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. However, re-reading the rules, this is illegal. While I don't need line of sight to counter-charge, and can counter-charge any unit I am engaged with, I still need to fit in the new position and align properly. I cannot fit against the Dwarfs, so should not have been able to counter-charge them.

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!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #107 Undead vs Northern Alliance in Push

Intro and Lists

The New Year festivities were a lot of fun, but the year itself has been off to a rocky start with issues and concerns galore, including some car issues and lots of different things to do and places to be between my wife and I. I was immeasurably fortunate to sneak out with our working vehicle before my wife's dinner plans, to get a pair of very quick games in against Trevor from Data and Dice. Fear not, the quickness was due to chess clocks, and not due to lopsided games! We are gearing up for the inaugural Northwoods GT coming up, and wanted to get a guestimate of where we were at with the speed of our play these days, especially since we'd need to be dealing with Command Dice at the tournament. Trevor had settled on the Northern Alliance for the event and brought out the following for our practice game:

While he has run a lot of combined arms lists previously, his recent lists have been leaning into the durability and fighting prowess of the army, dropping the grinding Snow Trolls for the far more violent Hearthguard. 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 a healing Ice Queen. Rounding out the list is a horde of versatile, flying Frostclaws. 

I brought the Undead, but in a wildly different direction than my approach thus far with the army. I quite like the Skeleton Warriors and their smashy weapons, and think I’m going to bring them to the upcoming tournament, but Zuinok was disappointing me, and I was having trouble figuring out my sources of Inspiring and my spells and such. I have around 400-600 points that I’m still trying to figure out for the tournament, and rather than slot things in and out (I didn't think I'd have the time to make incremental tweaks), I opted to change gears bigly and run a bunch of new Undead weirdness all at once. Up now is a Ghoul-centric, largely non-Shambling 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 galore! 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 relevance in scenario-play, so we’ll try a skew in that direction to start today.
• Wraiths. Along with the smashy Skeletons, I am for-sure taking a few Wraith troops to the tournament, so wanted to get a bit more use with them and push their limits a bit.
• Soul Reavers. I needed hammers, and wanting to try out some non-Shambling Undead as a list-theme leaves me with these Vampires since I don’t have any Werewolf units. I like the vampires, but do know that I need to protect them, and we’ll see if numerous throngs of Ghouls is enough to do just that.
• 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 I only have the one model right now, so we’ll do our best. I am trying them out stock this game, just so that I have a game to check back in with as a baseline understanding for the unit.
• Liche King, with Heal and Scorched Earth. I think the Liche has a lot of potential with the ala carte spells, but I’ve struggled with good spell selection. I was considering these two spells for the tournament, so we’ll see how these actually feel, since I've never tried out Scorched Earth before.
• Mhorgoth the Faceless. He’s a potential contender to bring to the tournament, but he also seems like a risky pick with the Duelist change and a lot of Hex around these days. I have stubbornly refused to run him for the longest time, and am long overdue for testing him out, so here we go. We’ll see if Mhorgoth the Mandatory lives up to the hype!
• Lykanis. The idea for the lists today was to largely avoid Shambling units. I don’t have full units of Werewolves, but do have two Lykanis models, so it’s a weird pick we’re trying out in the hero slot. These Nimble 40 and 50 millimeter heroes tend to do well locally, but their price is a little steep, relative to something like the Thegn on Frostfang or Snow Troll Primes. I need to be using their speed if I take these. I want to mostly use them to just threaten things and keep my opponent honest a bit, so we’ll see what they get up to.

Table and Terrain

Trevor was kind enough to host our games, and had a table set up by the time I arrived. 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.

Quick overview of the field.

We had planned on playing two quick games, and wanted to do one Loot-based scenario and one Objective-based scenario for our games. We got Push for our first scenario, and would need to distribute 3 Loot Tokens, ideally to units, and then fight to grab a central Loot token, and then try to get everything across the center line for the most points at the end of the game, since tokens held on our side are just worth 1 point while tokens we carry over to the opponent's side are worth 2 points. And lastly, it should be noted that Push has a tweak in that a unit can hold multiple Loot Tokens, but can only score one of them, encouraging folks to spread things out.

View from the left.

On the left we have angled Frostclaws and Foxes. Hearthguard and the Cavern Dweller in the woods, with Foxes behind the infantry and the Hexing Snow Troll Prime behind the monster. The line continues with Dwarfs, a Prime, the Naiads carried a token with the Healing Ice Queen just behind, the flying Ice Blade tucked in, more Dwarfs with a token, the third Prime, and then more Hearthguard with a token and with Snow Fox escorts. We had a similar drop count, so the Frostclaws were late, but there was not much to do about it, and I think I planned well accordingly.

View from the center.

I wanted to use the Lykanises to threaten long charges to block things up but not necessarily make them. Figuring the Frostclaws would come down on a flank, the werewolf heroes were on mine. Left-to-right we have an angled Lykanis looking to utilize the building, one troop of Ghouls with a second in reserve, which would get a token to haul. One troop of Wraiths were on the line, then the Ghast, Soul Reavers with Chalice and a token, a Ghoul regiment with Mhorgoth in support. The Skeleton Spearman horde held a token, with a second Ghoul regiment were next on the line, with a troop in reserve. Soul Reavers and the Liche continued the line here, with Wraiths, the second Lykanis and the last unit of Wraiths out on the right.

View from the right.

For a debut with all the Ghouls, I was pretty happy with my unit deployment, as the line was long and varied, but my hero coverage felt like it could use some work. I don’t have a good plan for any of the individuals, and it seemed like there should be a better place for the Ghast, though I think I just really wanted two to spread the aura around and obviously could not with just the one hero.  

I won the roll for turn order, and decided to seize the initiative. 

Top of Round 1: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my Command Dice. 

On the left, I tried to dissuade and delay the Frostclaws. The Ghouls and Lykanis should be within charge range of the fliers, but the Frostclaws only have the space to land and fight the Ghouls. The Wraiths should be threatened, but would be a very risky charge for the Frostclaws to make. I think the bait and risk is worth it, and they are threatening a large area themselves now.

Layers and layers and layers to deal with the fling unit.

The Ghoul troop and Soul Reavers hold tokens, and hold back. The Reavers move up, but the Loot Token slows them down, allowing the Ghouls to get an inch ahead.

Mhorgoth is out here as well, and tries a Mind Fog into the Foxes. It takes me a few turns to better understand Mhorgoth, and I didn't remember that he could be double-casting. I use a Sword on an accurate reroll, but it is not needed. The spell lands but the unit sticks. 

I thought I was fishing for boxcars, but actually, the spell has Shattering, so I really only need a 10 here on the check. I don't really like this use of the spell, but the Undead don't have much shooting to pair it with, and hoping for lucky checks against uninspired chaff isn't a bad use for the spell I suppose.

Centrally, a troop of Ghouls scampers up and get a majority of the unit onto the hill. With Speed 6 and a d3 Wild Charge, they are threatening blocking charges into a lot of things should my opponent start to move up. 

Long threats coming from the Undead.

Otherwise, the Skeleton Spears are holding my last token, and move up. With swords to spare, I use 4 on Master's Will to hop them up a few additional inches. Some other Ghouls peer around the hill. 

The picture was very blurry, but out on the right, the Soul Reavers are keeping pace, supported by the Liche. The Lykanis and two units of Wraiths are hopping up here. And on the far right, the Ghoul troop hurtles itself forward.

Bottom of Round 1: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 4 Swords for his Command Dice.

On the right, the Northern Alliance ignores the outflanking Ghouls. Foxes scamper up to screen for the Hearthguard taking the hill. A Snow Troll Prime hangs close. 

Snow Foxes assume the position.

The center and left are largely standoffs. The Cavern Dweller should be able to get into things if I don't move. Conversely, my Ghouls and Wraiths should be able to get into things, but the all the main units, like Skeleton Spears and Soul Reavers are out of range, as are the Dwarfs, Naiads, and Hearthguard for the Northern Alliance. It's a cautious approach from both of us.

The Undead have an edge with the charge ranges... but the Alliance stays away.

Out on the right, the Frostclaws shoot into the Ghouls, landing 5 damage. The troop is Inspired by the Lykanis though, and holds on, but is wavered.

Top of Round 2: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my command dice, and a surprising amount of things charge this turn.

Out on the left, the wavering Ghouls, the building and the obstacle are mucking things up for the Lykanis. I need to spend 5 Swords to unwaver them. They cannot charge, but I can move them up and out of the way to let the Lykanis charge the Snow Foxes. Looking at the picture, the Frostclaws do look to have an open corner... I don't recall if they were just out of range, or I didn't see it, or we gentlemanly agreed that they were safe to save clock time.

The Undead make some charges.

The Lykanis charges in. He's just a 5 attack hero, and just 3 damage connects, wavering the Foxes. The nearby Wraiths had a flank into the other pack, and I take it, routing that unit and changing facing to get the Frostclaws and Prime into front arc. The phantasmal unit is safe from the Hearthguard, and keeping the Wraiths around and minimizing incoming damage seems the best bet for them.

Mhorgoth and the loot-carrying Ghouls and Soul Reavers hang back, out of range of the Frostclaws and Hearthguard.

Centrally, the standoff continues. The Ghoul regiment inches up, safe against everything against the Cavern Dweller. The Skeleton Spears inch up as well, in against the Dwarfs, but our of their range. The Ghoul Ghast runs over at the double to get behind the Spears, bringing her aura to some charges on the right. Getting TC on units seems better than her charging out against anything.

More charges from the Undead.

Coming off the hill, the Ghoul troop smashes into the Dwarfs, joined by the Ghoul Regiment, and both activated after the Ghast to benefit from her aura. This feels good, as it was a fair amount of work to orchestrate, but the total damage is only 7, which felt low, but looks to be about on the money, thanks to the high defense of the Dwarf unit. The Dwarfs are wavered, but do have Fury.

The Soul Reavers and a unit of Wraiths hang back in reserve. The Liche is able to draw line of sight into the Huscarls and land a Scorched Earth on them, making a charge from them next turn be hindered. They have Crushing Strength 2, but making them hit on 4's still seems worth it. 

The Lykanis and Wraiths go into the Foxes. The goal is to overrun with the Wraiths and protect the Lykanis once it backs up. This Lykanis does another 3, and the Wraiths fail, landing some pitiful hits and then just 2 damage, and a low roll sees the foxes hang around, Wavered. The Ghouls on the far right pivot and move, looking for flanks in the coming turn.

Bottom of Round 2: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 5 Swords for his Command Dice.

All 5 swords are spent to unwaver the Foxes, who disengage and then back up. Speed 8 is certainly speedy, but backing up is still only done half speed. Four inches is about the depth of the Hearthguard, so looking at the picture, they backed up way too far, but we unfortunately didn't catch this.  

The Lykanis falls.

The Foxes backing up lets the Ice Blade and Hearthguard multi-charge the Lykanis. Without Duelist, the Ice Blade is only able to contribute 1 damage. Hindered thanks to Scorched Earth, the Hearthguard struggle a bit as well, only contributing 5, but a pair of high Nerve checks will still see my werewolf hero routed.

Pushback in the center.

The Northern Alliance continues pushing back down the battle line. The Dwarfs get healed down to 4 damage, and counter-charge the Ghoul regiment, and are joined by the Snow Troll Prime. The damage is low with just 5 total, and the Ghouls manage to hold firm.

Angles being what they are, the Naiads are just in on the flank of the Ghoul troop, which is devastated and routed by the horde, as is proper. The Naiads will then reform to face the Undead lines again.

The center-left holds. The Prime and Dwarfs do not have charges this turn, and my opponent is hesitant to send in the Cavern Dweller alone where it can be multi-charged in return.

On the left, the last Prime goes in against the Wraiths, but he's a 5-attack hero in the front, and Def6 proves to be too much, and the Wraiths emerge unscathed and not disordered.

The wavering Foxes just hold against the Lykanis, and the Frostclaws remain in place and shoot into the Ghouls again, landing another 5 and will pick that unit up.

Top of Round 3: Undead

The Lykanises are generating my two Red Command Die, and losing one of them, I am working with just one additional Red now. I generate a whopping 2 Swords for my Command Dice this turn, which is not what I need going into in the mid-game.

On the left, the Wraiths politely extricate themselves, and since they weren't grounded, fly up and over the Prime to hit the Frostclaws, dealing 4 damage and will safely ground them.

The Wraiths hop over to better targets, while the Lykanis struggles.

The Lykanis will land a solitary point of damage into the Foxes, and will waver them again this turn. Thankfully, both the Wraiths and the Lykanis are out of arc of other Northern Alliance units, so I have a little time to grind still.

The loot tokens start to move. The Ghouls move and pivot, looking to run towards the back corner towards the Frostclaws next turn, and the Soul Reavers and their 12" charge range move up to threaten the Hearthguard while still being out of their 11" charge range. 

Big charges in the center!

Centrally, I am looking to grind. The very speedy Ghouls can charge a few things, and I ultimately send them into some Dwarfs. This is my last charge. I was hoping they'd be blocked from sliding down too much, but they will actually align nicely. I still think this ok, as I am just looking to gum up the works.

I realize this turn the Mhorgoth can cast two spells a turn. We try a boxcar Mindfog on something (I think the Cavern Dweller) and a Bane Chant into the charging Skeleton Spearmen.

I make a triple charge into the Naiad horde. I don't expect to break them, but I do want to try and rack up the damage here so I can try in earnest next turn.  Unfortunately, I forget about Ensnare, and my units are not well-suited for any grind. The Skeletons are on 6's, and land 2 hits into 1 damage. The Reavers are on 4's and have 6 hits into 5 damage, and the Wraiths, being fliers against Phalanx, need 6's and hit once, into no damage. Six damage total against a regenerating horde is not a great start.

More charges from the Undead.

On the right, the Ice Blade is nearby, but still just human-sized, and thankfully can't spy the Liche for an assassination run next round. The Liche casts another Scorched Earth into the Hearthguard and the Wights fly in to occupy them for a turn. 

The Ghouls attack the Prime, and land a surprising 4 damage. This isn't a great fight, as the Prime has Regeneration and the healing Ice Queen is right there, but I needed to create the space for the triple charge.

The sight-seeing Ghouls charge the Snow Foxes, and will rout them this turn. The hill complicate reforms, and I opt to swivel to face the left-side, hoping to peer around the hill to see something (like the Ice Queen or a rear) next turn.

Bottom of Round 3: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 4 Swords for his Command Dice, spending them on rerolls and Endurance.

On the right, the Hearthguard land just 5 damage into the Wraiths, and they actually hold! Up against Hearthguard I was expecting them to rout, but this looks to be the expected damage, thanks to Scorched Earth. 

One triple charge from the Northern Alliance.

The Dwarfs and Prime have another go at the Ghoul Regiment, with the Ice Blade joining in the flank and the trio will pick them up this turn, and the Prime Regenerates 2, to get down to 2 damage.

The Naiads start the turn at 6, then regenerate 1 and are then healed for 4, and end the turn at 1 damage. They counter-charge the Wraiths, and with the Hammer of Measured Force, bring them up to 8 damage and will best them. 

A second triple charge from the Northern Alliance!

Another Prime, and another unit of Dwarfs charge another regiment of Ghouls, with the Cavern Dweller hitting them in the flank, and this trio will pick up their unit as well. 

While the Soul Reavers with the token are safe from the Hearthguard, I forgot about the Wild Charge from the Prime, and he is able to get in against the vampires, allowing the Hearthguard to safely move up into charge range themselves.

The wavering Snow Foxes do nothing, while the Frostclaws, disordered and stripped of Thunderous Charge, struggle to get through the Def6 of the Wraiths.

Top of Round 4: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my Command Dice. 

On the left, the Ghouls and their token rush up, out of the path of the Hearthguard. The third attempt does it, and the Lykanis finally bests the Snow Foxes. In victory, I turn just slightly, keeping the Frostclaws in arc. In retrospect, I should have pivoted harder. The Ghouls are right there to continue the fight if needed.

Charges on the left.

The Ghast runs up to delay the Hearthguard from fighting the Soul Reavers. This would work.. if she was mighty, but she is not. I still should be about to prevent alignment though, if I was a bit closer to the Snow Troll Prime. It's messy, but I run out of time about now.

The Lykanis finally makes it through the foxes.

Mhorgoth tentatively flies up, casts a Drain Life into the Prime fighting the Soul Reavers, and casts Bane Chant into the Reavers as well. I think a solid 3 damage is done from the spell, and then the Reavers land 13 more in the melee to devastate and rout the unit. They pivot, since we wrongly think the Ghast is mighty. That's 100% my error here.

The Wraiths land another 2 damage into the Frostclaws, but they are just at 6 damage total, and the Wraiths will fail to rout them.

More scrums in the center.

The positioning in the center is still a mess thanks to the hills. The Spears go into the Prime landing 5 damage to bring him to 7, but it is not enough.

I want to squeek past the Naiads and into the Dwarfs, but don't have the angles. The only charge is back into the 1-damage Naiads. The Reavers do overperform this time, landing 12 damage to take the horde up to 13, but they are inspired and well-supported, and will stick around.

The Liche attempts one last spell.

The sight-seeing Ghouls take the hill, attempting Drain Life into something to heal the Dwarfs. I don't think anything hits. The Liche is a gonner next turn against the Ice Blade, and moves closer to the swordsman, to prevent any overruns or better positioning in victory. Heal goes off, and brining the Wraiths down to 2, and they'll Lifeleech down to 1 as they lands a few damage into the Hearthguard.

Bottom of Round 4: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 5 Swords for his Command Dice.

On the right, the Hearthguard countercharge the Wraiths, dealing 8 to bring them to 9, and the Snow Troll Prime joins in, contributing 3 to take them to 12. The Wraiths are bested, and both reform.

The Hearthguard finally defeat the Wraiths, with a little help.

The Ice Blade lands 7 damage onto the Liche, but the Nerve Check is low, and the Fearless Spellcaster hangs on by a thread.

With the Hammer, the Naiads land a solid 10 into the Reavers, and even though they are Inspired, the vampires are routed, and are unable to make use of their Ale. Through Regeneration and more heals from the babysitting Queen, the Naiad horde ends the round on 5 damage, and eyeing the flank of my spear horde.

The Naiads leverage a surprisingly quick victory.

A Prime and Dwarfs go into the Skeleton Spearmen, rolling hot with the Prime contributing all his 5, and the Dwarfs doing 7. Thankfully Mhorgoth is there, and the Spearmen hold thanks to Inspiring.

The Ghast falls, as she definitely should..

The Dweller rolls up a paltry number of extra attacks, and only sticks the Soul Reavers for 5 damage, and they hold. The Hearthguard take their charge into the Ghast and best her. They attempt an overrun but fall short of joining that combat, but still get out of arc of the Lykanis.

The Frostclaws land 3 into the Wraiths this time, but the troop is Inspired by the Lykanis, and holds.

Top of Round 5: Undead

I roll up 4 Swords for my Command Dice.

The Lykanis can only charge the Frostclaws, and I don't want to do that. They are uninspired, so the Wraiths go back in, joined by the Ghouls. The Frostclaws got a few Endurance heals throughout the game. They start the round on 5 damage, the Wraiths do 3 more, and the Ghouls contribute just 1 damage, to bring the unit to 9, and the Nerve check is so low they do not care. 

A double charge into the Frostclaws falls short.

I spend my Swords on Drain Life from the Lykanis, I think into the Hearthguard to heal the Wraiths, but nothing lands. Mhorgath tries a stronger Drain Life into the Dwarfs to help the Skeleton Spearmen or Soul Reavers, but nothing lands here either...

The Undead struggle on.

The Soul Reavers do catch a Bane chant from Mhorgath, will land 11 onto the Cavern Dweller, and will rout the unit, thanks to Dread from Mhorgath. They Lifeleech down to 3 damage, and reform to get the Hearthguard into front arc.

A rear charge from the Ghouls!

The Skeleton Spears countercharge the Dwarfs, but my horde is not a good fighting unit in terms of damage output. The decaying spears do pierce the Dwarfs 4 times, and will Lifeleech themselves down to 9, which is neat, but the Dwarfs are only on 6 damage, and hold.

The Ghouls overrun.

On the right, the sight-seeing Ghouls have two rear charges, into either the Dwarfs or the Naiads. They are a horde, but I opt for the flashier play into the Naiads, who are on 5 damage instead of 4, and are Def4 instead of Def5. I do better-than-expected with 16 damage, and will pick up the horde. The Ghouls greedily claim the token and overrun the full 6 inches!

Less excitingly, the Liche just holds. 

Bottom of Round 5: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 3 Swords for his Command Dice, spending it on rerolls and maybe Endurance.

The Ice Blade tries to skewer the Liche again, landing 8 more damage to devastate the spellcaster and take him to 15 damage... but the Liche is found to be insane.

The Dwarfs are fully on my side of the board, and turn about, to see what they might be able to do. I didn't think you could move through a combat, but try to look it up and can't find it quickly, and the Hearthguard advance past the duel, eyeing the flank of the Skeleton Spearmen.

The sight-seeing Ghouls were just within 13 inches of the Prime, and thanks to Wild Charge, the hero will make a rear charge, and best the Ghouls, reclaiming that token for the Northern Alliance.

The Snow Troll Prime shows the Ghouls what for.

The Dwarfs and the Prime go into the Skeleton Spears again, but the damage results skew the other way this time, and just 3 damage is done to bring the horde back up to 12.

The Hearthguard fight the Soul Reavers, dealing 8 damage, and brining them to 11. The Soul Reavers are Inspired, and are found to be Insane along with the Liche this turn.

Final positioning for the Frostclaws.

The Frostclaws gladly counter-charge the Ghouls instead of the Wraiths. The Ghouls are weaker and uninspired, and are indeed bested. After some waffling, my opponent opts to not pick up the token. I'm in his front, and he wants to try and make me charge him, need to win, and then back up to reach the token to reclaim it.

Top of Round 6: Undead

I roll up 5 Swords for my Command Dice.

The Wraiths charge the Frostclaws. They only backed up 1 inch, so my charge has the Wraiths end on the token, and pick it up. They land 3 on the Frostclaws to bring them to 12 damage, and I do finally rout the uninspired unit.

Mhorgath is pretty centrally positioned, trying to bring Dread to these final combats. He his a drain Life into the Hearthguard for 1, healing the Spears, and casts Bane Chant into the Soul Reavers.

The Soul Reavers counter-charge the Hearthguard, dealing 13 damage, and will rout their enemies, and overrun, but don't go far. 

Positioning for the Undead.

The Lykanis flank charges the Dwarfs, with the Skeleton Spearmen joining in after getting a heal from Endurance. The Dwarfs start on 3, the Spears do 3 (just enough to Lifeleech things back), and the Lykanis in the flank does 7, brining them to 13, and the Dwarf unit is indeed bested, and the Spearmen able to reform, and end the turn on 7 damage.

The Liche gloats, but mechanically does nothing.

Bottom of Round 6: Northern Alliance

My opponent rolls up 6 for his Command Dice.

A Prime zips out to grab the center token while being fully on my side of the field. The other Prime runs up to protect the rear.

The Northern Alliance take a strong position in the center,

The Hearthguard gladly charge the front of the Spears, landing a crazy 15 damage to bring them to 22 damage, and the Skeletons are broken and scattered, with the Hearthguard taking their token to prevent me from having it.

At end of Round 6, the Undead have 3 (Wraiths with a token worth 2 points, and Reavers with a token on my side of the field worth 1) and the Northern Alliance have 7 (Hearthguard have 2 tokens but can only score 1, worth 1 point since it is on his side, two Primes each with 2 pointers, and Dwarfs with a two-pointer.

It's a commanding lead for the Northern Alliance, but we do roll up a round 7.

Top of Round 7: Undead

Command Points roll over in a Round 7, and I don't remember if I had any, or what they might have been spent on. 

The Soul Reavers can get out of arc of the Hearthguard, and book it, to do so, getting across the line and making this 4:7.

The back-to-back Primes was a nice play. Lykanis had a front into the Hearthguard or a front into the Prime, so we take that. Mhorgoth comes in, and lands 2 with his Drain Life, and the Lykanis contributes 4 damage in Melee. It's decent output, but even with Dread, the odds aren't with me, the the Prime does hold.

Bottom of Round 7: Northern Alliance

The Hearthguard don't have the inches to get fully across the line. 

Positioning in the center at the end of the game.

Nothing else really matters for the outcome here, and the score remains 7:4 in favor of the Northern Alliance!

Game Conclusions

For a bit of a wacky and wild list, I think I did ok! The Ghouls and Lykanis and Ghast proved to have some utility and promise, and the more serious picks like Mhorgoth, the Wraiths, and the Liche did very well indeed. It was a loss, but with respect to learning and testing, I was quite pleased!

It was a very cagey game with the center token going untouched for quite a long time. The Undead had a lot of units, but not a lot of fighting units, and struggled to win combats and successfully grind things out and the sturdier Northern Alliance was able to endure and win.

Testing Conclusions

• Skeleton Spearmen with Lifeleech 3. It was a fun horde, but it is definitely not a fighty horde. I am too used to hitting on 4’s or doing wild things with the Tribal Spears of the Herd. They did fine holding smaller things up this game, but the damaged horde did fold to the Hearthguard, as should be expected! I don’t know if Hann’s or the Rats are worth it since their damage output is usually pretty low, but do like the idea in the abstract. 
• Ghoul troops. Previous tacticas and army reviews highlighted these in particular as must-haves, and I can see the appeal, even if they are less common picks nowadays. They are exceptionally quick compared to more typical undead units. 
• Ghoul regiments. While just as quick as the troops, the regiments were a little underwhelming. They just don’t have an edge in any stat other than their charge range. They aren’t likely to kill or endure much that a troop couldn’t deal with, so feel a little awkward in their debut.
• Wraiths. Hindered charges into Def6 even kept the Hearthguard tied up for multiple turns. I liked these, and they held out longer than expected! The other troop really lucked out in getting into the Frostclaws and eventually dragging them down too.
• Soul Reavers. I did ok at protecting them, and they did ok, all things considered. The Naiads proved to be too tough to handle though without another hammer unit helping out. 
• Ghoul Ghast. Unfortunately, they are not mighty, which was an oversight on my part. Having the aura built-in now makes them a more interesting pick though, and with so many Ghoul units, a second Ghast would have been very welcome in the list. If you want to play around with Ghouls, a Ghast seems mandatory to give them at least a little killing power.
• Liche King, with Heal and Scorched Earth. The upcoming tournament has an extra forest for thematic reasons, so while I am not well-versed in spells, my thinking was that Scorched Earth’s utility starts to increase. It worked nicely with the Wraiths here, doubly-so as they have Striding charges and could be quite annoying. I was worried that I might miss infantry targets without the Periscope, but was able to mitigate that. It’s still very nice to have, but I can probably squeak by without it if I am tight on points.
• Mhorgoth the Faceless. It took a couple of rounds to start to get the hang of him. I believe he was formerly a big bad of the setting (no idea where he fits in now fluff-wise), and he definitely has some ridiculous utility to go with that old reputation. I like forging my own path with list-building, but flying around and double-casting spells is no joke! He’s a very strong pick. 
• Lykanis. Since these Inspired and were generating command dice for me today, I wanted to hold these back and mostly project threat. I did ok at that, though unfortunately both struggled to deal with the opposing chaff, as 5-attack heroes can sometimes do.

It was a great game with a lot to consider! A big thank you to Trevor for fitting these in. One report down from this meetup, one more to go!