as I could have hoped for? With Defense 5 and Inspiring, he can be a bit of a roadblock, and the decent speed can help slow movement down as things jockey for positioning. Just 5 attacks is still a bit of a bummer, as is no Pathfinder/Strider. I think he does have a bit of a lane in a terrain-light meta, but I don't know if he's really worth pursuing too hard, as I think other things would be better.  

The last few months have been great for me and my Kings of War endeavors. I've gotten to play some new armies and a bunch of new players. I still have a handful of folks I haven't battled yet, but I hope to see them soon! A big reason for the new interest and success locally is my opponent here, so a big thank you to him for all he does. And thanks for the game too!