Kings of War 3rd Edition: #091 Varangur vs Abyssal Dwarfs in Dominate

Intro and Lists:

I took some time off from work and was fortunate to play in some games instead! The second game of the day was against the effervescent Mike. I was expecting him to bring his magnificent-looking Elves in their crisp greens and whites, but he is a talented and darned prolific hobbiest, and apparently has an equally impressive (and heretofore secret) Abyssal Dwarf army! It was collected and painted years ago for fun, way before he got to play any games of Kings of War. He brought the following:

We've seen the Abyssal Dwarfs before, but none of those lists really leaned into the Slave Orc aspect of the army. It is neat. The slave units take a stats hit, but are still decent units, and can fill up a board at a nice discount. Supporting them this game are powerful Lesser Obsidian Golems, Blacksouls, Decimators, and Abyssal Halfbreeds and Brakki, all of which we have seen before. Heavy Mortars with their D3+2 Blasts are new though, as is Ba'su'su the Vile, which could be hard to contain, let alone defeat! I believe the list is 5 points shy, since I didn't do a great job of planning and coordinating for the day's games, and he didn't have a ton of notice. While he built his list based around what he had, and was collecting and painting these years before playing a game, it's still a very competent list, with a good variety of units and a lot to be scared of! I really like playing against these kind of "good, but not optimized" lists, given my haphazard approach to my own explorations of the game. 

Like I do with double-headers, I brought the Varangur again, running a list similar to the one from the previous game, but with some slight differences. Up to test this time are:

• No Draugr. I like them, but I also like exploring army rosters. We're going to see if we can get by with a little less chaff.
• Reavers. Still just running the one unit. We'll continue trying it out as a second-line unit and try to get their Tundra Fighters trigger with the Cavern Dweller again.
• Multiple Night Raiders. Trying out two regiments this time. We'll see how a little more shooting works with the Varangur. 
• Horde of Human Tribesmen with two-handers. Having a normal infantry unit with CS2 is unusual, and seems like something worth exploring. We'll see how a horde works in this game.
• Mounted Sons of Korgaan. No Brutal or other marks, just giving the base unit a try to help me recalibrate my expectations as I relearn Varangur.
• Tundra Wolves. They had their debut last game. They got lucky, but I did like them. We'll see how they do this game.
• Cavern Dweller. I tend to struggle to deal with Cavern Dwellers, so I wanted to try them out in multiples myself to see how obnoxious they felt and what I might be able to learn.
• Skald with Lute (and Ordered March). I usually take an ASB-equivalent in most of my lists, and the Varangur have the Skald. To get the most out of him one wants him alongside infantry, so that's what we'll try to do.
• Thegn on Frostfang. The nimble, scoring Thegns on Frostfangs have been pretty good takes previously, so we'll continue taking them! I again purchased the extra attack, and we'll see if that feels impactful in this game. 
• Magnilde of the Fallen. Full of utility, she has proven to be a great pick again and again, and we'll see what magic she can work for us this game.
• Kruufnir. Also a great pick, we'll see what the troll can deliver on this game. Coming from WHFB, I have an aversion to picking named characters, as it kind of ruins the immersion for me, but I do really like this duo for the Varangur.

Table and Terrain

We were still on the high table at Oddwillows, using our typical terrain rules, running the buildings as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the field as Height 0. With Russ heading home, we swapped out his buildings for 40k ruined buildings from the shop's collection. It works, but I think I'll try to hobby up some fantasy buildings for them over the winter here.

We got Dominate for our scenario, which should be nice and easy. My mat is from Mats By Mars, and has the nifty Kings of War overlay, with a Dominate Circle on it already. Whoever gets the most Unit Strength into the circle in the center of the board wins!

For perspective. That's a lot of Abyssal Dwarfs!

The Abyssal Dwarfs went with a very wide approach, thanks to the cheaper Slave Orcs units. From left-to right we have the Slave Orc Gore Riders with a Gargoyle unit in reserve, both Blacksoul units, an artillery piece that we were playing on hill (I chamfered the corner of that hill really bad). Brakki was hiding behind the hill, as were the Decimators. The Slave Orc horde took the center of the field. Both Lesser Obsidian Golems hordes were off-center on the right, each with an Iron Caster relatively nearby to support, and with another unit of Gargoyles in reserve. The second mortar hid by the building, with Ba'su'su and the Halfbreeds on the far right.

View on the left.

I had won the roll for sides and was a lazy wargamer. I was out-deployed again, and in danger of being enveloped! Left-to-right for me we have a unit of Wolves screening Mounted Sons. Kruufnir showed up late, and had to stack here. A building created a bit of a lane, and I tried to use it to anchor my line. Magnilde sat here, intending to fly out and boop the Mortar (which in retrospect, I think we should have treated it as just having the leader-point on the hill). The Cavern Dweller lurked here, ready to make some Striding charges over the obstacle, and both units of Night Raiders sat nearby as well, hoping to shoot into the center and soften up the Slave Orc Horde.

View from the center.

My center had Mounted Sons deployed back, as the original intent was to screen them with a unit of Tundra Wolves, but I had forgotten both had already been deployed. The  Tribesman set up near the center with Reavers in support and the Skald Inspiring nearby. The second Cavern Dweller and the Thegn sat in the woods, ready to make some Striding charges as needed. Over on the right was the other unit of Wolves.

View on the right.

Having war machines and winning the roll for first turn, my opponent seized the initiative, and get the game going.

Top of Round 1: Abyssal Dwarfs

On the left, the ranks of Abyssal Dwarfs and their underlings march up 8 inches, with the Slave Orc cavalry keeping pace with the Blacksoul infantry blocks. The Gargoyles pull up behind.

Quick marches from the Abyssal Dwarf forces.

The left mortar on the hill lobs a shot into some Stealthy Night Raiders, and still managers to land 3 damage against them. The +2 on Blast is really nice.

More reserved moves in the center.

Centrally, the story in the movement phase is much the same, with the Decimators moving around 8 inches and taking the hill, the Slave Orcs keeping pace. The Obsidian Golem Hordes lag behind since they are Shambling. I believe my opponent declines to surge them this turn. The mortar on the right lobs its shots into the Human Tribesmen Horde, landing 5 damage! (I am pretty new to Shambling, but it occurs to me while writing, that my opponent could have shot with the mortar and then Surged, if he wished. I don't know what the thinking was.)

And even slower movement on the right.

On the far right, the Halfbreeds are stymied by the obstacle, and Ba'su'su lingers to oversee their efforts and probably berate them.

Bottom of Round 1: Varangur

I am not used to having my battle line threatened to be enveloped by dwarfs of any kind! I am running a pretty elite list as it turns out.

On the right, I had dropped the Wolves hoping I could envelop my foe with a speedy unit, but I misjudged the width of his list. Outclassed, they nope out of there. With Nimble and Pathfinder, they are able to reach the safety of my own lines. 

The Wolves come scampering home.

My center starts to push up, but should be out of charge range for everything this turn. The Mounted Sons keep pace with the infantry though, and with their greater speed, can threaten charges next turn.

The standoff in the center. I think the dice topper was marking the charges from the Abyssal Dwarfs.

The Night Raiders both hold, and loose into the Decimators. who had moved up and into range of my bows. One unit does 0 and the other does a hot 6 to bring us to the expected damage and average things out. I then get a very lucky waver against the shooters.

Movement on the left.

On the left, we're mostly fighting over a narrow corridor along the edge of the table. The Wolves move up and nimbly pivot to chaff, with the Mounted Sons lurking just behind them. Kruufnir didn't have a great deployment, but moves up and with his angle, can spy the Blacksoul regiments, and provided the Mounted Sons move out of the way, should be able to reach them on my next turn.

Top of Round 2: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Slave Orcs thunderously crash in against the chaffing Wolves. The Gargoyles didn't have a charge since they didn't have line of sight to anything, and sacrificing them as chaff this turn doesn't make much sense. The Slaves are able to trounce the Wolves, and then they simply hold. Given the spacing, I can't get both Kruufnir and the Sons into them currently, which my opponent likes.

Aftermath out on the left.

The Blacksouls throw their mastiffs into the Cavern Dweller, and the mortar shoots but misses. Only 3 damage is done to the Dweller, and my opponent doesn't get a lucky waver or anything. With Lifeleech 3 and plenty to grind against, the Cavern Dweller sticks around and is very happy.

The center lines close.

The wavering Decimators don't do anything, but the rest of the line inches forward, now threatening some mutual charges next turn. The Golems are both surged this turn, and both get 3 successes.

The lines of battle close in.

Out on the right, the Halfbreed cavalry move over the obstacle and pivot, and Ba'su'su flies over into my deployment zone.

Bottom of Round 2: Varangur

This turn, I want to triple charge some Golems, ideally the one on the right to minimize Surge possibilities since the Tribesmen would be hanging over. The Tribesmen can't really get cleanly into the horde on the right though, so everything goes into the left horde. The Tribesmen end up in the muck, hindered, but Bane Chanted, and a total of 16 damage is done to the Golems. At -/17, this should be good, but the Golems are found to be insanely courageous! 

Charges on the right.

The Wolves spin around to face Ba'su'su. The Reavers just hold, hiding behind the woods from the legendary gargoyle and from the Halfbreeds, who are too slow to reach anything currently. The Reavers should have a charge into the other unit of Obsidian Golems, but they weren't going to break them, and that felt like an over-extension from me that would only serve to bring the Halfbreeds crashing in next turn. With a more elite list, preventing some of his units from fighting for another turn seems like the better option here, so the Reavers hold, to wait and see what develops next.

Centrally, the Raiders loose into the Slave Orc horde as planned, landing 4 damage.

The Mounted Sons charge the cowering Decimators, and will break them. They are well out of the arc of the Blacksouls, so just change facing to see the flanks of the Orcs and the Golems. 

Charges on the center-left.

Magnilde pops her boots and flies out into the Mortar on the hill, tripling her attacks against the war machine, she'll best it on the first attempt. We should not have played the Mortar on the hill; since it's not level, we really should have played this as just having the leader point on it I think. Apologies to my opponent for this.

On the left, Kruufnir and the Cavern Dweller will charge the outer unit of Blacksouls. The Cavern Dweller is on, rolling up a good amount of extra attacks, and the regiment is brought up to 11 damage and routed. Kruufnir holds, and the Dweller spins 90 degrees to get the remaining Blacksouls into its front arc. 

The Varangur smash through on the left.

And on the far left, the Mounted Sons crush the Slave Orc Gore Riders, and overrun. Going over lists, I had been looking at just the combat stats of the Slave Orc units, but it turns out their Nerve takes a very substantial hit as well in their subservient role, which seems fitting, I suppose.

Top of Round 3: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Gargoyles aren't going to beat the Mounted Sons, and chaffing them up doesn't seem like the best plan either. They hop the line, getting into my deployment zone to threaten my Night Raiders.

The Gargoyles fly over.

The Blacksouls charge the Cavern Dweller, landing just 1 damage.

Brakki charges Magnilde, but flubs as well. He lands one, and she immediately Iron Resolves it back.

The Mounted Sons can't really be stopped from hitting the flank of the Slave Orcs. The Orcs make a hindered charge into the Human Tribesmen, with the insane Golems countercharging the same unit. Together, the Tribesmen are brought up to 16 damage, and are wavered.

The Abyssal Dwarfs close in from the right.

Other other unit of Golems pivot and are surged into the flank. The Thegn takes a beating and is routed. I suggested this, but I am also a dummy. The Thegn's leader point is in the front arc of the Golems; but the Golem's leader point is easily in my flank. A normal charge would have sufficed here. Victorious, the Lesser Golems pivot to keep the Varangur flanks in arc, while getting the Reavers into front arc.

On the right, Ba'su'su lands in the woods making his hindered charge into the Wolves, deals only 3 damage, and fails to best them.

Free of the obstacle, the Halfbreeds move at the double, looking to contribute in the midgame.

Bottom of Round 3: Varangur

The Wolves counter-charge Ba'su'su, landing 2 damage.

The Lesser Golems are both technically Frozen, and the Reavers get their Tundra Fighters trigger as they charge in against the untouched unit, and they will do 5 damage to the constructs. Hitting on 4's and against Def6, that output feels pretty good.

Pushback from the Varangur.

The Cavern Dweller here fights the other insane Golems, who are basically doomed. The Varangur monster will easily do the 2 damage needed devastate the Golems, and will then rout the unit, as is proper. Victorious, the Dweller will then spin 180 degrees to start zoning out the incoming Halfbreeds.

Losing the Thegn, my center is very shy on Inspiring, and the Skald will run up to assist.

The Tribesmen do nothing while the Mounted Sons hit the Slave Orcs in the flank, will land 20 damage on the horde, and devastate and rout them as well. The Sons overrun.

The Mounted Sons smash into the enemy line.

Kruufnir advances towards the legendary battle unfolding on the hill among the ruins of the mortar. Brakki's head is demanded, and being a Bloodbound unit, Magnilde tries to oblige. She lands 9 damage into Brakki, wavering him.

The Mounted Sons and the Cavern Dweller charge the remaining Blacksouls, land 16 damage combined, and will pick them up. The Cavern Dweller overruns 1" but the Sons roll better.

Threatened by the Gargoyles, the nearest Night Raiders will spin about. The others will move up and pivot 90 degrees, and are actually safe from a Gargoyle charge next turn. Both will take movement penalties, but both have otherwise clear shots into the Gargoyles. The units roll well, and will pick the uninspired Gargoyles up.

Victories abound for the Varangur.

It was a phenomenal round for the Varangur, but the Abyssal Dwarfs still have some fighting spirit.

Top of Round 4: Abyssal Dwarfs

A furious Brakki regenerates a few damage, and lands 3 back against Magnilde, but the Varangur lady is proving to be quite tough, especially with uncooperative dice from my opponent.

The Abyssal Dwarfs fight on.

The Gargoyles now fly up to block out the Mounted Sons from the remaining Golems for a turn, while the Abyssal Dwarfs try to pick up a few units.

The remaining mortar lands a fresh 4 damage into the Tribesmen, and will blast them off.

Combats and such.

Both Iron Casters make brave charges into the Cavern Dweller, fishing for 1 damage and a lucky boxcar check, but neither of their staves strike hard enough.

The Golems charge the Reavers, and it is tight, but the Halfbreeds are just able to scooch through with their pivot to get into the flank of the berserkers and help pick them up. 

The Abyssal Dwarfs claim a few units.

The Halfbreeds sidestep to create some space for the Golems, who just pivot.

Ba'su'su lands another 3 damage into the Wolves to bring them to 6 damage, and will rout them this turn.

Bottom of Round 4: Varangur

While I really want to try picking up both Ironcasters with some cascading charges, the Cavern Dweller opts to ignore them both, and charge into the Halfbreeds. Their sidestep was unfortunately far enough that the Mounted Sons are able to pivot past the Gargoyles and connect as well for a multi-charge. 

Charges from the Varangur.

The Mounted Sons only do 6 damage, but the Cavern Dweller rolls hot to deal 9, and the Halfbreeds scatter. The Mounted Sons sidestep, and the Cavern Dweller changes facing to face the remaining Golems, who are sitting at 5 damage already.

Reforms for the Varangur.

The Skald opts to not cast his spell, and instead throws axes into the Gargoyles. The Night Raiders both move again, taking a penalty while loosing volleys as well. The Skald misses completely, one regiment does 1, and the other does a hot 6, and the second group of Gargoyles are picked up with bow fire.

The Varangur start pushing towards the center.

Kruufnir bellows his order again as he passes the fight and moves towards the center. Magnilde is able to best Brakki this turn.

The Cavern Dweller, Mounted Sons and a regiment of Night Raiders all move towards the center, but aren't scoring yet.

Top of Round 5: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Golems and both Iron Caster charge the Cavern Dweller again. I believe a hot 8 damage is done, but the Cavern Dweller manages to just stick around, unbothered.

It didn't occur to us at the time, but with two Iron Casters, there probably were some viable Surge charges here. The Cavern Dweller might be hard to hit from the flank, but the Golems should be able to pivot past the monster, and then with a shallow angle, be surged unto their corner hits the flank of Mounted Sons.

The remaining mortar fires at Kruufnir, but the shots miss.

Ba'su'su makes a flying charge into the Skaald, rolls hot to deal 7 damage, and secures a waver.

Bottom of Round 5: Varangur

The Skaald disengages, withdraws, and then backs up. The Night Raiders move and shoot into the legendary individual gargoyle, but with stacking penalties to hit, only 1 damage looks to have made it through, and the creature holds firm.

The Varangur now claim the center.

The Varangur bring a lot of unit strength into the zone this turn. 

The Cavern Dweller lands another hot 5 into the Golems, but they hold, and the nearby Sons just sidestep, looking for a better charge angle as the game concludes.

Top of Round 6: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Mortar misses Kruufnir again, and Ba'su'su chooses to slay the Skald.

Last swings and stabs from the Abyssal Dwarfs.

The Golems and Iron Casters charge in against the Cavern Dweller again, and with some hot dice, are actually able to pick up the monster for a moral victory, with the Iron Casters greedily taking the credit despite dealing no damage to the monster.

Bottom of Round 6: Varangur

Moral victories achieved, my opponent concedes. I already overwhelmingly control the center, and with my turn coming up and his last scoring unit already on 10 damage, things are not looking good.

So, a victory for the Varangur!

Game Conclusions

It was great to throw down with Mike again, and while I was expecting Elves, the Abyssal Dwarfs were an awesome surprise. The army looks great with all the reds and bright gold. 

I was wary of Dominate against two Lesser Obsidian Golem hordes, but we had good match-ups and better unit quality overall. While the Slave Orc units were neat, we were able to bust through given their lower Nerve. The slave infantry seem like a great way to hold ground and take up space. Maybe flanking the horde with the Golems could be an approach in the future? I think Gore Rider Troops as chaff might be worth exploring too, for both of my opponents. 

Testing Conclusions.

• No Draugr. No Draugr meant that this was a rather elite list. I was a little light on drops, and was out deployed again. It worked out, but I think my Varangur need to lean in to the Draugr, or some other cheaper units to have a better time of deploying.
• Reavers. With two games played so far, they were fine? Not a stellar unit, but it seems that if you can protect them, they are fine for piece trading and pretty cheap for what you get, since you are just paying for the offensive stats. On the charge they should actually do more damage than the Tribesmen Regiments with two handers, so yeah, these look like examining a bit more, especially in metas without a lot of shooting. 
• Night Raiders. Yeah, these were strong in both games. I don't follow spoilers, but it sounds like they are getting a price-hike. We'll see what Clash brings, but right now, they are indeed a powerful unit with their bows. I think Scout might be better with the Throwing Ax version, so something to keep in mind for the future.
• Horde of Human Tribesmen with two-handers. At Def4 they are probably not going to survive the game, so what you try and trade them for becomes important. Not as strong in these opening games as I was hoping for, but still worth pursuing I think.
• Mounted Sons of Korgaan. With less chaff and unit density opposing me, they were able to do much better this game, and got in some good charges and great damage. I think the lesson here is that if I want to run the Mounted Sons as my hammers, I need to invest in winning that chaff war and starting fights on my own terms.
• Tundra Wolves. These didn't do much in terms of damage, but do seem promising for board control and threat projection. Screening for the Mounted Sons also seems like a great role for them, so we'll explore them more in the future, and probably even take a few more units.
• Cavern Dweller. One routed! Boo! Still, they were very tough for my opponents to deal with today. Their speed is a little awkward, being in between infantry and cavalry, but are durable enough that I think they could help with either kind of build. We shall see, but I feel like I should run them pretty often.
• Skald with Lute (and Ordered March). The Skald is the ASB equivalent, so while not mind-blowing, he did fine. I didn't make an effort to use Ordered March, but that's ok. 
• Thegn on Frostfang. I think I should explore sources of Inspiration more in the future, like I've been trying to do with the Herd. As a generic source of Inspiration though, he's fine.
• Magnilde of the Fallen. Again, I am always a little hesitant to take legendary things as it breaks the immersion for me, but she is a strong pick.
• Kruufnir. The legendary troll is also a very strong pick, and has proved it again and again. Here he didn't do all that much in his combats, but I actually got to use his "Bring me Their Head" ability, which was pretty fun! 

It was a great day playing against two splendid armies and two wonderful people. Thanks for the games, gentlemen!