Friday, January 17, 2025

Northwoods GT 2025 List

I don’t know how viable a lot of tournament travel will be for me, but with local ones popping up a little more as our community grows, I will try to attend what I can. Speaking of local tournaments, we have the sold-out, first-ever Northwoods GT coming up this weekend.

I want to approach my tournament play like I do my usual gameplay, which is to say, erratically! I’ve not going to keep myself to any hard rules on what to run, but having multiple armies, I definitely want to try and mix it up for tournaments, like I do for my normal games and reports. Cutting right to the chase, I am running the Undead for this.

Awkward team photo beforehand. I don't have a display board.

I ran the Abyssals at the doubles tournament in June, and the Kingdoms of Men at the little Dragonfall event in September. If I want to run a different army, yhat leaves the Varangur, Herd, and Undead as the main armies to consider for Northwoods. It should be a fun time, and the event has a neat twist, as all tables should have a 3rd forest, which may or may not replace another terrain piece on the board. 

I settled on the Undead, since I’ve enjoyed playing them recently. The frigid Varangur would have been a fluffy choice, but I haven’t run the army in months. I’ve played a lot of games with the arctic Herd over the last year, and it would have been a very fluffy choice as well, and could be powerful with Pathfinder, but I still don’t feel super-confident or comfortable with my “mid-range” speed 6 approach with them, despite the insights I’ve gained throughout the year. So, Undead it shall be. Here is the actual list:


The list is building on all the Undead things that I have learned and have been enjoying the last few months. The list brings:

  • Six striding units (three Wraith troops, one Wraith regiment and two Burrowing Wyrms) to take advantage of the extra terrain on the tournament’s battlefields.
  • Skeleton Warriors with two-handers, since that has been a fun unit and provides the unlocks I need for my heroic picks.
  • Soul Reavers to blender things, as I do need hammers.
  • MMU-style of play, featuring the aforementioned Skeletons and Soul Reavers.
  • ASB’s to help the Skeletons and Wyrms get in some more wild charges, Heal to help things grind, and BC to help the Reavers and Wyrms really punch through armor, as I want them to be routing stuff on one-go whenever possible.
  • A Liche, with Scorched Earth. With more terrain, things should be hindered more often, but stripping Strider/Pathfinder from opposing units and/or hindering open charges seems like strong move in conjunction with my Def6 Wraiths. A counter charge is never hindered though, so I'll need to use this tactically.
  • Mhorgoth the Mandatory, since he is Very Inspiring and proved to be a ridiculous support piece on the battlefield in my most recent games.

The majority of the list was settled on about two weeks ago, very importantly with no extra hobbying needed since I was not going to have the time to do any significant hobbying. The final tweaks was between this list, or swapping Lute (BC) for the cheaper Tome (Surge) and dropping the Periscope to free up the 10 points needed to bump Scorched Earth up to 3 dice. Since we’re using Command Dice for the tournament, I figured I could be greedy and use a reroll on Scorched Earth as needed, and the Periscope should make the Liche easier to protect and position, and Bane Chants should let the Soul Reavers go bananas. If I can keep my errors low and be mindful of the clock, I think the list should do well, and should catch some folks off guard that might be expecting a slow, Shambling Undead force.

My only bummer going into the tournament was that I wasn’t going to have a display board for the army, so will allegedly take a slight hit in the paint score. I wanted something with a frame, so that I could have bits and bobs on the board without worrying about them getting ripped off too easily, but couldn’t find one quickly locally at the start of the year, and while it was all shipping within the US, my online order looks like it will take over two weeks to arrive, and should get here just after the tournament. I tried! I did however order a few boards, so I should be set for the next few tournaments, whenever they may be!

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #109 Undead vs Northern Alliance in Pillage


Intro and Lists

We have a tournament coming up next weekend, and folks were keen to get some games in, if for nothing more than to keep skills and rules fresh in our aging noggins. I haven't gotten to play our local Mantic Pathfinder in quite some time, and jumped at the chance to do so. He's organizing the tournament, and due to a beloved local player needing to move away rather suddenly, also needed to be ringer for it. While he's been running Ratkin mostly, he needed something more straightforward if he was going to be playing and running, and opted for his Brothermark. He fielded the following to try and shake some of the rust off:


We haven't faced a more "typical" Brothermark army in quite some time! It's got a strong core of potent knights from the Order of the Abyssal Hunt, Ogre Palace Guard and Def5 Paladin Monster Slayers. A regiment of Bowmen are around for objective play, and a regiment of Villein Skirmishers are around to interdict. Two Siege Artillery pieces were fielded due to some models still being on the hobbying desk. A mounted Priest, a War Wizard with Wind Blast and the High Chaplain Augusts were around to inspire, with Basil the Dragon around to officially lead the force.


I brought the Kingdoms of Men. I probably should be running my Undead for a little more experience with the list prior to the tournament, but I'll get 5 games in with them next weekend, and wanted to run something else while I had the opportunity. I haven't actually played the Kingdoms of Men using the Command Dice yet, and figured I should take the opportunity to do so and test out an assortment of odd ideas. Up to test is:

  • Pole-Arms Block. I needed a horde to unlock stuff, and didn't have the points for more Foot Guard like I wanted, so we're taking them. They haven't had great games previously. Def3 isn't a sustainable battle line, and they ate a lot of multi-charges in other games. 
  • Def5 Foot Guard Regiments. These have not seen the table in a long, long time. I want to explore defensive regiments and the Chivalrous Monarch, with its rally will make them 16/18, and hopefully pretty sticky. 
  • Militia Mob Horde. I've run and liked the 65 point regiments before, but they've fallen out of my lists recently. The KoM army analysis from Data and Dice brought them to my attention again, as they are cheaper than a Zombie horde. They don't unlock, but could be a neat way to gum up a battlefield cheaply. We'll see how one horde does.
  • Crossbow Block. A pet unit for me. We'll see how they can contribute.
  • Knight Regiment. Taken to try and play around with the "Precise Thrust" Order for Ordered March. I know how potent nimble heavy cavalry can be thanks to my fights with the Halflings, so we'll see if I can imitate that here, and how useful it might be.
  • Triple rampage Giants. More pet units from me. I want to try them a few times alongside the new Command Dice and such before I switch gears with the army.
  • Monarch with Rally. The Monarch is an honorary 4th Giant, comparable against everything except Def6. I like the variety of upgrade options. 
  • Outlaws. I think I have a better handle on the unit now. 
  • ASBs. We're taking two and a fair amount of infantry to try out Lifeleech 2, and each get a Red Die for trying out Command Orders as well. 
  • Command Orders. I haven't played with Command Orders and the Kingdoms of men yet, so we're trying them out. I like the concept of Precise Thrust // Ordered March to get Ordered March on something, but on just one unit, we'll see how impactful it is. I think it's only going to feel good when it is a flanking unit. I feel like Run Them Down // Ferocious Charge has too many restrictions in order to really be useful for this army, but I'm running some Foot Guard Regiments already, and might be able to test it out. 
Table and Terrain

A table was set up by the time I arrived at the shop, and we had an additional forest to play around with the tournament's terrain assortment. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the building 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 crop field and grass field as some Height 0 difficult terrain.

Overview of the table.

We got Pillage for our scenario, with a total of 6 objectives to fight over, and with my opponent placing the first token. I won the roll for sides, and reflexively was a lazy gamer. Writing up the report... this was definitely not a wise move from me. Had I gone with the other side, I'd have two objectives in my deployment zone, a third within striking distance, and plenty of shooting units to make use of this advantageous arrangement! Oops.

View from the left.

The Brothermark deployed in a sparse line, with Bowmen and a knightly Order out on the left, a super-Inspired center of a knightly Order, Ogre Palace Guard, the Priestess, Gus, and the Paladins with the War Wizard and third knightly Order in reserve. Height 0 terrain aligned so that the Siege Artillery could cover the center of the board, and the Skirmishers and Basil held the right.

View from the center.

Left-to-right the Kingdoms of Men had a Giant with an Outlaw troop in reserve and the hero Brigand supporting. The other Outlaw troop screened for the Pole-Arms, who were held in reserve along with the Lute ASB, as I wanted to keep the horde out of early combats. In the center we had the Monarch flanked by Foot Guard regiments. Crossbowmen could get their leader point onto the hill, so did so. Then we had two Giants and the Militia Horde, with the Healing ASB supporting, and an angled Knight regiment in reserve, ready to push into the center.

View from the right.

Our drop count was very close, so while they were some of my final drops, I could not be too sneaky with where the Giants ended up. My deployment could have been better. My biggest mistake here is that the Monarch does not have Strider, so sticking him right behind terrain is a bad call. I won't nit-pick the rest.

My opponent won the roll but decided that I should go first. Since he has artillery, I disagree with this choice, but given my own side-picking error, will need to fight for tokens, and so I will gladly kick this game off.

Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

I roll up 7 Swords for my Command Dice.

On the left, our respective bow units are out of range of one another, so my troop just camps the objective.

The Giant moves its speed to get behind the house. He’s in the woods, and inches-wise, can’t threaten anything unless it moves up, but is still zoning out some good space. 

The Giant moves up to utilize the building to block and the terrain too dissuade.

The center is a bit of a jumbled mess. The Pole Arms will be slowed by the woods. I want to try and protect them, so placed the second Outlaw unit in front of them, which now needs to awkwardly move and shoot so I can go claim some tokens. I can only see the Paladins on foot, but the obstacle is in the way. Nothing hits.

The Monarch and Foot Guard escorts move up, mostly through the terrain, and with the Monarch handing back slightly, despite its greater speed. There is about a 100mm span between the Guards to prevent cavalry from charging the Monarch.

Moving up in the center.

The Crossbowmen need to advance in order to shoot. They take the hill, and try focus-firing into the Paladins on foot. While focus-firing is a good idea, this is an error. I should be shooting into the weaker war machines instead. Needing 6’s, the Crossbowmen land 1 hit, into 1 wound, which is then Iron Resolved back immediately.

I had angled the knights so they could move at the double and help instigate for me. I do so, and they are threatening a number of charges next turn. I could use Precise Thrust on them, but don’t need to, as I like the angle.

And moving up aggressively on the right.

The Giants on the right were sort of safe from the war machines (only one could be shot at by both), but the blocking does complicate their movement. One angles to zip past it next turn to help a push through the center, and the other moves to help the Militia on the far right. Both the Giant and the Militia move 10” forward.

Bottom of Round 1: Brothermark

My opponent rolls up 4 Swords for his Command Dice. 

On the right, Basil and the Skirmishers move away. I missed that these were skirmishers and not more knights, but that’s ok. We've chased them away.

Basil and his cheerleaders look to get away.

The war machines shoot into the Knights, land 3 damage, and get a lucky waver. I've got Headstrong though, so it's not the end of the world. If they shake it off, we can even get into Basil if we want to.

Cautious moves in the center.

The Paladins on foot hold, and the Ogre Palace Guard and the nearby cavalry seize the hill but stay out of charge range of my Giant this turn.

The Brothermark knights start a long trek.

The knightly Order on the left moves up but is stymied by the obstacle, and has no charges next turn. They seem to be vying for the objective in my deployment zone, but I have a few turns before that is an issue.

The Villein Bowmen don’t budge, and just camp their objective. 

Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

I roll up 5 for my command dice. 

The Outlaws on the token sidestep and shoot into the slowly advancing knights. I could have stayed still to avoid penalties, but figured bows weren’t going to do anything anyways. I wanted to create a little more space and maybe draw the Pole-Arms into this fight in the coming turns, so positioning seemed more important. With the obstacle providing a cover penalty, nothing hits, let alone wounds.

The Giant inches into range.

The nearby Giant in the woods inches forward to get into charge range against the knights.

The Pole-Arms and screening Outlaws hold. The Outlaws shoot into the Ogres, landing no hits.

Moving up in the center. Slowly but surely.

The Monarch and Foot Guard escorts move up. The unit on the left holds back to avoid a charge from the Ogres (the knights are already in), while the unit on the right moves up its speed, making its way through the grasses.

The Giants split around the windmill.

My Knights have charges into the Paladins, either war machine, or Basil, but get a 1 on their Headstrong roll, so I need to spend all 5 swords on unwaver them. The just trudge forward so the Giants can continue pushing ahead as well. 

My Crossbowmen hold and shoot into a war machine, landing 3 damage and getting a waver. 
One Giant moves up to support the knights. The other pivots, blocking off a landing spot for Basil behind the Militia, who are pressing onward, hopping over the objective.

Bottom of Round 2: Brothermark

My opponent rolls up 4 Swords with his Command Dice.

The Villein Skirmishers head into the flank of my Knights. There was a copy of his list around, but I didn’t realize the upgrade at the time, and figured it would be 4’s into hindered 5’s. It’s 3’s into hindered 4’s though, and the initiates land a solid 6 damage into my knights, bringing them to 9 and wavering them again.

Movement and a flank charge.

Basil at the doubles and lands in front of the Crossbowmen on the hill. I did a pretty good job at zoning him out, but my opponent cleverly found a spot for him.

The war machines have Indirect Fire, so could not shoot my Knights or the neatest Giant. This was unplanned by me. One war machine is wavered and does nothing, and the other shoots into the Monarch, but doesn’t land any damage.

The Monarch is pushed back, and the Knights wavered again.

The Knightly Order in reserve moves up to threaten my Knights should the Skirmishers fail to break them.

The War Wizard hops ahead of the Paladins, and Wind Blast pushes the Monarch 2 inches back, just barely denying him a charge next turn. 

The Ogres and the Knights hold on the hill. 

On the left, the knightly Order hops the fence, and with their move and pivot, is 15.5” away from my Outlaws. It’s in for now, but I still have time to deal with them.

The Villein Bowmen start a fire, officially camping the objective.

Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

I roll up 5 for my Command Dice. 

Instead of running away, the Outlaws move up, daring a hindered charge. I move them up so they can prevent the knights from turning and running around the building. The Pole-Arms pivot, hoping to brawl the Knights for the token back here.

Since the Knights did not move backward, the Giant has a charge into them. I don’t want to solo-charge, but can’t really think of anything better to do, and need to get him away from the outriding knights on my left, so I go in. They are not Inspired, so maybe I’ll get lucky? I roll up 3 extra attacks on the Rampaging 2d6, land 5 damage, and do get a surprise Waver, but the Knights have Fury (and Slayer), so this long-shot is a bust.

The Outlaws set a trap.

The screening Outlaws hold, shooting into the Ogres without penalties. They land 1 which is Iron-Resolved back. Against all this Def5, I should be using these as chaff and moving up, not trying to shoot stuff. 

The Foot Guard to the left move up slightly to dare a hindered charge from the Ogres. In retrospect, I probably should have been more aggressive here.

The Monarch moves up again, moving its speed, and threatening charges again.

The center tries shuffling forward again. That was a big field.

I am trying to be tricky with Foot Guard on the right. They are able to get out of the grasses with their move, and could be a great target for the Run them Down Command Order for Ferocious Charge next turn. 

The Crossbowmen charge off the hill into Basil, getting a Bane Chant while doing so. This feels great, but only 4 damage lands, which will spin down the just 3 after Iron Resolve. Still, the dragon is grounded, and I think contained.

The Kingdoms of Men swing around the flank.

The knights fail another Headstrong check, getting another 1. I don’t think they do anything.
One Giant hits the Villein Skirmishers in the flank, dealing 14 damage and routing the unit. I think I victoriously pivot, looking for options next turn.

The ASB with Heal hides near the windmill, keeping everything Inspired out here. 

The second Giant moves and pivots to stare at the war machines, and the Militia move up and pivot to make way, while threatening a charge of their own.

Bottom of Round 3: Brothermark

My opponent rolls up 4 for his Command Dice. He’s had pretty good results for not buying any additional dice, but isn’t really spending them on anything. Basil gets healed down to 2.

And it turns out Basil is not contained. There isn’t 75mm between the front of the Crossbows and the corner of the Giant. However, the inch from Withdraw changes the angle, and Basil slips away, shooting the gap and utilizing speed 10.

The Monarch takes a big, surprise hit.

The War Wizard Wind Blasts the knights back for 4 inches, pushing them more than 12” away form the war machines, who put the knights out of their misery.

The Paladins need to pivot a bit, but this lets the knightly Order move up and they can just barely connect with the Monarch’s corner, allowing for a charge. I think they catch a Bane Chant, and the Monarch takes 10 and wavers. 

The Ogres choose the flank of the Giant, and will nearly devastate it all by themselves, so we fast forward, and the lone Giant on the left is bested.

The knights manage to escape.

On the left, the outriding knights realize they can’t get away without being harassed, and so take the charge into the Outlaw troop, and my hopes run high. The trap was poorly set up though. They will best the Outlaws, but if they can back up the 3”, my Pole-Arms will be out of range. Luck is with my opponent, and get gets the 3” and is safe.

The Villein Bowmen start making smores.

Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

I do not like my position. I figured the Giant would fall, but Basil escaping, the knights backing up and the Monarch wavering is a lot to try and overcome. I need a big turn to get back into this, and my dice oblige with a mere 3 Swords on the Command dice…

On the left, the Pole Arms enter the woods, still itching for a fight over this token. 

The Pole-Arms try to instigate.

The Outlaws make a hindered charge into the Ogres, landing 1 which is Iron Resolved back. With the Ogres and Knights stacked, the goal is just to stuff them both up for a turn.

The Monarch is wavered, but holds, and I spend 2 Swords for Endurance on him, as he is the only thing with damage. He stays engaged. I make a hindered flank charge with the Foot Guard, who catch a Bane Chant. I don’t think they can do it alone, but don’t want to commit a ton here. I don’t like the shots for the Crossbows, so charge them into the other flank. It’s two hindered charges, but a lot of dice, and I am able to bring them to 13 damage and get the rout.

Flank charges.

The Crossbowmen and Foot Guard both victoriously change facing towards the Brothermark line. Someone recently shared that if you are part of a combat, you can reform too, so the Monarch reforms as well, looking to try and help with dealing with the Ogres and knights on the hill in the coming turns, and maybe fight for the token out there too. However, rereading the rulebook, only "Charges and Counter charging units" can victoriously reform. So I think the Monarch should still be facing forward.

One too many reforms.

Run them Down and Ferocious Charge is off the table, but I still think it’s worth the risk to charge the War Wizard. Unfortunately, my dice continue to disagree, and I deal 2 damage (4 expected), and fail to even waver the caster.

The war machines are charged.

One Giant goes into the war machine, easily obliterating it. The Militia are hindered, but still manage to underperform, dealing just 4 damage to the war machine, but thankfully still manage to rout it. I don’t know what they did in victory.

The Healing ASB is wary of a breath attack, and circles around the building. The second Giant was squeezed between the Militia and building and couldn’t charge if memory serves, which is why he just moves up. 

More reforms.

It’s been some rough turns for the Kingdoms of Men, but trying to play faster, I’ve been a bit sloppy, and I did myself no favors. I don’t think charging with the Militia was wise. I don’t remember if they were threatened by Basil, or looking to avoid him or what the situation was that led to me charging out with them. Them spinning around to make their way back toward the token (Basil can dance and breath if he wants to contest) and both Giants charging the war machines seems like it would have been better plays.

Bottom of Round 4: Brothermark

My opponent rolls up 2 Swords for his Command Dice, and uses them on Endurance to heal Basil down to 2.

Free, Basil nimbly spins around, and stalks the Monarch, landing 3 damage with his breath attack, and brining him up to 12 damage. The Nerve check is thankfully low this time, and the Monarch holds on for now.

Movement from the Brothermark.

The War Wizard limps away, just trying to complicate flank charges into the Paladin horde. 

The Paladins charge my Foot Guard and land a strong 6 damage against my regiment. I was not expecting this, but this looks to be about right, since hitting on 3’s removes a big bottleneck.

Aftermath of the turn.

In some clever moves, Gus hits the Outlaws in the flank, going 4/4 and wavering them. The Ogres sidestep, not charging anything this turn, in an unusual move for Ogres.

An unfortunate flank charge into the Pole-Arms.

They do this because with the Pole Arms entering the woods… the knightly Order by the hill is about 15 1/2 inches away from the flank of my horde, and can see their back corner. Sheesh. We’re technically fighting for the objective I guess, but my Pole-Arms are devastated and routed with both a front and a flank. The Abyssal Hunt gets CS1 innately, so everything is wounding me on 2’s, and it’s a lot of attacks.

Reforms from the knights.

The Villein Bowmen take a nap while still guarding the objective.

Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

I roll up 6 Swords for my command dice, but struggle to use them. Due to terrain slowing things down, Ordered March isn’t helpful, and Run them Down / Furious Charge can only impact my Foot Guard Regiments, who are disordered and will be hindered, respectively.

Charges for the Kingdoms of Men.

I have nothing on the left. With the side-step, the Ogres are not in arc for the Monarch anymore, so he has one (hindered) charge into the knights that flanked my Pole-Arms. I don’t like it, but feel like I gotta take it. At least the inches finally break my way, and the Monarch finds itself a splendid 20 ½ way from Basil.

The combat takes the knights from 2 to 6, with the earlier damage being lessened by spells and Endurance over the last few turns. In a surprise, the knights are wavered, but have Fury (and a d3 Slayer) so should be just fine.

Combats in the center.

The Outlaws disengage and withdraw, but wavered, cannot do anything. I think I consider unwavering them to sidestep, but do not do so. I don’t have notes on any Swords being used actually. 

The Crossbowmen are actually standing on a token, which I forget about. They hold to shoot without penalties into the Ogres, landing 3, which Iron Resolves down to 2. Basil is in their rear and it looks like the Ogres are in their flank, so in the middle of the field is not a good place for a Crossbow horde. Who could have guessed.

With the angles, the Foot Guard unfortunately can’t get past Gus to make it into the Ogres to block them up. I’m not going to move Gus, so they go into the Paladin horde, though Gus might have been the better choice, in retrospect. 

The second Foot Guard joining in pushes the injured unit into range for Lifeleech 2 from the ASB, and Heal lands for 2 as well to take them down to just two damage. A Giant joins in the flank, against the Paladins, with the second Giant into the War Wizard and threatening an overrun into the flank of the horde as well, if I can get a 3+ on that overrun.

A single reform from the only victorious combat.

The Militia need to change facing to allow the Giant to charge the War Wizard. They are facing the objective now, but are way too late since they are slowed by the woods. They won’t get their until a potential Round 7.

I roll up the War Wizard combat first, getting 11 extra attacks, and landing 10 damage to take her to 12 and rout the wizard. Taking stock of the field, I feel like my Crossbows are gonners, and if I’m playing for a Round 7 need to try and get into a place where I can avenge them. I am also worried about reforms if I do make it in. Instead of risking the overrun, this giant merely pivots to eye the Crossbows so it can hopefully join in on any Round 6 fighting.

The triple Charge into the Paladins goes poorly. I don’t have the inches to BC the counter-charging Footies, so the hindered newcomers get it. They deal 4, the counter-chargers deal 3, but the Giant in the flank only rolls up 3 extra attacks, and just 7 damage himself, plus the Brutal. The Paladins have great Nerve, and hold.

Bottom of Round 5: Brothermark

My opponent rolls up 3 Swords for his Command Dice.

My opponent switches into scenario mode, and instead of charging, Basil nimbly spins and flies towards the objective my Militia are gunning for.

Basil safely claims a token.

The Paladins charge the injured Foot Guard unit, taking them from 2 to 7, but the regiment holds. 
Gus foes 4/4 again into the Outlaws, picks them up and overruns.

The Ogres are all about scenario play as well, and instead of charging anything, turn tail towards another objective. I had my photos and a quick sketch in my notes about the tokens, but I think my opponent forgot the Crossbows were standing on a token until late in his turn.

Aftermath of Round 5.

The knightly Orders counter-charge the Monarch, and will devastate and rout him. They overrun, and roll high enough (4+) to get out of the woods.

The other regiment claims the objective in my deployment zone.

The Villein Bowmen doze, peacefully.

Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

I decide that I am playing for Round 7 and a hopeful draw. I roll up 6 swords, can’t find a good use for them, and decide to save them all.

The Brigand tries to frustrate the knights.

The Brigand goes into the flank of the knightly Order, but Bane Chant fails. On 3’s and 4’s, the hero lands no damage. I was hoping for 1 and a chance to rout, but no luck.

Just a pivot from the Crossbowmen.

The Crossbowmen pivot but do not move. This is an error. I have 5 inches, and should be trying to box the knights out, but simply don’t, and the objective is exposed. Knowing I was playing for a round 7, I think I wanted to make sure I had a flank into the knights with the Footies (and the dice for Ferocious Charge to test it out), but this is still an error. 

They shoot with a movement penalty into the Ogres on the hill. I land 1 damage, and boxcars gets a very lucky waver to hold them up. Since they are shook, they don't Iron Resolve it.

Reforms from the Kingdoms of Men.

Heal fails to connect with the injured Foot Guard, and they only land 1 damage, so can only Lifeleech themselves down to 6. The other regiment contributes only a few. The Giant does about the same, but we’re still at 20+ damage, and will rout the horde on the second attempt. With the Ogres wavering, and me playing for a Round 7 anyways, the Giant overruns, and the hope is to catch them next turn and then overrun towards the token. Unfortunately, the overrun is 1” and I might not even have range to charge in.

Reforms from the Kingdoms of Men. Hoping for a Round 7.

With nothing to charge, the other Giant turns, looking to help the Militia push through against Basil. Speaking of, the Militia move towards that objective, but are still dreadfully far away from it.

Bottom of Round 6: Brothermark

My opponent rolls up 6 Swords for his Command Dice.

Basil will flap forward to keep the Militia more than 3” away, so I cannot contest the token without a victory, but that’s why I am brining the Giant over.

Basil blocks out the Kingdoms of Men.

The knightly Order is US 3, as is my Crossbowmen, so they charge in, hindered from going over the obstacle, but still are contesting the token. No one can claim this, and they land 9 damage into my Crossbows. 

The Ogres are unwavered through Command Orders, and they run over to claim another objective, are safe from the Giant.

The knights charge to negate an objective for me.

The knightly Orders in my deployment zone hold an objective.

And the Villein Bowmen wake up, still camping and claiming their objective.

With the central token contested now, it’s 4-1 in favor of the Brothermark at the end of Round 6.

Game Conclusions

What a heartbreaker! I was repeatedly screwed over by tiny measurements this game: Basil having clearance in millimeters to run away; Pole-Arms getting flanked; Abyssal Hunt getting the final inch to get away… but I also didn’t play a great game. Picking the sides I did put me at a big disadvantage going into the game, and while I was trying to set traps, I was also trying to be mindful of the time and play quickly. A few of those measurements could have been stopped with cleaner play from myself.

Rolling up the Swords to unwaver the Ogres was a big development to firmly put my opponent ahead as the game concluded. I think I could have reclaimed the center with the Ferocious flank charge, but probably not bested Basil to tie it up in a Round 7 unless my Giant really brought the heat, and I only have myself to blame for wanting to get the Militia into combats in the corner there.

All in all, I was not lucky, but was also clearly outplayed by a very survivable list. Congrats to my opponent on the well-deserved victory!

Testing Conclusions
  • Pole-Arms Block. Ouch. I tried to preserve them but their trend at just getting rolled continues as strong as ever. It was my half in error here, and I thought I had those knights blocked up for a bit. Overall, I really want to like the Pole-Arms. It’s pretty cheap, it’s got CS, and decent nerve, but the damage just accrues and I’ve yet to make use of their attacks.
  • Def5 Foot Guard Regiments. With Rally and Indomitable Will, they could be pretty sticky, but I was not aggressive enough with them to find out. At 145 points, they aren’t bad but this needed a bit more finesse today.
  • Militia Mob Horde. Their stats are terrible and they did not have a good game …. But I definitely see the appeal. They are about as survivable as the Pole-Arms for about 40% cheaper, so at holding the line and filling up a battlefield, this horde is are far more attractive. It doesn’t unlock, but troop unlocks aren’t an issue for this army, and I could see some builds, especially with our flying Beast Cav grabbing a few blocks of these to take up space. I think I need to bring Militia back into my lists more, and might need to get that 4th regiment going as well to try out two hordes in 2025.
  • Crossbow Block. I should have realized the futility of shooting into Iron Resolve units quicker, and focused on the war machines first. I like them, but don’t think I used them well this game.
  • Knight Regiment. Two failed Headstrong rolls and an unlucky waver to start the game. They were one supremely unlucky unit!
  • Triple rampage Giants. I did not support them well, and could not because of the constraints of the rest of the list. This is just another example of how to come up short when using Giants. They really need something like Mounted Sergeants or even a knight troop to help instigate the fights and help them get in. 
  • Monarch with Rally. We joke the he is an honorary Giant, but after deploying the Monarch, I remembered that he does not get Strider, and with 10 attacks, he struggled all game and was not used well. Rally is a neat idea, but did not impact the game at all. I don’t think double Footies was the way to go though. Knights – Monarch – Foot Guard horde could be a decent pairing maybe, though just going for Slayer is probably a safe all-comers choice. I do like the upgrade options for fluffy build-around-me stuff, so we’ll see if and how we can fit him into future lists.
  • Outlaws. They all really struggled this game. Had I gone with the other side, they could have just camped objectives for cheap, but that was not the case, and against Def5 Iron Resolve… they struggled to contribute.
  • ASBs. For two ASBs, I liked the Lute and the Shroud was ok. Lifeleech 2 was useful, but I still strongly dislike it on the human ASB since it is a very limited boon to what should be a generalist-style army, and mechanically we should not be Vampires. I still think Iron Resolve should be the undead-adjacent rule reflecting their unkillability (like the Varangur Draugr), and then LL could be Fighting Spirit and the more relatable human approach of liking to be fighting a winning battle and pressing that advantage a bit. But as-is, I am still not a fan of Lifeleech on the human ASBs.
  • Precise Thrust // Ordered March. Conceptually, I like this one the most for the army. Here though, with the extra forest, we struggled to even move at the double, so that it could be applied. It’s variability (infantry or cavalry, and at any unit size) is a big plus for me, since the army is supposed to be a jack-of-all-trades style army.
  • Run Them Down // Ferocious Charge. The Herd shares this Command, and I do not like it in either army. Neither army is elite, and so want to run larger units to make use of middling stats, but then neither can make great use of the Order due to all the type and size limitations. A blanket +1 to hit on a unit is big, so all the limitations are definitely warranted, but I think this should be just Cavalry, Large Cavalry or Chariots, letting the troops and regiments hit a bit harder in the open field. A neat design space for reworking could be getting to pick your overrun move, instead of rolling for it? It’s a generic order given to us, but not meant for either army.
  • Terrain, time, and tournament stuff. The game reinforced a lot of ideas already swirling around in my head related to the upcoming tournament. First, we had a lot of hindered charges between us. The extra forest makes me wish my Herd was in a better spot, but I am pretty happy with what I am bringing and know I will enjoy it. Second was that time will be critical. We have an hour each on the clock, while dealing with Command Orders, which seems incredibly tight. I was loosely timing my turns, and was doing ok overall, but this game took 3 hours to complete. I think that I will need to be really cognizant of the clock going into the tournament, as I think a lot of people will be clocking out earlier than they think.
I was a very tired grump going into the game, but the outing and meet-up definitely lifted my spirits, and was enlightening as well with the tournament coming up. Thanks to my opponent for the game, and I should have some tournament battle reports coming soon from the first-ever Northwoods GT! 

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #108 Undead vs Northern Alliance in Compass Points


Intro and Lists

The New Year is off to a bit of a rocky start, but it's not all bad, and I managed to squeeze in a pair of games against Trevor from Data and Dice! We have a tournament coming up, and Trevor likes what he's got going, so he ran the same Northern Alliance list as from the first game of the day:


He has two regiments of Hearthguard are around to break stuff, with two regiments of Dwarf Clansmen to block and hold the line for the sturdy, Regenerating Naiad horde. Three regiments of Snow Foxes are around to interdict, as are three Snow Troll Primes, and there is a healing Ice Queen to babysit whatever needs attending to. Rounding out the list is a horde of versatile, flying Frostclaws. 


I brought the Undead, but continued on with the peculiar Ghoul-centric approach that I was trying out today. As-before we have a lot of Ghouls and a mostly non-Shambling Undead list with a lot of heroic options to evaluate:
  • Skeleton Spearmen with Lifeleech 3. The wording got changed at some point, letting all these upgrades and abilities stack, so we’ll try out a Fearless, Lifeleech 3 Phalanx horde and see how that feels for holding the line. 
  • Ghouls! I hobbied up a bunch of reinforcements and have really wanted to get them on the table for a while now. Older tacticas and army reviews praised the heck out of Ghouls, but they seem to have fallen out of favor. I think a few troops could have value for scenario play, but we’ll see how this regiment-favored assortment does.
  • Soul Reavers. I need hammers, and wanting to try out some non-Shambling Undead… leaves me with these since I don’t have any Werewolf units. I like the vampires here, but need to protect them, and we’ll see if a throng of Ghouls is enough to do that.
  • Goreblights. The Undead have some neat sub-faction stuff going. The Goreblights are zombies, and don’t have great keyword synergy with anything in the list, but with all these units running around, I figured a few Monsters might be good to have. They look neat but have not had great luck for me previously, so the only goals for them is to not deployment them together and to try and keep them Inspired, so we can see what they can do!
  • Ghoul Ghast. If I’m running Ghouls, it seems fitting to try out the Ghast, whose TC aura now comes standard! I wish I had two to spread the aura around more, but we’ll do our best. I waffled between the Scythe and Rampage, or the Mournful Blade and Duelist, but eventually settled on the latter, since I have not tried out Duelist and the triple attacks yet.
  • Periscope Liche King, with Hex, Heal and Veil. With so little Shambling, I am trying the Liche King with a new suite of spells. Hex is to try and gum up any opposing Hex Casters, in order to protect Mhorgoth. I liked Veil of Shadows from Zuinok, and so wanted to try that again here alongside Heal. I usually take the Ej Periscope on him, as I am concerned that he might not be able to see important Heal targets, like the Soul Reavers.
  • Mhorgoth the Faceless. He’s a potential contender to bring to the tournament, but he also seems risky with the Duelist change and a lot of Hex around these days. I have neglected to run him for the longest time, and am overdue for testing him out, so here we go. We’ll see if Mhorgoth the Must-Have lives up to the hype.
  • Lykanis. The idea for these lists was to largely avoid Shambling units. I don’t have units of Werewolves, but have two Lykanis models, so it’s a weird pick we’re trying out. These Nimble 40 and 50 millimeter heroes tend to do well, but their price is a little steep, relative to something like the Thegn on Frostfang or Snow Troll Primes. We’ll see how they do and what they get up to.
Table and Terrain

Trevor was kind enough to host our games, and we set up a new table. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the building 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 some Height 0 difficult terrain.

Overview of (most of) the table

We wanted to play an Objective Scenario next, and opted for Compass Points, which we still didn’t have a firm grasp on. There were four objectives to fight over. Our “Home” objective was worth one point to us; the opponent’s home, or “Away” objective from our perspective is worth two points. And there is a one-point token on each flank to fight for.

The view from the left.

On the left we have a Snow Troll Prime, two Hearthguard awkwardly perched on the obstacles with Snow Foxes in tow. Behind the woods hid a second Prime, Dwarfs, and the Cavern Dweller. Peering around the woods were the Naiads and their supporting Ice Queen, with the third Prime holding the Trickster’s Wand securing that flank. I didn’t think much would end up out on the right, and with equal drops, got baited into a very bad match-up, with the Dwarfs showing up very early, and the Ice Blade, Snow Foxes and Frostclaws all as very late drops to reinforce.

The view from the center.

Left-to-right for the Undead we have Ghouls, the Lykanis and the Goreblight. Soul Reavers threaten the hill with Ghouls protecting their flank and the Liche in support. The Spear Horde started in the terrain, but should be able to get out. The Soul Reavers protected their flank with the Goreblight nearby, and Mhorgoth and a ghoul troop in reserve. Out on the right was a Lykanis and Ghoul regiment as early drops, and then the troop and Ghast as later ones.

The view from the right.

As mentioned, I was not especially happy with my deployment, and committed a lot to the right where I am definitely outclassed. I think that even the quicker undead that I’m running here I shouel be playing a little more compactly. 

Top of Round 1: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up a strong 7 Swords for his Command Dice, but in the early game, and with his army, he doesn't have much to use them on.

On the left, the Prime moves his speed, and both Hearthguard units clear the obstacle with both Fox units in tow, and the other Prime hops forward as well.

A slow, inexorable trudge forward.

The slower Dwarfs and Naiads are both tripped up by the forest, while the speedier Cavern Dweller pulls ahead. The Snow Troll Prime with the Wand pulls in behind the building, trying to be tricky.

A quicker advance on the right.

On the right, the Frostclaws fly up, and land 5 damage into the Ghoul troop, but it holds. Additionally, the Foxes move up, the Dwarfs move up, and the Ice Blade moves up, in that little pocket between units. My Lykanis is only 40mm, and I do point this out. He reconsiders, and then doubles down and returns things to as they were, and is fine if I want to risk that charge.

Bottom of Round 1: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my Command Dice.

On the right, I decide I do want to risk it. I have Mhorgath, and need to protect him, so occupying the Duelist seems worthwhile, so the Lykanis makes the risky charge into him. I land 4 damage, which isn't bad, but I do not support the charge well, the the Lykanis is unsupported and exposed.

The Lykanis charges, a bit foolishly.

This flank is a bit of a jumble, so I just try to mitigate the damage the Frostclaws can do. He shouldn't have the inches to hop my line, and the Ghouls have a good charge range, so we angle things to be tricky, and he'll need to choose whether to shoot off the injured Ghouls or charge them.

A standoff in the center.

I am fine with a standoff for now. The Goreblight moves up. It's 12" charge beats the 11" on the Prime around the corner, and I position so that I am in range and he is out. The Cavern Dweller is quick, but the Soul Reavers hang back. The Liche Hexes the Prime. It's only wand-on-wand action that will break a wand though, so I'll need to keep the Prime occupied so Mhorgoth can do what he needs to.

Approaches on the left.

Out on the left, we're doing similar things. The Ghouls have a great threat range, and the Soul Reavers inch up slightly so that see around the hill. This Goreblight threatens the the Snow Troll Prime safely as well. The Lykanis can get in as well, and the Ghouls have decent odds too.

Top of Round 2: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up another 6 Swords for his Command Dice.

On the left, the Snow Troll Prime backs up, and the Foxes frolic ahead of the Hearthguard to block. 

Snow Foxes move to block.

Centrally, the Dwarfs hop up to better protect the Prime and Cavern Dweller, and the Naiads move up and the hexed Prime retreats as well. With the slight adjustments, I believe the Naiads have a charge into the Goreblight now if I don't do something.

The standoff continues.

On the right, I've been baited pretty hard. The Lykanis is triple-charged by the Ice Blade, Dwarfs in the flank, and the Frostclaws in the front, and is easily routed.

Snow Foxes go into the maimed Ghoul troop, will pick them up and will overrun as well.

Bottom of Round 2: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my Command Dice.

On the left, the individual Ghast charges around the Foxes and into the injured Ice Blade, landing 12 damage and easily besting the other duelist. I don't know what to do with her now, since she is so outnumbered, so I sidestep.

Using Command Orders.

The Ghoul regiment can only charge the Foxes, but will do so, and easily best them.

Centrally, we're still in a standoff. The Goreblight backs up, away from the Naiads, and the reserve Ghouls hop up to control the objective for now. 

Inching closer and closer...

The Skeleton Spears are relatively safe, and so just hold. The Cavern Dweller and the central Prime should be able to reach them, but that's not going to break them, and I doubt my opponent will take the charge with so much waiting here nearby.

Slowly closing on the left as well.

I check range and line of sight from the Liche, but then forget to cast Hex onto the Prime with the Wand in the ranged phase.

The standoff continues down the line. The Goreblight moves up to have range into the Prime or the Hearthguard if the Foxes don't interdict. The Ghouls move up to project threat, and the Lykanis sidesteps to get behind them. My plan was to let the Lykanis run past and pivot if my opponent stands off again this turn... and this is bad positioning, and I should have moved the Lykanis over more towards the table edge and the Ghouls more away from it.

Top of Round 3: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up a few Swords, but I don't record how many. Both rerolls are considered, so probably at least 2 Swords.

On the left, the Prime doesn't have a charge, but can barrel ahead top gum things up, and my Lykanis should be boxed in. The Prime ends up pretty squared with the Ghouls relative to his starting positiong, but the end effect should be the same with both the Ghouls and Lykanis in front-arc.

The Foxes start forcing the issue on the left...

The Foxes charge the Goreblight, and more Foxes get visible on the hill, but don't go too far up. The thinking is that whatever charges them will likely win, but not be able to fully back off of the hill, allowing the Hearthguard to see and retaliate.

...but the standoffs continue on the right.

Centrally, the standoff continues! The untouched Prime now Hexes Mhorgoth, due to my negligence. The rest of the line inches up, offering charges while getting into range themselves. Even the central Dwarfs should have some charges now. The Soul Reavers are the exception though, and my opponent does not give them a charge - the Naiads are just out of range.

Bottom of Round 3: Undead

I roll up 5 Swords for my Command Dice. 

On the right, the Ghast ping-pongs over to the Frostclaws. I am not going to be able to contest this since I lost all my unit strength here, so the goal is to delay the Frostclaws as long as possible. I can't let them be making flying flank charges into my important units. 

The Ghast grounds the Frostclaws.

In the center, the Undead pounce. Mhorgoth flies over to sneakily land between the Naiad Horde and the hexing Snow Troll Prime. Mhorgoth Drain Life's the Prime for 2, and the Ghouls move up to use Command Dice to land another 2, though nothing needs healing. The Goreblight charges the Prime, landing Cloak of Death and then some damage in melee, but only gets a waver. 

The Undead initiate some charges in the center.

I want to see how the Spears do, so we charge in against the Naiads to protect the flank of the Goreblight. I kind of forget they have Ensnare, but this is more of a blocking charge. Cloak hits them for 1, and the Spears poke for 3 more damage.

The Cavern Dweller can only charge the Skeleton Spears, so the Soul Reavers move up to threaten reprisals, as I think the horde can hold for a turn.

The Undead fight (and best) some Snow Foxes on the left.

On the left, the Ghoul regiment takes the charge into the Snow Foxes on the hill, and is able to claw at them and pick them up. I roll this fight last, so they turn to face the Hearthguard that can charge them. The Soul Reavers here move up to support and avenge next turn.

On the far left, Ghouls charge the Snow Troll Prime, landing a surprising 5 damage, but this prime holds firm. The Lykanis is unable to run past due to my errors, so he nimbly charges the Snow Foxes along with the Goreblight. The Foxes are trampled. I want to protect the Lykanis, so the Goreblight overruns a crazy amount. I opt to back the Lykanis up.

Top of Round 4: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 6 Swords for his Command Dice. 

On the left, the Prime regenerates some, and lands 4 damage into the Ghoul regiment, but they hold.

The Huscarls charge and shred the Goreblight, and then move back, but can't quite get out of range. The Lykanis can definitely get in, and the Soul Reaves can draw line of sight, if just barely. The other Hearthguard shred the Ghouls, and then pivot. Even if I do break a Hearthguard unit next turn, one of them is getting in somewhere, as this is a very dangerous area.

The Hearthguard push up and escalate with the piece trading.

Centrally, one of the Primes is able to get in against the Soul Reavers thanks to Wild Charge. He'll only deal 1 damage, but will still stuff them up while things smash into the Skeleton Horde. 

A big triple charge from the Northern Alliance into the Skeleton Spears.

Speaking of, the Skeletons take Dwarfs in the flank, and the Naiads and Cavern Dweller in the front, and are brought to a concerning 15 damage, but do hold.

The Prime regenerates a lot, and then gets a heal from the Ice Queen to end the turn at just 1 damage.

The Ghast holds!

The Dwarfs and the Frostclaws pincer the Ghast. She's brought up to 10 damage, but is found to be insane!

Bottom of Round 4: Undead

I roll up 5 Swords for my Command Dice.

On the right, the Ghast continues on against the Frostclaws, lands a few more damage, and gets a lucky rout against the flying dwarfs!

I forget about Lifeleech, but it's still worth it.

Centrally, I'm stuck in. The Goreblight goes back into the Prime, but I don't even get back to the damage he had on him last turn, and don't waver him this time.

The Undead try to push back. 

The Ghouls try another Drain Life into something, and will heal the Skeleton Spears for 1. Mhorgath tries a Drain Life into the flanking Dwarfs, but is out of range to heal the Skeleton horde if memory serves. I think he does 1 damage with the spell.

The horde will counter charge the Dwarfs, dealing 3 and Lifeleeching down to 12. 

The Soul Reavers push pack against the Prime, landing 10 damage, and will get the rout against him.

The Soul Reavers do their best.

On the left, I can only multi-charge one unit of Hearthguard. I don't think single charges are going to go well here, so do make the multi-charge. The Soul Reavers get a Bane Chant from Mhorgoth, and we are able to rout the unit and reform.

On the far left, the the Ghouls will countercharge the Prime, landing just 1 damage.

Top of Round 5: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 2 Swords for his Command Dice.

On the left the Prime regenerates from 7 down to 3, and deals 4 to the Ghouls for a waver.

Combats on the left.

The Hearthguard charge the Soul Reavers to avenge their comrades. The Reavers take a solid 10 damage, and with a pair of hot checks, the vampires are routed.

Centrally, the trio of units again charge the Skeleton Spears, do a similar amount of damage, and will devastate and rout the unit, as is proper. The Dwarfs will get a big heal, and end the round at 1 damage.

The Skeleton Spears fall, and the Undead are a bit exposed in the center now.

The Prime will countercharge the Goreblight, and land a strong 4 damage off his 5 attacks.

The Northern Alliance finally win on the right.

On the right, the Dwarfs will finally best the Ghast, and are within 3 inches to claim this objective without worry.

Bottom of Round 5: Undead

I roll up some Swords, but don't note how many. Probably a low number then, as I don't make a note of what I spent them on.

The Ghouls charge the Naiads. Even Ensnared they land a hot 3 to take them to 7 damage and block them up.

Mhorgoth flits back over the lines, landing among the Undead. Dread hits things, and then he tries a Drain Life into the weaker Naiads to heal the Goreblight as it charges back into the the Prime, the Goreblight takes the Prime back up to 6 damage, and with Dread, I get a pair of hot checks to rout the Prime, and will reform. I will note that the reform is shallow, so I can run past the Naiads, but do still have them in arc.

Charges in the center.

Mhorgoth's second spell is a Bane Chant into the Soul Reavers, who do slay the dwarfs and reform to face the Cavern Dweller.

Victorious positioning in the center.

On the left, I've lost. The Ghouls are wavered, and do nothing. Honestly, I should have been difficult and disengaged and withdrawn and moved back to pull the Prime away, but don't think of it at the time.

The Hearthguard are right there, but the Lykanis alone isn't going to do anything, so he nimbly zips to their left, back towards my opponent's deployment zone.

Top of Round 6: Northern Alliance

I don't record the Command Dice.

On the left, the Prime lands another 4, and routes the Ghouls, reforming. The Hearthguard change facing while controlling this objective. The Northern Alliance have claimed both flank objectives at this point.

Victory on the left flank as well for the Northern Alliance.

Centrally, the Cavern Dweller rolls well for his extra attacks, and slams 7 damage into the Soul Reaverers, who do hold. 

The Northern Alliance try to hold.

The Naids start at 7, Regenerate 2 to get to 5, get Endurance to go down to 4, and then are Healed down to 1. Sheesh. They've been hit with spells and in combat multiple rounds, but you'd never know it! They counter charge the Ghouls, easily best them, and then decide to hold. 

The Dwarfs on the right simply camp the objective token.

Bottom of Round 6: Undead

I roll up 4 Swords for my Command Dice.

The Lykanis doesn't have a charge, so moves his speed to get behind the Naiads, using Command Dice to hit them with a Drain Life for 2.

Movement for the Undead, circling around the Naiads.

The Goreblight moves and pivots, and gets surged into the flank of the Naiads by Mhorgoth, and it does 7 damage in the flank to take them to 9 damage.

The Liche jogs up and heals the Soul Reavers for a strong 4 to take them to 3. Mhorgoth's second spell is a Bane Chant into the vampires, which fizzles. The Vamps to 9 to the Dweller, Lifeleech 2 back, but it holds, wavered. 

With the Naiads holding, it's 3-0 in favor of the Northern Alliance, but we do get a Round 7!

Top of Round 7: Northern Alliance

With the Dweller holding, the Hearthguard are millimeters in on a flank charge into the Souls Reavers, and charging off the hill, the Soul Reavers are brought to 15 damage on the first batch of attacks... They abandoned the objective, but a Prime is easily able to secure it instead.

Starting positions for the Northern Alliance.

The Naiads counter-charge the Goreblight, but roll low, and just deal 4 damage. Between Regeneration and Heal, they end the round at 1 damage, again.

Bottom of Round 7: Undead

The Liche moves up to Heal the Goreblight, because I can and I forget that it is the bottom of Round 7.

The Naiad horde falls!

The Lykanis takes the rear into the Naiads, with the ensnared Goreblight in the front. Mhorgoth attempts Drain Life but it fails completely. From the look of my notes, I forget about Cloak of Death. The melee sees each unit deal 7 to the Naiads to bring them to 15, and then bested, thanks to Dread from Mhorgoth. The Goreblight sidesteps to the token. This objective is worth 2 points to me, making this a time game!

Game Conclusions

In our meta Compass Points is already gaining a reputation as a standoffish scenario, where one camps their home and a side. In retrospect, the terrain even kind of encouraged that here, and a more reserved strategy might have been the better call. However, I got baited into deploying more that I should have out on the right, and was then spread pretty thin. 

Going into the game I wanted to preserve the Lykanis heroes as threatening pieces, but as we were both starting to better understand the utility of Mhorgoth, I was very wary of the Ice Blade, and the early charge seemed worth it, even if I was not able to support it well. Things worked out amazingly there, beating both the Ice Blade and the Frostclaws, but that was pure luck. I didn't really deserve to tie this up, but lucked out.

Looking across the table, I quite like this approach to the Northern Alliance. Snow Troll Primes are still a bargain, and the list as a whole felt more focused than some of the previous combined-arms lists my opponent has played around with previously. I definitely still like the combined-arms lists as well, but for a multi-day tournament, the more straightforward list here seems like it will do better as it is far less mentally taxing to play. Despite the time crunch, and Round 7’s, he ended both games with ~10 minutes to spare while I clocked out in the first game and just squeaked by in the second game to finish within the allotted time. The clock is doing to be tough for me I think.

Testing Conclusions

  • Skeleton Spearmen with Lifeleech 3. The horde isn’t a bad unit, and I could envision it run alongside something like Zombie Trolls to help the line grind a little better. I think you’d need a few troops of chaff to prevent big multi-charges into your hordes, but the Spears/Zombie Troll grouping seems like it should be viable.
  • Ghouls troops! The troops are chaff, but very useful for the Undead, given their speed. They can hop forward to perform blocking charges, or run around with tokens. Overall, I liked them today, but the Undead do have some nice, cheap options for chaffy units to play scenarios.
  • Ghoul regiments! I wasn’t as big of a fan of the regiments. I could see a regiment mixed in here or there along the battle line to extend it an project some threat? Or maybe around to protect flanks if you don’t have Shambling units? They are probably priced appropriately, but the stats are such that they are mostly just there to take up space. I obviously have the models to run hordes, but I think they are going to suffer similarly and just get chaffed up without doing much, so I think troops are the way to go for Ghouls, if you do want to run them.
  • Soul Reavers. Throwing 20 high-quality attacks at something is still a lot of fun, and they had intriguing counterparts across the table with the Hearthguard.
  • Goreblights. I did spread them out, and I had no Cloak of Death Overlap this game. Never-you-mind that you had to be sacrificed early! The other survived and got in a great Shambling/Surging flank charge late in the game, and so evaluated together, they did ok. Unlike a lot of monsters, I think this might actually suffer from being picked in multiples, due to Cloak of Death positioning complications, unless you are really able to plan ahead and spread them out along your line. In a slower list with more Shambling, I really like the Goreblight, and sticking them with Zombie Trolls and a Vicious-Aura Necromancer looks like a lot of fun to get a little extra out of them.
  • Ghoul Ghast. Seriously, unreasonably lucky this game, but an all-star as a result. I had misplays here with her this game, playing Lifeleech 1 instead of Lifeleech 2, but she was still a ridiculous powerhouse. The Aura is great, and if you want to run Ghouls, she seems worth it. I had waffled between Rampage and Duelist items for her, and was glad I went with Duelist. If you want to get into the duelist arms race, 110 points is a steal, and her only downsides are Def3 (need to get the first charge) and that she can waver.
  • Periscope Liche King, with Hex, Heal and Veil. Periscope is still nice to have if you can fit it in. I am still liking Heal on the Liche. Hex was good, though I goofed and forgot to cast it one turn, completely undoing my own logic for taking it. Veil is… situational. Without significant meta considerations, I think I can drop Veil, but it is nice to have, and I think a Liche can have a strong niche in many Undead lists with whatever spells you want to try.
  • Mhorgoth the Faceless. I think I used him more effectively here than in the previous game. He was far more mobile and Dread was wonderfully impactful for me. It’s a nice assortment of spells that really kicks in in the mid-game once the lines start to close. He is Mhorgoth the Mandatory, and we’ll
  • Lykanis. Since these Inspired and were generating command dice today, I wanted to hold these back and mostly project threat. Running important individuals and wary of the Ice Blade, I didn’t think I’d take him off, but it felt worth it to try and get in early against the Ice Blade. Unfortunately my deployment was such that I couldn’t support the Lykanis’s early charge. Overall, I liked these since they could zip out and block up a unit, but I think I need to treat them more like the wimpy Kingdoms of Men Generals on Winged Beasts, where the threat is the important thing, and damage is secondary, and I’m rarely committing to a charge without it being a multi-charge. A neat unit that can really help the Undead out in the positional game.

These were weird lists from me, but I quite enjoyed playing them, and think there are some neat ideas here worth exploring more in the future. Most Undead Lists probably won’t like larger Ghoul units, but the troops and the Ghast still seem neat, and the long charge range of the Lykanis certainly seems like a powerful tool for the Undead to keep opposing lists honest in the movement phase. All of these longer charge ranges certainly changed the tempo for a lot of the combats and forced some unusual decisions as the lines clashed. The Undead are a neat army with some surprising depth in their subfactions!

These were great games to play. A big thank you to my opponent for fitting them in!