Kings of War 3rd Edition: #138 Varangur vs Halflings in Plunder

Intro and Lists

Heavy rains hit the southern Wisconsin overnight and continued into the morning. We braved crazy traffic, continuing storms, some major flooding and some significant detours to make it out to the shop for the monthly meetup. The storms seemed to deter some folks, but I was able to sneak in a league game against Rob and his Ravenous Halflings. Fresh off a great showing at US Masters, and with rumors of 4th Edition on the horizon, he's sticking with the Halflings for now. He brought the following:

Rob had hoped for larger games, but I didn't bring extra stuff to oblige, so he had thrown together a quick list. I am a few points shy, which could be an item, some Relentless upgrades, or possibly even nothing at all, as he is a strong enough player to play down a few points. The above is close enough, and has all the pieces we have come to expect from the Ravenous Halflings plus one, a new Gunnery Sergeant codename "Cinnamon", riding her new troll "Crunch". The addition came at the suggestion of a regional teammate, so Rob is trying it out, and committing to it with the Orb of Towering Presence to further help the newcomer with scenario play.

I ended up bringing the Varangur. Having played both with them and against them the previous weekend, I figured exploring them again so soon would be beneficial for my thinking. After some finagling, bringing them would also let me explore several other ideas at once that I was long overdue to explore, like Tundra Wolves, Fallen, and Double Cavern Dwellers.

• Draugr Horde. I still think Draugr horde could be a nice way to get multiple unlocks for cheap, and could really help with Magus Conclave or Monster play for the army, since those toys are expensive and unlock-hungry. I’m only bringing one here now, since we have another horde in the list to provide the other unlocks required by the build. I’m bringing more support units this time though, so we’ll try to either protect these better and avoid big multi-charges against them, or offer them up and threaten better reprisals. We'll see what the game demands.
• Fallen with Iron Resolve 2. With Def5 and Nimble, these have been on my radar since forever, though I don’t think they’ve hit the field yet in 3rd Edition for me? Maybe once? Like I said, I am still grabbing list ideas from February of last year for the Varangur... Shooting Varangur was one army idea I wanted to explore but didn’t last year. Speedy Varangur, with these and Mounted Sons and Frostfangs and such was the other, with the Fallen being a Nimble outriding unit that doesn’t care about terrain. We’ll see how they do in that role, and since I am still smarting from playing against IR2 last week, we'll see how that does for me here.
• Reaver Troops with Lifeleech. Being a league game, I want to bring goofier things, and since 20 attacks is fun to roll coming from a troop, we’re giving them a try again, and even giving them Lifeleech, to see how that feels in practice. Since I am bringing chaff this time, the goal is to keep these back and protected if at all possible, and use them to counter-punch. and with double Dwellers, the goal is to get at least one use out of Tundra Warriors. 
• Tundra Wolves. Speed 9, Pathfinder, and Nimble had all caught my eye a while back. I had done up some Night Raiders list to play around with the interaction, but Joe’s triple regiments recently really intrigued me, and jostled things around to fit in a unit to try out.
• Snow Foxes. After my stumbles last weekend, I discovered that I really want some chaff, so am bringing some Foxes, who should be able to scamper in front of anything scary. 
• Double Cavern Dweller. I have faced them many times, and continue to be a terrifying unit to me, and so I want to get more experience with running them. Two seems a bit mean, but the rest of the list is pretty weird, so hopefully this still comes across as sporting.
• Thegn on Frostfang. Given the points-level for the league games this month, I can’t triple-up on Snow Trolls, and didn’t have the points for the wonderful Kruufnir to "cheat" a third troll into the list here. Lords on Frostfangs appeared a lot early in my 3rd Edition games, but the Thegns quickly took over, both for and against me, doing similar things for much cheaper. Jeff Schiltgen’s Varangur made a few appearances at meet-ups and events over the last year, and although we haven’t played, seeing his Master’s list in action I appreciate them even more, as Strider and Height 4 give them a lot of extra versatility when run alongside the Primes. I don’t want to just ape his list or playstyle, but do want to explore this interaction a bit myself now. So, we're running one, and the general idea will be to stick him with the Fallen and Wolves for a speedy flank that doesn't care too much about terrain.
• Snow Troll Primes. Yeah, these are still a steal for what you pay. I already know that I like them, but we’re going to keep exploring them a bit as we continue to stumble around and explore what the Varangur have to offer.

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, and had a reshuffling of rooms at the beginning of the month, 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, which got the better of me again this trip. It is definitely a shop worth checking out if you are in the area!

I used the Kings of War App from Data and Dice to generate a quick map, and we were using our typical terrain rules, running the buildings as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the wavy grass as some Height 0 difficult terrain.

I need to play more token-based scenarios, and we agreed on Plunder. There are 5 Loot Tokens spread across the centerline of the battlefield, each worth 1 point. We each nominate one token to be upgraded to 2-Points, and we score whatever our units are holding at the end of the game. I won the roll for sides, and was lazy, and then nominated the the middle token on the right, and my opponent then picked the one on the very far left, hoping to spread me out. 

Setting up! The upside-down tokens are worth 2 Points. 

For deployment, the Halflings went wide, as they quite often do. The Grenadiers were an early drop, followed at the end by the angled Juggers and Muster Captain. The Stalwart troop was a pretty early drop too though, eyeing up the nearby "middle -left" token.

A building split the line, and the halfling line continued with a harvester, Poachers, the new Gunnery Sergent on Troll, more Poachers, the other Harvester, then the Heroic Horde of Stalwarts supported by the Sauceror, and the second Stalwart troop way out on the right.

Overview of the table, with the Varangur cowering. I mean lurking.

Setting out my army to go over my list with my opponent, I realized that I had no idea now I wanted to deploy it. The scenario wants to spread out, which I felt favored the Halflings, with their speedy and punchy Jugger cavalry. I tossed out my “fast flank” idea, and I opted to just play for three tokens and the narrow win, with a layered defense on the left to hopefully slow down the Juggers. 

The left had a line of a Thegn on Frostfang, Cavern Dweller, Snow Foxes, and second Dweller all on the line. Behind were more Foxes, and both Reaver troops. The Draugr horde was angled behind the hill, hoping to hide from early shots, and an angled Prime sat nearby to help them out. On the right we have the other Prime, and Fallen, which with Pathfinder, should be able to find something fun to do with the woods. Wary of shooting, I put the Tundra Wolves in reserve on the right. 

Most of the scouting. The Poachers will eventually move up to end even.

The Poachers scouted up onto the hill, with the left one electing to move further ahead after the picture was taken. This should be a commanding position to shoot from, but I managed to win the roll for turn order, and gladly took it.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

I was quite lucky to get the first turn, as it grabbed me a lot of board space. On the left, the Thegn moved up to project threat and slow down the Juggers, and Snow Foxes crept up behind him. 

Both Cavern Dwellers sprung forward, moving up around 10 inches, and staying just out of the maximum 13” charge range of the Halfling contraptions. 

The Varangur push out.

The layered approach does me in a little, as I have no real plan, and am going to struggle to protect the Reavers from shooting, and I try to hide them as best I can. The Snow Troll Prime nimbly pivots and moves out to support, but this then complicates the moves for everything else, and the Reavers bumble about.

The Draugr move nearly at the double to firmly take control of the hill. The second Prime moves and pivots, getting his leader point into the woods to see out. Also lurking are the Tundra Wolves, who stay to the right of the Draugr to see. 

On the right, the Fallen move up aggressively, and nimbly pivot to face and pressure the halfling line.

Bottom of Round 1: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Rally, getting Rally 3. 

On the right, the Stalwarts charge the Fallen, landing a damage, which is then Iron-Resolved back. 

The Stalwart horde moves up, getting partially into the difficult terrain, and the Harvesters and Gunnery Sergeant move up, but stay behind the units to protect themselves. 

A long charge from the halfling line.

We talk it out, and one of the Poachers should get a cover penalty from the intervening Dweller, and the Gunnery Sergeant takes a penalty for moving, but the other Poachers have a majority on the hill, and clean shots into a Reaver troop. All the dice trend low, and only 2 arrows bite into the Varangur berserkers. 

Grenadiers doing Grenadier things.

On the left, Grenadiers cheekily fly over the woods, landing on the token and pick it up. The Juggers reposition, and get as close as they can, while also picking up a token.. Their innate charge range is 16, vs the Thegn’s 15,  so my opponent is pressuring my left already.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

On the left, the Snow Foxes scamper ahead, and the Thegn moves up a few inches as well. My opponent is a precise player, and great with confirming intentions, so I am trying to match. The Thegn keeps the Harvester in front-arc, but the Snow Foxes should prevent alignment. 

The nearest Reaver is injured, but gets the max result on the Wild Charge. It’s super-close (we probably should have used a stick – way easier than a tape measure), but I deem that the Poachers are out. The Reavers both move up, looking to fight next turn, and the Snow Troll Prime moves up to threaten things, and keep the charging things Inspired.

Charges from the Varangur.

The Snow Foxes have some charges, and choose to fight the Poachers to disorder them, and land a surprising 4 damage into the archers. 

It’s a little cheeky, but if the Harvester is back far enough to not be charged, we agree that the Cavern Dweller can get a flank into the Stalwart Horde, with the other Dweller hitting them in the front.

The dice spike, with the flanker getting 5 extra attacks, doubling up to 22. He then overperforms a bit, landing 16 damage (14 expected). The Dweller in the front is no where near as lucky, with only a few attacks, and only contributing 4 damage. However, this does bring the Horde to a staggering 20 damage, and while the horde is Rallied, the Varangur are able to pick the horde up in Round 2. The flanker turns to face the Harvester, and the other pivots to keep the pressure on.

And two big victories for the Varangur!

The Fallen hit the Stalwart troop in the front, and the Prime makes a hindered charge into their flank. The math is in my favor, and my opponent asks that we just check for snake eyes, which do not pop up, and so we will claim this unit as well. I choose to pivot the Prime and side-step the Fallen, to keep both units facing the Halfling line. 

The Draugr shuffle about, and the Tundra Wolves get into the woods, projecting threat into the center of the field.

Bottom of Round 2: Halflings

On the left, the Grenadiers trudge forward, carrying their token. The Juggers consider dropping their for a charge, but reconsider, backing up and staying away from the Thegn. The Stalwart troop moves up but also keeps away, and the Muster Captain grimly surveys things.

The Halflings are very concerned, and the Saucerer goes for Brutal, getting Brutal 3, and hides behind the hill over on the right. 

The Halflings can't engage the Thegn to play it safe.

My opponent courteously offered to speed up the Stalwart fight last turn, so I return the time-saving favors here as he battles the Snow Foxes.

A Harvester takes a flank into the Foxes and chews through them, pivoting to keep the Thegn and more importantly the Reavers in front-arc.

Charges from the Halflings, mostly into Snow Foxes.

The unengaged Poachers charge off the hill into a Snow Troll Prime, and will land 3 damage. 

The Gunnery Sergeant moves ahead, and shoots, landing 2 more damage into the Reavers, who hold.

With space freed up, the engaged Poachers counter-charge the Foxes, a unit of Juggers hitting the chaff in the flank coming from the left, and are also not insane, and will be quickly picked up.

Reforms for the Halflings.

The Harvester charges the towering Cavern Dweller in front of them, but is only able to get 3 damage in, and the monster holds.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

On the right, the Prime will reposition slightly to pick up a token and get me on the board, and the Draugr Horde shuffles, patiently waiting to keep space free in the middle for all the fighting. 

I do some measuring, and the Fallen are in against the Harvester, and the nearby Cavern Dweller hits the flank. Damage is good, and this unit is picked up.

Many multi-charges from the Varangur.

The engaged Cavern Dweller withdraws, in order to charge into the Poachers. He gets a few extra attacks, and even with the penalty for withdrawing, manages to land 5 damage into the archers to bring them to 9 damage. They are inspired, but decent checks will still pick the unit up.

The Tundra Wolves will charge out of the woods into the Poachers, with the Snow Troll Prime regenerating 1 and counter-charging, and yeah, this unit routs as well.

I send the Thegn and a Reaver unit into the front of the Harvester. The Reavers overperform like mad, landing 10 damage themselves, and the Thegn will contribute a few more, and rout the Harvester too. The Thegn will pivot and I believe the Reavers sidestep.

And many more reforms for the overwhelmingly victorious Varangur.

Strong positioning and combats all around for me, but this last one was a huge fluke. 

Bottom of Round 3: Halflings

The Sauceror goes for Brutal, getting Brutal 1 with the hot pot reroll.

On the left, the Juggers drop their token, and the Grenadiers will waddle ahead and pick it up, holding both a 1-Pointer and a 2-Pointer now. 

Charges into the Thegn.

The Juggers make a long charge into the Thegn, joined in with a flank by the Gunnery Sergeant. Just seven damage lands, which should be the output of the Juggers alone. They contributed 6, with the flanker really underperforming here. Brutal is in the mix, but a low check sees the Thegn merely wavering.

The Tundra Wolves are bested by the superior nimble cavalry unit.            

The Muster Captain goes into the Reavers though, will land all 5 possible damage I think, and will get the rout against them with some good checks.

Reforms for the Halflings.

The other Juggers shoot the gap, Nimbly charging the Tundra Wolves and will secure the rout. My opponent overruns, and does get past the Snow Troll Prime, but ends giving a flank to the remaining Reavers. He was eye-balling it, but looking at the pictures, it may not have been possible to avoid the prime and keep the Reavers in front arc. The Juggers end atop a two-pointer, but do not pick it up.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

The Draugr horde leaves the hill, charging the Juggers in the front, and the Prime joins them with a hindered charge. The Reavers take the flank, and with just their attacks will devastate the cavalry unit. 

Aftermath of the combats for the Varangur, with some insanely courageous Juggers.

The Cavern Dwellers leap-frog a bit, with one taking the hill to see things, and the other flank charging the stalled Juggers. Dice here are good again, and the Juggers are brought to 15 damage, but found to be insane. They would not be devastated, and would Iron-Resolve down to 14 damage. 

The Fallen make a dash through the backfield, eyeing the Grenadiers on the left.

The Snow Troll Prime hops up to secure another 1-pointer for me. 

Bottom of Round 4: Halflings

The Grenadiers take their 3-points worth of tokens and turn to flee. With two more turns, if not gummed up, the Fallen should be able to catch the Grenadiers, so the Stalwarts back up to try and delay.

Charges for the Halflings.

The Muster Captain rear-charges a Prime, and the Juggers Countercharge the Cavern Dweller.

The Gunnery Sergeant flank charges the wavering Thegn, and this is the first combat rolled. She lands 3 damage, but the Thegn is found to be insane, and my opponent concedes here, as he feels the writing is on the wall.

A victory to the Varangur!

Game Conclusions

First turn was very important, and I lucked out in securing it. I had a good plan of getting very aggressive with both of the Dwellers, and I really lucked out with good rolling in the flank of the Stalwart horde to pick it up Round 2. I had good combat choices throughout, and the dice really rewarded me.

The dice were pretty one-sided though, with most of the halflings rolls being on the cooler side of the expected distribution. The Reavers in Round 1 should have taken more damage, but would probably still hold given Fearless. However, only wavering and then snakes for the Thegn over two turns was really egregious. It was a very strong win for me, and a very rare one against Rob, but the dice were admittedly slanted in my favor.

Testing Conclusions

• Draugr Horde. It seems viable to use these to get the multiple unlocks, but more testing is needed, and I still think they need some good support in order to really thrive. I was trying to keep it back to avoid multi-charges, and this worked ok with the rest of the list going so hard.
• Fallen with Iron Resolve 2. Similar to Lycans, they aren’t going to typically break units, and the speed and pressure is the most important. They could probably hold any number of items well, or even get by without, so more testing is needed. Every charge was a multi-charge with them, and these had a great game, and getting first turn really let me put the pressure on. 
• Reaver Troops with Lifeleech. Unfortunately no Tundra Fighters instances here. Despite the speed and Wild Charge, and despite their luck here, I don’t think they are a good frontline unit, as Def3 is just too flimsy against any shooting list. I’m not sure what kind of list they might be good in. Maybe Tribesmen heavy, to force weird angles? They were not positioned or used well, but both still overperformed and had good showings. Lifeleech is going to be a niche upgrade. It could be impactful in some match-ups, and is something that I may buy if I have the points, but not a go-to purchase were I to run the unit again. 
• Tundra Wolves. Being a frequent Herd player, I am predisposed to like Pathfinder, and I really liked this unit! Troops look in in a pinch, but aren’t likely to do more this disorder things. Even stock, the regiments look like they can apply a lot of pressure, and is something I’ll want to check out in the future. 
• Snow Foxes. I maybe could have used these slightly better, but they blocked for important units, ate charges, and even got some damage in themselves. I won’t sweat the small stuff here, and they clearly had a good game.
• Double Cavern Dweller. Very strong, and very lucky! They had multiple flank-charges this game, and were able to really capitalize on these since they were multi-charges too. 
• Thegn on Frostfang. I forgot about the Pipes, but it did not matter given then insane result in his only fight. I forgot about his innate Tundra Fighters special rule too, though I did not have a chance to really use it. Overall he did fine, and I still really like the Thegn.
• Snow Troll Primes. They got to brawl a bit and each ended up holding a token when the game concluded, so a job well done from them. 

Dice were dice, but I enjoyed getting in the game. Thanks Rob! The severe weather depressed attendance a bit, but be also had a towering, notable absence from this meetup, as our Pathfinder was mid-move and heading out to New Mexico. That Brian has shared a lot of his thoughts at the Nerd’s Tale, and been the catalyst for Kings of War taking off in the Milwaukee area the last two years, so here’s to wishing him similar successes out there!