Kings of War 3rd Edition: #098 Herd vs Undead in Dominate

Intro and Lists

I need to take more time off of work before the end of the year, and am determined to squeeze in some weekday games into those days to relax a bit. Joining me on one of those days was Mike, who was kind enough to meet me for an afternoon game. Mike played some immaculately painted Elves for the escalation League, and surprised me with some Abyssal Dwarfs recently in Battle 091. He’s a talented and prolific painter, and again dug out another new, semi-secret army for this game, fielding some Undead. Across from me will be:

I’ve really liked playing the Undead recently, and was very excited to see what someone else could do with them! I liked a lot about the list from the jump. The Revenant Cavalry units would play nicely with the ASB and all the Surge sources too. The Soul Reavers are great hammers, and the Zombie Trolls can be quite tough as we saw recently. I know the Wights are strong hammers as well, and would need to be respected. Typically, cheaper Zombies are taken over Skeletons, but I think the latter may have a niche use in shooting-heavy metas, so I was interested to see how each unit would fare since there was a horde of each. The characters seem like a weak point in the list though. Like me, he's just starting on learning the Undead, and invested greatly in Surge, to see how it all works. The Necromancers do not have Inspiring, and so only the Vampire on Pegasus and ASB would be around to serve in that role. I think there are a lot of efficiency tweaks one could make (for example taking BC2 as a normal spell for 20 points, instead of the Lute for 25... grabbing the Talisman of Inspiration for a Necromancer... all sorts of little things). The Undead have a staggering variety of characters, and he'll figure out what he likes later on. The units and the list itself still look like a great starting point, and I was excited to see how they'd all perform!

I brought the Herd. I have really enjoyed playing against the more balanced lists of Trevor’s Sylvan Kin, and have been trying to take notes, but I still have a few odd and unbalanced lists that I wanted to explore first before trying to run a more calculating Herd list. This one focuses on speed and Centaurs, since they have been hard units for me to grok. Up to test is:

• Harpies. They’ve been great chaff for the Herd, but I have a lot of extra speed. We’ll see if they are able to get in front of things!
• Centaur Bray Striders. We’re trying every unit size! No upgrades so I can try to get a better understand of how each unit size works, since they have such weird attack stats and aren’t real hammers. Troops have been great for the chaff war; regiments decent all-rounders; and we’ll see how the horde performs. These are not Nimble, so I’ll need to plan ahead. We’ll see how I do.
• Centaur Bray Hunters. I have really liked the shooting/skirmishing cavalry for a while, but struggled to use them in any army, as units like these really need an edge. Theirs is TC1, so the goal is to play a positional game with them early, see what shooting can do, and then let them contribute with some multi-charges later in the game. They don’t come in hordes, but we’ve got a mix of troops and regiments to see what we can learn.
• The Stampede / Centaur Chariots. The redone unit takes the table! The Stampede(s) took a tumble early in the year, and I’ve since combined the metal minis into one unit. Pathfinder is great, but I am continually tripped up by obstacles, so I do want something that can make Striding Charges, or help dent high-defense units.
• Double Hydras. Previous games have taught me that these are defensive units, so the idea is to run these up to let them take charges, which should open up flank charges for me. I have a lot of speed, which these don’t play well with though, so I’ll need to plan ahead.
• Mounted Druids with Bane Chant. I have more CS than usual, but the Herd still relies on TC and charges, so I figured the typical Druids would still be worth taking. With all the speed, we’re giving them Mounts to keep up and seeing how that feels.
• Flaxhoof. A newcomer! I’ve hesitated to run all Centaurs without their champion, but I finished him up a few days in advance of the game (hobby post to come eventually... I'm really far behind on the battle reports), which convinced me to run this list. He’s got good stats and might be viable on his own, since he’s not too expensive, but I think you really want to run him with Centaurs to make use of his TC Aura and get the most out of him. He’ll have plenty of friends in this list, so we’ll see how he fares! 
• Inspiring. Three sources is a bit light, especially since I think I’ll be going pretty wide with all this cavalry. We’ll see what happens!

Table and Terrain

We were back at Oddwillows, our club's usual haunt out in Mukwonago.  We were using our typical terrain rules, running the building and bones as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, stone fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the ponds as Height 0. I swore they had a basic wargaming mat, but I couldn't find it, so our armies were clashing in a black bog or something.

I won the roll for turn order. I have a nice advantage with speedier units, but the Undead had so many drops they were able to go pretty wide. Early flanks seem unlikely, and I'm not seeing great places to try to punch through. Even if I were to do so, Shambling flank charges into the units punching through would be an issue. I decide to go second, thinking maybe my greater speed would help me find some holes in his line and then still reach the middle in the late game.

Top of Round 1: Undead

My opponent rolls up 3 swords for his Command Dice. Nothing needs rerolls, or to sidestep, so I don't think any are used this round.

On the left, the Revenant Cavalry kept even with the Wights, each moving about seven inches forward, with a Necromancer and the flying Vampire pulling behind into supporting positions.

The speediest Undead move up.

In the center, the Zombie Trolls moved their six-inch shamble, with the Revenant Cavalry sticking close behind, and the Necromancer with the Zombie Aura nearby. 

The center is slow.

The Zombie Horde and their hammer shambled up 5 inches, with the Skeletons doing likewise.

Terrain slows the Soul Reavers on the right.

On the right, the Revenant Cavalry move up 6 inches, practicing good discipline, and keeping even with the nearby Soul Reaver units. 

Bottom of Round 1: Herd

I get 5 on the Command Dice, and 4 will be spent on rerolls to hit for the Centaur Hunters. The other goes to waste. I should note that I played the Orders wrong here. Double-checking Command Orders in a future game that should be posted soon... a Command Order can only be used once per turn (unless otherwise stated), so only one of these units should have had a reroll to hit. 

On the left, the Centaur Hunters are able to move up enough to get their leader point out of the muck, and will loose into the Revenant Cavalry but it doesn't look like any damage goes through.

Movement on the right. The Harpies and Druid wait patiently.

As I am moving stuff around and get into the shooting phase, I realize that I am short a Centaur Hunter regiment and have two regiments of Striders instead of one. I figure out that I put the Hunter regiment onto the Horde, so need to  swap things out. I roll a die to see what unit will be swapped out. Evens its the center unit; odds its the one on the right flank. I roll up an even number, so the center unit drops their spears and draws their bows.

Oops. At least I realized this in Round 1? 

The center moves up, staying out of range of anything. The center Hunter regiment and both troops are able to position for shots into the Zombies. Aside from Lifeleech, there isn't any healing in the Undead list, so I want to pop the easiest unit first and see where I can go from there. The Centaur Hunters land 9 damage which is a smidge light, but still feels like a good start.

Out on the left, the Centaur Striders move up to be chaff, and one screens a Hunter Troop from the Wights. The Striders have surprised me before, so I angle them, just in case they survive.

I blame the lack of bows in the original kits. Scrounging bow from the Faun kit was a bother.

I measure... something and mark the maximum distance with the back of the dice container. I then move the Centaur Horde up, thinking they are safe.

Things are a little gummed up, so the Stampede moves up behind the horde, peering around. Given the table edge, the horde has nowhere to move to, so this doesn't actually solve much of anything.

Top of Round 2: Undead

My opponent rolls up 5 for his Command Dice.

I don't know what I was measuring the threat range of. I should be most concerned with the flying Wight Horde. However, on my opponent's turn, the Wights are several inches in against the Centaur horde, so my horde should be like, 3+ inches back. The only thing I can think of is maybe I measured / marked 12" instead of their actual 14" range? Regardless of why, the Wights go into my horde of Centaurs, unexpectedly. I guess we're stress testing them now!

Oops. more mistakes from me.

The Revenants move up, and will need 2" from Surge to make it in against the Strider troop, and will get that and more from the Necromancer. They get in, deal 8 damage, and see the troop off. Trying to prevent me from potentially flank charging the Wights, they overrun, getting 2 inches.

The flying Vampire on Pegasus simply charges his Strider troop. He'll deal 5 damage to them, and they waver.

The Wights will use 4 swords to cast Drain Life into the Centaur Strider Horde, for a measly 1 damage, and in the combat phase they will deal 10, but the horde holds. Given where my leader point is, it seems like I should find a way to get into their flank, and trying to mess with my alignment is why the Revenants overran.

Post-combat.

Over in the center-left, the Revenant Cavalry troop hops over the Zombie Troll hordes. The inches are tight as the troop can't end atop a friendly unit. The Trolls then move up behind. I will point out that this is a bit of a positioning error in my opinion, as these units are all the same height, and the Revenant Cavalry is wider, and blocking line of sight of both Zombie Troll hordes. Sidesteps from the hordes would have been better, in my opinion.

Revenant Cavalry chaff hops up.

The Zombie and Skeleton hordes both shamble up another 5 inches, with the Necomancer, ASB and their respective Auras just behind the relevant units.

The Undead, pushing up.

The hill complicates placement for the Soul Reavers (we didn't have stairs), but they move up, and one pivots.

On the far-right, the Revenant Cavalry move up another 6 or so inches.

Bottom of Round 2: Herd

I get 5 on the Command Dice. 

Out on the right I can't back the Hunters up and be clear of the muck, so decide to try and push through this flank.

Both the Centaur Striders and Centaur Hunters make pathfinding charges into the uninspired Revenant Cavalry troop. The Druid runs up, but needs to move at the double to get around the building, so no Bane Chant from him this turn.

Charges from the Herd.

The Harpies move up to sacrifice themselves. Positioning-wise, the Soul Reavers have a charge into them. They can see the Hunters, but are in the flank, and will not be able to align. It's the sneakiest play I can manage.

The Striders deal 7 (apparently 5.3 expected) and the Hunters deal 1 damage (apparently 3.5 expected), and we arrive at the apparently expected 8 damage. I was thinking two regiments would be able to do this, but the Revenant Cavalry troops are really tough and Centaur Striders are really bizarre cavalry units, and I can't even deal enough to get it down to even odds to break them. The Revenants are then found to be insane, and my push completely stalls out.

Positioning in the center, with more shots going into the Zombies.

The secret Hunter Troop moves backward and nimbly pivots, and the pivot gets them out of charge range of the Soul Reavers on the hill. Again, both Hunter troops and this Hunter Regiment shoot into the Zombies, brining them to 23 damage! ...and the Zombies are found to be insane as well.

I want to try and slow the Zombie Troll hordes up. And so the Harpies fly up, staying an inch away from the Revenant Cavalry. The Revenants can charge the Harpies, but line of sight for the Zombie Trolls should still be very limited.

Charges out on the right.

Out on the left, I'm befuddled. To get into the flank I think I think I need to disengage for a new charge, but I'm playing around an awkward corner and can't pivot through my own unit. Even if I pull that off, I'm disordered, and I don't think likely to break them. If I get the flank and I am able to sent the Stampede in as well, the horde's reforms are limited, and I'm likely getting a clean flank from the Revenant Cavalry and likely to lost my cavalry horde. 

Furthermore, the flying Vampire is around here too, up against a wavering Strider troop. Ultimately, I try for a bit of a risky play.

I send Flaxhoof into the flying Vampire, land 5 damage, and get a waver against him. 

The horde disengages, and then backs up, ending just behind the Stampede. With 4 command dice, I try a Regeneration on the Centaur Horde, regenerating 3 damage. With an open lane, the Stampede then goes into the Wights. It deals 9, but with the Vampire still around, I am unable to break them. I didn't see this at the time, but the Revenant Cavalry's Leader Point is in the flank of my Stampede. The better play would have probably been to send Flaxhoof in alongside the Stampede, and just try to remove them through damage and lower Nerve checks, rather than look to luckily break the Vampire and then luckily break the Wights. Lessons learned.

Top of Round 3: Undead

On the left, the Revenant Cavalry do take the flank, and the Wights go into the front. They will bring the Stampede to 18 damage, and see it off the field.

The Stampede gets pummeled.

The Wights will Lifeleech 1 to get down to 8. They'll pivot to get the Centaur Horde into front arc.

The wavering Vampire will disengage and withdraw. I can't pivot through him to charge anything else, so he's still effectively gumming me up.

The Revenant Cavalry regiment will pivot to square up with the Centaur Horde. Given the angles, the Wights should be protected this turn.

Reforms from the Undead.

The Revenant Cavalry troop will indeed charge into the Harpies, win, and overrun 1 inch.

The insane Zombies will move up, and then be surged forward 5 inches. The Skeletons shamble up another 5 inches and are surged another 3 inches, and these hordes firmly control the center.

The inner unit of Soul Reavers don't have a charge, but move up to intimidate the Centaur Hunters.

Aftermath on the right. I've forgotten to update the turn order tracker. Should be Round 3.

The other unit of Soul Reavers pulverizes the Harpies, and overruns, trying to box in and destroy the centaur push.

Disordered, the Revenant Cavalry choose to counter-charge the Centaur Hunters, and will land 3 damage.

Bottom of Round 3: Herd

I roll up a whopping 7 on my command dice, which is impressive as I am not using any extra dice.. 

My push has stalled on the right. I was hopping to pop the Revenant Cavalry and breeze on past the Soul Reavers, but that's not feasible anymore.

A maneuvering for combats on the right.

The disordered Centaur Hunters disengage, withdraw, and then back up, nimbly pivoting to face the Soul Reavers more. The Centaur Striders flank-charge the Revenant Cavalry now, will bring them up to 16 damage, and get the rout. I choose to overrun with them, trying to get closer the center, but this is a mistake; I should have sidestepped towards my opponent's deployment zone. I am not Nimble, and with positioning currently, the Soul Reavers are likely to end up in front of them, preventing a run-by.

I commit to the Center. A troop of Centaur Hunters charges the insane Zombies, lands a few damage, and gets the rout.

Charges in the center.

The Hydra is able to charge the Skeletons and slide down, allowing the Centaur Hunter regiment to nimbly charge in as well, getting a Bane Chant while doing so. The Hydra is undamaged and has no additional attacks, but rolls well to land 4. The Centaurs flub it, dealing just 3 damage, about half what would be expected normally from them. We weren't going to rout it, but I am wounding on 2's this turn, and was hoping to have a good start against them, since the Undead still have a lot on the table.

Another delaying charge.

I still want to try and delay the shambling Zombie Trolls by gumming up the Revenant Cavalry. The other troop of Hunters charge off the hill to deal a solitary pip of damage to them. We'll see if being disordered slows them down.

The other Hydra moves and pivots to help me clean up on the left. I don't like this move. As covered in previous games and discussed in my thread on the forum, the Hydras are not hammers, and it will likely struggle to help clean anything up over here.

Combats on the left.

I need to clean up the left and then book it over to the center if I have a prayer of winning, so I am playing greedily. The Vampire on Pegasus is wavering, and is not on the hill. I spend 2 on Endurance to heal the Centaur Strider troop as it cleanly charges down into the Lord. The troop does 3 to bring the Lord to 8 damage, but the Nerve check is low and he's fine.

I don't want the Wights free. I charge Flaxhoof in to ground them. They are on 8 damage, so the greedy hope (again) was to pop the Vampire, and then get a hot check here, and again, this is not good tactics. I spend a sword to reroll a damage from Flaxhoof. He hits 5 times, and is wounding on 2's... but I flub the damage roll and the reroll doesn't convert. The Wights are brought from 8 damage up to 10, and they stick around. 

I spend the other 4 on Unshakable will for regeneration for the the Horde again, and it makes a clean charge into the Revenant Cavalry regiment, landing 16 damage, and will get the rout.

Top of Round 4: Undead

The Undead roll up 5 swords on the Command dice.

The Necromancer charges in, trying for a Command Dice Drain Life into the Centaur Horde too. Drain Life lands 1 to take them to 6, but she lands no blows in combat.

Charges for the Undead.

The Wights brutalize Flafhoof. I thought he was Def5, but he's just Def4, so they are wounding on 2's, and bring him up to 11 damage, and I don't luck out to stick around.

I think my opponent rolled the Necromancer combat first, otherwise the Wights probably should have overrun and fought the horde again. Instead they pivot. 

Post-combat at the top of Round 4.

The flying Vampire backs up again, looking to delay me and pull me out of position. the Vampire can take some charges nest turn, but the Wights should be safe from the troop and the Hydra.

The Zombie Troll hordes are finally free.

The Zombie Troll hordes have been delayed. The held last turn though while the Revenant Cavalry charged a bit ahead, so this turn they finally move out, with one taking the center, and one peeling off to help win the fight on the left, and prevent the Herd from racing in at the end of the game.

The Revenant Cavalry troop lands 2 into the delaying Centaur Hunter troop, and gets a lucky waver.

The Skeletons counter-charge the Hunters and slide down, landing 4 damage. For fun, a Necromancer is thrown at the Hydra.

The Soul Reavers leverage the Undead's advantage.

Already winning in the center, the Soul Reavers move up and pivot, spying the rears of the few Herd units currently fighting there. They didn't have a charge and this was a great use of them.

Both Soul Reavers threaten to clean out the Herd.

The other Soul Reavers demolish the Hunter regiment, and pivot to face the Centaur Strider Regiment.

Bottom of Round 4: Herd

I roll up 5 for my Command dice.

I have not positioned anything well this game. The Centaur Strider regiment has the line of sight and the inches to charge into the flank of the Skeleton Warriors, but the unit is not Nimble, and cannot make it in. Instead, they pivot and move as far as they can, hoping to juke around the Soul Reavers. I should note though that if I sidestepped last turn, I also wouldn't have a charge since I lacked the inches. There weren't great reforms or moves for them.

The Hunters sacrifice themselves so the Striders have a chance.

The center is a mess, as the Undead are numerous. Other Soul Reavers will have a rear charge into the Hydra or the Centaur Hunters. I'm not going to do much with the Hunters on the offense, so they disengage and back up. I probably should pivot them, but I don't think it will make a difference.

Yay! Finally a good Nerve check! ...wait...

The Hydra disengages and withdraws, so it can pivot past the Skeleton horde, and charge the Zombie Trolls. I'm penalized, but want to see if I can grind against the Trolls and make something happen as the game concludes. Maybe Multiple Heads will surprise me. I deal 1 damage, and finally spike a Nerve check for boxcars, which does nothing here.

The wavering Hunter troop does nothing. I don't want to back up to give the Revenant cavalry options, so am begrudgingly ok with being gummed up outside the center.

The Hydra spins back, to face the center.

The other Hydra turns to face the center of the field. Again, this doesn't feel good. If I had not moved him before, he could have done something meaningful with him this turn.

The Centaur Strider Troop will charge the Vampire on pegasus, best him, and then I sidestep with them. I don't think I can pivot to block a charge from the Zombie Trolls. 

The Centaur horde is not disordered, but the necromancer prevents a clean connection to the Wights (I believe the Strider Troop's corner is slightly ahead, so I can't slide way over). I need to best the Necromancer and then overrun 2" to get into the Wights. I spend 4 swords from the Command Dice on Regeneration again, getting the horde down to 4 damage.

I charge in, deal 12 damage to the necromancer, best her, and then overrun exactly 2" to reach the Wights. The rolling is less spectacular, dealing 7 damage (10 expected), but the Wights are injured, and this should take them to 14 damage, and I do get the rout. 

Top of Round 5: Undead

My opponent rolls up 4 swords, which looks like another Drain Life to me!

The Zombie Trolls are able to get in against the Centaur horde. The horde deals 8 damage to the Cenataurs to take them to 12, and gets a lucky waver against them too, taking them out of the game.

A very unfortunate waver. And a second, more expected waver.

With a clear, fresh charge into the Centaur Hunter Troop, the Revenant Cavalry troop lands another 2 damage against them, and gets another waver.

Will the Hydra (and it's many heads) hold?

The Zombie Trolls countercharge the Hydra. We then discuss tactics, and I convince my opponent to have the Skeleton horde move closer and be surged into the flank of the Hydra, instead of holding with them and charging something with the Necromancer. My opponent moves the horde, needs 1 success from the spell, and definitely gets it.

No, the Hydra will not hold. The Soul Reavers are pretty scary as well.

I think the Skeletons cast Drain Life into the Hydra for 1. I really like the Order for the Undead, but it has not have good dice for my opponent this game, despite several attempts. The Zombie Trolls land 8, and the flanking skeletons deal 5. I'm at 14 damage, and Inspired, but the Hydra does not hold.

Some Soul Reavers take the flank into the Centaur Hunters, pick them up, and pivot to threaten the Centaur Striders. The Other unit of Vampires just spin around to do the same.

Bottom of Round 5: Herd

I roll up 2 for my command dice. I think I spend it on Endurance for the Strider troop on my left.

There's not much to do. My Centaur Strider regiment on the right is not nimble, so can't escape and delay. They can however just make it in against the Skeleton Spearmen. The Skeletons are at 6 damage, and I throw the Centaurs at the unit for little more testing. I deal a surprising 9 damage (6ish expected) to take them to 15. They're Inspired, but I only need a 7. The first check is good, but the second falls short.

The wavering Hunter troop and Strider horde do nothing. There is no where for them to run to.

The Hydra is facing the center, but has no charges, as it is a little too far away.

The Centaur Strider troop goes into the flank of the Zombie Trolls out on the right. It deals 6 damage, but the horde easily holds.

Top of Round 6: Undead

The Undead roll up another 4+ for Command Dice.

Out on the right, the Centaurs take front from the Skeleton horde, a flank from Soul Reavers, and a front from other Soul Reavers. We opt to not even roll the combat. (The Reaver units should do about 44 damage; with the Skeletons contributing another 6) The Centaurs are Inspired, but not insane, and they're gone, with all these units scoring.

There is no kill like overkill!

The Revenant Cavalry continue against the Centaur Hunter troop. It's another clean charge with TC, and the Undead will prevail this time.

The Zombie Trolls in the center will charge out to fight the Hydra, and prevent it from scoring. They will land 8 onto the titan.

The other Zombie Trolls will continue on against the Centaur Strider Horde. They deal 8 to bring them to 20 damage, and will get the rout. The Trolls will reform to face the flanking troop.

Bottom of Round 6: Herd

I roll up another 2 on my Command Dice. They'll continue on against the Zombie Trolls here, bring them to 10 damage, but the Nerve check is well short of the needed 7.

I believe the Troops dice gets bumped, and they get an extra accidental heal.

The Hydra regenerates 1 damage, and lands 6 onto these Zombie Trolls. They are not Inspired, but I don't pick them up.

End of the game.

The Round ends with the Undead having a commanding 10 US in the center. I have a final Hydra and a troop of Centaur striders left. While I kind of want to see if the Hydra can grind out the Zombie Trolls, the Hydra is healthy, and there is no way I am doing it within the allotted time, and no way I am winning the scenario, so I concede.

A victory to the Undead!

Game Conclusions

When its a matter of several inches, I cannot really contest my goof, no matter how much I had measured. Even without that particular error though, I could have been put in a similar situation, with the Vampire on Pegasus charging out to disorder and hold up the horde while the Wights and Revenants dealt with the supporting pieces. Overall, this was still a clear mistake on my part, but it was going to be hard containing this wing no matter what.

I started things off on the backfoot, and then couldn't really claw my way back. A lot of Command Points were thrown at the Strider Horde, but it still wasn't enough. Centaurs Striders at any size are not great hammers, and the Undead list was wide and numerous enough that it was going to be very hard to plush through anything or get the needed flanks. 

Testing Conclusions

• Harpies. They died well, but I didn't use the other units well enough to make the sacrifice worthwhile for the Herd. 
• Centaur Striders, Troops. It was really interesting to see it all side by side and compare and think during the game. I think I like the troops best. Their longer charge range has been crucial in instigating fights, and while they only have 6 attacks, their stats are just good enough to usually land a damage on whatever you are fighting. They are relatively cheap, and taking a unit or two has generally proven worthwhile.
• Centaur Striders, Regiments. Regiments are just ok. If you need an unlock they aren't terrible and provide a little more reach and hitting power, but these are not good hammers, and lacking Nimble, aren't as maneuverable as other medium cavalry, like KoM Mounted Scouts.
• Centaur Striders, Hordes. Their debut was a flop. They are quite expensive, and again lacking Nimble, they maneuverable enough to really be threatening the flanks that it needs to break an opposing unit. With their low attacks for a cavalry unit they are not great hammers, and with just Def4, as we saw, you'll be taking beating from anything that survives their initial charge. I could definitely see myself trying these again in a more balanced Herd list, but so far, I am not a fan.
• Centaur Hunters, Troops. I liked them, as Pathfinder and Nimble is fun on any unit, though I still think I prefer Scorchwing regiments for 130 points, and these at regiments.
• Centaur Hunters, Regiments. I liked these as well, and think this is the usual size I'd want for my Hunters. The regiments have a good output of bow shots, and should be quick enough to get where you want them to be. As I get into "balanced" Herd lists, I think I want to play around with a unit of these. Bow shots aren't going to be great in every match up, but they seem like a very fun unit, and finally a shooting/skirmishing cavalry unit that does stuff on the table.
• The Stampede. It produced the expected damage, but got flanked and wasn't able to survive. I think it's a strong pick for the Herd, as Striding charges can be amazing, but I used it poorly here.
• Double Hydras. It was a neat idea to want to pair them with cavalry. In retrospect it could have worked alongside all the Hunters; they shoot into one unit while the Hydra pins something down, to be finished off by charges later. However, I needed to be much more aggressive with these to pin stuff like the Skeleton horde down early. Here though, I was locally outnumbered and tentative to send these in without Inspiring support. I think the cavalry pairing is not likely to bear fruit as that is hundreds of points committed to dealing with trash hordes, but a single Hydra could be worth exploring in a future "balanced" list.
• Flaxhoof. His debut wasn't great, but I gave him some impossible tasks this game. He's a little expensive, but with the aura, he could be worth it, so we'll try him out again sometime soon.
• Command Dice. With more games in, I am starting to get a better feel for the Command Dice and orders. However, I just detest the Orders that the Herd army got. Run them Down is a little restrictive for recipients (Stampede could have benefitted... but that's it in this list), and Ferocious Charge explicitly does not work on units that are making Striding or Pathfinding charges, so it's all but a useless order for the army, which feels very bad. Orders could be a new axis for  Mantic to be balancing armies, but so far the orders are mostly exacerbating trends, with something unpopular like the Herd getting generic rules that don't even work with the army, and something popular like Imperial Dwarfs getting unique rules that benefit them greatly. 

My opponent had a great outing for his Undead, and the list, while not optimized, showcased a lot of the army's strengths, including the utility of simply having a lot of units and bodies around. Despite the one-sided outcome, this was still a splendid outing for me and it was a lot of fun to see two armies I play squaring off on the battlefield! This game gave me lots and lots to consider. I had a great afternoon rolling dice, and it is always a pleasure seeing Mike and his armies across the table from me. Thanks for the game!