Kings of War 3rd Edition: #134 Kingdoms of Men vs Halflings in Control

Intro and Lists

I was able to fit in one more game at the July meetup for Kings of War Wisconsin, with my second game against Rob and his ravenous Halflings. He is gearing up for Masters and brought the following:

We’ve seen Rob across the table quite a few times over the last year or so, and his list is locked in for Masters, the same here as in the recent Battle 131. For the uninitiated, his Halflings use auras to push decent units into some wild performances. 

Rob had put out a call for mean and preferably fast lists to play against about a month or so ago, as he wanted to prep more for Masters. I tried to oblige with mixed successes so far. For our final throw down before the event, I proxied some “flying circus” Kingdoms of Men, at Rob’s request, but added in my own shooting contingent to help out, since I wasn’t feeling competent with pure aggression. The lynchpin units are proxied, and as a new style for the humans here, up to test and comment on is everything, since we gotta see how it all fits and works together:

• Shield Wall with Orb of Towering Presence. I liked my tricky pick here the other day, and wanted to give it another go. While this unit won't contribute much in a fight, a surprise US4 could be amazing for certain scenarios.
• Pike Regiments. Access to Pikes are one of the better things the Kingdoms of Men have going for them. While Indomitable Will is amazing on them, I couldn't quite finagle the points for all of them this time, so we are doing without.
• Crossbowmen. The Crossbowmen horde are a bit of a pet unit for me at this point. They unlock, have good nerve and Unit Strength, and tend to find some way to contribute each game. The unlocks in particulare are quite valuable with this combined-arms style play, where I can really make use of the extra unlocks for toys.
• Proxied Beast Cavalry. Previously, the Beast Cavalry was underwhelming, as you had to choose between the TC upgrade and the Flying upgrade. This stipulation was dropped in a Clash update, and their popularity has steeply climbed since. I don't like chasing trends, but as an old Boy Scout, we'll proxy them in the sake of preparedness for Rob. We'll see how they do.
• Triple Ballistae. War machines are always a gamble, but I do like these as they hit on 4's, and tend to be points efficient for the damage output. The extra drops can be helpful too, allowing you to delay and plan a bit better in the deployment phase, which can be helpful against the higher-drop Halflings here.
• ASB’s with Heal and BC. I want to try and be aggressive with the Pikes, moving them up to instigate while I am shooting and/or threatening other charges. Inspiration was a concern, and I've yet to really get use out of Lifeleech 2 yet, so we're trying a pair of ASBs. We'll try to stick the BC one aggressively for a push, and the Healing one more defensively to hold ground and delay.
• Flying Wizards with Lightning Bolts. Flying Wizards have been great the last few games. Most of the the Halflings opposing me have Spellward, but the Grenadiers do not, so that goal is to try and zap them early, and then the Wizards can be utilized for whatever as the game continues.
• Flying Generals. I've run Generals for quite some time. They always seem to waver, and often just don't have the damage output they statistically should dice-wise, but flying little hammers here have been very useful again and again and again. Two had felt strong, but sporting, so for this Master's prep, we're trying all three and seeing what pressure they can bring.

Going into this, I again asked him to point out anything super-questionable I was doing so we could evaluate it and make sure we give him a good practice game. Knowing the gist of his list already, my plan was to hang back and shoot while pressuring with the fliers. My 20” flying charges should outrange his 19” best-case Jugger charges, so if I can delay and shoot a bit I should hopefully be able to delete a few units and then better dictate when fights occur. 

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer’s Realm in New Berlin, WI,  and if you find yourself in the area, you should check them out. As mentioned in other reports, they moved into a new shop at the start of the year, one which is far larger than their old place. It’s a bit of a labyrinth, with separate rooms for board games, card games, war games, role playing games, in addition to being a normal shop selling all those products, plus hobbying supplies, and all sorts of things. They also have a (very dangerous) second-hand room, and now a bidding room, with new items monthly. All this to say, we were there, and making use of their tables, and terrain for our meet-up.

Overview of the table.

We got Control for the scenario, which is probably one of the better scenarios for me and this list, for as long as they survive, the Crossbowmen can be contributing to victory regardless of their damage output, and this give the lowly Shield Wall something to do while cowering too.

For Control, we are battling for control of zones. We divide the board into six 2 ft x2 ft squares, with unit strength determining control of each zone. The middle zone on your opponent’s half is worth 2 VP, with all other zones worth 1 VP. So, you are incentivized to spread out and/or push into the opposing center for a generally dynamic game.

While the Halflings can easily run the length of the table, he let the building break things up, deploying his army a bit more compactly. For deployment we have the Grenadiers alone, but protected on the left, with the building blocking line of sight to them. We then have the some Poachers and a Stalwart Troop, with the Iron Beast and a Harvester and the Engineer behind to support. The center had reserve Juggers, and a line of Poachers, the Heroic Halflings and their Hammer, another Harvester, and another Stalwart troop. Supporting the center was the Sauceror, Strider Captain, and two more Juggers, spread around. The far right had angled Grenadiers and Juggers.

View from the left.

As ever, I was running a bit of a new and somewhat unfamiliar list, but I generally knew that I wanted to spread the flying Generals out, run the shooting centrally so it could reach and contribute throughout the game, and that even though there are not nimble, I should probably run the Beast Cavalry on either wing and be looking for flanks.

View from the center.

For my deployment I have a General and angled flying Beast Cavalry on my far left. These were my final two drops. We then have Pikes supported by the Bane-Chant ASB, as I was intending to push pretty hard on the left. My center was deployed back a bit, to try and shoot as long as possible, with three Ballistae and the Crossbowmen. The Healing ASB was nearby. Pikes were nearby, ready to support, and the central General was on the line projecting threat. The right had angled Pikes ready to run ahead and instigate, and then we had a Wizard on the line, flying Beast Cavalry on the line, the second Wizard a fair bit back, and the third flying General is back slightly. 

View from the right.

Overall I am ok with my deployment. I achieved the gist of my set-up goals, but there is definitely room for a lot of improvement. Shooting lanes could be a little tighter, for example.

Scouting moves from the Halflings.

My opponent had scout moves, and aggressively scouted the Poachers up. I was a bit surprised by this, as usually his scout moves are small adjustment… but then again all my own shooting is pretty far back, and he needs to scout pretty far up for possible Round 1 shots. Additionally, they are in terrain, with Stealthy and Spellward, so will be hard to shoot, and even if I commit to melee, he then still has a lot around to protect them, so these aggressive moves all makes sense. My opponent then won the roll for turn order, and indeed went first to ramp up the pressure.

Top of Round 1: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Rally, getting Rally 2.

Out on the left, the Grenadiers nimbly back up and pivot, zoning out any aggressive landing zones over here. One of the Juggers nimbly relocates over to the left as well, while hiding behind the building.

Zone out on the left.

The Iron Beast steams ahead slowly since it needs to pivot, and it plugs the gap between the building and the forest, with the Harvester pulling in behind. A Stalwart troop similarly moves up to occupy the space between the two forests.

The Poachers scouted up far enough to see and shoot, and they loose their bows. The one on my left looses into a Ballista, scoring a concerning 6 damage and waver the war machine. The other looses at my central flying General, but none of the shots piece the armor. The Engineer also sights down the flying General, but lands no hits.

All the luck goes into the shots of one Poacher unit.

The Heroic Stalwart horde inches up. They are hiding behind the woods to prevent early shots into them, and are back far enough to see and protect the nearby Poachers.

Wary Juggers over on the right.

The nearby Harvester hangs back, along with the Muster Captain, and both are safe from any early flying Charges. The Muster Captain though uses the Boomstick to put a wound onto the Beast Cavalry horde. The other Stalwart Troop bravely moves up, ready to take a hit if I am so daring.

On the right, both units of Juggers safely advance, and the Grenadiers hide behind the cavalry on the far right, hidden and safe from any shooting.

Bottom of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

With the list, I really need my shooting to contribute, and I want to play conservatively with my fliers, especially my flying hordes, and give my shooting time to soften things up. The overall hope is to pick off some of the Stalwart troops or Grenadiers at range, so the fliers can fight with a little more freedom the later the game goes.

The Kingdoms of Men play the game of inches.

I have no charges out on the right, but do have the longer charge range not matter what. My opponent stayed a little more than 20 inches away, and I move forward slowly with the flying Beasts, Wizard, and General, ending just under 20 inches away from the Halfling line. Importantly, I am just over 19 inches away from the Juggers, so even with a maximal Wild Charge, they will not have any charges next turn while they are themselves are under threat. 

The Shield Wall regiment moves up, hoping to gain some early ground and then eventually play for either of the zones on the right. The Pikes here started angled, and so much up a good ways, looking to get in the way of things. Striding charges don’t matter to the Pikes given their Ensnare and Phalanx, so if I can use them well we can hopefully limit the effectiveness of the Juggers a bit and then counterpunch.

In the center-right, Pikes move up to protect the General, securing the obstacle, and the forward position is further reinforced by a flying Wizard, who will hide behind the building and throw lightning. On his turn my opponent will question the positioning of the Pikes, as they more than half in-front of the obstacle. If I am back say, 1/8 of an inch, the obstacle is protecting them more and giving them cover, which is not something I had considered. Minor, but appreciated!

The shooters ... try.

I can’t see the Grenadiers out here, so the Wizard out here throws lightning into the Stalwart troop by the building, hoping to soften them up instead. The troop unfortunately has Spellward, and while a few Ballista shots also hit, they are only brought to 3 damage and are fine.

The Crossbowmen have shots... into stealthy Poachers who are in the woods. That is not ideal, so they take a single shooting penalty to move up slightly and fire at the other Stalwart troop. Luck is with them, and they land a few damage. The nearest Wizard also throws Lightning into the unit, and slips a hit or two past Spellward, and these Stalwards are brought to 5 damage, but are also fine when it is time to test.

Pressure on the left.

On the left, the story is much the same. Pikes start moving up swiftly to instigate, and are just able to get into charge range against the Poachers, which is lucky for me. They are supported by the ASB with Bane Chant.

The Beast Cavalry and General out here move up, staying out of maximum charge range of the pesky Grenadiers, as well as the Iron Beast.

Top of Round 2: Halflings

With long long charges to reach for, the Sauceror goes for Rally, getting Rally 2 again.    

Wary of the Grenadiers, my flying General didn't move too far ahead, but pivoted pretty hard. My opponent doesn't mention this, but this does turn out to be a bit on an error. It's super-close, but with the pivot, the Juggers are just barely able to skirt out of arc of the flying Captain. However, they aren't quick enough to threaten charges next turn. The Grenadiers reposition again, getting behind the obstacle to get cover and force hindered charges.

Nimble heavy cavalry are hard to contain.

The Iron Beast inches up, allowing the Harvester to see around it to support as needed. The Poachers hold, shooting into another Ballista again and landing another 6 damage. The injured Stalwarts back up, allowing the Engineer to step up and shoot, and will contribute 1 against the machine damaged last turn, taking this one to 7 damage and both damaged war machines will break this turn after two rounds of hot counter-fire.

Lots of effective shots from the Halflings this turn.

The Stalwart horde remains behind the woods, babysat by the Sauceror. A Harvester sputters forward and the Strider Captain shoots into the Beast Cavalry again, but misses this time. 

The Juggers retreat to safety, waiting for the men to commit.

The injured Stalwart troops runs out, ready to interdict, and the troop is threatening to charge in and tie up the Pikes next round. Under threat, the Juggers back up, with the Grenadiers backing up as well to make room.

Bottom of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

On the right, the Pikes get in the way, moving up, and then pivoting. The Beast Cavalry pull in behind, but keep their right flank even with the Pikes to prevent charges reaching them. The building prevents the Stalwarts slipping past, and the Beast Cavalry are pretty well protected out here.

Good pressure on the right still.

Still wary of giving the Juggers something to charge on the right the Wizard holds, zapping the interdicting Stalwart troop for 2 and taking them to 5, and the remaining Ballista shoots at them as well, but misses, though I still get a lucky rout against them. 

Shooting claims both Stalwart troops.

Centrally, the Pikes leave the obstacle, getting ahead of the flying General to protect him from the nearby Harvester. The ASB hops up as well but has nothing to heal. The General flaps up a bit, out of charge range of the Poachers and threatening to move out towards the left. 

The Wizard is nearby, and lands 1 against the Stalwart troop on the left. With the Stalwarts backing up, the Crossbowmen again don't have good shooting options. Rather than move and shoot again, I hold shoot into the Poachers with multiple penalties, and do manage to slip two damage in.

Pressure on the left.

The Pikes make a hindered charge into the Poachers, and will land 3 damage against them, getting the disorder. The Iron Beast can't help, and the Stalwarts are in their front arc, and will also be routed this turn by shooting, so the Pikes are pretty safe. 

The Beast Cavalry sidesteps to get out of range of the Iron Beast. The unit is unfortunately not Nimble, so cannot pivot. The General is safe from the Juggers, and so turns to face them, and threaten them.

Top of Round 3: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Wild Charge, and gets 2 successes.

The Juggers are threatened, but I forget to double-check the positioning of the General relative to the Grenadiers, and the halflings can indeed ignite their jetbacks and get in against my flier, with the nimble Juggers moving into a very threatening position from the far left, and are even able to stay out of arc of the Beast Cavalry. Amazingly though, the Grenadiers land no damage against the General's armor, and he at least is unrestrained next turn.

The Halflings apply pressure.

The Iron Beast moves ahead, and shoots at the Beast cavalry, but no damage connects here either.

The Poachers countercharge the Pikes, with the Harvester joining in with a hindered charge from behind the Iron Beast. Ensnare works wonders with chilly dice, and we're kept to just one damage apiece, and the Pikes do hold on strong.

The Sauceror moves to bring the aura to the Poachers, who are just able to get in against the central flying General with the extra inches, and they will land 2 damage and ground him.

Several multi-charges from the Halflings. Fortunately, they are into Pike regiments.

Other Juggers make a long charge into the Pikes, and they are joined by the other Harvester. The units are Ensnared too, but contribute 4 damage each, and the Pikes will be wavering here.

The Strider Captain makes it in.

The aura also lets the Muster Captain get in against the Beast Cavalry, and he'll land 2 damage against them achieving the disorder and the grounding.

Bottom of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

I'm feeling behind already, but have had a few things bounce my way so far.

The grounded Beast Cavalry fight the Muster Captain, land 7 damage, and will waver him, which feels good, but isn't great as he is an individual and just so mobile.

The Pikes move up and pivot, to protect the General as he tries to hop up to threaten the center. The Pikes are out in front, and with the angles, even the Nimble Juggers cannot get in to hit the front of the  Beast Cavalry or the flank of the General where they would need to be for a proper charge, so their charging options are thankfully limited.

Positioning on the right.

The Wizard should be just out of charge range of the Grenadiers, and tries a Lightning Bolt against them landing a nice 2 damage, but the Grenadiers are a tricky unit with fine stats good Nerve and an oft-forgotten US2. They hold, unbothered.

Charges in the center.

Centrally, the ASB moves up and then lands a Heal 2 into the Pikes, bringing them down to 6. His positioning prevents the Pikes from sliding down as they countercharge the Juggers, aiming to disorder them. The Pikes will land a singular damage, which then gets Iron-Resolved off.

The grounded General counter-charges the Poachers, and the Crossbowmen join in with a charge to help  instead of shooting this turn. The Poachers are brought from 2 to 9, but hold on, and aren't even wavered.

Charges from the Kingdoms of Men fliers.

On the left, the Pikes counter-charge the weaker Poachers, and they poke the unit enough to make it flee. We talk through some reforms and I end up turning to face the Harvester and Iron Beast. The Harvester can see both the Beast Cavalry and the Pikes, but cannot align to either.

The Beast Cavalry are threatened by the Juggers, but with the General on Winged Beast not being grounded, he is able to get in against them to hold them up. The Beast Cavalry then has some options to instigate.

I have a flank charge into the Harvester, but it will be hindered. I'm not confident in those odds, but running the math, even without Bane Chant the expected damage should be 12, which should be enough, and was probably the better play here. Instead, I buff the Beast Cavalry with the Bane Chant and try to accrue damage on the Iron Beast, and will land 8 damage onto the contraption.

Top of Round 4: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Wild Charge with a few successes.

The Juggers disengage and withdraw, and make a nimble flank charge into the Beast Cavalry, joined in with a countercharge from the Iron Beast. The Beast Cavalry are brought to 10 damage and wavered.

The Beast Cavalry get walloped.

Free to threaten things now, the Grenadiers about-face to see the rear of the Beast Cavalry. 

The Harvester could just spy the BC ASB, and will make a hindered charge out into him. The contraption only lands 5 damage, but the Nerve checks are good, and the Harvester will mow the ASB down and overrun.

I don't remember the successes on Wild Charge, but it is just enough for the Heroic Halfling horde to make a hindered rear-charge into the Pikes. This possibility was brought up after I had passed turn. While arguably an error, I opted to accept it and see how the dice were for his auras, and lost out. The rear charge lands 12 damage, and the Pikes will be routed, and the Stalwarts will reform.

The Halflings start to break through.

Centrally, the Poachers will counter-charge the Crossbowmen and slide down. They'll deal 3 damage, but the horde will hold. 

The Harvester and Juggers will again charge the Pikes, land a comparable amount of damage again this turn, and emerge victorious. The Juggers overrun the full 6" and will escape the sight of the flying General on the right. The Harvester is stuck up a bit, but also safe, thanks to the building.

Writing the report though, the ASB with Heal was just an inch or so back from the fight, and should have stopped the overrun of the Juggers. I must have snagged the big flag when removing my unit, as the pictures have him very from from his last positioning. Dang.

The Juggers are slippery as ever.

Out on the right, the wavering Muster Captain disengages and backs up, allowing the Grenadiers to fly out and hit the Beast Cavalry, and they will land a few damage and disorder them. The Juggers apparently aren't as penned in as I thought, and while they will be stopped by the table edge, they are just able to get out of arc of my Pikes, and out of range of the Shield Wall.

Bottom of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

On the right, I do not want the Juggers getting in a charge against the Shield Wall, as they are likely to break, and so I am in a bit of a predicament here. The Pikes pivot a bit, and a Wizard hops up to sacrifice himself, offering up a flank charge to the Juggers. The Wizard attempts a Lightning Bolt into the injured Muster Captain, but the spell fails to connect due to Spellward.

Struggling on the right to contain the Juggers.

The Shield Wall meander about while the Beast Cavalry counter-charge the Grenadiers, best them, and then reform to face the center of the field and the Juggers breaking through there. 

With no charges this turn do my ASB snag, the flying General from the right just lazily flies ahead to threaten the center, as this seems more impactful that leaving him to fight the Juggers way over on the right as well.

Lots of Halfings pouring through the center.

Threatened but not grounded, the central flying General hops the line to get behind the Stalwart horde, and a flying Wizard does the same. 

The Crossbowmen fight back against the Poachers, will land a few damage, and will pick the Uninspired unit up. They are facing down two Harvesters and a horde of Stalwarts, and no matter what I do, at least two things are going to hit me. I choose to reposition, as I'd need a 4" on the overrun to get out of arc of the nearest Harvester, which is in my flank. The Crossbowmen are outnumbered here and will unfortunately just need to take it on the chin.

The Beast Cavalry struggle.

Out on the left, the fling Beast Cavalry are maimed and their time is numbered. They are wavering already, and I pop the Indomitable Will to try and do something on the way out. The options for the Iron Beast are limited, so I opt to counter-charge the Juggers and disorder them, but they flub hard, landing just 5 damage, which gets Iron-Resolved down to just 4. The General out here positions out of arc of the Grenadiers, and we'll see what can be done as the game concludes.

Top of Round 5: Halflings

The Saucerer Goes for Lifeleech, and gets Lifeleech 3.

The Engineer took some early damage, but has used his Radiance of Life to get down to 0 damage over the last turns. He gets in close, to bring the minor heal to the Iron Beast, and it and the Juggers aralez-pile the Beast Cavalry, devastating and routing them, with the Juggers Lifeleech down to just 1, and the Iron-Beast getting down to just 4.

Reforms and positioning for the Halflings.

In victory, the Juggers spin about, and the Iron Beast holds. For once, my opponent doesn't have the best reforms available and the flying Generals have some difficult choices to make next turn!

Reforms in the center for the Halflings.

The center is rough. A Harvester and the Stalwart Horde does into the Crossbowmen, and the other Harvester can spy a sliver of the ASB's base, and will charge him first, intending to overrun. The sliver stuff drives me bananas, but it is what it is. My opponent gets forgetful though, and starts rolling the Crossbowmen combat first. They still end at 17 damage, and even inspired, will break. The Harvester then breaks the Healing ASB as well. It's a small consolation, but reforms here are also a little difficult for my opponent, as the flying General and Beast Cavalry have a long reach. All three feel the need to reform to face the fliers.

The Juggers that broke through the center Nimble get around, out of arc of the flying General, and into my backfield.

The Muster Captain charges in to disorder the flying Beast Cavalry on the right again, and goes hard, landing 4 damage off 5 attacks, indeed grounding them and stripping them of Thunderous Charge.

Movement on the right.

On the right, the Juggers thump the Wizard with a clean charge, devastating and routing him, and then overrunning the full 6" to definitively escape the Pikes. This late in the game I was gambling a bit here, trying not to overcommit the Pikes to chasing down the Juggers, since they could maybe run out and play for the back-right zone, or do that after fighting them. The Juggers slip away though.

Bottom of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

On the right, I measure, and it turns out that the Pikes are already holding the away zone on the right side, so they just turn to threaten things, and present their front to try and dissuade late-game charges.

The Beast Cavalry choke.

The long overrun of the Juggers actually overextends them a bit, and the Shield Wall are able to get a flank charge into the cavalry unit. They'll land the expected 4 damage, but the Juggers hold, and still have a rear-charge into the Beast Cavalry next turn.

The Beast Cavalry are disordered, but charge away from the Muster Captain and into the breakthrough Juggers, and will miserably underperform, landing just 3 damage, which will be Iron-Resolved down to 2 damage at the and of the phase. Yes they are disordered, as is the other Jugger unit, but the Beast Cavalry is half-dead at this point, and this is not going to end well. These units seem to be a big focal point, and will exist on a timer in most games, and I have not gotten enough out of either of them in their proxied debut here.

Charges and positioning for the trio of flying Generals.

On the left, I have choices. I am very tempted for a greedy play of separate charges, one a flank into the Iron Beast and the other a rear into the Juggers, but with the Iron Beast healing so much last turn, I don't think I am likely to best both units. I go for the double into the Iron Beast as it seems like the safest charge. The Generals overperform, landing 14 new damage, and will rout the titanic contraption and then they reform, trying to threaten zones to hopefully pick up some units if the Halflings try to run.

Reforms for the Kingdoms of Men.

And instead of futilely solo-charging anything in the center, the third flying general from the right just hops the Halfling line, also looking to zone things out.

The Grenadiers will be even stronger at contesting zones in the late game, as they have US2, so I throw what I can into them. The do not have Spellward, and the Wizard goes 3/3 with Lightning Bolt, and the remaining Ballista connects as well, landing an additional 3 damage, and the Nerve check finds the Grenadiers wavering!

Top of Round 6: Halflings

We have maybe 10 minutes before the shop was scheduled to close, and since we needed to clean up and pack up and stuff, we decided to just end it after Round 6. The pressure is on!

The Heroes try to make themselves scarce. The Engineer does take shots at something, but I believe misses entirely. While he normally hits on 3's, his damage output just doesn't feel there very often, though that often feels like the case with low-attack characters.

The Juggers on the left abscond into my left zone, and the wavering Grenadiers simply hold. Both are scoring my left zone, as it turns out.

The Juggers flee to safety with a long, nimble march.

In the center, one Harvester gets across the dividing line to reclaim my opponent's center zone, and the Stalwart Horde and the other Harvester hold only my center zone.

The Halflings move to control the center.

Out on the right, the Juggers are both disordered, but will sandwich my Beast Cavalry, and devastate and rout me through weight of attacks. The Muster Captain charges in to hold up my Shield Wall though, just in case.

More charges from the Halflings.

Going into the Bottom of Round 6, the Halflings control my left, both center zones, and my right, for a total of 5 VP.

Bottom of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

On the right, the Pikes are holding my opponent's right zone. The Shield Wall struggle against the Muster Captain, but cannot move him, and the Halflings will continue to hold this zone.

The Kingdoms of Men hold.

In the center, two Generals fly out to take my opponent's center. The third stays put as the shop is closing up and we agree to end it after Round 6.

Two fliers beat out the Harvester in my opponent's center zone.

On the left, the Wizard flies over to contest my opponent's left zone, which is empty. I should be zapping and shooting the Grenadiers again, but don't think I do as we 

Speedy fliers really help out the Kindgoms of Men.

As-agreed, we end it at the end of Round 6, and the Halflings control my side of the board for 4 VP, and the humans control my opponent's side of the board for 4 VP as well. We've essentially just swapped sides, and it's a darn tie!

Game Conclusions

Well, you can't get closer than a tie! While there was still a skill and "taking things seriously" gap between us (both in Rob's favor, I should add!), I had enough bounce my way for a very close and contentious game.

My list was speedy, and in the wheelhouse of an alpha-strike style list, but we agreed afterwards that it was wise not to simply charge things out at the first opportunity, as the Halflings were very good at setting traps for bad trades. Holding back the flying Beast Cavalry for a few turns got a little more out of my shooting (removed the instigating Stalwart troops at least), and it made the Halflings work for the engagement. Eventually I made some small errors like on the left with the General vs the Grenadiers, or got close enough that a good Wild Charge roll would let them get in against me. The Halflings are still very tough to engage, but I had the right idea, and did a good job with the positioning of my Pikes to keep them at bay for as long as I did.

Testing Conclusions

• Shield Wall with Orb of Towering Presence. Alas, they were not used cleverly enough, and could not overcome two Jugger regiments at the end of the game. Not a must-have or anything, but a neat pick given the circumstances.
• Pike Regiments. Thankfully, the gamble of not taking Indomitable Will paid off, and these did not get wavered by errant chip damage. They also did great work in the early game hopping up to instigate without exposing the Beast Cavalry. I had a few positioning errors creep in as the game progressed, but overall I'd say these were used well.
• Crossbowmen. These were not used well. Deployment was just ok, and they were deployed early, so my opponent was able to hamper their effectiveness 
• Proxied Beast Cavalry. I should note that I completely forgot about Vicious, so they should have done a little better in all of their respective combats, though they were still not used particularly well in the larger picture. While it's harder to threaten flanks without Nimble, I still think it best practice to deploy them on the wings and at least try. I don't like the design of the unit though. Not all are Nimble, but there are a lot of Def5 Speed 10 fliers in the game, and I think there is a lot of design space to explore here. I would like to see slower flying hammers, or speedy with lower defense, just to mix things up more. 
• Triple Ballistae. Deploying central seemed like a good call here, but again deployment was just ok, with some shooting lane concerns. My opponent rolled well early on to limit their impact  on the game, but they were still able to contribute a bit throughout. This is still my preferred war machine currently, as it is just so darn cheap.
• ASB’s with Heal and BC. I'm still struggling a bit with the ASBs and their positioning, since the auras are so small. I still don't like the conditional Lifeleech, though I did finally get to use it heal up some Pikes a little, though it did not extend their life at all. 
• Flying Wizards with Lightning Bolts. Soft-countered by abundant Spellward, they weren't going to be as impactful. They were able to still chip away and contribute a bit though, so the spell wasn't a total waste. The strength of the unit is still just being a flying, scoring unit though, and this game showed again here just how impactful that can be, especially in the late game.
• Flying Generals. As mentioned throughout the blog, the more fliers you take, the better they all tend to do, and oddly enough, all three survived the game, which is quite unusual for me, as usually something get staggered or sacrificed throughout the game. I was trying to preserve them and use them more to threaten than solo-charge though, so I guess that all worked out in their favor this time!

I don't really like stressing about quarter inches, or the visibility of a sliver of a base, but this string of preparatory games was good for me. My performance improved a bit with each "serious" game, even though I was never quite able to seal the deal and secure a win. I'm not the one going to Masters though! I am fine with how these all went, and am wishing Rob the very best at US Masters!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #133 Kingdoms of Men vs Abyssal Dwarfs in Pillage

Intro and Lists

We recently had a July meetup for Kings of War Wisconsin. It was a great time, and I even got two games in! The first game was a league game against Will and his Abyssal Dwarfs. He had the following:

Will’s been really leaning into Immortal Guard recently, and I gotta say I understand the appeal! They are a tough nut to crack for an infantry regiment, and the Infernal Wardens granting CS makes them a phenomenal all-rounder unit, similar to the Varangur Tribesmen that I had been enjoying myself earlier in the league. I really like the list overall. Immortals and Lesser Obsidian Golems will be hard to shift, and the latter is supported well by the Iron Caster. He’s got Gargoyles and Mastiffs to screen, sacrifice, and play the scenario, and he was even able to fit in some of his pet units like his custom Dragon Fire-Team, Ironmonger Infernox and Taskmaster on Chariot. It’s a nice, strong, focused list designed to grind things out, and I really dig it.

I brought the Kingdoms of Men for this meetup. While their actual attendance has been sparse, we still have a few newcomers orbiting, so I've been trying to keep the league lists pretty casual and/or experimental. Here I wanted to play some more with Chariots, and brought two regiments, and aimed to play a shooting and positional game. Up to test and comment on is everything:

• Pikes with Indomitable Will. Pike regiments can be great takes and really shine in the right circumstances, like against monsters with 4+ to hit, or against cavalry, or things with Thunderous Charge, but can suffer against shooting with their overall middling stats. I've really liked my regiments overall though, and they can get a lot of mileage out of Indomitable Will, which I think should be taken whenever you can find the points. I had the points, so I took them here, and we'll see what they end up fighting.
• Crossbowmen horde. I like my horde, and wanted to get more experience with them, with eyes to good deployment, with good shooting lanes and minimal moves. 
• Charioteers regiment. Chariots are a very weird unit type, and seem to get outshined by pure cavalry options, but the weirdness intrigues me, so I want to explore them more. I donked up a Chariot footprint in a recent game, and realized that my understanding of the unit sizes was completely wrong, so wanted to try to double-down and run them some more in the coming months and adjust my thinking and get a feel for how they work at each unit size. 
• Army Standard Bearer with Heal. An ASB with the Lute, for Bane Chant, has been a must-take for my humans for a long time. Things need to be inspired and the item lets unit punch above their weight a bit. With no real hammers here though, I wanted to try out Heal instead. The hope is that the Lifeleech 2 Aura + Heal could make for some very sticky Pikes, so we'll see if we can make that happen.
• Generals on Winged Beasts. The League games are up to regular-sized boards, so I wanted to take advantage of that a bit and take double-Generals. This could be mean to a new player, but I think the rest of the list is soft enough that things should be ok.
• Wizards on Pegasi with Wind Blast. After a strong showing last game, I wanted to take the wizards again, but experiment a bit, since this was a league game. I decided to give Wind Blast a shot here, hoping for some interplay between my shooting and flying Generals. 

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer’s Realm in New Berlin, WI,  and if you find yourself in the area, you should check them out. As mentioned in other reports, they moved into a new shop at the start of the year, one which is far larger than their old place. It’s a bit of a labyrinth, with separate rooms for board games, card games, war games, role playing games, in addition to being a normal shop selling all those products, plus hobbying supplies, and all sorts of things. They also have a (very dangerous) second-hand room, and now a bidding room, with new items monthly. All this to say, we were there, and making use of their tables, mats, and terrain for our meet-up.

Overview of the table.

We got Pillage for our scenario, and rolled up all 7 objectives markers. I won the roll for distributing first, though I don’t remember who placed what token. I do remember my opponent placed one dead-center on the table, and that I placing both the central ones near the obstacles, since I wanted to make sure my Crossbowmen had something to camp. 

View from the left, with the heavy Abyssal Dwarf line.

For deployment, my opponent mainly castled. The three Immortal regiments ended up in the corner, along with the Ironmonger Infernox behind the central unit. This was a league game, with the central unit being veterans who had gained an unconditional Rally 1 through their previous valorous actions, turning all the Infernals into Fearless 18 bricks. This promotion is marked by a card with an erroneous "Fire Oil" written on it, but that's the story. Hiding behind the hill were the Lesser Obsidian Golems, with Gargoyles and the Taskmaster in reserve. On the far right flank were the Mastiffs and Flame Dragon Fire team, the only units not castling in the corner.

The center of the field

My opponent has his army all in one box. When pulling units out for the game, he grabbed the Infernok titan as well on accident, confusing it with the Ironmonger Infernox. We’ll catch this in Round 1, and let him adjust things so he doesn’t have a big hole in his line, but it starts the game on the field with the Abyssal Dwarf line looking extra scary.

The right of the battlefield.

For the Kingdoms of Men, From the left we have a flying General, angled Chariots, and flying Wizard on the left. With Chariots and some reserve Pikes on the other side of the building, a bit back. The Wizard and Crossbowmen were deployed centrally, with Pikes on the right ready to inderdict, and supported by the healing ASB. On the right I had more Pikes and the second flying General, though up against the wall and having wings, he is actually the spare black base.

I do not like my deployment overall. I wanted clean lanes for my Chariots and got them, but my first drop was the Crossbowmen with Fire Oil. The goal was to threaten the midfield, but this scared the Immortals away, and I now had an intervening obstacle to contend with for shots. The bright spots for me are that I have Generals on the both wings to threaten angles, and that there are not many objectives in the corner my opponent really committed on.

My opponent won the roll for turn order, and being mostly Speed 4, took first turn to start trudging out.

Top of Round 1: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Abyssal Dwarfs move out, but are slowed by terrain. The Immortals begin the game with good habits, and all keep the line and tight enough to prevent any Generals from aligning to flanks as they all make their way up the field.

A slow, inexorable advance.

The non-existent Infernok keeps pace, and the Lesser Obsidian Golems take the hill, with the Gargoyles and Taskmaster repositioning behind the hill.

The Mastiffs position to protect the Dragon Fire-Team.

Out on the right, the Mastiffs maneuver, allowing the Dragon Fire-Team to stage using the building for cover. Nothing is in range for shooting, and so it’s a quick round.

Bottom of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

On the right, I realize that I need to be decisive and quick and decisive, as the longer the weapons-team can fire the worse it will be for my Def4 units. I will take some damage, but I think I should be able to quickly bully these two units, and can probably even heal through it if I can get the ASB over.

So the Pikes advance at the double, and the flying General slips in behind. The General should even be safe from the Fire-Team. The Def4 on the Pikes isn’t great against the shooting, but with Indomitable Will I think I can face-tank these and still come out on top.

Pressure on the right.

The ASB moves around, hoping to heal and support the Pike push on the right. He hangs back here instead of running into the woods, as I don't want to take a Throwing Mastiff to the face. Yes I am Inspiring and all that good stuff, but I just don't want to risk it.

The slightly more central Pikes near the Crossbowmen move up, aiming to zone out the Taskmaster on Chariot and eventually grab the token in the opposing deployment zone be the end of the game.

Trying to figure out what to do, on the left and center, we realize the Infernok goof. I magically routs, and the Kingdoms of Men improbably draw first blood! I’ve got some very speedy stuff, so to compensate, we let the Golems adjust to keep his line tight.

The Infernok falls! And the Crossbowmen are forced to move.

The Crossbowmen dominate the empty field… but have no shots. They have no shots, so move and pivot, still claiming the token back here. With a movement penalty, they can shoot into the Lesser Golems, but get no hits.

The Dwarfs are slow, so the central Wizard tries to Wind blast the Golems, and pushes them two inches, but the unit is stopped by the Iron Caster after about an inch and a half. Still, the spell is about sending a message...

The central Chariots move up, projecting a lot of threat, and the Pikes lock in behind them, able to see around. Stacking so hard can be bad, but with no threatening charges, and minimal shooting, I am ok with the risk here.

Positioning on the left.

On the left, I am wary of triple Throwing Mastiffs, so keep out of throwing range with everything.

Again, wings prove to be an issue, and the Wizard is represented by the blank base, with the real deal nearby. He Wind Blasts an Immortal Guard unit back two inches, while the General and Chariot project threat.

Top of Round 2: Abyssal Dwarfs

On the left, the Immortals push out. The hill has a significant taper, so we’re playing the base of the hill as being “on the hill”, so while precariously perched, the Immortals on the left use Ordered March to indeed get on it, and threating a strong charge off of it now. 

The Immortals use Ordered March to move up threateningly.

Still slowed by the terrain, delayed by Wind Blast, and wary of flank charges, the other two units of Immortals continue to trudge through the forest trying to keep a tight line. If memory serves while the Golems are not part of the line, the Immortals are just out of range for the Chariots, so there is no flank charge opportunity for me against them.

The Iron Caster slots in behind the Golems to prevent more blowback, and the Taskmaster and Gargoyles reposition again behind the hill. 

Shooting and a waver on the right.

On the right, the my opponent plays with inches. The Dragon Team gets within 14 inches to shoot, and the Mastiffs back up to stay 11 inches away from the Pikes to throw their Mastiff, resulting in 6 damage to the Pikes and a waver. 

Bottom of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

The Waver is rough, but I have Indomitable Will, and pop it so I can gain more ground. The Pikes  have no charges, but still advance, and since the General cannot fit in against the war machine, he charges the Mastiffs, who take 4 damage and are found to be wavering.

Not as quick or decisive as I was hoping for.

The ASB enters the woods, but I forget to cast Heal on the Pikes. I’m really not used to having multiple ASBs and something other than Bane Chant to do with them!

The other nearby Pikes continue a slow push towards the objective in the opposing deployment zone.

More interdicting Pikes.

The Crossbowmen hold, and loose into the Lesser Obsidian Golems, their only target, landing a surprise 4 damage. The flying Wizard repositions, and Wind Blasts them 4 inches sideways. 

The Pikes hop ahead to interdict and threaten and the Chariots move in behind. They’ll shoot into the nearest Immortals and land 1 damage.

On the left, I am not going to prevail against all this armor, so my only hope is to delay and play the scenario. Fortunately, there are only three tokens out here, so if I can keep the Abyssal Dwarfs contained, I do have a decent shot at winning. 

A tactical retreat on the left.

So, I back up. The Wizard backs up, nimbly pivots, and then continues backwards, safe from throwing Mastiffs. He’ll attempt to push the threatening Immortals on the hill away, but 2 inches is not enough to get them off the hill in any sense. They are still majority on it, and can definitely still see off of it.

The Chariots and General back up, with he Chariots shooting and landing another 1 damage into the same Immortal unit, bringing it to 2 damage total. I think the General is safe from Mastiffs. If memory serves, only the Immortal unit on the hill has a potential toss, into the Chariots.

Top of Round 3: Abyssal Dwarfs

We’re both a little rougher for wear today, and I fail to produce any usable pictures for this turn.

On the left, the Immortals will consider the angles, and present a strong line while keeping things in front-arc. The Golems move up and pivot, getting their corner even with the Immortal line, and preventing the infantry from a flank charge from the central human chariots.

Centrally, a throwing Mastiff and shots from the Golems thump into the Pikes, bringing them to 7 damage, but they hold. The Golems get Healed for 2 from the Surge Caster

On the right, the wavering Mastiffs hold. The Dragon Fire-Team shoots into the flying General, lands 3 damage, and… gets a hot 11 on the check to waver him.

Bottom of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

The General still can’t take Indomitable Will. However, he was wavered at range, so he can back up and nimble pivot to get out of the way. I pull towards the center, but should have flipped it and backed up towards the right instead. I also didn’t need to move as far as I did. Small errors.

The Pikes charge in, land 7 damage against the mutated Mastiffs, and will pick the unit up and reform to face the Dragon Fire-Team. The ASB enters the woods, and lands a Heal 2 into the Pikes, bringing them back down to 4 damage.

The General retreats to recover, but positions very poorly for a flier.

The other Pikes continue on towards the token in the opposing deployment zone, supported by the Wizard. The Crossbowmen don’t have shots, but move up to shoot with a movement penalty into the Taskmaster, landing 2 damage before the Wizard Wind Blast him away again. I believe we also get a lucky waver here, so there's that.

A delaying charge in the center.

I melt my brain, doing a lot of measuring. It can charge the remaining Pikes into either the Immortals or the Lesser Golems, with the Chariots multi-charging the remaining unit. I don’t think I will budge either, so charge the Pikes into the Golems to disorder and delay them, though I do not recall if any damage actually connects.

The central chariots reposition to loose into the nearest Immortal unit again, and the other Chariots back off and do the same. I think a few damage slips in, but between Heal and Regeneration I am had trouble tracking my progress.

More retreating on the left.

On the left, the Wizard backs up again slightly, and tries to Wind Blast a unit of Immortals, I think the ones on the hill, but the spell fails to connect.

On the far left, after some consideration, the flying General nimbly pivots, moves 10 and pivots again. He’s my only source of Inspiring out here, but things should hold against just two throwing Mastiffs, so he’s trying to force angles instead of just looking pretty. 

End of the round positioning.

My shooting isn’t working out well, but I just don’t think I have the oomph to break any of the opposing units this turn either. He’s still only really playing for 3 objectives, so containment is still the plan for me for now.

Top of Round 4: Abyssal Dwarfs

Another unit of Immortals takes the hill, and a throwing Mastiff goes into the flying General out here, landing a surprising 5 damage. The two Immortals on the hill keep it tight and even, and the third unit pivots, to get its leader point even with the line, preventing a flank from the central Chariots into the Rallying regiment in the center.

The Pikes miraculously waver, and remain on the field.

Ensnare pays dividends, and some bad dice limit the Golems to just 3 new damage in melee, and the Pikes waver, but remain on the field. 

The Immortals regenerate again, and the Golems pop their Healing Brew, and I believe both units end the turn on 0 damage.

The Ironmonger Infernok faces the table edge, looking to zone out my flying General.

The Dragon Fire-Team prevails against the Pikes.

The Gargoyles get their leader point into the woods, looking to help, and the presumably wavering Taskmaster just backs up, using the hill to hide from my Crossbowmen.

On the right, the Dragon Fire-Team backs up, moving similarly to my General’s retreating move. They roll hot, and incinerates the Pikes with double-digits of damage and good Nerve checks too. 

Bottom of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

I donked up my positioning with the General here. Had I backed up towards the edge of the field, this would be better. Had the Pikes held, he could fly away more easily. With them falling, he's in an awkward spot. Fortunately, my General can still just get line of sight to the Fire-Team, and will charge in and pick them up.

The General is victorious out here.

The ASB heals the General down from 3 to 1 damage.

The Pikes make it to the objective in the opposing deployment zone, and the Wizard flies nearby, pushing the Taskmaster on Chariot back. 

With melees, the Crossbowmen don’t have shots, so back up to reclaim the objective in my deployment zone.

The wavering Pikes pop Indomitable Will to again fight the Golems, though again don’t land any damage. 

The big charge worked! One regiment of Immortals down.

It’s do or die time, and with the Pikes holding, I multi-charge the Immortal regiment after doing some measuring. One had pivoted to face the chariots and protect the flank of the central, rallying regiment, but in so doing, my tall General can spy them, and get into their flank, with both Chariot Regiments hitting the front of the unit. The Chariots average out to contribute 8 together from the front, and the General flubs with just 5, but we are still able to pick the unit up, though I think we needed Brutal from the Chariots to do so. The General reforms to face the flank of the central Immortal Guard, and the Chariots hold, as they are relatively safe where they are. 

They are safe because the Wizard is able to Wind Blast the Immortals on the far left, pushing them sideways 2 inches, and getting the Chariots out of arc where they would be after charging, so there is that, and only one unit of Immortals can fight them next turn.

Top of Round 5: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Immortals on the left pivot and move to face the flank of the nearest Chariots while still controlling the nearby token. The Rallying regiment charges the unit, landing 6 damage and disordering them, though they hold.

The General is felled.

The Gargoyles make a flank charge into the General, and overperform, clawing 5 damage on him to bring him to 10, and then spike the Nerve check to see him off the field.

It’s close quarters, but the Ironmonger should be able to just spot the Chariots through the flapping wings of the Gargoyles, and will shot with a cover penalty and land 1 damage against them.

The Kingdoms of Men control the right half of the board.

The Taskmaster on Chariot turns and runs. Charging Pikes is not wise, so maybe he can hide and grab a token before the game ends.

The Golems are quite angry, and will pick up the Pikes this turn, and then overrun strongly, which boxes in the Chariots.

Bottom of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

I am struggling immensely to do damage, let alone have it stick, but the positional game is going ok for me, as the majority of the opposing force has been contained and is only holding two tokens currently.

The disordered Chariots countercharge, hitting the normal number of times, but without Thunderous Charge, fail to damage the Immortals.

The Chariots try to keep to the plan and delay things.

The unbothered Chariots can’t help here as they don’t have the space to spin due to the overrun of the Golems. Charging is better, but they can’t squeeze past to fight the Gargoyes, and aren’t likely to shift the Golems, who are on no damage. They adjust slightly to get clean shots while respecting a 1” space from the Golems now, and try to plink a few damage into the Gargoyles. I think they land 2, but fail to remove them.

The Wizard hopes over the line, currently struggling in vain against the Immortals to control the token on the far left by the hill, but really has he sights on the objective in the back field behind the forest, as between terrain and pivots, the Abyssal Dwarfs will have a hard time falling back to secure this one.

The Kingdoms of Men still control the right.

Pikes hold, controlling an objective in the opposing deployment zone, with the Flying General coming in to assist and project threat. He might even have a potential rear charge into the Taskmaster. 

The Wizard flies away, looking to get central this turn and then claim the objective on the far right as the game concludes. 

The Crossbowmen hold, protecting a token, and shoot into the Golems, landing a surprising 3 damage.

Top of Round 6: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Immortal Guard on the left hold. Any charge will take them off the token, and my opponent doesn’t want to risk Insane Courage and giving up a token. 

The remaining Immortal Guard regiment then charges the Chariots again, landing another 6 damage, and will rout the unit this time.

The Golems shoot and then are surged into the remaining Chariots, and the chariots are devastated and routed as is proper. The Golems are atop a second token.

The Abyssal Dwarfs break through, but it is Round 6.

The Ironmonger Infernox pivots and scrambles, but cannot reach the token behind the woods. Still, if there is a Round 7, he can fight for it, so this seems like a fine play.

The Taskmaster and Gargoyles each have a unit strength of 1, and indeed run out to play for a token in the middle, and by the end of the turn here, the Abyssal Dwarfs are holding 3 objectives.

Bottom of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

The Wizard on the right flies over to secure the token on the far right. The Pikes still hold their token in the opposing deployment zone, and the Crossbowmen still hold the token near my deployment zone, making this a tie game. 

Three tokens for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Crossbowmen shoot against the Taskmaster, roll ridiculously and turn 12 hits into 8 damage against him. At 10 damage, the chariot-riding leader is routed. The Abyssal Dwarfs still control the center, but holding it with just Gargoyles seems risky.

The flying General slow plays it this round, pivoting to threaten the central objective, but should have the distance with his one flying pivot to alternatively support the Wizard making a play for the token behind the woods on the left, who does move up to take that this turn.

A sneaky Wizard flies out and nabs a fourth objective for the Kingdoms of Men.

At the end of the Round, the Kingdoms of Men have claimed 4 objectives to secure the win, but I do roll up a Round 7 for us.

Top of Round 7: Abyssal Dwarfs

My opponent pushes hard, aiming for a risky tie.

The Immortal Guard on the left continue to hold, securing this token. The other unit moves to secure the one nearby, relieving the Golems.

The Golems lumber out, looking to make a play for the central token, but are awfully far away. They move closer, but still need a significant Surge to get close enough to claim this, and the spell doesn’t spike and deliver, so they actually lose this objective. I think he needed a Surge 6 or something, so this was indeed risky.

A hindered charge from the Ironmonger Infernox, but the Nerve check is merciful.

The Gargoyles flee, I guess wary of just dying to the flying General. They end up charging the Crossbowmen, and land a strong 5 damage and disorder the shooters. 

The Infernox makes a hindered charge out into the Wizard. He’s still just a 5 attack fighter, and while 2 damage does connect, he fails to spike the dice and remove my uninspired little flier.

A strong 5 damage from the Gargoyles, but the Crossbowmen hold.

It ends up being some very risky plays from my opponent since the Kingdoms of Men are at the bottom of the turn order. While he does pry one objective from the wizard, Surge failed to give him the center, so the score is 3:2 in favor of the Kingdoms of Men as we go into the bottom of the final turn.

Bottom of Round 7: Kingdoms of Men

I guess technically, I need to do nothing and would still win this. I do want to fight the Gargoyles though, and will take my final turn.

I let the contest continue between the Infernox and Wizard. Given the spacing, I could be very pedantic and disengage and withdraw, and them pivot and move past the Ironmonger to still contest this while denying a charge... but it's Round 7. The flying General makes his way to the center of the field to just claim the token here. I could also be far cagier here, positioning so that I am barely claiming the token, and making it so that the Lesser Golems would need to best me in melee and then overrun a bit to claim it... but again, this is Round 7.

Four objectives for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Crossbowmen counter-charge the Gargoyles and will land 5 damage in the melee, but it’s still enough to pick the Gargoyles up. I really just wanted to do this to say I got some use out of Fire-Oil.

Now picking up the center, the game ends 4:2 in favor of the Kingdoms of Men, who secure the victory!

Game Conclusions

Without any real hammers, I was very hesitant to get into combat. Delaying was wise, but my shooting  also struggled to do anything against high defense and the healing, with the Crossbowmen struggling to even find targets most turns. Still, I was fortunately able to recognize my predicament early, and delaying proved to be the right call as it forced a slow positional game, which I was able to capitalize on late with my fliers. We each had some misplays and lucky dice, but the high mobility of the flying heroic units really came through for the Kingdoms of Men.

Testing Conclusions

• Pike regiments with Indomitable Will. Pikes with the Will are far stickier than Pikes without, as even with Ensnare, Def4 and 13/15 is just not that sturdy against dedicated hammers or even grinding units. My trio of regiments continues to be a backbone for so many of my lists and despite an awkward match up with no cavalry against me, still did good work here. Had the right  side gone a little smoother, they would have had a fantastic game. As it stands though, they still got the job done.
• Crossbowmen. Technically, they got to make use of Fire-Oil, and actually exactly made their points back by the end of the game by eliminating both the Taskmaster and Gargoyles in the final turns. Holding a token at the end, they obviously contributed well to the result, though they really struggled to do anything at all for most of the game. I bemoaned deploying them so early and their struggling early on, but my opponent reacted to them, and castled, and that let me delay and contain him for the win, so all this to say that these really do find ways to contribute in my games, even if it is not via damage.
• Charioteer Regiments. Chariots are still a weird unit. I did like the instigating troops from a few months back, as it was a decent amount of reach and frontage for a rather meager investment. The regiments here were ok, and the frontage was manageable. I liked the output of the recent horde, though I do need to retry that with the proper, wider footprint. Overall, I feel like these chariots are not something you want to spam or overly commit to - they just don't do enough - but they can be useful. More testing is needed, and I think running them more as a one-of would be the way to go, especially with the larger units. 
• Army Standard Bearer with Heal. More clever use probably could have saved the Pikes on the right and make my life easier, and that could have either been running him around or remembering to cast Heal. Positioning with the Aura is hard if he’s not babysitting the unit and needs to relocate elsewhere. I did not use him particularly well, and got no use out of the Lifeleech 2 Aura.
• Generals on Winged Beasts. As mentioned, I could have used the one on the right better, to make my life easier, but it still worked out. They were my heaviest hitters, and still got the job done overall. 
• Wizards on Pegasi with Wind Blast. I still like the concept of Wind Blast, but am still finding it hard to utilize the spell well. I griped and struggled in-game with using them, but honestly, slow dwarfs (of any kind) were pretty ideal tests for the spell, as Lightning Bolt wasn’t going to really do much against all the high defense either. With my opponent playing conservatively and trying to keep a tight line, the spell was actually able to delay him and help me out, such as with the eventual charge of the Chariots. I think putting the spell on a flier or something mobile like this is the way to go, but the spell is so niche it is hard to evaluate it, let alone advocate for its inclusion. 

Will's lists are always tough and well-reasoned, invariable leaning into neat units and tricks that the Abyssal Dwarfs can do. His hobbying hits the sweet spot for me where everything is uncluttered, uncomplicated and well-executed for a really nice presentation overall. That kind of approach is stuff I strive for in my own hobbying efforts, so it's always nice to have inspiration around! It's always a pleasure to throw down against him, and I'm glad we fit this in!