Hobby Update: Abyssal Horsemen

I’ve mentioned it previously, but I was pretty disappointed with the Abyssal refresh in late 2024. I did not get the Abyssal Guard kit or upgrade pack that I was hoping for, and I wasn’t too excited about most of the other changes the army received, such as downgrading Lower Abyssals to Me5. One bright spot in the revamp was making Abyssal Horsemen Fearless though, and so that was something I wanted to expand on for my collection and explore more on the table, so here we are. Up now are a bunch of Horsemen for the Forces of the Abyss! 

The first newcomer regiment.

As with my original unit a few years ago, the models are from the defunct Runewars game, but this time from the cheaper Oathsworn Cavalry box. The minis are still nice when you can find them, but they are getting scarcer over time. Each box is 4 models: a pair doubled. Samey poses are an issue, so half of them got weapon swaps and everyone got a head-swap, courtesy of the Frostgrave Demons kit, which I will be using as my new Abyssal Guards (I want to retire my old Bloodletters, so lots of work to do on the new minis… more to come… eventually).

Like other Runewars minis, the figures come in several chonky parts. Here we have: 1) horse on stand with and rider legs; 2) rider chest and arms; 3) rider cape and head. It’s a little cumbersome. I cut the horse from the stand with a sharp knife, and snipped off the heads. The capes are pretty billowy, I tried several combinations for assembly and painting (horse and torso with cape/head separate; horse separate with torso and cape/head connected). I didn’t notice a big difference one way or the other, but both were better than assembling it all and then trying to paint it up later, since the cape does billow over the haunches of the horse.

And the second regiment. 

Previously I’ve often failed to get good coverage on metallic details. Big armor plates is fine and easy to paint, but making multiple passes on narrow trim is rough. So for painting these, the armor and trim got blocked out in gray and the trim in a brown/orange, and then I went back later to add both of the metallic colors. Starting with a non-metallic base color really helped, especially on the trim. The Abyssal humanoids got reddish skin (Wicked Pink from War Paints, as my old Pink Horror is spoiled and I haven't seen one in any of the shops I've been to the last few months), and departing from the other unit, the horses got purplish hides (Citadel Dechala Lilac) and then messy green eyes for a lazy glow effect. 

The other big departure painting-wise was the cloth. For my other Abyssals, the cloth has been dark and light grays, or purple on a few things, if memory serves. I've mostly done army-wise schemes like the humans with their purple and white, but I've embraced differentiation for many units in the last year or so. I'll shoutout Squirmin Vermin of the Nerd's Tale blog as my big inspiration here, as his rat units are just so colorful and varied while still looking like a uniform army. One of my big gripes with the Abyssal fluff is how inconsistent they make them. One passage they seem cunning and scheming and orderly and the next they have regeneration can lead to writhing tentacles and multiple heads for Lower Abyssals. I feel like GW is known for Chaos, so I think an otherworldly, orderly feel would do far better for Mantic's demons for so many reasons. Here, I took a little inspiration from Wheel of Time, and went with orderly white cloaks and fabric and these units of Horsemen will be zealous crusader-types in my head-cannon. 

Prior to the revanp, the Abyssal Horsemen already had a great reputation online, as Fury and CS1 and Regen all made for a great cavalry unit that could survive and grind if caught out. My one regiment though was perpetually wavered at range and never amounted to much on the field … but Fearless is a very nice buff and a rule that I quite like having in my lists. While I like regiments, I hobbied these up as troops, just to try those out sometime as Fearless could be extra beneficial on them. We'll hopefully get them all on the table soon, and hopefully having a few more units will give me a better idea of what the unit can actually do!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #126 Varangur vs Halfings in Raze

Intro and Lists

We were able to fit in a surprise meetup for some Escalation League games in over the long holiday weekend. The third game was against Kenny of the Combat Phase podcast, who was the driving force behind this meetup. He brought his Halflings:

Kenny is making great use of the Escalation League format, still running a variety of units, and seeing what he likes and how he wants to run it. Everything is a one-of, and we've got regiments of basic Braves, sturdier Stalwarts, Poaches, and Juggers, with a Harvester, Muster Captain and Sauceror around to support. Try as I might, I can't reconstruct his list. I know the Juggers have a league boon to get Elite, and the Stalwarts have the Blessing of the Gods, and my notes have the rest of the other upgrades and items. His hard-copy was from April (which we played in Battle 119), but with a pink sticky for additions and changes. I'm coming up about 30ish points over the limit, which unfortunately could be an error, since we're dealing with a sticky note and an old list. It's Ambush; the meet-up was planned last-minute; and I was 30 points ahead last game due to my opponent purchasing Command Dice and us not using them. I'm not going to sweat this.

I did not have a third list to play around with, and decided that wanted more practice with the Varangur bows than the with the Ogres, so I swapped back over to them. We'll see how the bows do when they aren't up against Def6! Up to test is everything from before:

• Draugr. They unlock, are cheap and slow, but can move at the double, and have Fearless and Iron Resolve so they can endure a bit more than one would think. I really want to try out hordes of them and take the Varangur in a trashier, more unusual direction, but we’re in Ambush, so we’re stuck at the regimental size. We already know regiments are great though, and they are wonderful at holding tokens or taking a charge, so we’ll see what they can get up to here.
• Night Raiders with Bows.
• Human Tribesmen. I like the Tribesmen. Their CS2 option is still begging me to explore more, and something I want to explore, but since I have a lot of shooting, we're still rolling with the sturdier loadout. The Def5/CS1 version has been a solid performer at this points level, able to hold its own despite no heals or support. 
• Horse Raiders with Bows. My working assumption is that bows are the better default option for these, as the added range lets them contribute more, and makes your decisions easier when the enemy gets close, since they will likely do better on the charge then shooting. We'll see how they fare here.
• Magus Conclave. It's a very unique war machine, but not really competitive as a singleton. Even so, I want more experience with using the unit before running it in larger games again, so here we are! I've liked it so far, even though it's output has been erratic, as that is to be expected as a singleton war machine.
• Snow Troll Prime. He's my only source of Inspiring, so I need to be a little careful, but even after just a few games, he's really proven to be a defensive powerhouse. He's been run against me plenty over the years, and I'm enjoying him so far myself.

Table and Terrain

In addition to the Halflings, Kenny had brought along and a fancy neoprene mat with matching neoprene objective markers. His first game was Salt the Earth, and we settled on an approximation of normal Raze to make use of the markers. The mat was an atypical size, so things were a little imprecise.

The table, with fancy neoprene objectives.

I had brought some terrain, which had been put to use on this table. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the mausoleums as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, and Hills as Height 3, and the bogs as Height 0. 

For deployment, my opponent had scattered a number of spare bases, as he wasn't sure what could fit where. Ultimately, the Braves ended up on the left, with the Sauceror nearby. The Stalwarts and Poachers took the hill with the Muster Captain behind, and the nimble Juggers sat in the corner, with the Harvester in reserve.

Deployment for both of us.

The easiest firing lane was out on the right, and I put both Night Raider units out here to plink away and use Pathfinder to ideally eventually secure my objective out here. With shooting on the right, the Magus Conclave came down nearby. Draugr started behind the hill. I wanted to protect them from shooting, and march them into the center in the later game. The Horse Raiders held in reserve, ready to react, and the Tribesmen and Snow Troll Prime held the left. 

It's a tough scenario, given the small board. I figured fights were inevitable, so concentrating shooting on one side and the fighty units on the other made sense, with the weak Draugr on standby for the late game.

Scout moves for the Halflings.

The Poachers had Scout. They already had a nice view from the hill, so just moved up a few inches to have range immediately in Round 1. I happened to win the roll for deciding turn order, and took it.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

Needing to fight their way over to claim their objectives, the Varangur got to work. The Snow Troll Prime was reserved but grabbed ground, while the Tribesmen were more daring, moving closer to 8" ahead. 

Movement for the Varangur.

The Draugr got close, but were still hiding behind the hill. I suppose technically I could be getting the leader point on the hill, but I really wanted to keep them protected. The Horse Raiders moved up, threatening charges next turn.

The Magus Conclave shoots with a cover penalty into the Juggers, and both Night Raider units inch forward into range and then loose. With the penalties, only 3 damage lands, which gets Iron Resolved down to just 2.

Bottom of Round 1: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Rally and gets 3 successes. She and the Muster Captain hide behind units or the hill and are either playing it extra safe or are finishing up some pastries. The Braves and Stalwarts tentatively advance. The Poachers hold, and loose into the Conclave, landing 6 damage and get a waver.

Movement for the Halflings.

The Harvester just moves its speed, looking to play defense. 

The Juggers just go for it, taking a nimble pivot early on and running headlong towards the Varangur shooters. My opponent does not play the game of inches, pushing them into charge range of the Raiders.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

The Juggers have a lot going for them, but don't have the best Nerve for a cavalry regiment. The Night Raiders have Pathfinder, so I think I am ok here, and hope to bully them over a turn or two. Both units charge in, with one clipping the woods, but not caring, thanks to Pathfinder. The dice seem to care though, and only 4 new damage gets through (6 expected total), with the regiment touching the woods contributing nothing to the fight. The Nerve check sees the unit Iron Resolve down to just 5 damage.

Movement for the Varangur.

The wavering Conclave can't get away, but inches back as far as it can. If I eat another round of shooting, I think that's ok. This is a war machine, and not great as a singleton pick. If it flees so other stuff is untouched, so be it.

The Horse Raiders hold, shooting into the Braves, but landing no hits. I wanted to disorder the Poachers, but wit the Harvester there, that didn't seem worth it. If they shoot again into the Conclave, that's fine, and I have zip out next turn, ideally as the Harvester leaves.

The Draugr take the hill. I want to use them conservatively, but feel like I might need the bodies to gum stuff up if the Halflings are going to be this aggressive.

The Tribesman get their leader point into the woods. I am within charge range and arc of both the Halflings and the Stalwarts, but thing I can endure some hindered charges and be in a good spot.

The Snow Troll Prime sees an opening. He needs to pivot to skirt around the woods, but with this objective contested, he enders the zone and razes this objective at the end of my turn. He is threatening a flank into the Braves as well. I don't expect the Braves to stay put, but it seemed like a good idea to incentivize them to move.

Bottom of Round 2: Halflings

I expected more Rally, since both the Braves and Stalwarts had charges, but the Sauceror goes for Wild Charge, getting two successes. This gets the inches needed for the Stalwarts to make a very unexpected but hindered charge out and into the Horse Raiders.

The Stalwarts seem winded though, and fighting the towering horses, only 1 damage makes it through. Still the Nerve check is hot, and the Horse Raiders are disordered and wavering...

The Braves simply turn a bit, now threatening the Prime. They move up to do so, and will get out of my own arc.

More charges from the Halflings!

The Poachers hold, and land another 5 into the Magus Conclave. The Nerve check is an overzealous boxcars, and the uninspired war machine is bested.

The Harvester putters ahead again, not in much of a hurry to do anything.

The Juggers are disordered, and will countercharge the inner unit of Night Raiders and slide over. No matter which unit they fight, the other will be in the flank. Fortunately, the dice are still with my opponent, and 11 damage is done, with 9 on the Nerve check to see the unit off the field. In victory, they will pivot, and face the remaining unit of Night Raiders.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

The Night Raiders charge the Juggers. It's in the front, but this unit didn't get hit by the Juggers, so I still have Thunderous Charge and a prayer. Unfortunately, my dice are cool again, dealing just 2 damage to the Juggers, and they will Iron Resolve down to 6. Iron Resolve is great against chip damage, but even better when the chip damage is pitiful!

The Varangur try to fight back, but aren't making much progress.

The Horse Raiders can't do much, and I opt to do nothing with them. 

The Tribesmen make a hindered charge into the Braves. I am feeling the pressure, but might be able to bully them. They deal 5 damage to start here, and get a luck waver, which is very welcome news. The Prime has no charge this turn, but pivots and gets closer, threatening a flank into them or into the Poachers next turn. 

Bottom of Round 3: Halflings

The Saucer Goes for Rally, and gets 1 success, and sticks around the back lines to help out.

The cowed Braves withdraw, and then back up, seeking to force another hindered charge. The back-up also gets the Prime into front arc.

The Poachers have no shots, so pivot to then shoot into the Tribesmen. Armor proves its worth, and only 1 slips through.

Aftermath of Round 3.

The Muster Captain and Harvester move into the midfield to better assist the Stalwarts, who roll out of their little minds and thump 8 damage into the shocked Horse Raiders, who will rout. Not wanting to take a charge off the hill, even from Draugr, the Stalwarts overrun, and will make it to the zombies.

The Juggers countercharge the Night Raiders, landing 10 hits but only 5 damage, and the Night Raiders are able to stick around and hold fast.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

The wavering Braves were hoping for a charge, but I don't want to deal with them. They moved back so much that the Warriors can charger around them, and get into the Poachers, albeit hindered. The Snow Troll can nimble-charge around the Braves as well to help out. The Prime does 3 but the Tribesmen stumble, landing only 2 damage themselves, and the Poachers hold on, unbothered thanks to Rally.

Charges from the Varangur.

The Draugr charge the Stalwarts, and the zombies are able to claw 1 damage through.

The Night Raiders countercharge the Juggers, and luck runs out for the knights. A hot 4 damage lands, and the Raiders are able to best the halflings and overrun, getting 5 inches and getting into the second objective circle. At the end of the turn, I will burn it, making this 2:0 in my favor.

Bottom of Round 4: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Rally again, getting Rally 1, and my opponent starts to get worried about the scenario and the objectives. He's holding the center, but claiming both of his tokens seems like a tall order at the moment.

The Poachers opt to charge the Snow Troll Prime, trying to keep the attention of as many use as they can. Given their facing, the Tribesmen will likely need to commit to this fight next turn, so if the Poachers can keep the Prime around too, that would be great. They slide down, and thump him for 2 damage.

Movement for the Halflings.

The Harvester is just able to able to pivot and move to just get within range to claim the one on the right, and will burn it at the end of the turn.

The Stalwarts fight the Draugr, and roll out of their minds, landing 7 damage, and the Nerve check is hot to rout the zombies. A quick measurement and the halflings could just get their corner onto the mat to claim this objective as well, but the fully 3" victorious sidestep is needed. My opponent dutifully roll up the result he needs, and suddenly it is a tie game! Sheesh. So much for being worried.

Top of Round 5: Varangur

With a tie game, I need to get as much to the center as possible. Fortunately, both the Harvester and Stalwarts are facing the wrong way, meaning that I do have a chance.

The Poachers stalk around the woods, trying to zone out the center, and make use of Thunderous charge as the game concludes. They moved, and shoot into the Braves, who are mostly in the bog, and nothing hits. Double penalties are rough for shooters.

The Snow Troll Prime disengages and withdraws, then nimble-pivots twice to face away from the Poachers, and start making his way towards the center. The terrain is going to be an issue, but I don't think there is a was I can avoid it, so he dips his toes into the bog to get as close as possible.

Movement for the Varangur.

Since they shuffled down to fight the Prime, the Poachers have exposed their flank to the Tribesmen, who charge in. I should be able to pick them up, stay on the hill with the victorious reform, and then threaten the center next turn. On 1 damage, I should be able to reach the center and hopefully survive the game. The Poachers are on 5 damage, and the flank charge deals 12 to devastate them, but they are found to be insane.

Bottom of Round 5: Halflings

The Halflings are out for blood. The Sauceror goes for Brutal, and gets a very concerning Brutal 3. 

Well, the Poachers are devastated, but are on the hill, with a clean rear charge into the Snow Troll Prime. They take it, halve their attacks for being devastated, then triple their attacks for being in the rear. It's 18 attacks, and they roll bonkers, landing 8 damage to bring the Prime up to 9 total, and with Brutal 3 now, the Prime is ignobly trampled, and the Poachers overrun 1 inch.

A wild rear charge!

The Braves leave the pond, and are able to secure the center, albeit barely.

The Muster Captain rides out, trying to block line of sight from the Night Raiders to the Braves. He's an individual, mounted hero. With the 360 degree vision, I think he probably could have charged had my opponent sequenced the movements right, but the effect is the essentially same. I can see the unit a bit, and can shoot, but the Captain prevents alignment, and the Sauceror complicates things, since they will align to me, if I can even get in.

End of Round 5.

 The Harvester and Stalwarts both spin about to fight for the middle. 

Top of Round 6: Varangur

Things are dire! The dice have not been kind this game. 

The Tribesman take another flank charge into the Poachers. Since they are already devastated, we fast forward the combat, and don't get another insane result. They reform, not entirely on the hill now since the Poachers had fought adjusted a bit, but still facing the center to see what can be done in a Round 7.

Positioning for the Varangur. Basically playing for a Round 7 now.

I don't like my chances at charging/besting the Muster Captain with the Raiders, and if I fail, not only am I not scoring, but I'm giving a flank to the Harvester. I also don't want to charge the Sauceror, since to hit her I'll be going around the Captain, so won't be able to overrun into the Braves since the individual is aligning to me. 

So they shoot with cover into the Braves, landing 1 damage and bringing them to... 1 damage? I think a damage die got absorbed by the Poachers. They should be at 6, but I still luck out with a boxcars to waver the unit.

Bottom of Round 6: Halflings

With a lot of units still left on the table, the Halflings are easily able to bring it home. The Sauceror goes for Brutal, and gets 1 success.

The Braves change facing, and the Stalwarts assist, both now strongly claiming the central objective.

The Halflings delay, masterfully.

The Harvester can't see the night Raiders, but they can see and reach the Tribesmen. I overlooked this, and the contraption will charge out, land 3 damage, and bring them to 4 total. I hold, but am fighting a fresh Harvester in the front, which does not bode well for me.

The Muster Captain charges the Night Raiders now, thumping 4 new damage, and brining them to 9 total, with Brutal in play. the Night Raiders waver. And with that, I concede. 

A victory to the Halflings!

Game Conclusions

As I've said repeatedly in the reports the last two months, I don't put a lot of emphasis in Ambush games. Quick games are fun, but with so few units on the table, dice matter a lot, and any outlier can really swing the game. If that occurs early, the game can get one-sided very quickly. For most of these league games, the dice were bouncing my way, but that was was not the case here! I had a decent plan to start off, but it did not pan out, and on the back of some good dice rolls, Kenny was able to leverage good tactics too and secure the win.

Testing Conclusions

• Draugr. I had a decent plan with them, but the regiment couldn't survive the hot dice. Regiments are nice, cheap and useful, but I too want to play around with some hordes in the larger game, and really make use of their unlocks. I know I like regiments already, so I'll try to branch out into the hordes in the future. 
• Night Raiders with Bows. Fighting the Juggers while unsupported / uninspired probably wasn't wise, but options were limited, and they did still come out on top. As in the game against the Dwarfs, chip damage was mitigated by Iron Resolve, but the bows did feel nicer to use on the table, and I'd assume they'll feel even better once we get onto larger tables.
• Human Tribesmen. Well, the unit did survive the full game, doing the sturdier loadout proud, but they did not accomplish much otherwise! This is just dice though, and they still got three charges in while surviving, and I've liked them overall. 
• Horse Raiders with Bows. I think holding them back was the right call, I just got unlucky with Wild Charge. The bows still seem like a good default pick, but I do want to pick these up again once we get into games on larger tables, where I can hopefully make use of their mobility for some better testing.
• Magus Conclave. The counter-fire from the Poachers was unexpected, but smart I think. War machines don't deal consistent damage, so shutting the singleton down early and then committing again to rout it worked well for my opponent.
• Snow Troll Prime. He got unlucky here, but that will happen. Like the Tribesmen, the Snow Troll Prime has done really well in the other games for me, and I am quite happy with them.

It was wonderful to not only fit in a surprise day of wargaming, but also able to three games in, even if they were just Ambush games. The results covered the spectrum of possible outcomes, and this was a fun one to end on. Kenny was the driving force behind the meetup, so a thank you to him for getting the ball rolling for the meetup, and for sticking around to get this last game in!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #125 Ogres vs Varangur in Invade

Intro and Lists

We were able to throw together an afternoon meetup over the long holiday weekend, getting in some more Escalation League games for May. The first game was quick and bloody, and we were done before the other table had finished up their Round 3, so my opponent and I decided to try and fit in a second game quickly before they finished. For the second game, my opponent fielded the following:

Yes, while Joe had returned to his Dwarfs for fun in the first game of the day, he was one of the three people fielding Varangur for the escalation League, and he was enthused about the Draugr. It is a unit that the Master List Northern Alliance cannot field, so they seem like a a great reason to run the evil counterparts! He wants several legions in his larger lists, so for these smaller games, he was running a trio of regiments with odd items, supported by a Magus and mounted Lord with duelist. The scariest unit opposing me though was the Tundra Wolves, who had Brew of Strength, turning them into a very potent shock unit with the very-important Pathfinder special rule. At the time, I didn't see that the Lord had purchased a Blue Command Die. I hadn't been using Command Dice in any of the League Games so far, and that trend continued here, so kudos to Joe for playing 30 points down. In Ambush, that can make a big difference. (That plus the items on the Draugr could have been a 4th unit of Draugr, for example.)

And before we get too far into things, I gotta hype his army up a  bit. He's going with a "Culty" theme for his Varangur, which is really cool so far, and leaning into really creepy stuff, in part to differentiate it from the Northern Alliance, which he also runs. I really like the pale skin of the Draugr, and Tundra Wolves are especially unnerving. I thought I had pictures of the army for the cover page thing, but did not have what I thought, so I'll need to grab those (and an updated pic of his Imperial Dwarfs, who have been rebased and repainted some) in the future. It's promising to be a unit take on the army, and a unique looking army, so I am looking forward to see more of it soon! 

Alas, the elusive mirror-match was not-to-be, as I had swapped over to some Stormcast Ogres myself. I had basically gotten what I wanted from the Varangur for these Ambush games, and wanted to mix things up too. At these Ambush games the last few months, I had been bringing a spare army, just in case we had someone new stopping by that wanted to play or try out the game. I had done up an Ogre list for May, so that's what I fielded here. Ogres seem like a perennially strong choice, so I wanted to at least keep a working familiarity with the army. Up to test are:

• Ogre Warriors. I liked regiments before, and since this is Ambush, regiments are all I can take! I wanted to "overload" on these picks and run as many things as I could. Like the Varangur Tribesmen, CS1 and Def5 are a nice mix for a generalist unit, and running multiples, the hope is that I can just brute-force my way though things.
• Sergeant with Heavy Crossbow.  It's not a lot of attacks, but with both CS2 and Piercing 2, anything he hits should feel it. I remember liking these when I ran them previously, and wanted to try them out again to check back in.
• Warlock with Drain Life and Lightning Bolt. Lightning Bolt Spam was strong previously, but nerfed with the keyword adjustment to Siege Breakers. Once the lines closed, Drain Life could also be potent. I can only run the one Warlock here, but it could be strong here with my Warrior spam, and would reward players for clever positioning, so it seemed like it would be fun to include, even for a new player.
• Ogre Bully. I hobbied up mine about a year ago, and they have yet to hit the table. I know I've played against them a few times over the years and though the details evade me, I remember being impressed, so we'll see how they do in their debut for me!

Overall, it seemed like a decent attempt at Ogres, given the constraints. We can't run hordes so we're running a series of simple and sturdy line units, and we're leaning into the always-important characters, but running a variety of them since we can't double up. The variety would be good for a new player and they could see which they liked and might want to build around. It's relatively friendly still, doing a little bit of everything, and seems like it would be good for a newer player.

Table and Terrain

We were still out at Pegasus Games, and still making use of their tables, but using our own mats and terrain. The mat was 6x4 feet deep, so we halved the length, and then have a 6" dead zone, a 6" deployment zone, and then the 24" no man's land between the lines, in order to get the 3'x3' space.

The table, and deployment.

For the rematch, we rearranged the board, and I got rid of the boney scatter terrain. It's still crowded, but a little less so. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the cabin and tower as Height 9 blocking terrain, the single forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, and Hills as Height 3, and the neoprene pond as Height 0. The fences marked the edge of the play area, not actual obstacles. We seem to not really run obstacles for these games, which I am ok with, as we are running a lot of terrain, and obstacles could confound a new player the most, with cover penalties and such, so I guess I'm ok ignoring them.

My opponent won the roll for sides, and kept his, meaning we will still have the lighting hurdles to contend with again in this game. We rolled up Invade for this game, which seemed doable.

For deployment the Varangur had an orderly line. The Draugr with Hann's was supported by the Magus; the potent Tundra Wolves held the center with the mounted Lord nearby; the Draugr with Fireball were next, supported by the Skaald; and the final unit of Draugr with the Pipes held that flank, hoping to advance and use the building to protect their own flank in due time.

Deployment, again.

It's Invade, but my plan was to approach it all cautiously, and essentially fight our way onto the other side of the board. The Lord can be punchy, and the Tundra Wolves seemed really potent for this points level. I figured I would need to trade something to get a chance at fighting the Wolves, but as long as I kept them in the front, I should be ok, and if I could somehow trade for them, then the game should go well for me, since Draugr vs Ogre Warriors should obviously favor my brutes. It's Ambush, so if we can cautiously fight our way over, it should be a strong victory, and a good overall test for the Ogres.

For deployment, on the left, I have Warriors on the hill, zoning out that side of the board. The Bully was near by. If the Wolves tried to blitz through the left, I should be able to set up a layered defense. To help this, in reserve was another unit of Warriors, nice and central. The Warlock and Sergeant were nearby, with a the third unit of Warriors starting in the woods but peering out. The fourth unit of Warriors was angled, hoping to make use of the building to set up a nice concave situation for me, and push hard from the right. The Draugr have good chunks of Nerve for their points, so I wanted to try and engage them with overwhelming odds, and quickly deal with them, so as not to get bogged down.

Overall, I liked my deployment. My main quibble is deploying the Warlock a bit poorly. I think swapping them with the Sergeant would have been better, to get them closer to that third Warrior regiment, in order to help with the spells. 

I won the roll for deciding turn order, and this being Invade, and me having some ranged shots, eagerly took first turn again.

Top of Round 1: Stormcast Ogres

The Stormcast Ogres moved up, cautiously. We had a layered concave set-up going on the right-side, but this is arguably a bit pre. Given the terrain, the Draugr wouldn't be marching up anytime soon! The Warlock couldn't get over to get the angled Warrior unit into their bubble, so I made do with where I was, getting just +2 to spells.

Movement for the Ogres. With big shadows from the overhead lights...

With the boost, Lightning Bolt hits the far-right Draugr for 3, and the Sergeant contributes 1 with the heavy crossobw. I remember the Sergeant being better, but they look to have been 5+ at range for some time though. It takes me most of the game to remember Elite, to help them out a little bit.

Seizing the initiative, the reserve Warriors move up, and the Warriors on the left inch up to constrict that side of the board more. The Bully hangs back, to make sure nothing gets past the Ogre line.

Bottom of Round 1: Varangur

The Varangur make some bold moves, looking to great angles now, to capitalize on later. On the left, the Draugr with Lifeleech get partly on to the hill. The nightmarish Wolves bide their time, hoping something gets caught and stuck on a Draugr unit in the coming turns.

The Draugr with Fireball also move at the double, and the third and final Draugr unit, with Brutal, starts wading through the pond.

The Varangur lurch forward.

With the Draugr checkerboarding a bit, shooting lanes are created, and Mind Fogs slither out. The Skaald on the right taps the Warlock, and the Magus taps the Ogres on the hill on the left, so two successes for the spell, but the Ogres are undamaged, and no surprise wavers manifest.

Top of Round 2: Stormcast Ogres

It's Invade, but the plan is still to be cautious, and hopefully methodically hack our way across the board. The layered right moves up to try and force a showdown with the Tundra Wolves. For the center and right, one Warrior unit is not in the woods, but is peering around it a bit; one unit walks up as sacrifice, and one unit waits in reserve.

Movement for the Stormcast Ogres.

The Warlock and Sergeant shuffle, and shoot through the gaps into the Draugr with the Diadem, landing 5 damage. The Draugr are found to be insane, and will Iron Resolve down to just 4 damage.

On the left, the Bully angles, to try and contain the Draugr here, and the warriors continue to hold. 

Bottom of Round 2: Varangur

The mostly-undead Varangur push out. The Draugr on the left slowly approach, and easily keep things in front-arc, tying up a lot of points from me. 

The other two Draugr units advance. The central one with Diadem is able to pivot to toss a Fireball into some Warriors, but the armor does its job, and no damage lands. The other unit has no charges, and continues wading through the pond.

Charges from the scariest Varangur units.

The nightmarish Wolves and the mounted Lord charge the sacrificial Ogre Warrior unit. The dice for the Wolves flub a bit, and only 9 damage makes it through in total, but the unit is still bested, with the Lord sidestepping, in order to allow the Wolves to reform and get stuff into front arc.

Top of Round 3: Stormcast Ogres

With the Wolves exposed, I feel like now is the time. On the right, the Warlock nimbly pushes his way forward, but ends outside on an inch away. Then, in goes a hindered Warrior unit, the Sergeant, and the other Warrior unit, with a triple charge in a bid to pick the scary unit up.

The Warlock tries Drain Life, with two extra Dice, but only one damage lands, and I've got nothing to heal. The melee damage is also really bad, and only 8 damage lands in total. Still, with Brutal, this is enough to see the Wolves wavering, though they have occupied the attention of a ton of Ogre units.

Fancy charges from the Fancy Ogres.

On the left, the Bully goes in alone against the Draugr. My thinking here is that I want to tie them up this turn, and then flank with the Warrior unit next turn to more reliably pick the unit up. Unfortunately I bump the Warrior unit, and with just their move, it doesn't look like I can get their leader point into the flank like I was hoping. Because of the bump, I feel bad marching them at the double into a flanking position, so don't. It will be what it will be.

Bottom of Round 3: Varangur

On the left, the Draugr roll hot, clawing 3 damage onto the Bully, but he angrily holds, thanks to Fearless.

The wavering Wolves back up, hoping to gain a bit of a respite, and the Lord hesitates as well. The Magus approaches, landing a strong 3 from Drain Life onto the Ogre Warriors in the woods, healing the nightmarish Wolves from 8 down to... 3? They should be at 5. My opponent had been playing Transfusion wrong, but we caught and correct that this game. Mayhaps the d10 was bumped. 

Some Draugr regiments offer up some surprising strong resistance.

The Draugr with the Diadem make a hindered charge into the Ogre Warriors in the woods, and no damage lands. They got hit with a Drain Life, but did not test since they were in melee. With no damage taken in the melee, they don't test here either, and they hang around.

The Draugr on the right charge the other Warriors, but started in the pond, so are also hindered, and no damage lands here either.

Top of Round 4: Stormcast Ogres

Fights abound, all somewhere approximating the center dividing line for the scenario.

On the left, the Draugr counter-charge the Bully. The Warriors are in the front, but I feel like I am being overly cautious trying to get the flank here. The Bully counter-charges and slides, and with the frontage, it seems like the Warriors will just clip the woods.

Combats for the Ogres.

The Bully has a crazy number of attacks, and even with the Warriors hindered, enough lands to bring the Draugr to 10, giving me decent chances to beat the unit, and thanks to Brutal, I do! The Warriors overrun to play the scenario, and the Bully merely pivots, spying more flanks.

The Draugr with the Diadem starts on 4, the Warriors countercharge and flub a bit, but some hot Nerve checks routs this unit.

The Sergeant pursues the Wolves, and the Warlock contributes another 2 with Drain Life, healing the Warriors nearby. I remember Elite on the Sergeant, and the Wolves are brought back up to 8 damage. The Nerve check is low, but with Brutal, I get another waver.

The Ogre Warriors on the right roll hot, dealing 7 damage to the Draugr, and with Brutal, this fight goes my way as well.

All three Draugr regiments have been bested this turn, and the Wolves are wavering. That's all the unit strength the Varangur have left, so things are not looking good for them.

Bottom of Round 4: Varangur

The Wolves withdraw, and then sidestep, allowing the mounted Lord to charge the Sergeant. Duelist doesn't matter, but the lord smacks 6 damage down, while the Magus contributes 1 from Drain Life, but the Sergeant is himself Inspiring, and sticks around on the second check.

The Varangur Lord tries his best, despite a lack of thralls to command.

At this point, the other table is wrapping up, and my opponent concedes. The Wolves are wavering again, and since the Sergeant stuck around for me, it is highly unlikely the individuals could kill enough in the remaining two turns to force a draw.

Victory for the Varangur!

Game Conclusions

The league is just two month's in. As I understood it, Joe's Varangur has racked up mostly wins so far, but I believe they've all come from getting the Wolves into a flank and then eating unit after unit who are already caught up on the Draugr. Neutralizing the Tundra Wolves cost me a unit and a lot of effort, but even just wavering them was huge for me, as once wavered, they couldn't really escape. Since I don't know the army well, I had a few small errors / misjudgments, but nothing too serious, and I was able to leverage my advantages for the win here.

Testing Conclusion

• Ogre Warriors. The close quarters nature of Ambush seem to suit the Ogres well, and these worked similarly to the Varangur Tribesmen, just a nice generalist unit for the army with their good stats and innate CS.
• Sergeant with Heavy Crossbow. I don't remember him being oppressive, but he wasn't as impressive as I remembered. I think I just liked the range and versatility, coupled Steady Aim, as I was running him alongside Shooters back in the day. I forgot elite for most of the game, but that can make a difference as well. Yeah, neat and versatile, and worth checking out in multiples sometime in the future.
• Warlock with Drain Life and Lightning Bolt. The Warlock rewards clever positioning, and I couldn't quite get the most out of him. Even "just" two extra dice was nice though, and I think a Warlock-centric build could still be fun. 
• Ogre Bully. He's got a lot of attacks! Having just Def4 is a downside, but being a unit and Inspiring are two big boons and he deserves some more play in the future. He's got some serious damage output, and should be a great little force multiplier in larger games.
• Ogre MMU. I missed the zenith of this playstyle, with 9x Warrior regiments and a 9x assortment of heroes, but this approximates it, as is about as good as you could do nowadays with the limit on unlocking Warrior regiments being 3. It was a lot of fun!
• Ogress, generally. It felt good to get some use out of my old models, and I actually liked running the Ogres. The MMU, regiments-maximum, style was definitely a part of it here, but looking at the roster and such, they've got some neat things going on. I might mix them into the league stuff a bit more going forward.

Thanks for the games Joe! It was neat to get in multiple games with multiple armies in just one day. I don't think I've done that before, even when demoing. I've got one more game to go from this meetup, and that should be posted soon.

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #124 Varangur vs Dwarfs in Kill

Intro and Lists

The holiday weekend was busy, but my only big commitment on Sunday was a dinner, and thus I was able to miraculously squeeze in three more league games over the afternoon. As a bonus, folks were coming to Madison, making the commute negligible. We were out at Pegasus Games, one of my old Warhammer Fantasy haunts, and where we were playing when the End Times occurred. We had run a big, rather messy campaign for the Times, and our old cork board (now quite devoid of troop movement pins and such) was hung up as art, which was neat to see. 

A nice map from back in the day.

The first game of the day was against Joe, who had brought his Imperial Dwarfs back to the table for a few games, since he had already gotten in a number of league games in for May:

Yowza. Those are some Dwarfs that mean serious business! Joe took 2nd in Adepticon's Ambush event, so he seems to be viewing these smaller games more ruthlessly. We have a few new players in the league, so I'm glad I'm catching this heat and not them. Three Def6 Ironguard regiments, a Def6 Dwarf Lord unit, and two supporting casters is a lot to deal with at this points-level, and with a lot of terrain on such a small board it's hard to get around the dwarf units for positional advantages.

After not materializing a second game last weekend, I brought the Varangur back out, looking to get in my second league game of the month and thus get in a game with my Varangur May 1b(ows) list and be able to more directly compare and contrast the axe and bow options some more. As-before, my approach with these Ambush games is to run some friendly things, which is why we are focusing on Varangur shooting. Up to test is:

• Draugr. They unlock, are cheap and slow, but can move at the double, and have Fearless and Iron Resolve so they can endure a bit more than one would think. I really want to try out hordes of them and take the Varangur in a trashier, more unusual direction, but we’re in Ambush, so we’re stuck at the regimental size. We already know regiments are great though, and they are wonderful at holding tokens or taking a charge, so we’ll see what they can get up to here.
• Night Raiders with Bows. As mentioned previously, Bows seem like the better default option, since you can contribute from further away and have easier decisions once things get close. We've already tried the axes, so we'll see how Bows do.
• Human Tribesmen. I like the Tribesmen. Their CS2 option is still attractive, and something I want to explore, but since I have a lot of shooting, we're still rolling with the sturdier loadout. The Def5/CS1 version has been a solid performer at this points level, able to hold its own despite no heals or support. 
• Horse Raiders with Bows. I've gotten a good feel with the Night Raider loadout, but am less sure about the Horse Raiders. Axes are ok, but that feels like a unit that is just trying to aggressively trade, and forcing the issue by getting in the way. There are cheaper chaff options, so I think Bows might be the way to go here, again, but I need to try it out before I form an opinion.
• Magus Conclave. It's a very unique war machine, but not really competitive as a singleton. Even so, I want more experience with using the unit before running it in larger games again, so here we are! I've liked it so far, even though it's output has been erratic, as that is to be expected as a singleton war machine.
• Snow Troll Prime. He's my only source of Inspiring, so I need to be a little careful, but even after just a few games, he's really proven to be a defensive powerhouse. He's been run against me plenty over the years, and I'm enjoying him so far myself.

Table and Terrain

Pegasus Games has table extenders and such, but is more inclined towards card games and smaller games, so while we used their extenders, we brought our own mats and terrain. Being an Ambush game, we had a pretty crowded table for terrain, as usual. This mat was 6x4 feet deep, so we halved the length, and then have a 6" dead zone, a 6" deployment zone, and then the 24" no man's land between the lines, in order to get the 3'x3' space. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the cabin and tower and bone bits as a ton of Height 9 blocking terrain, the single forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, and Hills as Height 3, and the neoprene pond as Height 0. The fences marked the edge of the play area, not actual obstacles. 

The board. 

It was going to be crowded indeed! While I really like the bone terrain aesthetically, and like it as blocking terrain since you can't really balance stuff on it, it always feels weird on the table. This would have been a great time to make it Height 3 blocking or something more interesting. Alas, we did not do this. I'll need to keep this idea in mind for the future. As much as I like having the standardized Epic Dwarf maps, it would be fun to experiment more with terrain, running big hills, building on hills, changing heights of stuff and so on. 

We rolled for scenario, and got Kill. List-wise, we have competing build philosophies at play, and I with bow shooting vs Def6, I know am already in for a very tough game. The scenario exacerbates this even further, but we'll give it the old college try.

My opponent won the roll for sides, and actually swapped with me. This put the shop windows and overhead light behind me, so we'll struggle in a few pictures, but we should be able to get the gist across.

With the cabin blocking things up, the Dwarfs deployed centrally. On the left was a unit of Ironguard with Lord angled out to the left. The other two Ironguard units continued the line, with the Flame Priest between the units, and the Stone Priest behind the inner one.

We already have some big shadows and fuzziness. Deployment.

We're fighting over several lanes. Seeing the Lord come down angled and facing the left, I placed the Horse Raiders out here, along with the Draugr. The hope is to just occupy the Lord, and prevent him from getting behind my line on such a small table. The nearby building split my line, but continuing on, we have the Tribesmen, Prime, Night Raiders peeking around the hill, Magus Conclave sitting behind the hill for now, and angled Night Raiders out on the right. The overall plan is to shoot as long as possible since it is one of my only advantages, and try to use the lanes to prevent the Dwarfs from multi-charging.

I won the roll for turn order, and took it.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

On the left, the Horse Raiders took the hill. I really want to make sure I have this, as charging off of hills is fun, but I also need all the help I can get given the high defense of the Dwarfs. They loose into the Ironguard on the left, and do slip 1 damage in. The Draugr come up behind. The Dwarfs don't need Bane Chant to do a number on the low-defense Draugr, so I want to keep them out of fights unless necessary.

Opening moves for the Varangur.

Centrally, the Tribesmen and Prime inch up, trying to cover the lanes.

The Night Raiders need to move to get into shooting range this turn, so take a penalty. I don't move them far because I want to shoot as long as possible. Combined, they deal 1 damage with their Bows, but the Conclave does land 2 more, taking the Ironguard unit on the right up to 3 damage.

Bottom of Round 1: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs move up, at the double, but no dogs can be thrown. Radiance of Life aids the Ironguard out on the right, and they go from 3 down to 2 damage.

Aggressive moves from the Dwarfs.

I was not expecting the Dwarfs to zip up this quickly. My opponent deployed wisely and was able to march things right up the field. Thankfully, my own advance was minimal, so they have no entered the 10" charge range just yet, and I get at least one more round of shooting.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

I look to have missed a picture, but not much happens.

On the left, the Horse Raiders inch back slightly, getting out of range of the Dwarf Lord, and their bows again slip 1 into the same Ironguard unit again, brining them to 2 damage.

The rest of the Varangur line holds. Nothing is in range for infantry charges, and I don't want to have the Prime charge out all on his own.

All of the shooting does into the Ironguard on the right, but nothing hits.

Bottom of Round 2: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs move up again, getting into charge range now. The Ironguard on the left are just barely out of range for throwing their dog, so they hold onto it for now. The Lord reins it in, using the nearby unit and skull terrain to prevent me from charging him with anything substantial, though in retrospect the Prime could still get in.

The Dwarfs move up, and throw some dogs.

The Stone Priest aids the Ironguard on the right again, bringing them from 2 down to just 1 damage. Both units toss into the Snow Troll Prime, landing a merciful 4 damage only, and the Fireball contributes just 2 more. Further going my way, the Nerve check finds the Troll to be quite insane.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

With the Dwarfs in charge range now, I feel the pressure to do something. Up against Def6 and Radiance of Life, my shooting isn't working all that well, but I don't want to lose out it,so on the right, I shoot, and the Prime gets in the way. As it turns out, I don't have the inches to prevent a charge into the Raiders on the right, but if they are charged and do hold, the Prime will be in the flank, so I am ok with this.

The bows of the Raiders do nothing, but the Conclave lands 2 damage to bring them back to 3 damage... where they were back in Round 1.

Moves for the Varangur.

Since the Lord can't see much, the Tribesmen to in against the central Ironguard unit, alone. Only 2 damage gets carved into the dwarfs during the melee though. 

On the left, the Horse Raiders leave the hill, but don't charge. Hindered into the Ironguard would be bad, and I can't align and get into the Lord. I want to block both units up, but don't think I can. My opponent points out that the horses are nimble, and if I use the second pivot to swing my right towards the Lord, I can pull this off, so that's what I do. Thanks Joe! The horses aren't moving at the double, so I am able to shoot into the Ironguard again, but no damage lands this time, which tracks. I got lucky the last two turns out here.

Bottom of Round 3: Dwarfs

On the left, the Ironguard and Lord charge the Horse Raiders. The Ironguard are hindered, but will land a strong 6, and the Lord will contribute 4 damage. It's a troop, and the Horse Raiders scatter. The Lord will overrun 5 inches smacking right into the building, and the Ironguard regiment will reposition just slightly, in order to zone out the hill.

Reforms for the Dwarfs.

The Ironguard countercharge the Tribesmen, and with a Bane Chant, will land 3 damage in. Radiance of Life takes them from 2 down to 1 damage, and I am already losing the race here.

The Flame Priest hurls a fireball into the Prime, but lands just 1 damage, taking him to 4, and the Prime hangs around, unbothered.

The Ironguard on the right do make a charge into the Night Raiders, and will roll well and 6 damage, just slightly above expected damage. With the Prime around though, this is kept to just a waver when we go to test their mettle.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

Given the skull terrain, I cannot shuffle the Tribesmen down to let the Prime help out here, so the humans soldier on by themselves. This is relatively fine though, as no other dwarf unit can assist, and it turns out is the humans' turn to roll hot, and they will land 6 damage and bring the implacable dwarf unit up to 7 damage.

Charges from the Varangur.

The wavering Raiders do nothing, but the other raiders and the Prime will hit the Ironguard in the flank, with the Raiders coming off the hill. I take them up to 15 damage, and do get the rout. Since the wavering unit didn't get a charge order, they don't get a reform, and hold fast, just tending to their wounds. The flanking Night Raiders spin around 180 to cover my backfield, and the Prime pivots 90 degrees "north" to spy the flank of the central Ironguard unit.

One Ironguard regiment down.

The Magus Conclave gets out of arc of the Dwarf Lord, and flings down into the Ironguard on the left, I believe with cover penalties from the Dwarf Lord, and one damage does slip in.

Bottom of Round 4: Dwarfs

The Flame Priest on the hill tosses a Fireball into the untouched Night Raiders, and the third Ironguard unit is just able to get in range to throw a mastiff too. A combined 6 damage lands here, but the unit is still just wavering after the barrage.

The dwarfs issues rebuttals across the battlefield.

The Lord doesn't have a charge this turn, so nimbly gets around the building to threaten the Night Raiders.

Bane Chant lands again, and Radiance of Life brings the central Ironguard down to 6 damage. The rolls are poor though, and the Tribesmen end on the turn on 6 damage as well.

Top of Round 5: Varangur

The Draugr take the hill, spying the flank of the Ironguard on the left. The zombies are definitely not a fighting unit, but if they can come off the hill, and get support from any other unit, and are still in the flank, I might be able to pick the unit up as the game concludes. That's a lot of "ifs" but against such a tough list I need everything helping out.

Charges for the Varangur.

The Tribesmen continue on, with the Snow Troll Prime assisting with another flank charge. The Ironguard are brought to 12 damage, and routed. The Tribesmen are safe from the Lord, and will change facing to spy the final unit of Ironguard. The Prime pivots to the "south" now, to spy the Dwarf Lord.

The unwavering Night Raiders charge into the Flame Priest, but land just 4 damage and will fail to pick him up. Thankfully they are out of arc of the Dwarf Lord.

Reforms for the Varangur.

The Magus Conclave can't get away. It keeps 10" away from the unengaged Ironguard on the left. It flings with a cover penalty into them, slipping 1 in and bringing them up to 4 damage. Since it cannot evade the Lord, it inches forward to give the Lord some choices next turn, and hopefully the Prime can punish whatever the Lord chooses to do.

Bottom of Round 5: Dwarfs

The remaining Ironguard charge the Tribesmen. Bane Chant fails, but they land 2 damage and bring them humans up to 8 damage total. The Stone Priest gets central to keep things Inspired, and Radiance of Life helps the Flame Priest get down to just 3 damage. He takes a swing at the Night Raiders, but misses.

Charges for the Dwarfs.

The Lord chooses to charge the maimed Night Raiders, and lands 3 damage to take them to 9 total. The unit is inspired though, and with the reroll is able to hold on, wavering.

Top of Round 6: Varangur

The wavering Night Raiders hold, with the Snow Troll Prime assaulting the Dwarf Lord in the flank, landing 6 damage on him.

The Night Raiders fighting the Flame Priest will land 4  damage and pick the spellcaster up this time, and will reform. In a potential Round 7, I can either be coming off the hill into the Lord or the Ironguard, either of which seems nice.

Fighting from the Varangur.

The Draugr have the inches into the rear of the remaining Ironguard, but actually can't align, due to the building. I will note that if I had positioned the Tribesmen differently last turn, I would be fine. I didn't foresee a spacing issues, so this is unfortunately an error from me. The zombies move up a bit, staying on the hill to be as threatening as possible for a Round 7.

The Tribesmen land 3 onto the Ironguard. They are just at 7, and the unit sticks around.

Bottom of Round 6: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs kick it into gear. The Ironguard countercharge the Tribesman, hitting with all their attacks. Bane Chant lands, and the Tribesmen are brought up to 15 damage and bested. More concerned with the Night Raiders on the hill over the Draugr on the hill behind them, they overrun towards the Raiders, but only get 1 inch.

Reforms for the Imperial Dwarfs.

The Dwarf Lord connects with all his attacks as well, and the Raiders are routed, with the Lord wheeling about to face down the Prime, who has regenerated down to 2 damage by this point.

Angles, at the end of Round 6.

I think I've fought my way to a good positioning for a Round 7, but we do not roll one up. Tallying things up for Kill, the Dwarfs have bested 405 points worth of stuff, while the Varangur have picked up 415! The differential is unfortunately not enough for an actual win, but given the match-up, scenario, and map, I will gladly take the tie!

Game Conclusions

For Ambush, it was a difficult scenario for an already difficult list match-up, and I think I did well! 

Testing Conclusions

• Draugr. I didn't have anything speedy to punish "stuck" units, so I think I used these well enough, keeping them back and playing conservatively. Not getting the rear-charge was a bummer, but it happens.
• Night Raiders with Bows. The decisions were in-game were definitely easier, but the bows definitely had a very tough job here. Keeping them Inspired proved to be the best decision of the game, letting them stick around wavering, so other units could do stuff.
• Human Tribesmen. Again, playing a little conservatively and only committing to a 1v1 combat did wonders for their effectiveness, and they were a good generalist unit here.
• Horse Raiders with Bows. The bows here had a tough job too. I still think bows are the better default option for them too, since you can be more cagey with them, but need more testing is needed, and I need to get onto larger tables where I can make better use of their mobility before I have a firm opinion.
• Magus Conclave. As a singleton, it did fine, though it too struggled to land damage through the armor and radiant heals. Still, it survived to the end, and given the scenario, that's a big plus.
• Snow Troll Prime. It was a risk, but not a play play for my opponent to try and focus down the Prime. Sure, he has Regeneration, but it was my only source of Inspiring, and if he got lucky there, it would have made the rest of the game easier for him. But dice were on my side a bit, he survived the barrage, regenerated, and then found some nice flank charges to keep me in the game, and again and again the Prime proves his worth.

A tough game, but a good one to kick off the meetup. Thanks Joe!