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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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