Kings of War 3rd Edition: #097 Kingdoms of Men vs Abyssal Dwarfs in Pillage

Intro and Lists

A few of our local players were going to attend the Renegade GT, the weekend of November 23rd and 24th. Kenny from the renowned Combat Phase Podcast is one of them, and while this report is up later than I was aiming for, we were fortunate enough to finagle a practice game before hand! He brought the Abyssal Dwarfs with a renegade…. Imperial Dwarf, who was apparently in the process of being led astray and learning all about greediness.

The tournament makes you use a “Renegade” hero, which is a hero from another army that will use one of your unlocks, rather than needing an ally unit to unlock it. It counts as a Core unit for you, so your things targeting it and it targeting your things won’t matter for spells and the like, though Keywords could still impact some special rules and auras and such. This special hero also gets Secured Position and can carry Loot Tokens, as I understand it. The tournament is using the new update, but not using the new Command Orders.

There was a printout of his practice list, but not the final list, and this practice list had several layers of revisions. Try as I might to reconstruct it, I am still 10 points over. For the main army we have:

The list was elite but sturdy, with two Greater Obsidian Golems, and a horde of Lesser Golems to anchor things down, with several Iron-Casters to Surge and support them. Abyssal Halfbreeds with boots as well as a Halfbreed Champion was around to disrupt. A solitary unit of Gargoyles was there to chaff things up. There was a potent horde of Decimators with the Blessing of the Gods, and then regiments of Abyssal Berserkers (First of their Name; not the erroneously named unit from the Forces of the Abyss revamp), Blacksouls and Immortal Guard, all with small items and upgrades. About halfway through the game, I went to check something on his list, and realized that the Berserkers were a regiment, so you’ll see them bulk out in the middle of the report. 

As mentioned, the Renegade was a straying Imperial Dwarf Stone Priest, starting to put greed above clan ties. Renegades could be all sorts of things, but he opted for a simple hero to get a Radiance of Life for Dwarfs, and some Bane Chant access. 

I brought the Kingdoms of Men. I had made a few variant lists based on the original, allowing for a handful of potential future practice games. These all had chariot troops, and then ~200 points spent on either a second horde of Spears, a horde of Chariots, or Knight regiment. It’d be rough against the Def6, but I went with the Spears this time, to see how the basic unit could do at just holding ground in the face of some tough opposing units.

There is a lot you can do with a Renegade, but I liked playing my doofy Fanatical test list against Rob and his ravenous Halflings. We’ll look to see what the Fanatics and Outlaws can do against the tough Abyssal Dwarfs! Up to test for me were:

• Spear Phalanx x2. I need something to hold ground, and want to try out the very basic Spearmen to zone out sections of the table. The Herd’s Tribal Spears have some offensive punch that these lack, so we’ll try to keep them back in the early game, and commit them to objectives and such late game, when they should hopefully be harder to remove.
• Fanatics. They have been vulnerable to shooting in the past, and taught me a lot of lessons related to general tactics for Kings of War. It’s been fun to bring them back after months and months away and see what I can do with better game-knowledge. They are kind of yolo units, but can land some good damage, especially alongside the Renegade.
• Crossbows and Fire Oil. Fire Oil will likely increase in popularity if the Forces of the Abyss get more popular due to their update. I like it on the shooters as a little 5 point insurance policy, and the Crossbowmen have continually done very well for me. We’ll see what they get up to this game, but hopefully the trend continues!
• Charioteer Troops with Bows. I took the bows to get more experience with the handful of shots, and I wanted to try out the troops again as chaffy instigators in a more typical list of mine. I am hoping that they’ll be able to run out and interdict, allowing the Giants or other units to get into better positions. We’ll see how they do!
• Triple Rampage Giants. The Giants are swingy with their damage output, but I have grown to like them and their Rampaging attacks. The Abyssal Dwarfs can field a number of large and monstrous units, so we’ll see what they end up fighting and how they do for me here. 
• ASB with Lute. Tried and true for the Kingdoms of Men. The infantry get Lifeleech 2 now, (the same as vampiric Soul Reavers…) so we’ll see how I do remembering the buff.
• ASB with mount and Hex. It worked well against the Halflings and their Renegade TK Crone, so we’ll try it again here for fun. I’ve tried the Wand/Hex before with mixed success, since it was carried by an ASB on foot. The Mount and corresponding increase up to Height 3 should let me pick out foot casters to target and get more value.
• Outlaw Formation. They have Steady Aim, but only get Volley Fire to ignore cover if they stay put. I’ve donked up their rules in both directions now, so we’ll see if I can get it right this time. I also did not like running them all together, so we’ll try to pair each unit with a horde of Spears, and put the Hero wherever. 
• Renegade Orc Mansplitter. The Orc has a TC1 Aura for units with the Berserker Keyword, like my Fanatics. We gave him D3 Rampage again to try and use the throwing axes, and we’ll see what he and the Fanatics can punch through. Hopefully he won’t be soloing a horde this time!

Table and Terrain

We were out at the wonderful Noble Knight Games, making use of one of their high tables, as well as their big collection of terrain. Unfortunately, while I really liked the look of the very stylized hills, they proved to be a bit of a hassle this game. Keep it simple with your terrain for Kings of War! Your units will appreciate it.

At the tournament, there are apparently several scenarios to choose from for each round. We opted for Pillage for our practice game, to work with objective tokens, rolling up all 7 tokens to fight over, and Kenny kicked us off for sprinkling those around.

I won the roll for sides, and was a lazy gamer. If nothing else, the token by the woods would be great for my Crossbowmen.

Kenny plays a lot a lot of games, and was looking to kind of center himself prior to the tournament, so we talked through just about everything. Given the Scenario and token placement, and buildings/obstacles that were protecting his flanks from the start, I advised him not to spread out, and just push strongly through the center.

Table, tokens, and deployment.

So, from left-to-right for the Abyssal Dwarfs, we have the Immortals, the Decimator horde screening for the Renegade Priest and the Gargoyles, some Lesser Obsidian Golems protecting an Iron-Caster, the initial Abyssal Berserkers troop screening for the Halfbreeds, both Greater Obsidian Golems and the second Iron-Caster, and then the Halfbreed Champion and the Blacksouls.

View from the left.

I had more drops, and went a little wider, hoping to flank and constrict the Abyssal Dwarfs as they moved on up. Left-to-right for me we have a Chariot Troop, Outlaw troop and Giant on the Hill with Fanatics in reserve. The Renegade Orc Mansplitter and second Outlaw Troop was on the line, along with the horde of Crossbowmen starting in the budding woods. The ASB with Hex supported the Crossbowmen. 

View from the center.

Fanatics were in the center, with a horde of Spears supported by the ASB with the Lute, two Giants faced off against the two Greater Golems, and then we had the second Chariot troop to interdict for the Giants, the Brigand Outlaw, and lastly the second Spear horde, angled, ready to push up to hold ground as the Giants smashed their way through.

View from the right.

My opponent won the roll-off for turn order, and opted to go second, to try and make some late game plays, so I kicked things off for us.

Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

Like I said before, I went a bit wider, and the hope was to flank and constrict the Abyssal Dwarfs. I wanted to leverage my shooting on the left and push hard, while mostly holding on the right.

The Giant runs ahead.

The Giant hops up, and has a charge into the Immortals next turn. If the Decimators move up at all, I should have a charge into them as well.

The Renegade Orc Mansplitter jogs up to Inspire the Giant, and the angled Fanatics awkwardly try to clear the massive hill.

The Fanatics make a very steep descent. The Crossbowmen start shooting.

The Outlaw troop on the hill moves and shoots. They don’t have the inches to reach the Decimators, and since they moved, shooting into the Immortals will impart a cover penalty, since the towering Giant and building is blocking a lot of the facing. The Chariot troop moves up to join in, but should take a cover penalty as well, and only 1 damage is done in total between these two units.

The Crossbows have a great firing position.

I was actually hoping to go second so the Crossbowmen could sit back and plink away, but they are able to move up and get their leader point out of the woods for cleaner shots. I opt leverage my greater range, and shoot at the Decimators with the Crossbows and the nearby troop of Outlaws, landing 5 damage, but the horde easily holds.

The Fanatics in the center move up to keep even with the Spears. Their horde of Spears moves ahead of the token to really lock it down.

Positioning on the right.

On the right, the angled Spears bump into the woods, and the Brigand will loose into one of the Greater Golems, but land nothing. The Chariot and both Giants move up, ready to rumble.

Bottom of Round 1: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Immortals move up, as do the Decimators, who blast away, landing 10 damage on the Giant from 18 hits, and then get a hot 9 to waver him too. Sheesh.

The rest of the Abyssal Dwarf line moves up, and we are too bust discussing plans and tactics for me to buckle down and take pictures. The Greater Golems lumber ahead, with one of them angling and being surged up a bit too.

Apparently the only picture I took this turn. Just documenting the chad Decimators I guess?

The Gargoyles are the only thing to not move forward, and then move back, near the table edge.

Notably, the Halfbreed Regiment jumps far ahead and takes the hill, ready to charge off of it. 

Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

The Crossbowmen hold. I have Fire Oil, and elect to try and focus down the Immortals, since I think it will be a turn before the Decimators can hit anything besides the Giant, which is basically screwed now. Both Outlaw troops will hold shoot as well (without penalty since they hold), and the Chariot will join in too, with a penalty due to the obstacle. Even the Mansplitter gets in on the action, throwing some plural axes thanks to the Rampage item. The Chariots miss, but the infantry shooters roll well, landing 10 damage total. They’re an Inspired, Fearless 17 though, and a 3 on the dice means the regiment will stick around. Thankfully they have no charges next turn.

A flank full of shooting.

The Giants could get into a lot of units, but not together. The Blacksouls are temping, but it seems unlikely I’d break them in one round with just one Giant. With Surge in the mix and both Greater Golems around, I opt to hold the Giants back for now. 

Patient Giants and delayed Spears.

I do choose to go in against the intrepid Halfbreeds. The Fanatics don’t even need Wild Charge to get in, and getting atop the hill, are elevated above the Spear Horde and Bane Chanted. The Chariot Troop can see the flank of the Halfbreeds (something I pointed out on his turn), and they go in as well, over the obstacle. I deal 12 damage, the Chariot has Brutal meaning I need a 4 to best them. They aren't even Inspired since the Iron Casters are being so cautious, but another 3 on the dice for this Nerve check means they are just Wavered, with Fury.

Charges uphill into the Halfbreeds.

My Hexing ASB is looking for angles, but the Iron-Casters are all behind hills and /or their constructs and I can't single them out. The angled Spear horde on the right moves up, and the more central horde holds.

Bottom of Round 2: Abyssal Dwarfs

Out on the right, the Blacksouls hold, and the Halfbreed Champion opts to vamoose and start making his way around the building for a flanking maneuver. I didn’t catch it at the time, but he’s got the Slayer item. There is an argument to be made to keep him around to fight the Giants, but I think my opponent is purposefully avoiding them due to the rampage. 

Movement from the Abyssal Dwarfs.

The furious Halfbreeds regenerate a crazy 6 of their 12 damage, and get a nice Heal 2 as well, to take them down to 4 damage. Sheesh. They land 10 damage on the Fanatics in their t-shirts, and will pick the unit up and then overrun. 

Victorious reforms from the Abyssal Dwarfs.

A Greater Golem flank charges the Chariot to deal 11 damage, and will pick the unit up and overrun as well, ending up just a smidge behind the Halfbreeds. The other Greater Golem moves up near the base of the hill.

The Abyssal Dwarfs slow push on the left, moving and shooting.

In the center, the Lesser Golems move up again, getting into the difficult terrain that is the crater. Something shoots into the ASB, which I guess is the Golems here. There should at least be the individual penalty applied here, but 2 damage still slips through, and a relatively hot check wavers my mounted ASB.

The Gargoyles way in the back nimbly sidestep, slowly heading away from all my shooting on the left.

Aftermath out on the left.

The Decimators move up another 4 inches. With 14” on their Blunderbusses, they actually have a few targets. I guess I miscalculated. My opponent wants to shoot into my Crossbowmen, but I am in cover, and advise against it. He considers gunning down the Mansplitter, which is an ok choice, but as an individual, he’ll still have that penalty too. He's sent nothing after the Giant this turn, so I advise him to finish off the Giant, otherwise it will be charging in next turn. So, after discussions, the Decimators will indeed shoot into the Giant, land another 9 damage, and will lay him low. 

The Immortals regenerate 3, and the Stone Priest Radiances them for 1, to bring them down to 6 damage. 

Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

One Giant has been dispatched without contributing anything, and with some hot early dice for my opponent and some cooler dice for me, things are not going well so far! 

View from the very big hill.

Out on the left, the Fanatics charge the injured Immortals in the front, gaining TC from the nearby Mansplitter, and the other Chariot troop now makes a hindered flank charge. The Immortals started on 6 damage, the Chariots deal 2, the Fanatics deal 7, and on 15 damage, I am able to pick the Immortals up. Spacing-wise, the Fanatics need to back up to allow the Chariot to overrun, so that's what we do.

Crossbowmen shooting into the Decimators.

The Crossbowmen and both Outlaw units hold, shooting into the Decimators, along with the Mansplitter and like, 2 throwing axes. The axes don’t land, but the infantry land 12 damage this time. My opponent tells me they are at 15 damage total (I guess they got Healed 2), so my 6 on the Nerve check just wavers them.

The tiered ziggurat hill proves to be a nightmare for balancing units. 

Battles on the hill.

The more central Spear horde aims do deal decisively with the Halfbreeds, and charges in with a Bane Chant. They only deal 8 damage (10 expected with the chant), to take the Halfbreeds back to just 12 damage and just waver them again.

Sending each Giant into a Greater Golem seems like a bad plan, but having lost my instigating units for nothing, I feel like I need to commit. I can only multi-charge one of them, so do so. I have Rampage and not Slayer, and the extra attacks are not great, and I land 9 damage total, and am totally unable to move them.

More pictures of the precarious hill.

I am second-guessing most of my decisions while playing from behind. I didn’t think I could squeeze  the Giants by the Golem, but looking at the pictures, he has some significant overhang, and I might have been able to multi-charge the Blacksouls instead, which if possible, would have been a much better move I think. Alternatively and more realistically, solo charges into Golems to prevent or at least complicate a double-team on the his turn may have actually been a better option, just to block things up and mitigate potential incoming damage, rather than go big and try for a long-shot kill against a Greater Golem. 

The angled spears move up and pivot, getting the sneaky Halfbreed into front arc, and standing ready to try and help the Giants.

Bottom of Round 3: Abyssal Dwarfs

The wavering Decimators hold, and the Renegade Priest will charge the Chariots, but land no hits.

The Abyssal Berserkers will start moving out towards the left.

Another update from the massive hill.

The Lesser Golems will charge the Spears fighting on the hill, landing 8, with the furious Halfbreeds regenerating another 6, get a 3/3 heal to go down to 3 damage, while landing 6 against my Spears. At 14, I hold, but things are not looking good, and the Halfbreeds have proven to be ridiculously resilient.

The ASB backs up, shaken.

The two Greater Golems will collapse in on one of the Giants, with one in the flank. They roll well enough to bring him to 17 damage, will and get the rout. One is blocked in by the Giant / Blacksoul fight and holds, and the other pivots 90 degrees back to look at the Spears.

The Abyssal Dwarfs continue their onslaught, fighting from their elevated position.

My opponent wants to send in the Halfbreed Champion into the front of the Spear Horde. I convince him not too, and to continue outflanking my line instead. The Champ won’t be doubling or tripling his attacks on flank or rear charges, but his stats are good and keeping him around to contribute a few more damage here and there in the late game seems like a better call than throwing him into a horde of spears right now.

The Blacksouls run up to fight the other Giant, Bane Chant is attempted but fizzles, and the Dwarfs deal just 2 damage. So I got that going for me I guess.

Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

Out on the left, I need to deal with the Decimators before they get back online. While the Stone Priest charged in, the Chariots are not disordered, so I send them in. 

Another view from the hill.

…and now is when we notice that the Abyssal Berserkers should be a regiment. I think the troop is a better pick, but a Fearless 17 unit with Ensnare could enable some cool surge charges with the Golems. I’ll have to remember to ask how the crazies do in the tournament when I see him next. Sending the Chariot in still seems like the best call, but yeah, now I’m facing an infantry regiment instead of a troop. Wish me luck!

Positioning for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Mansplitter hangs around. Multi-charging the Stone Priest seemed unsportsmanlike to me so I didn’t do it here, but is legal and in retrospect, would have been the best call. Just the Fanatics go in, getting the TC. In my calculations though, I forgot that the Priest if Def5. Just 6 damage lands, and the Priest is only wavered. 

The maimed Spears countercharge the Lesser Golems, sliding down and popping the Halfbreeds out of combat. I think they land 1 damage, and while they have the Lifeleech 2 aura from the ASB, will only get that 1 back, to bring them down to 13.

Positioning around the ziggurat hill.

With the Halfbreeds out of combat and towering on the hill, the shooters on the left open fire. The Crossbowmen have arc and inches and hold, as does one of the Outlaw troops, though the other will move and shoot. We see-saw them back to 14 damage, and will finally get the rout against the resilient cavalry regiment. 

The ziggurat hill is again looking great but messing with clean moves. 

If memory serves, the second Spear horde can't charge anything, due to just one pivot and some spacing concerns. It moves up to complicate any surge charges into the Giant.

Rather than plainly expose it's flank with a charge into the Golem, the Giant thumps into the Blacksouls. The Giant rolls up some mediocre extra attacks, even with Rampage, and deals just 5 damage when the dust settles. The Brigand Captain has struggled to contribute much this game, and tucks in to just be Inspiring. 

Bottom of Round 4: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Halfbreed Champ now charges the Brigand, landing all of the potential 6 damage. Sheesh. The Nerve check is a 4 though, and the hero is unfazed.

The Blacksouls disengage and withdraw, and then back up. They aren’t aligned with the Giant, so that also look to have accidentally sidestepped as well, but we’ll blame it on the hill. The are also healed for 1, going down to 4 damage.

Aftermath by the hill.

The Blacksouls retreating creates the space to flank the Giant with a Greater Golem, who spikes more dice on the attacks. I started on 1 damage, and the Golem is able to devastate and then rout my Inspired Giant, and then overrun atop the nearby token in a big play.

The other Greater Golem charges into the waiting Spear Horde, though the hit roll was terrible and the titan miraculously only lands 3 damage. As we've all heard, 4's are swingy!

The Lesser Golems thump back against the Spears, dealing 10 new damage to bring them up to 23, but the Spears are found to be Insane.

Combats for the Abyssal Dwarfs.

The Stone Priest flees, with Radiance of Life bringing him down to 5 damage, and the Berserkers charge the Chariot Troop. When they align they clip the Height 0 crater, so it’s a hindered charge. They land 7 damage, but the chariots are merely wavered. 

Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

The wavering Chariots withdraw and then back up to expose the Berserkers to shooting. The Crosbowmen and both Outlaw troops loose into the unit, landing 11 damage, and the Nerve checks will break in my favor for the rout.

Look at that, another view from the hill!

The Mansplitter charges the injured Stone Priest, but even getting 3 on the Rampage, flubs and only manages 2 damage on him, and then the Priest is found to be insane. I mean, he’s consorting with Abyssal Dwarfs, so that’s almost a given, this just proves it.

The Chariots withdraw. 

The insane-but-devasted Spearmen will be Bane Chanted and charge the Lesser Golems, landing 2 damage and Lifeleeching 2 back, to un-devastate themselves in a neat turn of events. Still… the ASB had the inches to target the other Horde, and that would have arguably been a better target, being not devastated.

The Spear Horde fights back as best they can.

The Hexing ASB has not had much to do this game, and with the Brigand in danger, runs over to bring the Lifeleech Aura to the second Spear Horde. They’ll land a few damage onto the Greater Golem, and Lifeleech themselves from 3 down to 1, while the Greater Golem is found to be insanely courageous as well. In retrospect, I maybe should have sidestepped to try and play harder for a token? Again, playing from behind I am second-guessing myself a lot here.

More desperation from the Kingdoms of Men.

The Outlaw shakes off the Halfbreed’s attacks and charges out into the Blacksouls, hoping for hot dice and a good check. I land 1, to take them to 5, which then then Iron Resolve back.

Bottom of Round 5: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Blacksouls disengage and withdraw and back up. The pop their Healing Brew getting all 3 heals possible, and end the turn at just 1 damage. They've basically just moved forward and then backward this game, but it's worked out well for them. With a big heal here, I am not going to be able to miraculously break them to stay in the game.

A Greater Golem changes facing, still atop a token. 

Combats on the right.

An Iron-Caster throws himself at the injured Brigand, but misses. The nearby Golem needed a 2” Surge to reach the Brigand, and is what I suggested, but was not what my opponent wanted to do. The Halfbreed Champ rear-charges the Spears, with the Greater Golem in the front, and the Spears take 9 damage to bring them up to 10 adamge. They hold.

The insane Spears need to take just 1 damage to be devastated again, so we fast track this combat… and they are found to be Insane again. 

They won't be able to Lifeleech their way out of this one.

The insane Priest receives another 3/3 Heal, and with Radiance of Life too, he ends the turn on 1 damage as well, and besting him seems out of reach now too.

Patience pays off, and the Gargoyles make a strong flank charge.

The Gargoyles have been biding their time, staying just out of range of my shooting elements. With the token situation looking good overall, they flank charge the injured Chariots and pick them up, and then overrun, to prevent me from helping the Mansplitter fight the Stone Priest as our Renegades battle it out.

Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

Things are not looking good! I haven’t been able to kill much this game, and am really struggling.

    

View on the left, with some Outlaws finally leaving the hill.

For the tournament Renegades can actually hold Loot Tokens, and have Secured Position to help with Objectives. As it stands… the Stone Priest is just within 3” of that token to control it. My own Renegade is just out of 3”, so I am not contesting it. It’s been a brutal game, so I go for the fluffy play of trying to cut down his renegade with mine. I roll up some good Rampage attacks, but only 1 hit, and then only 1 wound. A cool 4 on the Nerve check means I lose out here.

The Gargoyles prevent me from getting in to help, against this token. I send both the Fanatics and some Outlaws in to remove them, which is good, because they both underperformed, dealing 6 and 1 respectively, but I am able to pick the unit up. Playing for a possible Round 7, the Outlaws overrun to let their US help the Mansplitter, and the Fanatics turn toward the center in case they can charge or grab something.

Final fighting on the right.

The Doubly-devastated, doubly-insane Spears disengage and back up. They are goners and I don’t want to roll attacks for them, or accidentally Bane Chant them again.

The maimed Spears have some choices, but are almost certainly doomed unless they have the luck of the other hodde. If I can catch a bane Chant, I should be able to pick up the Halfbreed and then spin… but I don’t trust my dice. They fight the Greater Golem, and obviously don’t pick it up. I don’t pop IW on them.

Bottom of Round 6: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Halfbreed Champ goes into the mounted ASB, lands 3, and picks up my source of Inspiring. This was good tactics from my opponent, and where popping IW would have made a (slight) difference.

One Greater Obsidian Golem goes into the flank of the spears. They are wounding on 2’s, and the Horde is devastated and routed, as is darn proper.

Very clever and efficient moves from my opponent.

The other Greater Golem will disengage, turn and run towards the token. Again, the ziggurat hill is making things messy.

My other Spear Horde in the center is either shot at or charged, but is entirely done for.

It’s a strong 5-2 Victory to the Abyssal Dwarfs!

Game Conclusions

Dice were really wild this game. I think my game-plan was good, but luck was definitely not with me overall, and some desperate plays with the Giants did not pan out. I think I should have tried to mitigate instead of going big, which would have lessened the pressure on the Spears near the end of the game. I was just glad I was able to keep some units on the table and control a few tokens at the end of it! Hard to be a good practice partner if you get tabled.

I didn't play the best of games, but the goal was for Kenny to shake off some rust from playing other wargames, and get some experience with the list right before a tournament. I’d say we accomplished most of that? We discovered the Berserker error, and went over a lot of fundamentals each turn, so hopefully, this was a worthwhile outing for Kenny, as he was juggling a very busy schedule that week.

Testing Conclusions

• Spear Phalanx. The Abyssal Dwarfs are only slightly better then Imperial Dwarfs for testing out spears. These did… insanely well! Har-har-har. Truthfully, they did better than expected by surviving to Round 6, but they got lucky. Going up against the Def6 Golems was rougher than expected, since they were wounding me on 2's, and I was taking more damage than I was anticipating. 
• Crossbows with Fire Oil. They only had to move once, contributed to the scenario, and plinked away a few damage on something just about every turn. Fire Oil was even useful! These had a very good game. 
• Charioteer Troops with Bows. The Chariots instigated just like I wanted them to, but they were making hindered charges into flanks both times, so their damage contributions were not as good as I would have liked. Still, they proved to be good instigators. They each had some Bow shots, but no real effect from them. They aren’t nimble, so likely aren’t going too far from your lines. If you have other shootings units, the Bows might contribute something, but I don’t think you should take the upgrade if there are your only shooting units.
• Triple Rampage Giants. Supremely unlucky! The Decimators rolled hot, but that output could have come from then and the Immortal’s Mastiffs (which were forgotten about), and a ranged waver is bad regardless. Giving away a regiment of Fanatics and the Chariots for nothing on the right also put those Giants in a very desperate spot, and I probably made things worst going for the hopeful kill charge into the opposing Greater Golem. All together they barely did a dozen damage and one didn’t even make it into combat. The Giants did not have a great game.
• ASBs. I made sure to point out to my opponent how good his positioning with the Iron-Casters was (generally; charging the Brigand was still questionable!). The Hexing ASB was probably deployed a little poorly with the hill nearby and such, but still, he never had a target. The Lute ASB did fine as-usual, though the dice were not agreeable in the combats. Lifeleech 2 was… ok? I remembered it at least, but still do not like it on the ASBs. 
• Outlaws. I wanted to focus-fire the Decimators so deployed both out on the left, which eventually worked out, but only one had a token at the end. Still, I used them and Volley Fire correctly this game, which made me happy. Alone, I don’t think they’re worth it, but running them with other shooting like the Crossbows, they did fine.
• Fanatics. I made a few charges with the Renegade’s TC Aura, but even still, these didn’t have a great time. Even with Fearless, with Def3, they aren’t going to survive much, and failing to trade them for the Halfbreeds put me in a rough spot with the rest of my gameplan.
• Renegade Orc Mansplitter. The Rampage Scythe was still cute, and I did get a few damage from the throwing axes + rampage, but his damage output was quite poor this game. Still, he was fun, and made for an interesting Renegade pick to play around with.

I'd wish him (and Rob) the best at the tournament, but I am posting this a little over a week later than I was hoping to, so we'll just hope they had an enjoyable time!