Kings of War 3rd Edition: #073 Group Game [Kill]

Intro and Lists

With both Game 1 and Game 2 behind us, that could only mean that we were on to Game 3 already, which was the final game for this little inaugural event. We found ourselves up against the Rat Bastards, with Kenny Lull of the Combat Phase podcast as the Wisconsinite for the pairing. He was at a regular Kings of War event last weekend, so is really jumping into the game! We've seen him a few times before on the blog, and his Abyssal Dwarfs are all painted and based now! He was running the following:

I think Kenny said this event was the first list of his that didn’t have Obsidian Golems? I was definitely expecting him to run some, but I’ll gladly fight against some of this “regiments max” Abyssal Dwarf stuff! Kenny’s got a good variety of units to give him lots of options in-game, and had two sources of Inspiring, which seemed like a good call for this game-size. It’s an unorthodox list, and he’s definitely exploring some stuff, but I can definitely dig it. Kenny was aided by Ian, who was running a “Tek”-themed Ratkin list. He brought the following:

The Ratkin are still pretty unknown to me, but Tek and contraptions seems to be the most popular way to run them? Not knowing the army, I can’t comment on it much other than to say I generally liked the approach, with lots of scary units and good keyword synergies. Like the Abyssal Dwarfs, the “hired help” brought a list with a lot of tools. It had some great ranged options, and with multiple sources of Rallying and an Aura Elite for most of the units from the Swarm-Crier, the list felt like it would be hard to pin down and hit harder than expected once the lines did close.

The choices for the final game were Kill, Plunder, and Salt the Earth. We had bee doing pretty good on Attrition points, so we angling for the boring Kill to close things out. We lost the roll, nixed Salt the Earth and they picked Kill. Tournament-wise, even though it was Kill, the bonus Attrition points were still in play, so if we did well, here we’d likely do very well.

Table and Terrain

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, the Hills as normal Height 3 hills, and the odd blobs as Height 0 Difficult Terrain. 

Deployment for the Rat Bastards, and for me.

They intertwined their lines. the Halfbreed Regiment and Champion took a far flank. The Night Terror, Weapon Team and Nightmares formed a front line hiding behind the hill, with the Spear Warriors,  and Tunnel Runners in reserve. The Swarm-Crier was nestled in the main line, providing his nice Elite aura to the nearby Tek units.

The Clawshots deployed back, nearer the center of the table. With the hills, they do not have great lines of sight, but should be able to get some shots off as the game progresses and things take the hill.

The expensive and varied Abyssal Dwarf Regiments held the center, with the Decimators on the left, the Blacksouls in the center and the Immortal Guard on the right. The Gargoyles took the far right flank, lurking and hoping to interdict.

A goofier shot to try and show the deployment for Team Double Trouble.

Our first deployment was my partner's Lower Abyssal Horde. I was looking to play more centrally and use the hills for cover, but this pushed me out into the corner a bit. Left to right we had Tortured Souls, Chroneas, Tortured Souls, Tortured Souls, Tortured Soul horde, then Gargoyles and the Warlock in reserve. 

The Lower Abyssal horde joined me lurking behind the hill, with Zaz and a Succubi Regiment nearby. On the far right we had the Manifestation and the other Succubi Regiment. 

Top of Round 1: Team Double Trouble

Out on the left, two Regiments and the Chroneas get into the terrain, but are outside the charge range of the Halfbreeds. The Gargoyles join this group to interdict if needed.

All the Ratkin stuff is Height 3, so the final regiment of Tortured Souls hops up  between the hills to threaten anything that advances up. If anything takes the hill, they can see, and if the Abyssal Dwarfs move up, I might even have a flank.

All of the souls, moving up!

The Tortured Soul Horde can't get into any good positions this turn. If I move up, the Decimators and Clawshots can cleanly shoot me, and the Abyssal Dwarfs could even charge in, if I try to get beyond the first hill to hide from the rats. Instead, my horde gets their leader point onto the hill and waits. 

The Lower Abyssal Horde moves at the double to take the hill. Zaz tags along, but with the horde blocking, can't see anything to shoot at it. As mentioned about Game 2, I think Zaz should be deploying next to and not behind things, unless you are really worried about counter-shooting.

The nearby Succubi move at the double, but can't quite get into the woods, so it will be blocking their line of sight.

The other Succubi unit moves up at the double as well. The Gargoyles are out there, but that's it, so we need them to be booking it towards the center field as soon as they can.

Out on the flank, the Manifestation tosses lightning into the Immortal Guard I believe, landing 3 damage. Both have regeneration, but hitting the Gargoyles might have been a better choice (easier to damage, easier to rout) but I don't know the angles at play here.

Bottom of Round 1: Team Rat Bastards

The weighted flank advances. The Weapon Team and Nightmares take the hill. The Weapons Team fires into some Tortured Souls, landing 2 damage. The Halfbreed regiment scoots up, daring a charge, and the rest of the Rats scurry up looking to support.

The center of Abyssal Dwarfs trudge forward. They are safe from the Succubi this turn. The Decimators and the Clawshots and Nightmares land 14 damage into the Lower Abyssals. This is concerning, but it's a horde, so they hold, and they have Regeneration, so this could work itself out if we are smart.

Top of Round 2: Team Double Trouble

With the Abyssal Dwarfs having committed the Halfbreeds out here, I am outnumbered, fighting against a couple hundred extra points of stuff. Still, I am feeling confident as the turn is passed to us, and aim for some big plays.

Charges galore!

The charges are messy though. I want to charge the Tortured Soul horde into the nightmares first, to align flush. Given the heights, this would protect them from the Tunnel Runners next turn. Spacing is tight though, and this would donk up my other charges.

Instead, the injured Tortured Soul regiment charges the Weapon Team first, seeking revenge. The Tortured Soul Horde then hits the Nightmares, but has a corner sticking out. 

The Chroneas and two remaining Tortured Soul regiments triple-charge the Halfbreed Regiment, with Cloak of Death hitting the Halfbreeds, their Champion, and the speedy Night Terror.

Things go very well for me!

The aftermath of the combats.

The Halfbreeds take 14 damage and are trounced. The Chroneas backs up to try and be safe. One regiment pivots, and the other overruns to try and further box the Ratkin in. 

The other Tortured Soul regiment bests the Weapon Team, Lifeleech down to 0 damage, and then stays put, since everything near them is in their front arc.

The Tortured Soul Horde deals 6 damage, which is slightly more than expected, as it turns out. The Nightmares hold.

Leif brings more pressure on the right.

Elsewhere, I think Zaz takes the hill and then betrays the Lower Abyssal Horde, to shoot boosted Lighting into I think the Clawshots. I think three bolts hit (damaging the horde), and 2 damage lands into the Clawshots, getting a waver out of them. The Manifestation moves up at the double with a nimble pivot, getting out of the charge arc of the Abyssal Dwarf infantry.

The Succubi each enter some woods. Out on the right I guess they are trying to bait the Gargoyles. The left unit is daring charges form the Abyssal Dwarf infantry. With Hindered charges plus Ensnare on the Succubi, this is some good pressure to force the Abyssal Dwarfs to do something. .

Bottom of Round 2: Team Rat Bastards

The Gargoyles have been lurking in reserve, and will flank charge the Manifestation to ground and disorder him. The Manifestation ended up getting too far ahead of the building here.

The Immortals charge the more central Succubi, are Hindered and Ensnared, and I think land just 2 damage. The Blacksouls just move up, I believe. I don't think they quite had the inches to join in.

Mid-movement. The Tunnel Runners are in, but the Immortals are still deciding.

The Tunnel Runners make a hindered charge into the Lower Abyssal horde. They don't have the J-Boots, nor the Brew of Sharpness to help out, but they manage 6 into the horde. They took some heavy fire from the Rat Bastards last turn, didn't regenerate much, so this combat brings them to a very concerning 18 damage! The Nerve check is ice cold though with a miraculous 3, and the horde is just Wavered, and not even devastated.

New game, but the same problem. The Tortured Soul horde takes another unexpected flank charge.

The Nightmares countercharge the Tortured Soul horde. As their last move order, the Rat Bastards decided to send the Decimators into the souls as well, instead of joining in against the Lower Abyssals or shooting at Zaz. The Decimators hit the Souls in the flank, the unit is brought to 18 damage (a bit more than expected), and are then routed. Sheesh. The Nightmares will change facing to face the rest of my lines, and the Decimators change facing to threaten the Lower Abyssal horde.

The Spear Warriors deal 7 damage to a Tortured Soul regiment, but are just shy of beating them on the Nerve check. The warriors will also pop their pots, and are ready to hold strong.

The Night Terror and Halfbreed Champion deal 9 damage combined (a few more than expected), and manage to rout the Tortured Soul regiment out on the flank. 

Top of Round 3: Team Double Trouble

I'm quickly losing units again! The Warlock tries to Drain Life the Nightmares, getting 1 damage in, and heals the grievously injured Tortured Souls from down to 6.

Tortured Souls that fought the Weapons Team charges the Nightmares now, deals a few more damage in melee, and secures a bit of a lucky rout.

The Chroneas opts to charge the Night Terror, since it can double attacks if it finds a lucky flank, unlike the Halfbreed Champion. It's taken 2 from Cloak of Death, takes 5 in the melee, and is Wavered. The Chroneas uses the Temporal Ruptures to heal the grievously injured Tortured Souls from 6 to 3.

The Abyssals lose a few units, but continue fighting.

The Gargoyles move up to block things from the Halfbreed Champion. He's an individual, so can still get into the Chroneas or Tortured Souls, but I don't really want him getting into the Warlock or the Tortured Souls fighting the Nightmares.

The grievously injured Tortured Souls counter-charge the Spear Warriors and their popped pot. It's Phalanx and Ensnare and I'm a flier, so it's not a good fight, but damage should stick here, and I want to just hold them up for a turn or two if I can, to protect the Chroneas. I deal a miraculous 2 damage, and am able to Lifeleech from 3 down to 1. Hey, this was how I hoped my build would work!

End of the round.

The Lower Abyssals regenerate a little while counter-charging the Tunnel Runners. I don't remember if Zaz betrays them this turn or not. They bring the Runners up to 13 damage. The Runners need snake eyes, and find them, miraculously holding against the pushback.

I believe the Manifestation of Ba'el dallies for a turn to trounce the Gargoyles, then reforms to see the Abyssal Dwarf regiments that are struggling against the Succubi in the center of the field.

One unit tussles with the Immortals in the woods, but doesn't break them, while the other continues a trek towards the center of the field since they have no charges.

Bottom of Round 3: Team Rat Bastards

The insane Tunnel Runners go back in to the Lower Abyssal Horde with a countercharge, and will best them this turn, unfortunately winning that fight.

The Immortals nearby will struggle on against the Succubi. This is a countercharge, but Ensnare is still in effect, and does some good mitigation, even against an elite regiment.

The Decimators will change facing, and they and the Clawshots will target my Tortured Souls on the hill, landing 10 damage, and will rout them. 

The Halfbreed Champion opts to go into the Chroneas, dealing 4 damage.

The Spear Warriors grind against the Tortured Souls, and will land 6, but these Souls are now found to be Insane. It's not as impactful as the Tunnel Runners holding, but still lucky and very welcome!

Top of Round 4: Team Double Trouble

The Warlock tries a Drain Life, and syphons 1 from the Spear Warriors over to my last unit of Tortured Souls, brining them from 6 down to 5.

The Tortured Souls are occupying the Spear Warriors pretty well, and are happy grind away. Phalanx is still an issue, but the Souls deal some damage, and Lifeleech 2 back, going from 5 to 3. 

Cloak of Death hits the Night Terror, Halfbreed Champion and the Spear Warriors. The Chroneas tries to finish off the Night Terror, and does so. Temporal Ruptures heals the Tortured Souls from 3 to 0!

The Tortured Souls get healed up again, in their fight against the Ratkin Spears.

The Gargoyles fly in, landing 2 against the Halfbreed Champion.

The Manifestation can just spy the Tunnel Runners, and makes a hindered charge into them, removing the unit from the field.

The two Succubi units are able to converge on the Immortals, with one getting into their flank, and the ladies chew through them.

I believe Zaz betrays one of the Succubi units to boost some lighting into the Swarm-Crier. Two damage is done, but that is enough to hit a lucky waver.

Bottom of Round 4: Team Rat Bastards

The Halfbreed Champion sticks another 3 into the Chroneas, but the enigma sticks around on 7 damage.

The Decimators and Clawshots open up against my Warlock, landing 6 damage total, and waver him.

The Tortured Souls hold again.

The Spear Warriors land another 7 damage against the Tortured Souls, but they continue to hold, and hopefully the heals can keep pace still.

The Blacksouls make a hindered charge to take the fight to the same Succubi unit, and bring them up to 9 damage, but the ladies hold.

Top of Round 5: Team Double Trouble

The Chroneas continues to ignore the Abyssal Halfbreed, and instead charges into the flank of the Tribal Spears, with the Tortured Souls still grinding away. The horde of rats is slain! The Tortured Souls end the round at 3 damage, as they only contributed 1 damage this turn. They have Flying, so the Phalanx of the Ratkin Spears was pretty impactful every turn. 

The Abyssals continue to grind against the Ratkin.

Wavered, I can't think of what to do with the Warlock, so he just stays put.

The Halfbreed Champion takes another hit from the Cloak of Death, and starts the melee phase at 4 damage. The Gargoyles land a few more into him, and are able to get the rout against him, cleansing this side of the table of the Rat Bastards.

Post-combat reforms.

The Manifestation takes a rear charge into the rear of Decimators who had moved to shoot up my Warlock, and the flying hero will slay them! The Manifestation turns to face the Clawshots.

Zaz zaps the Swarm-Crier, bringing him to 6 damage and getting a Waver.

The Succubi multi-charge the Blacksouls, who end the round at 13 damage, but are found to be Insane!

Bottom of Round 5: Team Rat Bastards

The Clawshots shoot, and land 2 into my Warlock, who is Wavered again. 

The Blacksouls fight on against the injured Succubi unit, and secures a rout.

The wavering Crier does nothing.

Top of Round 6: Team Double Trouble

I take a breather and Leif closes things out for us.

Zaz lands 1 more Lightning Bolt into the Swarm-crier, and will get the rout.

The Manifestation turns to witness the Succubi's final butchering.

The Manifestation will charge the Clawshots and scatter them.

The Succubi charge into the insane Blacksouls, and will rout them.

Bottom of Round 6: Team Rat Bastards

We pass the turn, and the Rat Bastards have only a very lonely Iron Caster to worry about. With just Bane Chant and Heal 3, there isn't much he can do.

We're playing Kill and there are attrition points in play as well, so it's a huge victory to Team Double Trouble! 

Testing Conclusions

• Gargoyles. They did fine, and even contributed to the scenario, despite it being Kill! They unexpectedly made their points back, so I definitely can’t complain.
• Tortured Soul Regiments. They were used well and did quite well this game. Only one managed to survive, that unit in particular had a great run against the Ratkin Spear horde, holding the line until the Chroneas could arrive. 
• Tortured Soul Horde. They caught another unlucky break this game! Fearless 17, but Defense 4 was just a little too fragile here as it turned out. They did not have a great tournament, but I needed something to unlock for me, and this was the best choice. 
• Chroneas. I prioritized fitting her in, and I think that was a good call for the tournament. As my other units routed, she became less effective, obviously, but was still a tough monster for my opponents to deal with, and Drain Life did good work in each and every game. 
• Warlock with Drain Life. Still a decently effective choice, and a good one for the list. We were up against a lot of armored stuff, so getting use out of the spell was going to be pretty hard. The printout omitting Piercing was unfortunate, but that was clearly my mistake for not double-checking things at any point. 
• Blinged-out Succubi. They didn’t deploy the best here, and the high-quality Abyssal Dwarf units were still able to drag one unit down. However, that loss was only possible due to them being insanely courageous and not devastated. Additionally, they were able to reposition quickly enough thanks to Pathfinder… so you could make a strong case that the ladies were still quite effective. Needing magic items in order to be effective doesn’t sit well with me though, and they are still a unit I do not really understand yet.
• Manifestation of Ba'el. Fliers are better in multiples, and I was not expecting it to be this effective in our games, but Leif used this very well in the last two games and it ended up doing a lot of heavy lifting for us. Flier/dragon defense was minimal, and even lists with it (like the Halfbreed Champs), were not using those units to ground and deal with the fliers. We lucked out.
• Zaz the Betrayer. I did not track his spells and doings too closely, but I feel like more often than not, Zaz was just tossing around boosted Lighting Bolts by Betraying units. We did have some lucky wavers, but competitively, I’m not sure that’s was the best play, since he invested in the Brew of Sharpness and we wanted the Lower Abyssal horde to anchor our line, and all of the Betraying contributed to the horde falling in both games. Writing up the repots, I noticed Zaz ended up behind the horde a lot, and I would encourage Leif to deploy him alongside stuff instead, so he’s avoiding cover penalties. Zaz + the Manifestation is still a good choice though, and if he’s deploying these two in the same third of the table, that focused-fire is going to put the hurt on something!  

Game Conclusions

I think me realizing that everything across from us all maxed out at Height 3 was the key, and it was the right call to seize the initiative and then sneak up using the hills as cover. My list worked very well here, and once the Rat Bastards started advancing, my quicker fliers were able to get a ridiculous amount of Round 2 charges in. While the Tunnel Runners did breach containment, and I did lose the Horde again, I was able to grind out the Halfbreeds and most of the Rats, and then Leif was able to close things out for us, and not even two insane courage results could keep the Rat Basters in the game.

Tournament Conclusions and Results

Tournament play was different but exciting, and this event was a great introduction to it. My reporting suffered a little, particularly with pictures, but I still got the gist across. My list wasn’t as durable as I would have liked, but it did have some great moments in Games 1 and 3 with the synergies I was building around, and I think building to complement my partner’s preferences worked out for us. We had three great and exciting games, against three pairs of wonderful people.

We had a good run, and a pretty tough path in the event, as it turned out! The small number of teams contributed to this I am sure. 

Our opponents in Game 3 here won the Sportsmanship award (well-deserved too! They came up with their own team name, and this game was a blast!). Our opponents in Game 1 went on to take 3rd Place overall. Our rivals in Game 2 would take 4th Place overall, reaching the top table for Game 3, but losing to Rob's ravenous halflings and Jeff's heavy cavalry list, and these two who would take 1st Place for this inaugural event. 

…and that just leaves Team Double Trouble for this epilogue. 

Despite a bit of an uncertain lead-up to the event and a rocky start to the day, we managed to snag 2nd Place overall! 

A big thank you my my partner Leif for taking a certainly stressful morning in stride and brining a fun Abyssals list for me to think more about; to our gracious opponents throughout the day; and to our TO's Brian and Rebecca for running a great event for all of us. This was a wonderful introduction to some tournament play, and hopefully we'll have more local events popping up soon!