Kings of War 3rd Edition: #116 Herd vs Halflings in Pillage

Intro and Lists

For the second game of the day, most of the group disbanded. We got a bit of a lateish start, and only had two hours left before the shop closed, and most folks opted to pack it up. I figured I could get a second game in though, and Rob and his ravenous Halflings obliged me. He brought the following, all ready for Adepticon:

As-ever, it is a very scary, very versatile list, utilizing the available Auras from both the Muster Captain and the Sauceror to let the halfling units punch above their weight. Things on his side will look much the same as in all our other games, as he has been perfecting this list over the last year. The biggest recent change was the addition of the Engineer and his long rifle, which we have seen before, and the dropping of the Wild Runners and their guns for a third regiment of Juggers, which is the latest iteration of the list.

Being the second game of the day, I continued with the Herd, but me being me, I ran a slight variation on the day’s list, swapping out the Wiltfather for the Avatar of the Father. As we get back in the swing of things generally, and using the Herd specifically, up to evaluate and comment on is everything again:

• Tribal Spears. I still like Tribal Spears, but points were tight, and they don’t get an item this time either. The goal would be to protect them early and use them reservedly, so they could perform for me in the late game.
• Tribal Trappers. I think the Trappers are probably best alongside a few other shooting units, since just a few bow shots aren’t likely to do much on their own, but Scout and TC has made them a very fun unit to play, so we’re taking them again.
• Hunters of the Wild. We’re taking a lot of troops, so grabbing a few of these as well. They can pressure with Scout and might hold things up again. Rob and his Halflings actually showed me that Def5 chaff could be worthwhile, so we’ll see how I do against my tutor.
• Harpies. Quick, flying chaff is amazing! I have had a tendency to throw my chaff away though, so we’ll see how wisely I actually use these this game.
• Lycans. The new unit! Aas mentioned in their hobby post, we’ll try to pressure and play a positional game with them first, and charge things second. If we use them properly, we should hopefully get some nice flank charges with them.
• Forest Shamblers. We’re running a quick list, so I wanted to include a Horde that might be able to endure some damage while exerting some pressure. In this iteration of the list, they get the Aegis of the Elohi to hopefully increase their survivability a bit.
• Stampede. My Herd has struggled against Phalanx and obstacles. Phalanx will still strip my TC, but the Stampede should hopefully find some good Striding charges.
• Great Chieftain with horns. As-mentioned in some of the last Herd games, having tried triple Spears, triple Brutes and the like, I wanted to shift away from duplications and spammy lists over to some more precise or “balanced” lists. With no Brutes and no Brutal to go against his Dread, I’m hoping the Chieftain will be more impactful than before. I thought Dread was an aura, but it lacks the keyword. We caught this as we were going over lists, so played Dred with the correct bubble this time. 
• Druid with BC and Conjurer’s Staff. Druids are nice, but with only one horde of Tribal Spears to worry about, duplicates didn’t seem like a good call. We weren’t playing with Command Dice, and with just one Druid, I opted to give them the Staff. Hopefully our Bane Chants connect!
• Forest Warden with Tricketer's Wand. I opted to take a Forest Warden as well. Being a non-individual, they can score, which is highly valued in our region. They can Surge, which I hope plays nicely with the Forest Shambler Horde, and they can hold items too. Points were wonky, and I wanted to be aggressive with the list, so opted for the Trickster’s Wand over a more supporting item like Shroud of the Saint or my go-to Lute.
• Avatar of the Father. Unfortunately, he has never had good luck, usually getting a nice charge in only to not deal enough damage, or find the unit to be insanely courageous, or even both. I still like my model though, so I’m still trying to find a home for him as I explore different styles of lists. We’ll see how he does here with a lot of troops get in the way and speedy Lycans to help out with pressure and fights.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer’s Realm in the Milwaukee area, which had moved into new building with a much larger store area as well as an absolutely labyrinthine play area with multiple, large, dedicated areas for card, board, role, and war gaming. It’s a great spot, and you should check it out if you are in the area!

With some folks leaving, we packed up some of the tables. The arctic one remained, but we rolled up a new table arrangement from the packet, and we were using our typical terrain rules, running the cabin and tower as Height 9 blocking terrain, all the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the neoprene pieces as Height 0.

View of the table.

We rolled up Pillage for our scenario. Apparently for Adepticon if there is a variable in the scenario, one is to use the maximum result, so we had the full 7 tokens to fight over and really put my troops to the test. My opponent put his tokens in corners while I scattered mine centrally.

As-ever, the Halflings had a lot of units to deploy, and were able to save the Juggers for their final drops. Left-to-right we have Grenadiers in reserve, both regiments of Poachers already on the hill, with an Engineer and Harvester nearby to support. A building broke things up, but the line continued with a Stalwart troop, the Iron Beast, the Heroic Stalwart Horde with the Hammer and Iron Resolve from the Engineer’s Gizmos, and with the Sauceror nearby. We then had a Harvester and two units of Juggers, then the other troop of Stalwarts, other Grenadiers, Strider Captain, and the final unit of Juggers out on the far flank.

Deployment.

Things are a bit spread out, but left-to-right for me we have a stack of Hunters of the Wild, Forest Warden and Tribal Trappers, angled Forest Shamblers ended up nearby, with Harpies in reserve. Tribal Spears with the Druid occupied the forest nearby, and then we had both Lycan hordes in the center, but spread out, with Harpies in reserve on the right. I debated putting the Stampede in the center, but it ended up on the right, angled, and babysat by the Great Chieftain. More Hunters and Trappers ended up on the right. I wanted to put the Avatar on the far, far right, but that was the edge of the table, and I didn’t want to knock him off, so he ended up in a more reserved position.

It's an odd deployment, and it's because I am experimenting. Seeing tokens in corners, I wanted to try and put Trappers and troops on the flanks and try out the Lycans in the center, the thinking being that they should hopefully be able to double- or triple-team something with the Avatar and punch through, and if nothing else, their long charge range might dissuade the Halflings from early aggression, and give me a positional edge.

Scout moves.

I had Scout moves, and even remembered them. My opponent did as well, but the Poachers stayed put, since their leader points started on the hill. On the left, the Hunters of the Wild moved up, with Trappers moving up a bit as well. The Trappers should be able to back up to score the token here when the time comes. The Warden holds, as I want to protect my source of Inspiring. The angled Forest Shamblers zip up, but are safe, and they are looking to project threat and slow the Halflings down. On the right, both the Hunters and Trappers move up greatly. I don’t expect the Juggers to stay put, so want to use these to instigate some piece trades instead of holding for 4 turns and then getting charged by the Halfling heavy cavalry.

I win the roll for determining turns, and seize it. The Herd likes going first.

Top of Round 1: Herd

On the left, I generally liked where I scouted to, and the stack of Hunters, Trappers and Warden all hold, pressuring these tokens. I am always wary of the Grenadiers, and think this troop stack zones them out nicely for now.

Movement for the Herd on the left.

The Forest Shamblers move and pivot towards the left, hoping to pressure these shooters.

Facing off against infantry, my horde of Tribal Spears zips ahead 10 inches, projecting threat. The slower Druid is able to keep pace.

Movement for the Herd in the center.

The Lycans move ahead as well, but I don’t think they even utilize their full speed on the move. The left Harpies hide behind the woods, since they are facing shooters. The ones on the right flutter up to keep pace with the Lycans.

Movement for the Herd on the right.

On the right, the Stampede moves and pivots to zone out and threaten any Jugger unit that should advance next turn. The Avatar uses the woods to help screen himself, but also stays out of the maximum charge range of the Juggers. His pivots, threatening flank charges if the Halflings move up too far.

Since the Avatar is likely flying away soon, the Chieftain sticks close, ready to Inspire. The troop stack on the right moves up slightly, but is also out of charge range of the Juggers.

Bottom of Round 1: Halflings

The Sauceror chooses Wild Charge for her Aura.

On the right, the nimble Juggers don’t have a charge, but back up and pivot to create space project threat as the other Halfling units position. The nearby Grenadiers hold, and the troop of Stalwarts start heading over to try fight the Hunters of the Wild. The Muster Captain can just barely draw line of sight between the Stalwarts and the woods into the Hunters, and lands a Mind Fog. The dice spike, and my trees are shaken.

Aftermath of the fighting.

I was sort of cautious in the center, but not nearly enough. The Wild Charge successes from the Sauceror are enough to let two units of Juggers hit a Lycan horde. One flubs, but it’s still 20 damage that lands, and the horde is routed. In victory, one sidesteps, allowing the other to change facing a bit.

In the backfield, the Sauceror and Muster Captain repositioned to make use of their auras. The Harvester moved up, the Stalwart Horde and Iron Beast shuffled ahead slightly. With the move ahead, the towering Iron Beast is just in against the Harpies, and lands one damage with its guns, and gets a waver here.

The Stalwart troop takes the hill, complicating potential charges into the Iron Beast.

The Harvester charges out to occupy the Forest Shamblers.

On the left, I thought I was out, but I am in, and the Harvester kicks it into gear to crash into the Forest Shamblers, landing a hot 5 damage, but the Fearless trees hold. Later, I will remember that they have the Aegis in this list, and they will Iron Resolve down to 4 damage.

The Grenadiers move up a bit, and the Poachers and Engineer shoot into the Hunters of the Wild. It’s a troop, but Def5, and I figured I could survive. Dice are indeed low, with just 3 damage slipping in, but the Nerve check is hot and my troop is uninspired, so it’s routed.

Top of Round 2: Herd

On the left, the Trappers move up and shoot, but are penalized, and land nothing into the Grenadiers. Wary of the fliers, the Forest Warden moves to zone out the Grenadiers and deny them good landing spots.

Positioning out on the left.

Tripped up, the Forest Shamblers strike back at the Harvester, and with a successful Bane Chant from the Druid, will land 6 back despite the heavy plow shied affixed to the front of the contraption.

The Tribal Spears hold. The Harvester and Lycans are both Height 3, so they cannot help there. I send the Lycans into the Stalwart troop and deal just 4 damage, but do manage to rout them and then back up and off of the hill. They are in arc of the Stalwart horde, but the horde cannot see them.

Charges for the Herd.

The Harpies on the left continue to wait in reserve. The wavering Harpies on the right just hold. They can’t really contribute anywhere.

Reforms for the Herd.

The Avatar of the Father hits the flank of one, will do me proud and land 14 damage to devastate and rout the heavy cavalry, as is proper. The Juggers are a little isolated here, so the Stampede hits the other unit in the front. They underperform ever-so-slightly, landing 7 damage, which gets Iron Resolved down to 6. The unit is uninspired, and I did bring the Chieftain close up for Dread, but the Nerve check is low and they hold, unbothered.

On the right, the wavering Hunters of the Wild hold, as they are safe from the Juggers and Stalwart troop this turn. The Trappers hold, looking to layer up and prevent the Grenadiers from having too free a hand out here.

Bottom of Round 2: Halflings

On the right, the Stalwart troop moves up to threaten the Hunters of the Wild, and the dissuading Juggers in the corner, remain.

The Stampede takes a multicharged from the Juggers (5) harvester (5) and Grenadiers in the flank (6) and are routed. The Harvester spins around

The Stampede is scattered with a triple charge.

The Strider Captain draws another narrow line of sight to the damaged Harpies, lands another Mindfog and wavers them again.

The Iron Beast rolls up 4 extra attacks, and lands a ridiculous 11 damage on the Lycans, who are routed. The contraption claims the hill.

The Heroic Halfling Horde moves up and pivots to threaten the hill, making sure the Avatar of the Father is just barely in front-arc.

The Harvester goes into the Forest Shamblers again, joined by the Grenadiers. More dice spike, and the Shamblers are ignobly popped.

On the left, the Poachers and Engineer shoot into the Trappers, landing 8 damage and rout them too.

Top of Round 3: Herd

The Forest Warden cowers, sidestepping behind the building to at least claim a token for me as the game continues.

The Tribal Spears don’t want the fight the Def6 Harvester, so they charge the Grenadiers instead, and will mange to rout them.

Fighting on the left.

The Avatar of the Father has no great charges, and the game is very quickly slipping away. It's not a wise move, but I charge the Muster Captain for fun, and Avatar fails. Most of the hit rolls are 1’s. A total of 4 damage does slip through though, but the Nerve check is low and the Captain is around and unbothered.

Ineffectual push-back from the Herd.

The Great Chieftain also doesn't have great options. A 5-attack individual isn't going to move much on his own, but he hits back at some Grenadiers. He's got Dread, but only lands 2 damage, and fails to move them.

The wavered Harpies block for the other unit as it tries to flee. Things are not going well, to put it mildly.

Resistance out on the right.

Out on the left, the Hunters of the Wild charge the Stalwart in a skirmish, but land just 1 damage.

The Trappers in the right corner pivot to face the Grenadiers, but I think they are out of range for shots, but they also cannot shoot since the Chieftain went into the Grenadiers.

Bottom of Round 3: Halflings

I manage to take just one picture this round. It’s a bloodbath, and I’m too busy taking units off the board to pick up my phone.

On the right, the Stalwarts land a few damage and pick up the Hunters of the Wild with a hot nerve check.

The Grenadiers excuse themselves from the Chieftain to charge the Trappers in the corner. They land some damage, and pick them up too.

The Harpies are completely outmatched.

The Avatar’s back corner is exposed, and the Juggers are just in range, the Halfling heavy cavalry take a flank charge, landing 8 damage. The Harvester that beat the Stampede can just reach the rear of the Avatar, and joins in with another 7, but it’s still enough to pick the Avatar up.

The other Juggers charge the wavering Harpies and will pick them up.

The Iron Beast takes the hill, and just has the inches to fire into the fleeing Harpies, landing 3 and picking them up too!

On the left, the Haverster moves into a more threatening position, and the Poachers and Engineer all shoot into the Tribal Spears, landing 5 damage combined.

With just the Tribal Spears, Warden, and two individuals left, I concede. We've barely made a dent in the Halfling numbers, and there is no way I can win the scenario at this point.

Game Conclusions

On the bright side, I was right! I was able to fit in a second game within the two-hour cutoff (we finished this in about 1 hour), and start making progress again on my yearly game goal.

The Halflings have always been a tough match up for my Herd. Striding charges beat Pathfinding charges, wild charge makes it hard to pressure as the speeds are variable, and there is a lot of armor on his side of the board that I always struggle to deal with. He’s also really refined his list over the last year, while I continue to try new things. It’s always fun, but this match-up is always an uphill battle for me. This match-up was particularly tough though, as he never rolled below a 9 on his Nerve checks, so everything of mine just seemed doomed.

Testing Conclusions

• Tribal Spears. I still think this is a good starting unit for anyone interesting in trying out the Herd. It’s not flashy, but Spears are nice to have and it is able to pressure a bit as well with Pathfinder and Thunderous Charge.
• Tribal Trappers. Overall, I still like them as troops. Lacking Steady Aim or Stealthy, and with just 18” range and Def3, these are not good defenders, and will struggle in a shooting war. I think that is why the Silent Hunt formation was so tough for me to use –regiments of these, even with the formation’s special rules, just don’t increase the survivability or offense of these at all enough to justify the extra points spend.
• Hunters of the Wild. Overall, I still like these as troops relative to regiments as well. I tried experimenting with them a bit, but didn’t keep them inspired or otherwise supported, so they struggled this game.
• Harpies. Given the shooting opposing me, I wanted to keep these in reserve to zip out and die at the right time. It was a good goal, but unfortunately I misjudged things, and everything important from the Herd died before I got to use them as chaff.
• Herd Troops. Against an elite list, the troops really shined, but here against a list with some ranged pressure (and very hot dice), all the troops proved to be a huge liability as I lost unit after unit. For an all-comers approach, I think I need to rethink some things.
• Lycans. I experimented and put them both in the center, but they got smoked. Wild Charge caught me out, and it was too easy to contain them. One in the center and one on the flank could work, but I think these should be starting out on the far wings of a deployment whenever possible.
• Forest Shamblers. It’s a middling unit, with decent-enough stats, but it struggled here as it got caught out and I couldn’t support it with anything. I’ve struggled against these, but just can’t seem to get the results my opponents do. As I play around more with the Wiltfather, I want to bring these hordes back. Regiments of these are looking better to me though, possibly replacing the Hunters of the Wild troops. Scout is very fun to use, so despite being mediocre, we’ll see where these pop up next.
• Stampede. As it is one of the few things in the list with Strider I want to like the unit, but with its odd speed and no Nimble it keeps getting stuck with just frontal charges, and then often flubbing dice with so few attacks. I’ve got a few more ideas for it, but with how I’m using it right now, it seems too expensive and unwieldy.
• Great Chieftain. Again, the Sacred Horn doesn’t work with Dread, so that’s not as good an item for him. I’ve seen him with Wings of Honeymaze, so you can drop Dread in right where you need it, so that could be something to try in the future.
• Druid with Conjurer’s Staff. As-ever, a good pick for the Herd, especially alongside the Tribal Spears. With no Command Dice and no duplicates, springing for the Staff seems worthwhile, as this army needs the help landing damage,
• Forest Warden. He was cowardly here, and probably should have moved up behind the Hunters of the Wild to keep them Inspired. The Lute is a go-to item for me because it interacts with my lists. The Wand is a neat item, but it blanked in both of these games, and I think I need to take a page from the Halflings here and take the Talisman of Silence on him by default. If I run a second Warden, he can take Hex or something else.
• Avatar of the Father. The charge into the Muster Captain was the least bad option to do something, and with so much else going wrong, I decided to risk it. My opponent did a great job of isolating and punishing him. The opening moves and flank charge into the Juggers was sound though, and they weren’t Insane, which was a bonus. Overall, I think there could be some play alongside Lycans, with several speedy threats on the board so he is harder to deal with. I still like my mini and will still continue to swap him in and try to find a spot for him.

The meetup was geared towards practicing for the upcoming tournament at Adepticon, which is at the end of the month and apparently the last qualifying tournament for US Masters? I don’t keep tabs on these things. I’m not attending the tournament, and don’t think I’ll get in any more practice games before it for anyone. Going into the tournament, Rob is apparently ranked 9^th in the Midwest, and apparently the Master’s cutoff is for the top 8 players. We’ll need to take this moment to wish him and his Halflings well at Adepticon!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #115 Herd vs Northern Alliance in Raze

Intro and Lists

Just a few days shy of two months away from the table, my schedule not only calmed down a bit, but  also momentarily aligned with a gaming meetup! Milwaukee is hosting Adepticon at the end of the month, and folks were keen to get in some practice games. I’m not going to be attending, but we’ll see how much help I can be as a practice partner in the remaining weeks. The first game of the day was against Joe. Having played the heck out of his Imperial Dwarfs for the last year, during my time away he’s manifested a few of his seemingly endless new army ideas, producing a strong contingent of Northern Alliance recently, which he brought along for the meetup:

As others in the club have mentioned, it’s a very honest list, just looking to beat face and come out on top. I would probably find a way to upgrade to Hrimm, but I also do like a lot about the list, and think it will be nice to pilot in the tournament. Having played around with the Human Tribesmen a bit myself, I was mixed on the unit, as I did not get extensive testing in with them. I was leaning towards the Def5 version of the unit as well these days, and was particularly interested to see how multiple hordes of these would do for my opponent. 

I had actually considered bringing the neighborly Varangur for what would have been a near-mirror match again, but had lists stretching all the way back to February of 2024 for them in my ideas queue (I have still yet to field the Shrieker formation!), and think I just need to sit down with that pile of ideas, and start fresh. So, as you can see above, instead I brought the Herd, so I could explore the newish Lycans right away while continuing with some of the troop-heavy play ideas from late 2024. It’s been a while since I’ve been at the table, so we’ll try to comment on everything:

• Tribal Spears. I still like Tribal Spears, but points were tight, and they don’t get an item this time. I debated giving them the Mead of Madness, but since I probably want to put troops ahead of them, that seemed counter-productive. We’ll try them naked here.
• Tribal Trappers. I think the Trappers are probably best alongside a few other shooting units, since just a few bow shots aren’t likely to do much on their own, but Scout and TC has made them a very fun unit to play, so we shall give them another try.
• Hunters of the Wild. We’re taking a lot of troops, so grabbing a few of these as well. With Scout they should be able to block nicely for the Wiltfather, and with Def5 might be able to gum something up nicely. I have liked the troops more than the regiments, so we’ll see how they do this time.
• Harpies. Quick, flying chaff is amazing! I have had a tendency to throw my chaff away though, so we’ll see how wisely I actually use these this game.
• Lycans. The new unit! Aas mentioned in their hobby post, we’ll try to pressure and play a positional game with them first, and charge things second. If we use them properly, we should hopefully get some nice flank charges with them. 
• Forest Shamblers. We’re running a quick list, so I wanted to include a Horde that might be able to endure some damage while exerting some pressure. In this iteration of the list, they get the Aegis of the Elohi to hopefully increase their survivability a bit.
• Stampede. My Herd has struggled against Phalanx and obstacles. Phalanx will still strip my TC, but the Stampede should hopefully find some good Striding charges.
• Great Chieftain with horns. As-mentioned in some of the last Herd games, having tried triple Spears, triple Brutes and the like, I wanted to shift away from duplications and spammy lists over to some more precise or “balanced” lists. With no Brutes and no Brutal to go against his Dread, I’m hoping the Chieftain will be more impactful than before. I thought Dread was an aura, but it lacks the keyword. I erroneously played it with a larger bubble here. My biggest rules gripe in Kings of War is auras, and this was a bummer to discover.
• Druid with BC and Conjurer’s Staff. Druids are nice, but with only one horde of Tribal Spears to worry about, duplicates didn’t seem like a good call. We weren’t playing with Command Dice, and with just one Druid, I opted to give them the Staff. Hopefully our Bane Chants connect!
• Forest Warden. I opted to take a Forest Warden as well. Being a non-individual, they can score, which is highly valued in our region. They can Surge, which I hope plays nicely with the Forest Shambler Horde, and they can hold items too. Points were wonky, and I wanted to be aggressive with the list, so opted for the Trickster’s Wand over a more supporting item like Shroud of the Saint or my go-to Lute.
• Wiltfather. While he seems to be an incredibly popular I have generally liked the Wiltfather, and with a lot of other tree units around in the list, we’ll see how he and his Vicious Aura does. 

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer’s Realm in the Milwaukee area, which had moved into new building at the start of the year, with a much larger store area, as well as an absolutely labyrinthine play area with multiple, large, dedicated areas for concurrent card, board, role, and war gaming. It’s a great spot, and you should check it out if you are in the area!

I’ve got a long drive out to this shop, and arrived a little late, and the tables were already set up. My opponent and I got the (appropriately) arctic-themed table, and were using our typical terrain rules. The arrangement of the board came from a map pack, and we were using our typical terrain rules, running the cabin and tower as Height 9 blocking terrain, all the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the neoprene pieces as Height 0.

The Table.

We rolled up the basic Raze for the scenario. There is a central objective token, and then we each place 3 more objective tokens on the opponent’s side of the board, 6” from the center line. If we control one of the tokens that we placed, we can burn them for a point, and then that token goes away, so we should be whittling down the points of interest on the battlefield down to a final clash in the center. We were playing the original version of the scenario, where the maximum score you could have is 4. I had two tokens on my left and one on the right, and my opponent did the opposite, with one on my left and two on my right.

Deployment.

For deployment, my opponent went very wide. A regiment of Hearthguard lurked on the far left flank. All three troops of Dwarfs formed a line, screening for a Snow Troll Prime, regiment of human tribesmen, and the Cavern Dweller. A horde of human tribesmen set up near that center token, supported by a Snow Troll Prime and the second regiment of Hearthguard. A building broke up his line, and on the far right was the second horde of Tribesmen, the mounted Lord, the third Snow Troll Prime, and a Frost Giant.

Scout moves on the left.

For my own deployment, I wanted to put Lycans on the flanks and the Spears in the center. So, left-to-right for me we have Lycans, then Trappers, Forest Shamblers, and the Wiltfather. Hunters of the Wild screened for the Forest Warden and some Harpies. My Tribal Spears came down centrally to fight over the center token, and were supported by the Druid and Trappers, who screened for another unit of Harpies. Mid-deployment I decided that I wanted the Harpies centrally, supporting the Spears so that they could get good charges. A building broke my line up as well, and my right consisted of some Hunters of the Wild, the Chieftain, the Stampede, and the second unit of Lycans.

Scout moves in the center.

I remembered my Scout moves! On the right, the Hunters moved up, but not greedily. The plan was to use them as bait, and hopefully crush something with the Stampede and Lycans and Chieftain. The central Trappers moved up, protected by the hill. On the left, everything moved the full 12” with the Hunters getting their leader point into the second forest to spy the enemy lines. Two of my tokens were out here, and the maximum charge against me was 11”, so I wanted to gain as much ground as possible with these scout moves.

Scout moves on the right.

My opponent won the roll for turn order, and surprisingly gave it to me.

Top of Round 1: Herd

Trappers hopped up to be bait things while securing and burning a token. The Hunters of the Wild did the same, immediately putting me up by 2 for the scenario.

Movement on the left, with the Herd claiming two tokens already.

On the left, the Lycans run up and nimble pivoted to threaten things. The Forest Shamblers and Wiltfather didn’t have charges, so they just hold, ready for action next turn. A unit of Harpies and the Forest Warden move up to support in future turns.

Movement in the center, playing around a ridiculous hill.

The center was just a mess of terrain. The forests were separate and a nightmare for line of sight, and we had decided during set-up that the hills were touching (and so a contiguous blocker for line of sight). I moved the Tribal Spears up, using the hill to block line of sight. The Snow Trolls were just Height 3, and so nothing on one side was going to be able to see the other side. 

Movement on the right.

On the right, the Hunters of the Wild moved ahead slightly. Facing off against the Giant and such out here, I felt the need to use them for chaff and piece trading instead of yoloing into my third token, and they should be back far enough that they are out of charge range for now. The Stampede and Lycans both moved up, ready to pounce on the coming turns.

Given the scenario and my list, unexpectedly getting first turn was amazing for me, and I think I put it to good use!

Bottom of Round 1: Northern Alliance

On the right, the Giant, Snow Troll Prime and horde inch up, with the mounted Lord tucking in behind the wide unit. They are projecting some good threat, but couldn’t charge anything this turn, and I should be in a decent position out here since I have the advantage in speed.

The lithe-looking Frost Giant is nonetheless cautious.

Nearby, the Hearthguard by the building inch, looking out to help reinforce the stuff on my right, the Snow Troll half-heartedly helps in that direction as well. 

A standoff in the center.

More centrally, the horde of Human Tribesmen is largely unsupported. It can't take the hill without exposing itself multiple Herd units. Instead of advancing, it chooses to counter my horde, and engage in a standoff.

The Northern Alliance pick up a few of the Herd's advance scouts.

On the left, the Tribesmen regiment chooses to start moving towards the center. The Dwarf clansmen move up to block for the Prime and the Dweller, and the third charging out and besting the uninspired Trappers. The Hearthguard post up behind the obstacle to force a hindered charge from the Lycans. 

Top of Round 2: Herd

I know that I do not want the Lycans fighting the Hearthguard, but the left is a traffic jam with all these Dwarf troops, and it takes me a while to figure out what all I want to do.

Spacing is hard, and I can’t quite arrange things for a surging flank-charge, so the Shamblers take a front into the troop of Dwarfs, and and Forest Warden nimbly zips up to provide Inspiring in case I bounce off. The Lycans take a flank charge into a Dwarf troop, and Harpies fly out to try and chaff up the Hearthguard. 

Fights on the left.

When the dust settles, the Shamblers do best their unit, and sidestep to get more behind the Harpies, and the Hearthguard cannot reach them with a single pivot. The Lycans also shred their troop. The Harpies are blocking the Hearthguard from reaching them, and the Lycans are even able to reform and get out of arc of the Snow Troll Prime!

The Wiltfather and Hunters of the Wild multi-charge the third Dwarf troop, and will best them as well. The Hunters of the Wild will Overrun to block up the Cavern Dweller.  

A continuing standoff in the center.

Centrally, the Spears, Druid and Harpy hold. I should probably be doing something, but was feeling fine with a cold war since their horde is stronger than mine. The Trappers can peak around the hill to spy the other Hearthguard, and opt to charge in to delay them, and they deliver a strong 5 damage.

Fighting on the right.

I do some measurements on the right. A triple charge (Hunters, Stampede and Lycans) will just expose the flank of the Lycans to the Giant. If I am victorious, I could easily overrun to escape, but I decide that I don’t want to risk it, so the Hunters instead move out of the way, and just the Stampede and Lycans go into the horde. 

I can’t really support the charge any further though. The Stampede flubs hard, dealing just 5 damage, and the Lycans overperform slightly to sneak 7 in, which is 1 more than expected. On just 12 damage, the inspired horde easily sticks around.

Bottom of Round 2: Northern Alliance

On the right, I was smart in my planning and my measuring, but sloppy in my actual alignment, and things were not shuffling down and sharing frontage properly. On his turn, due to my poor alignment, the Giant can still see a sliver of the corner of the Lycans, and eager to get the Giant into combat, he will eagerly take this flank charge. This should not have happened, but came down to me not explain my intentions and clearly showing things clearly on my turn, so I ultimately feel like I need to take the proverbial hit. The Giant goes into the flank, with the Horde countercharging and the Snow Troll Prime joining in as well. 

My opponent didn't shuffle at all; I was hanging ~20mm over on the left and 50mm on the right.

Ultimately, the Giant joining in is superfluous. The horde spikes for 14 damage, and the Prime contributes 2, already putting the Lycans on shaky ground. The Giant contributes 7 plus Brutal to devastate and rout the unit, as is proper. She then overruns.

The Snow Troll Prime hits the Trappers in the flank while the Hearthguard thumps them from the front, and it's obviously a slaughter. Both units then just adjust their facing in victory.

Aftermath of the fighting out on the right.

Centrally, the horde of humans holds still again, continuing the standoff. The other units nearby are fighting other things, so my opponent doesn't want to move them up and expose them.

Aftermath of the combats on the left.

The regiment of humans can just see a sliver a bit of the Hunters of the Wild, and so charge in, joined by the Cavern Dweller. They prevail, with the humans overrunning 1” and the Cavern Dweller swiveling 90 degrees to face threats.

With no real options, the Snow Troll Prime charges the Wiltfather to delay him, and he does land a strong 2 damage against the towering tree man.

On the left, the Hearthguard can only reach the blocking Harpies. The angry humans are hindered, but will easily shred the delaying troop. They then back up, trying to use the obstacle to force another hindered charge from the Herd.

Top of Round 3: Herd

I borrowed a neat corner game aid from my opponent to mark the starting position of the Forest Shamblers while I struggled with some decisions. We had seen other players use similar tools elsewhere, and he made his, but I think you could probably get some cheap L-brackets from a hardware store. They seem like really nice markers to use while you figure out your possible moves, and I really liked using them as it took away all the potential “feels bad” moments of not quite returning your unit to their starting point when the move you want to make doesn’t actually work.  

Like last turn, all I know is that I don’t want to make a hindered charge into the Hearthguard. I was hoping that the Shamblers could make a surging flank charge into the Snow Troll Prime, but a pivot takes a lot of inches away, and I’d need all 4 attempts at the spell from the Forest Warden to make it. Failure would expose the rear of the Shamblers to the Hearthguard, and this all doesn’t seem workable. 

Eventually, the Forest Shamblers move up to antagonize the Hearthguard, but do not charge. My opponent doesn't have any healing spells, so damage is damage against them, but having claimed my tokens here already, my goal is to keep them in the corner and delay them. Charging them would give them an unhindered countercharge, so making them take the hindered charge improves my chances of holding them up longer. The Forest Warden escapes the arc of the Snow Troll Prime, though I do realize that I am opening the way to the token out here for him.

Movement on the left.

Towering above the Prime is the Wiltfather. I decide that I don’t want to grind against the Prime, and will take a penalty to withdraw, and flank-charge the Cavern Dweller. Cloak of Death triggers, but the dice don’t spike. Thankfully they are average though, and the Dweller is brought up to 10 damage by the end of the round, but the Nerve check is quite low, and the Dweller is completely unbothered.

View from the center.

The regiment of Human Tribesmen overran, and the Lycans cannot align to the flank of the unit like I was hoping. I have a frontal charge into the Cavern Dweller, but even with an overrun, this would likely open me up to a rear from the Hearthguard… despite the lack of Dwarf troops, things are still messy out here! I decide I need to use the Lycans to pressure, and zip them behind enemy lines, where they spy lots of flanks and rears, and should help me claim the center in the late game.

A view of the center and the right.

Speaking of, the Tribal Spears pivot, looking to threaten the hill, but now see around it for a ways on the right. The Harpies make use of the hill as well, hopping up but remaining hidden, and ready to interdict. 

The Druid moves up to get range and line of sight to the Hunters of the Wild, who charge in to delay the Hearthguard, and will land the expected 3 damage, bringing them to 8. The Chieftain runs up to bring Dread, but the Hearthguard easily holds as well.

With everything going into the Lycans last turn, the Stampede was popped free and is not disordered on my turn. It charges back into the horde, and violently makes up for its poor performance last turn. Dread applies here as well, and the horde is busted. The Hearthguard aren’t close enough to claim the token, so with the Horde falling, the Herd burns this token as well, making it 3:0 in my favor.

Victory on the right, but the Giantess is still around.

In victory, the Stampede turns to face the Giantess. Slayer shouldn’t trigger, so on 4’s with just 1d6 extra attacks, I should hopefully be able to hold out and counter-punch here.

Bottom of Round 3: Northern Alliance

I apparently take notes but no pictures this turn... What can I say? I'm excited to be back on the table.

The very tall Giantess blocks the Snow Troll Prime from seeing the Stampede, but that’s probably for the best, as my opponent knows he needs to start grabbing tokens to close the points gap.

The Giantess charges the Stampede, and is joined by the mounted Northern Alliance Lord, which I had forgotten about. She lands 5 damage, and the Lord contributes 3, but the Stampede endures and holds strong.

The nearby blocked Snow Troll Prime nimble pivots and runs towards the edge of the table, avoiding the difficult terrain and trying to get as far as he can onto my side of the table, hoping the extra inches and taking the long way around will keep the Prime safe. 

The Hearthguard thump 10 damage into the Hunters of the Wild, but oblige me with an Insane Courage result. Delaying troops for the win!

The central Snow Troll Prime will make a break past the hill. My remaining Lycans are threatening him in the rear, and I think this move was to get him out of their range, and set him on a course towards one of the tokens out on the right, like the other Prime.

The regiment of tribesmen don’t want to mess with the Wiltfather, as fighting him will only incur his wrath. My opponent’s goal is to just avoid him if at all possible, and so the regiment moves forward instead of charging, and the horde sidesteps, just barely getting out of arc of the Lycans if memory serves.

With the Wiltfather having departed to fight the Cavern Dweller on my turn, the Snow Troll Prime has a free hand to go claim a token, and burn it, getting the Northern Alliance on the scoreboard, but it’s still 3:1 in my favor.

Speaking of, on the left, the Cavern Dweller took the hits from the Wiltfather, but held on. He can spy the flank of my Forest Shamblers, and doesn’t need to withdraw, so just takes that charge, with the Hearthguard making a hindered charge in the front. It’s two nasty units fighting the Shamblers, but I luck out. The Dweller only rolls up 1 extra attack, and the dice even trend low, landing just 6 damage. Hindered proves to be tough on the Hearthguard, and the dice trend low here as well, and they only contribute 5 damage. The Shamblers are Inspired and Fearless, and just barely manage to stick around when it is time to test. I got incredibly lucky here, but this showcases why I’ve liked the Undead, and the power of Fearless units when you can keep them Inspired!

Top of Round 4: Herd

On the left, the Shamblers countercharge the Dweller, with the plucky Forest Warden hitting the monster in the flank. The Dweller had Life-leeched down to 7 damage, but the combined trees bring it back with some hot dice, bringing the monster up to 16 damage, and getting the rout.

Poor aligning from the Warden too. I am rusty. Movement on the left.

The Northern Alliance claimed their token out here, but I still want to delay the Hearthguard and try and prevent them from contributing to any fights in the center. The Shamblers spin back to face the very angry humans, with the Warden supporting them. 

Reforms on the left.

Centrally, my pivot of the Tribal Spears pays off, and they catch the fleeing Snow Troll Prime in the flank. I move the Druid up to prevent them accidentally shuffling on the hill, but it doesn’t matter. I do get a Bane Chant off, and the horde is able to devastate and rout the Prime, as is proper. The Spears will change facing towards the center again, and are controlling this central token from my opponent.

Charges in the center.

Just pivoting to threaten seemed like a bad long-term plan for the Wiltfather, as if I cannot delay the Hearthguard on the left, I’m likely giving up a rear to them. With no charges, the Wiltfather moves behind the horde of Human tribesmen, hitting the horde and regiment with Cloak of Death, and looking to put some distance between him and left wing for now. Turn 5 will be more repositioning, but he should be in a place to help in Round 6.

Unable to fight the horde, the Lycans will happily flank the central Hearthguard, with the insane Hunters continuing their fight. We will devastate and rout this unit too, as is proper. In victory, the Hunters will spin to try and delay the Giant, and the Lycans pivot to threaten the center. 

The Stampede will countercharge the Northern Alliance Lord, with my own Chieftain running in as well. It’s close, but Dread here just tips scales for me, securing the rout for me with 7’s twice.

Reforms on the right.

My remaining Harpies fly over to box out the Snow Troll Prime from the far token, and my Spears are securing the last token for my opponent. 

Bottom of Round 4: Northern Alliance

On the right, after some measuring, my opponent agrees that the Snow Troll is boxed out, and so it nimbly runs past the Harpies, getting out of arc of the fliers as well as the Stampede. The Giantess however can just pivot and walk over to claim that token, with her 2 US beating the 1 of the Harpies. This also brings the Giantess just barely out of arc for the Stampede, which is a bummer for me. She’s gotten very lucky with all her positioning this game. 

Movement on the right and around the hills in the center.

The flanks of both Human Tribesmen units near the center are threatened by the Lycans. The Wiltfather doesn’t have a charge, but lurking behind them, forces the horde forward to get space, and then onto the hill to forestall the Lycans. The regiment moves up as well, using the horde to block the Lycans. My opponent is in the center, but it feels a bit precarious.

A better view of the center.

Having burned the token on the left, this Snow Troll Prime names another nimble march around the woods, hoping to swing around it and contribute in the late game, like my plan for the Wiltfather.

Out on the now-sparse left.

On the left, the Hearthguard finally cut down the Forest Shamblers, and reform, but the Herd’s plan is working, and there isn’t much time left for them to get to the center to fight for it.

Top of Round 5: Herd

On the left, the Forest Warden steps forward to further delay the Hearthguard. He respects the 1” rule, but will be precenting them from pivoting past him, forcing a miniscule charge.

The Wiltfather doesn’t have a charge, but pivot and stalk the center, getting both human units in arc for next turn, and Cloak of Death will hit the horde.

The Lycans and the Tribal Spears have frontal charges into the remaining horde of Human Tribesmen, and both take it, with the Druid landing a Bane Chant on the Spears. Cloak of Death had touched them a few times, but the horde hadn't seen any real combat so far. The dice favor me overall, and buffed Spears deliver an astonishing 15 while the Lycans deliver a disappointing 4 damage. The total result is above average, and I am able to pick the uninspired horde up and safely reform.

A commanding reform for the Tribal Spears!

The Spearmen change facing, getting out of arc of the remaining Human Tribesmen. I can see them, but they cannot see me, and have no charges next turn. The Lycans change facing as well, keeping an eye on the hill. The Tribesmen shouldn't be able to run, and if I was able to best a horde in one go, odds are good I can break the regiment.

Delaying and setting traps on the right.

On the right, I try to box out the token. With the Giantess claiming a token last turn, the Hunters of the Wild don’t have a charge, and so move up to threaten the final token. Anything that claims it should be boxed out from contributing towards the center by the little trees. The Harpies pivot twice and fly over to try and block things off, but I can’t get close enough to contest the token, and so I don’t think I can really protect this long-term.

Bottom of Round 5: Northern Alliance

On the right, the Giantess is effectively blocked out – she can’t shoot the gap and get close enough to claim the token. Snow Troll Prime zips around the Harpies to claim the token. However… the Harpies are directly the way, and he’s facing my deployment zone, so he’d need both pivots to do this, as well as all of his movement to get there. He should be boxed out as well this turn, but we missed this at the time.

The Snow Troll Primes move ahead.

The Giantess rear charges the Harpies and will devastate and route them, as is proper. She’ll pivot… and just barely get out of arc of the Stampe. She’s been ridiculously lucky this game.

The Tribesman turn, accepting their fate and trying to mitigate damage. The Snow Troll Prime from the left does make his way around the forest, trying to help as the game concludes. 

On the left, the Hearthguard hit the Forest Warden for 7 damage (8.9 expected from the looks of things), but it’s not enough, and a low check sees him wavering, but sticking around. 

Top of Round 6: Herd

On the left, the Forest Warden is wavering but delaying splendidly. I think he withdraws, but it's immaterial.

In the center, with even more fortuitous positioning, the Prime is just barely ahead of the Human Tribesman, complicating positioning for my charges. The Tribesmen can’t take a triple charge, but with the Snow Troll Prime just slightly ahead, if the Tribesman charge him, then I can’t multi-charge the Tribesman. In short, something is getting left out of the fun here. 

The Charges in the center.

It's Round 5, and my Tribal Spears are undamaged, so I’m feeling good, and think I can grind out the Northern Alliance for the center. I choose to send the Wiltfather against the Tribesman, the Tribal Spears into the Snow Troll Prime, and keep the Lycans in reserve. 

The Wiltfather connects with the Tribesman, with Cloak of Death hitting them and the Snow Troll Prime, and I wisely roll the Tribal Spears first. The Spears have a clean charge, catch a Bane Chant thanks to the reroll from the Staff, and are on the hill charging something not on the hill. It’s in the front, but I’m wounding on 2’s, and do pick the Snow Troll Prime up, and then reform to face the Tribesman, expecting this to take an extra turn. The Tribesmen took some damage already from repeated Cloak of Death interactions, and while the Wiltfather doesn’t roll great, I do pick the unit up with a good Nerve check, since it is now uninspired.

On the right, the Hunters of the Wild run up to gum up the Giantess. The foliage land just 1 damage against her.

Charges on the right.

The Stampede flank charges the extra-nimble Snow Troll Prime, with the Chieftain springing forward to provide Dread, and I am able to pick the Troll up, thanks to Dread.

Reforms for the Herd.

The score for the scenario is 3:3, but I am holding the center with the Wiltfather and an untouched horde of Tribal Spears, and have whittled my opponent down to just two scoring units. I quite like my position as the game is wrapping up.

Bottom of Round 6: Northern Alliance

The Hunters of the Wild have taken 10 damage already, and so the lithe Giantess is able to dispatch them easily.

The Giantess prevails, but has multiple units to hew through.

The Hearthguard cut down the Forest Warden, and overrun a bit, but it’s no use, and they won't be able to reach the center in a Round 7. 

While I would have liked to have tried my luck with the Stampede against the Giantess, the outcome is pretty clear, and while we do roll for a Round 7, we do not get one. Convincingly controlling the center, the Herd takes the 4:3 win!

Game Conclusions

I think this was the longest break in games I’ve had since picking up 3rd Edition. I didn’t like the break, but such is life, and it was great to get back to the table after so long away. Hopefully I’ll be back to more regular gaming soon, but I’m not quite there yet.

I believe this list (or a version of it, hopefully utilizing the last 5 points!), is locked in for Adepticon, and I think the straightforward “brawler” approach will actually do well over a long weekend. I will suggest a few things for him (or any other NA player) to consider though:

1. Deploy the Snow Trolls on the line. Yes they are sources of Inspiring and the impulse is to shield and protect them. However, deploying them back (especially behind Dwarfs) negates their speed, their Wild Charge, and Nimble, since you’re spending a pivot to get around the screening unit to wherever you are trying to get.
2. For this list, figure out what the Dwarfs need to protect. They can play scenarios in a pinch, but they are your only real blocking or instigating units in the list. I do really like them as fighty chaff units, but in this game they deployed all in one area, and not really protecting any real heavy hitters. Bricklaying (with Dwarfs + SNP in front and something like the Huscarls offset and behind) might be a good way to protect those key infantry pieces as you move ahead to fight stuff. And the Dwarfs should generally block very nicely for either the Giantess or the Cavern Dweller, since they are both so tall. 

Given the time away, I was a little sloppy and rusty, but still managed to play a strong game and was quite pleased with the result and my performance overall. The Herd did well, and gave me plenty to think about for the future.

Testing Conclusions

• Tribal Spears. My opponent obliged me with a standoff in the center for a few turns, letting me preserve my horde into the late game, and it even ended the game undamaged. 
• Tribal Trappers. Well, they didn’t get much shooting in! Against all this Def5 though, meager Bow shots wouldn’t have mattered much. The Trappers are still a weird bunch, but TC occasionally spikes, as seen here against the Hearthguard near the center, starting me off nicely to pick them up later. Given the scenario and then first turn, sacrificing these for pressure and / or chip damage against units that couldn’t heal felt great. They died early, but died well. 
• Hunters of the Wild. Face-tanking Hearthguard for a turn is always impressive. Yes, they needed Insane Courage to survive it, but they did it and both troops proved quite valuable, with both helping to claim a token for me as the game progressed. They did not get much interaction with the Wiltfather for Vicious rerolls, but were still used well and still proved their worth.
• Harpies. Supporting the Tribal Spears was nice, and starting them nearer the center was a good call. I think spending the early turns moving them up as far as they can while being protected is a good use of them in those early turns. I think I used both of them unusually well, waiting patiently for the right moment to fly them out to die for the Herd. 
• Herd Troops. I took 6 units and uncharacteristically for me, got great value out of all 6 of these chaff units. Troop-heavy play was a lot of fun here, but chaff really shines against elite aggressive lists like the one opposing me.
• Lycans. A mixed showing for the newcomers. The first unit was probably going to be toast even without the Giant getting that whoopsies flank charge – the horde of Tribesmen is just too sturdy and killy to grind out. The second unit was a positional terror for my opponent though, and ended the game untouched and with a few kills to their name. Even when facing off against a wide line, starting them out on the flanks seems like a good call.
• Forest Shamblers. Like the Hunters, I was hoping I’d get a little more use out of them alongside the Wiltfather, but it was not to be, nor was I able to pull off any Surge shenanigans. This unit has historically not performed for me in the slightest, but made up for many of their previous foibles here thanks to decent stats and Fearless. 
• The Stampede. It really is a shame that they took Strider away from the base Minotaur Chariot profile. With Strider, I want to like it, but it's expensive, still relies heavily on TC, and is often hitting things head-on, where its 15 attacks isn't leading to reliable damage. 
• Great Chieftain. As mentioned at the top, I goofed here. Dread is not labeled as an aura, and so not buffed by the Sacred Horn item. The bubble was big, but I got within 6” when it was actually impactful, so I guess things lucked out. I like a lot about this game, but they really need to overhaul auras at some point.
• Druid. With no Command Dice for handy rerolls and no duplicates to track, I opted to give them the Staff, and that was the right call, letting me turn several failed attempts into successes during the game. Especially alongside Tribal Spears, it’s still a great individual to take. 
• Forest Warden. Like an ASB, I think he really wants an item, because a solitary Surge 4 isn’t  very impressive. With Height 3, I think the Wand is a decent pick since the Herd generally wants to be aggressive, but that item is a bit of a gamble, and it did not pan out here. We’ll play around with him more in the future. He’s a little odd and a little expensive (I think you pay a lot for Scout and Pathfinder), but I still think he’s worth exploring more.
• Wiltfather. He wasn’t as impactful in combat as I was hoping he’s be, but that was more due to my opponent consciously avoiding him rather than misuse on my part. Despite the avoidance, he was still able to contribute with Cloak of Death as well as win a few combats, so while not outstanding, he was still a solid performer in the list.

Joe and I had been chatting about other lists and ideas of his for a while now, so it was gratifying to see something else hit the table for him, as I know he’s been hobbying hard. I really like the plank bases idea he went with, and think the army turned out really spiffy.