Intro and Lists
We were out at the Kings of War Wisconsin September meetup. We had an odd number of attendees, and we were all too polite, and so let the dice decide the match-up for the second game. I won the all-important roll, and so the Halflings packed up and we braced ourselves to fight Joe and his new, Pike-heavy Kingdoms of Men. Joe brought the following:
It is neat to have someone play an army you are familiar with, and yowza! I quite like the Kingdoms of Men Pikes, and this is some serious commitment to that unit. Joe plays a lot on UB and apparently has 20+ wins with the list, though this was the first time piloting it in person. He has have four regiments and a horde of Pikes, and a horde of Foot Guard with the Hammer of Measured Force, all to hold ground. A regiment and a horde of flightless Beast Cavalry are around to smash anything that gets held up, and three flying Generals and a flying Monarch are around to do the same while playing a positional game. The last pick is a Wizard on Pegasus, with Bane Chant to support and Hex to disrupt. Lacking other shooting elements in the list, I think this is a fine kit for the wizard. I like Pikes, but I myself only have 3 regiments currently, so overall, I was intrigued by the list concept here, as it was really neat to commit that hard to a unit.
This was just a regular game, and I brought the Herd, with a slightly different list from the previous game, as I tend to do. I am still exploring Triple Brutes, and up to comment on is everything since we're still trying to explore and fine-tune this idea:
- Spirit Walkers with Speed. I need one more unlock, and we're trying out Spirit Walkers again to get some extra Nerve into the list. They have some good reach with their variable wild charge, and are expensive enough to warrant an item, so we're reverting to the Brew of Haste for a little extra speed to hopefully initiate trades and pressure things.
- Triple Brutes. With Pathfinder and Fury, these have innate terrain and waver mitigation. Usually items cover those deficiencies for units, so having a unit with both covered seems like something worth exploring. Speed 6 and lacking Nimble has been a little concerning, so we're now trying to deploy them centrally to mitigate that.
- Harpies. I need chaff units and Harpies are great. Preserving them until the just right time is always an issue with chaff though, so we'll see how I manage with them this game.
- Flying Beasts. The flying Beasts with extra attacks are some of the stronger things a Herd player can field. Points are tight though, so I'm considering dropping fly in some future builds. They are strong, but we'll keep an eye on how I'm using them to see if some optimization or points trimming can be done.
- Mounted Druid with Scorched Earth and Bane Chant and Amulet of the Fireheart. Even Druids are nice, but I'm demanding a lot of my heroes these days. Scorched Earth is the big thing here, trying to play into the Herd's terrain advantages, and giving it to the mounted Druid with their extra height and speed to hopefully get the spell off easier. I gave her the Amulet hoping that I can double cast something for a little extra oomph, and we'll see how that item does.
- Gladewalker Druid with Veil of Shadows and Bane Chant. It's a weird loadout, but I need a Spellcaster 2, and I want Veil of Shadows on her since she's going to be nearer the slower Brutes.
- Moonfang. The legendary Lycan can take hits like a champ thanks to Def5 and Regeneration 4+, but it has been hard for me to thread that needle and give them something they can tank but not die to. We're getting better at using them though, so we'll see what Moonfang fights this time.
- Avatar of the Father. This is effectively a 3rd flier in my list. Fliers are better in multiples, so hopefully we can force some hard angles, get good multi-charges, and hopefully avoid insanely courageous units!
It looked like a heckuva match-up on paper. We each had some gnarly fliers, but the Kingdoms of Men has a ton of unit strength, and Phalanx and Ensnare are going to give the Herd a lot of trouble if I am not smart about engaging the numerous humans.
Table and Terrain
We were out at Gamer's Realm in New Berlin WI, making use of their tables and terrain. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the ruined 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 ponds s as some Height 0 difficult terrain.
I used the Kings of War App from Data and Dice to generate a new table layout for us, and we got Dominate for the scenario. I won the roll for sides, and was lazy, though this also seemed like the better choice, as I had a little more space.
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| View from the left. |
The Kingdoms of Men went wide, apparently hoping to outflank and encircle the Herd. From left-to-right we have the Beast Cavalry with the Brew of Strength, the Monarch, and a flying General. The Building and forest ahead split the line. Continuing on, we have stacked hordes with the Pikes in front and Foot Guard behind. Then the green flying General with the Wand tentatively back and in the pond, Pikes in the pond too, and then the right had Pikes, the Wizard back slightly, a general on the line, and Pikes on the far right, with Pikes and angled Beast Cavalry in reserve.
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| A lot of Humans on the right. |
With the obstacle in the center, I hoped to minimize it, opting to ignore it and about half the board, and focus exclusively on the left.
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| Almost all of the Herd in one picture. |
The hill was a little awkward and was causing slippages all day. From left to right for the Herd we have a flying Beast, slightly angled Spirit Walkers with Harpies in reserve, angled Brutes with their leader point on the hill, the mounted Druid with Scorched Earth just behind, the Avatar of the Father on the line, then Moonfang and two Brute hordes angled towards the center with the Gladewalker Druid and second unit of Harpies in reserve, and the second flying Beast on the line to project threat out into the center.
Overall, I was happy with my deployment. It is dicey with so many fliers, but I felt like I should be able to safely project threat into the center quickly if needed, and I had enough on the left to hopefully contain the scary Kingdoms of Men units in that lane. I won the roll for turn order, and went first, hoping to use my fliers to better contain his.
Top of Round 1: Herd
On the left, the Beast of Nature moves up and pivots. I don't think I should have pivoted, nor pivoted that much, but it's not a big mistake. The flying Beast is threatening the Beast Cavalry, but safe from the Monarch.
The Spirit Walkers inch up, giving the imposing Monarch a charge but avoiding everything else from the human battle line.
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| The Herd moves ahead! |
The Guardian Brutes take the hill, and the Avatar and Moonfang inch up, but stay safe. Moonfang doesn't have great arc to the left, but is zoning out the woods and center nicely.
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| The Herd eyes up the center. |
Centrally, the Guardian Brute hordes advance, with the Gladewalker hiding behind. With no shooting opposing me, I do not cast Veil of Shadows. The second Beast and Harpies move around to get line of sight.
I know Pikes, and the Pike Horde is going to be especially tough to move. The general plan here is to run the Harpies out in front of something to let me fight just the Pikes for a turn or two. Against this much unit strength, I need to be smart about my engagements and pick up units with every charge if I can.
Bottom of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men
On the right, a unit of Pikes moves up, looking to outflank the Herd in the coming turns, and the Wizard hops up behind the building. My Beast lacks line of sight to the Wizard and lack range to the Pikes, and won't be able to bother them next turn. The flying General out here flies up a bit, nimbly pivoting to threaten the center.
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| The humans move and pivot, heading towards the center. |
Centrally, the Pike horde moves up, but I think stays more than 12 inches away. If it is within range, only one horde of Brutes can reach. The flying General with the wand hops behind, threating the woods should anything enter; just out past it on the left, should the Spirit Walkers run up; and should be able to cover anything that charges the Pikes as well. The Foot Guard advance slightly.
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| The Beast Cavalry back off. |
On the left, the General and Monarch hold, and the Beast Cavalry inches backwards, in order to get out of range of the Herd's flying Beast.
Top of Round 2: Herd
On the left, I need to pivot, but can shove the flying Beast ahead, just getting out of arc of the Beast Cavalry, while still threatening them in the flank if they do not move. Had I not pivoted in Round 1, I could be in a much more threatening position, but I am still threatening something, and this is still fine in my book. Had I not been able to do this, the Harpies should be able to block for the Beast while it threatens, so we've got some nice pressure here.
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| The Spirit Walkers and Moonfang try to tempt the humans out to fight. |
The Spirit Walkers force the issue a bit, moving ahead slightly. They are now giving up charges to both the Monarch and the flying General, but are safe from the Beast Cavalry and the General between the infantry hordes.
Moonfang steps up as another possible charge, though I think I am able to limit it to just the flying General near the Monarch. The charge ranges are pretty close, so if memory serves, I am threatening the General too, while being safe from the Monarch.
Safe, and in reserve on the left are Harpies, the Druid, and Brutes, all ready to pounce and react.
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| The Herd line up some threatening charges for next turn. |
Centrally, the Avatar sidesteps, just zoning stuff out. I don't think he has the angle to aid or avenge Spirit Walkers, but can avenge Moonfang, threaten the center, and depending on positioning next turn, could hop the woods to really threaten stuff next turn.
The Brutes inch up. Both are now definitely threatening the Pike Horde while staying safe from the infantry. The flying General between the infantry hordes has a solo charge into either of them, but there isn't much I can do about that.
The Harpies and Beast shuffle about for angles, although I think the Harpies should pivoted to zone out the landing zone between the building and forest, if I am being critical of my play.
Bottom of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men
We're still vying for positions. Out on the right, the Pikes move ahead and pivot, while the Beast Cav also pivots, and the Pegasus hides behind the building.
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| The humans make use of the buildings to advance into the center. |
Nearby, the General continues to try and project threat into the center, and the three regiments of Pikes shuffle ahead. The Pike Horde moves up to threaten the Brutes now, and the Foot Guard Horde Holds.
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| The Monarch flees, flying towards the center of the field. |
Under pressure, my opponent attempts to abandon the left. The Monarch flies away, hiding behind the nearby General, who needs to inch ahead to let the Monarch land.
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| The Beast Cavalry do what they can to make themselves scarce. |
The green flying General, with the wand, flies back behind the building, but stays just out of range of threatening my Beast. On the far left, the Beast Cavalry are able to move and pivot to get out of arc and project threat, but can't quite reach the Spirit Walkers.
Top of Round 3: Herd
Out on the left, my opponent said my Beast isn't threatened, so we move the monster ahead a few inches, and then pivot 90 degrees, spying the rear of the Beast Cavalry now. Since the distance between the fliers didn't change, I'm not threatening the flying Captain in the backfield, but we're still applying pressure against the Beast Cavalry, and preventing them from doing anything meaningful.
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| The Spirit Walkers go in against a flying General. |
I may have been able to reach the Beast Cavalry with the wild charge on the Spirit Walkers, but do not remember for sure. The cavalry are isolated though, and with the fliers flying away, and so many humans approaching the midfield, now is the time pressure. The Walkers can get in against the General blocking for the Monarch without issue, and make the charge, while the Harpies move to protect them from the Beast Cavalry.
Moonfang positions to zone out escape paths for the Beast Cav or landing zones for the green flying General behind the building, and the Avatar moves into the woods, out of arc of the Monarch and out of range of the Foot Guard, and being quite threatening. If this push goes poorly for the Walkers, he'll be around to assist next turn against the General or anything else that might unfold. The mounted Druid does manage to land a Bane Chant to help the Spirit Walkers, and they'll deal 12 damage to the General, break him, and then reform slightly.
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| The Spirit Walkers reform, threatening the human infantry. |
Centrally, the Guardian Brutes try to form a concave line to threaten the center. The horde on the left moves up, while the two hordes in the center move back, getting out of charge range of Pike Horde while still threatening charges themselves.
The plan is still to gum something up win the Harpies on the right. But the time is not now, and they reposition again, along with the flying Beast, and both are safe from the human units advancing on the right.
Bottom of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men
My opponent does not like his options or the game's trajectory. I've got 120-some attacks pointed and the center from multiple angles, and the Herd is really applying some nice pressure.
In the backfield, the green General with the Trickster's Wand mimics my Beast, side-stepping, but then pivots to get a better arc. The pivot should actually put him into range of my Beast.
Needing to get some use out of the unit, the Beast Cavalry make a hindered charge into the Harpies, and will easily pick the unit up. The cavalry are threatened from multiple angles, but reform to keep Moonfang in the front, while turning the Beast's rear-charge into just a flank charge.
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| The Kingdoms of Men feel forced to make some charges that are less than ideal. |
The Monarch is threatened in the rear, and continues to flee. The Foot Guard have one doubly-bad charge, into the Spirit Walkers, but my opponent feels the pressure to take it, as I don't have healing in my list, so and damage against my units is sticking. The Guard is hindered, and with the Hammer, the Def3 of the phantasms works in my favor, though the Guard still over-perform and land 9 damage.
The Pike Horde doesn't have any charges, but still needs to move up to let the Foot Guard make their charge. It doesn't look like they moved far enough to get out of arc of the Avatar. Wary of the Beast on my right, another Pike unit steps up to protect that flank.
The Monarch flies far and pivots to face the center. Two Pike regiments wait in reserve, and the Blue General moves to let the Monarch land while using the building to protect itself from the Beast on my right.
The Wizard flies around again, and on the right, the Beast Cavalry regiment moves and pivots to start outflanking, and the Pikes trudge through the forest.
Top of Round 4: Herd
The pressure is on from the Herd. Finally threatened by the outflanking Pike regiment, the Harpies back up, getting out of range. As it turns out, I still don't need them to instigate, so they reposition again, as I want to keep them around for the late game now. One Brute horde also backs up, getting out of range of the Pike units in the center, but still threatening them.
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| Multiple flank charges from the Herd. |
The angles against the human infantry hordes are brutal. The Brute horde in center of my line is able to flank charge the Foot Guard, joined by the Beast from the right in their rear, and the Spirit Walkers Counter-charging.
With the charges into the Foot Guard, the Brutes on the left can still fit and fight the flank of the Pike Horde.
The horde of Foot Guard is devastated way before all the Herd units can resolve their attack rolls, but unfortunately, I space out for a moment and start to roll this combat first, and the Brutes cannot reform, though the Spirit Walkers overrun and the Beast spins around. The other flanking Brutes pick up the Pikes too, and then back up. I think my thinking was to protect the flank of the stuck unit here. Had I rolled the combats in a better order, I would have needed a 2 on the D3 to let the now-stuck unit reform, but I still should have realized that I should have rolled this combat first.
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| Reforms for the Herd. |
The Avatar has a flank into the Monarch, and takes it, trying to bully the titan. I deal 9 damage, but don't waver or remove the Monarch.
Out on the left, Moonfang will make a hindered front into the Beast Cavalry, with the flying Beast hitting their flank. The Mounted Druid gets a Bane Chant onto the Beast, and we are able to pick that unit up as well. Both reform to get the green flying General into front arc, if he charges either unit, the other will be in his flank.
Bottom of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men
The green General flies away, hiding behind the other side of the building. A unit of Pikes charges in to disorder the Beast in the center, and will ground it.
The blue general from the right pounces on the stuck units of Brutes, landing 8 damage with a clean flank charge, and getting a waver.
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| The Kingdoms of Men retaliate with some flank charges of their own. |
A Pike regiment makes a flank charge into the Avatar, and the Monarch turns-to-face, but the dice go cold. Bane Chant does not land to help the flanking Pikes, and only 6 damage lands.
Out on the far right, the Beast regiment trudges into the woods, and the Spears continue on.
Top of Round 5: Herd
I miss turning the turn tracker, but we are in Round 5. Unfortunately for me, it is the Herd's turn to be a little gummed up.
On the right, the Harpies reposition again, just dancing around at this point, and the nearby Brutes move and turn to face the remaining humans coming from the right, though is far enough to deny them a charge still.
With a lucky reprieve, the Avatar of the Father fights the Monarch again, and will get the rout this time, besting the opposing centerpiece model, and will then turn to face the regiment of Pikes.
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| Combats for the Herd. |
Some Brutes have another flank charge into a Pike Regiment, and will devastate and rout them, as-is proper. They back up to potentially fight the remaining outriding humans too.
The injured Brutes are furious, and will countercharge the General. Bane Chant from the Mounted Druid fails, but the Bane Chant from Gladewalker Druid comes through. The Brutes land the expected 10 damage with the spell, and with Brutal, are able to pulverize the flying General and then reform.
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| Reforms for the Herd in Round 5. |
The flying Beast that rear-charged the Foot Guard is tied up by Pikes. I lose Nimble, and can't reform or get out of the way, so the monster fights on, landing an astonishing 5 damage despite Phalanx and Ensnare. The Spirit Walkers are blocked out of any combat, but will trudge forward a few inches.
Moonfang is tripped up and slowed by the obstacle, but moves over to support the Spirit Walkers, and with nothing else to fight on the left, that Beast flies over to fight on, and is facing the ride side of the board.
Bottom of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men
We're still in Round 5, despite the erroneous tracker.
The green General flanks the flying Beast while the Pikes poke at it from the front. The Pike contribute 2 while the General does 9, and the Beast is uninspired and is picked up. There is a smidge of space for the General to slightly change facing.
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| Aftermath of Round 5 for the Kingdoms of Men. Pay no attention to the turn marker! |
The Wizard on Pegasus repositions slightly to try and Hex the Gladewalker, but I don't think it connects.
The Pikes fighting the Avatar land 3 damage against him, but he holds. And the Pikes and Beast Cavalry regiment continue to skulk around the far-right.
Top of Round 6: Herd
We catch the turn order goof finally. It is indeed Round 6, and the pressure is truly on!
The Harpies and Brutes charge the Pikes, looking to box out the outriding humans. I believe the Gladewalker gets a Bane Chant onto the Brutes, and just 8 damage lands in total, but the Pikes are uninspired, and a good Nerve check routs them. The Harpies overrun to block out the cavalry regiment for the scenario, and the Brutes reform. This was going to be a nice block anyways, but the Rout is going to make it very hard for the Beast Cavalry to score for the scenario.
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| Charges from the Herd. |
Aiding the Avatar, more Brutes front charge the Pikes, and a flying Beast hits the humans in the flank, and we will devastate and pick the unit up, as-is proper.
The Spirit Walkers are still tripped up, so move ahead, keeping the General in front arc, and I make certain they are scoring for the scenario.
I really want to test and use the mounted Druid's Amulet, but targets are spares. She attempts Scorched Earth against the flying General, but I do not recall if it connects. The nearby Brutes do not need the help from Bane Chant, as they have a clean charge into the flank of the Pikes. The Brutes will devastate the regiment with their first round of attacks... but the unit is found to be quite insane. It will be devastated, but hanging around.
Bottom of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men
The Herd have jammed ~15 unit strength of stuff into the center. My opponent might be able to pick up the maimed Brutes, but even still, there is not nearly enough left for the Kingdoms of Men to fight for the scenario, and my opponent concedes after surveying his options.
A victory to the Herd the the triple Brute build!
Game Conclusions
As-ever, I had some minor misplays and a few things could have been pivoting to marginally better positions throughout the game. I tried to highlight those situations in the report, and won't nitpick myself here. Overall my approach was patience and pressure, and it paid off big-time, with me being able to put my opponent on the back foot early on, and then crack the game wide open.in after Round 4.
My opponent has played his list a lot online. It has an overwhelmingly winning record there, and so he was surprised by its performance here. We chatted a bit, and having played a fair bit of the Kingdoms of Men over the years, my advice would be to split up the Pike regiments (you pay extra for the flexibility of the regiments, so never want them fighting side-by-side) and to be aggressive with them. The army doesn't really have chaff, so aggressive Pike regiments would have helped him gain ground while keeping more important units safe. I think my opponent got blinders on trying to protect stuff like the Monarch, which led to errors in the positioning of the hordes that should have won him the game.
Testing Conclusions
- Spirit Walkers with Speed. They got a little gummed up, but all the multi-charges were worth it to deal with those hordes. I don't like to copy folks, but Brew of Haste seems to be invaluable to them! Speed plus Wild Charge really let them threaten a lot of ground. Deploying them on a flank also proved to be pretty nice here, like Jon had suggested a few games back.
- Triple Brutes. They all survived the game! And didn't even need Insane Courage! They had a great time, and deploying them more centrally did work out well for them.
- Harpies. I traded one for the Beast Cavalry horde which seemed worth it, and the other got into a combat and was set to sacrifice itself to block the Beast Cavalry regiment out of the center. These were used very well, and I was able to preserve them because my opponent had no shooting.
- Flying Beasts. They continue to be strong picks. Fly and the extra range was integral here against other fliers, and this is an upgrade I really don't want to drop if I can help it.
- Mounted Druid with Scorched Earth and Bane Chant and Amulet of the Fireheart. The spell kit was ok, and the Amulet could have some easier play around the Height 2 Spirit Walkers, and facilitate some big turnsbut I don't think the item is worth prioritizing.
- Gladewalker Druid with Veil of Shadows and Bane Chant. Veil of Shadows was not needed, so a normal Druid would have sufficed here, but I still think the kit is decent, and the Arcane Library spell worth exploring in an all-comer's style list.
- Moonfang. He did not have the biggest combats, but I was able to use him to dissuade and pressure well, which is a decent use of him.
- Avatar of the Father. He got a bit lucky, but did survive the game, and was able to beat out the opposing Monarch while doing so. Without healing though, I need need to be more mindful of how I'm using him, and should be trying to multi-charge whenever possible. Still, the third flier provided a lot of pressure, and this was a good game for him.
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