Kings of War 3rd Edition: #147 Abyssals vs Basileans in Dominate

Intro and Lists

I had a surprise free weekend due to having to cancel some travel plans, and was thankfully able to fit some games in between all the chores and other adulting that surged forth to fill the void. Second in my weekend line-up was Trevor from Data and Dice, who with the advent of 4th Edition, was apparently throwing caution to the wind and running something quite different to his normal styles:

Mercifully, I misread the original list. I thought I was up against 4 hordes of Iron Resolve Infantry with oodles of supporting angels. It's rough, but not nearly as grim as I thought! We have two Spear Hordes, two smashy Paladin Regiments, 4 Elohi regiments (likely looking to explore Divine Fervor interactions with the various humans, among all the other things Elohi regiments can do), two Gur Panthers to chaff, two Heavy Arbalest to shoot, two Phoenixes to heal and support, two Ogre Palace Guards to Inspire and fight, and then legendary Danor the Wizard with a bonkers 5 spells at his command. 

With 4^th Edition on the horizon, I am trying to squeeze in my last few ideas for each army that I wanted to test out, but haven’t yet. For this game, I brought the Abyssals, debuting my new Def5 Guard units, and focusing on their Rally buff from last years revamp:

They army had a refresh late last year, and while they have hit the table a few times for me since, they have been rather neglected this year. My last big idea for them was exploring “Rallying and Regeneration” in an attempt to utilize the buffed basic Abyssal Guard to do run a big MMU Lesser Abyssals list. Up to test and comment on is everything:

• Abyssal Guard Regiments. Regiments were already on my radar pre-buff, as Will’s Abyssal Dwarfs have made some great use of the Immortals over the recent months, and these are a nice budget option for me. Like the Immortals, I think the ideal set-up would be two regiments and a character (Despoiler Champion) as the rally will help each unit out, and it should be a very tough set-up to crack.
• Abyssal Guard Troops. The army refresh gave these Rallying, which is neat, but rarely seems to save any of my units. Still, we are taking some troops as well, to try and get the most out of the pseudo-aura.
• Succubi with Lurker and Hammer. The Succubi are real glass cannon of a unit with lots of neat abilities, but very low Defense. We are hoping that Rally can keep them fighting a little longer here. With 20 quality attacks, the Brew of Strength or the Hammer are great takes for them, but we’re going with the Hammer here to save on points.
• Flamebearers. I wanted to commit to Lesser Abyssals in the list, to really use the Rally from the Guard. I’m not a huge fan of the Lower Abyssals now, so opted for triple Flamebearers, and will stick them near the Fiend and his Fireball. This is an expensive contingent, so hopefully the shooting component can apply some pressure or clean up late game. With Def5 Guard there could be neat opportunities for fighting Guard to withdraw and regenerate while the Flamebearers scorch a unit instead, so we'll see what we can manage.
• Gargoyles. A list needs chaff, and we’re taking the speedy Gargoyles to help out.
• Chroneas. I apparently missed it, but the refresh looks to have dropped their Drain Life option and granted them a Sacrificial Imp option instead. That’s fine, as the Drain Life was a pretty awkward take for the Monster, and led to confusing situations. Cloak of Death doesn’t stack, so we’ll try to spread these out if we can. We’re relying on the monsters a lot to deal the damage, and we’ll see what they can do. 
• Abyssal Fiend with Regeneration. I was a fan of Abyssal Fiends before, and the refresh lets them buy Regeneration now, which is pricey, but seems worth exploring, as preserving a big titan and centerpiece seems like a good move. The Fireball plays nicely with the Flamebearers, so we’ll try to run those together to focus-fire.
• Despoiler Champions. As discussed more in their hobby post, they are an awkward heroic unit relative to their unit counterpart, particularly with their Nerve, but it does have Nimble and a Unit Strength, so I want to try them out more.
• Abyssal Warlock. I need inspiring sources, and finagled a valuable fourth source with the Warlock here. They are perfectly fine with no upgrades, but with so many Guards around, I wanted to fit in Bane Chant too, for a little extra oomph.

I thought I was going to be on the higher end for drops and US this time, but when comparing lists, I've apparently still been surpassed in both categories. In his analytics over the years, Trevor has noticed a minor correlation between US and wins, and does tend to run these kind of redundant, durable lists, even if the Elohi are speedy new additions here. Should be a slugfest with all the unit strength running around!

Table and Terrain

Trevor was hosting us, and had set up a quick table with his Kings of War App. 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 ponds as some Height 0 difficult terrain. 

We got Dominate for the scenario, which is a breeze with his mat, which has the dominate circle already inscribed. The scenario is easy enough to manage as well: just get the most unit strength into the circle by the end of the game.

I won the roll for sides, and was lazy. 

For deployment the Basileans saved their Elohi until the very end, and split them evenly onto each wing of the holy battle line. From the left for the Basileans we have Gur Panthers and two Elohi, the building and forest complicated things a bit, and one of the Arbalests ended with its leader point in the woods. The center had the normal Spears, Paladins, Dan the wizard, the Veteran Spears with the Hammer, and Paladins with their leader point on the hill. The other Arbalest was in the right corner, with another Gur Panther unit, and the final two Elohi units ready to zip ahead.

Overview of the table and deployment.

For the Abyssals, we ended up with Gargoyles on the far left, a Chroneas and a Despoiler Champion both facing forward. The Abyssal battle line was sprawling, with Guard, Succubi, Guard, a little stack of the Warlock and Chroneas, two Flamebearers, an angled Fiend, and more flamebearers on the far flank. The troops of Abyssal Guard were in reserve covering each flank, and the second unit of Gargoyles and second Despoiler Champion was here as well. 

I do not like my deployment. I knew I had an awkwardly long shooting line, and should have swapped over to the other table side to better concentrate it. Being dominate, I was deploying a lot of things centrally and early, since that's where the scenario wants things. Unfortunately, I wanted basically everything in the center, and about halfway through, realized that I was probably going to enveloped by the Elohi. The troops of Abyssal Guard and Despoiler Champions were late drops to Inspire and hopefully mitigate this pressure... but overall, I am not happy with myself.

I lose the roll for turn order. My opponent has some long-range shooting, but I've hid things pretty well, and with so many points tied up in medium range shooting that can't do anything in Round 1... my opponent cleverly sticks me with first turn.

Top of 1: Abyssals

Due to my deployment goofs, I am still under a lot of pressure. Getting first turn means that I can't shoot, but thankfully the Elohi aren't Nimble. I have a good number of units, so the goal is to start zoning things out and layering up.

On the right, a regiment of Flamebearers moves and pivots to zone out the right. Anything that lands should be able to be shot. Supporting them is a troop of Abyssal Guard, and rallied, hopefully the Flamebearers are harder to cut through than expected.

An attempt at proactive movement on the right from the Abyssals.

Centrally, I try to be threatening, as I have the longer charge range against all this infantry. The Abyssal Fiend pivots and moves, looking past the ruins. The Flamebearers turn and move ahead slightly to face the center, with the Despoiler Champion hanging back to reinforce.

Incoming pressure in the center.

With no shots for the Warlock to take either, the Chroneas moves ahead a bit over it's speed and the Warlock hops in behind. Abyssal Guard take the woods, with the Gargoyles getting their leader point in as well to see things, just in case. Succubi move up their six inches up as well. With the Lurker upgrade they do have Pathfinder, so I probably could be more aggressive with them had I wanted, but I was trying to keep things compact and somewhat supported.

Abyssal deterrence on the left.

On the left, the Guard regiment moves and pivots to stay out of the woods, and the angled Guard troop moves ahead at the double. The Chroneas and Despoiler Champion move out to zone out the Elohi, and are save from them, though I think I am temping the Gur Panthers with a charge into the Champ. The Gargoyles slide over, projecting threat, though I probably should have grabbed a few inches forward with them while I was at it.

Bottom of 1: Basileans

On the left, the Gur Panthers move up to block for one Elohi unit. The Gargoyles can't align to the Elohi, and I don't have the inches to hit even the Panthers with anything else. The other Elohi unit stays safe and away from the Gargoyles.

The Gur Panthers know their role.

In the center, the infantry start shuffling up. The normal Spears and Paladins move up, the Veteran Spears aren't slowed by terrain and move up a little more, and the other unit of Paladins firmly take the hill. 

I did a pretty good job deploying my monsters to avoid the Arbalests, but was apparently a little too aggressive on my turn. At Height 5, the Chroneas is easily spotted by both war machines, and without cover too. The war machines will blast away for 4 damage, the Phoenixes will spray too, also landing 4 damage. I thought Dan the Wizard landed something, but may have not recorded things properly. In any event, the Chroneas will end on 8 damage, and is found to be Insane, so it holds. 

My notes for Dan are all over the place, but I know he does land a Wind Blast 2 onto the Succubi, pushing them back into the Gargoyles.

Pressure from the Elohi. 

On the right, the Elohi move up with slight pivots, while the Gur Panthers go further and look to make use of Pathfinding on their next turn.

Top of 2: Abyssals

On the right, I sidestep one Flamebearer regiment and then peel off a second regiment to help blunt the advance of the Elohi, and both make sure to get everything into front-arc. The Despoiler Champion and Abyssal Guard troop stay back to support with Rally and Inspiring, but charges into them should be limited, and they should be pretty safe.

For the Flamebearers, I ultimately decide to throw into an Elohi unit, and underperform for 4 damage, which is Iron Resolved down to just 3. I am rusty with the Flamebearers, and in retrospect, really do not like this move of mine. On average, I'll land 5 damage and then still need 9's twice to rout them since the angels cannot be wavered. I have the inches, and should be targeting the Gur Panthers instead.

The Abyssal line is messy, but hopefully the Flamebeaters can take it.

Centrally, the Fiend moves ahead to just get into Fireball Range, but shooting underperforms here as well, with the Fiend's Fireball and Firebolts from the Warlock and Flamebearers landing just 6 damage against the Veteran Spearmen which is then Iron Resolved down to 5 when they are obviously found to be steady.

The Abyssals inch ahead, closing the gap between battle lines.

The Chroneas pivots and moves into the woods to get cover. The Abyssal Guard inch ahead. With Wind Blast, the Succubi are just within 15 inches of the normal Spears and nearby Paladins, but a Wild Charge 1 won't cut it. They inch up as well, with the Gargoyles slotting in behind to prevent more Wind Blast silliness. The other Guard unit inches up as well, but remains clear of the woods. The Succubi, maimed Chroneas and Fiend should all be able to get into combats next turn, should I want it.

The Abyssals layer up, trying to slow down the Elohi.

On the left, the Abyssal Guard Troop moves ahead at the double or nearly so, with the Despoiler Champion and Chroneas pulling in behind. Everything is in front-arc, and only the troop can be threatened here next turn. The Gargoyles back up to deny charges from the Elohi, and pivot, looking to zone out flybys or charges into the other units. 

Bottom of 2: Basileans

The Elohi are wary, but speedy, and back off, staying just over 10 inches away from the eager Abyssal Guard troop. Ultimately, I think I am ok with this, as I can continue this approach next turn, and that might give me some time to do something in the middle and then prepare. 

The Gur Panthers were screening though, and are speedy, and do charge the Gargoyles in my backfield, as I forgot just how speedy they were. The Gargoyles are uninspired, but I think the odds are in my favor here, given the low number of attacks from the Panthers. The Panthers do only land 1 wound, but will gently spike the Nerve check to waver my Gargoyles.

The Basileans continue pressuring on the left.

The Chroneas is still tall, but in cover now. The Arbalests land no damage. I don't think I note all the spell stuffs, but Dan's Lightning Bolt misses, as does his Fireball, though he does Heal 2 onto the Veteran Spears, to bring them down to 3 damage. The Phoenixes roll blisteringly hot though, landing 7 new damage onto the Chroneas (2.2 damage expected...) and on 15 damage the Chroneas will be decisively routed and slip through reality and disappear.

The Chroneas is nowhere to be found.

Centrally, things inch ahead for the Basileans, as my opponent wants to keep the pressure on in the center and keep me pressed on all sides. 

Charges on the right from the Basileans.

On the right, spacing is tight, and two Elohi units go into a Rallied Flamebearer unit. One is hindered, but they will round up and dish out the expected 9 damage, though Rally keeps the Flamebearers only wavered.

Gur Panthers make a Pathfinding charge into the troop of Abyssal Guard, and will slip one in against them thanks to Vicious.

Top of 3: Abyssals

Surveying things, honestly, I probably would have preferred a rout from the Flamebearers out on the right. I learn that the Flamebearers actually lack the army-wide Special Rule of Fury, so are really gumming things up for my responses. I need to engage the Elohi and ground them, but will struggling to do so, because of the spacing.

The Abyssals do what they can to push back on the right.

If I can, I want Flamebearer's shooting and not charging. One unit tries to pivot and move away to do so, but I need to sidestep the Fiend to make room. It's a mess, and this is a series of big positional errors from me. It is messy, but I know one Elohi will be free, so should have measured things more carefully over here.

No lucky breaks on the right.

Ultimately, with the waver, I can't get in against one Elohi unit. With the open lane, the Despoiler Champion manages 2 damage against one unit of angels, and will ground them. The wavering Flamebearers do nothing, but do regenerate 3 to get down to just 4 damage. The Abyssal Guard will land 4 damage, and waver the Gur Panthers out here.

Shooting from the Abyssals.

The Veteran Spears were brought down to 3 damage. Two Flamebearer Regiments, the Warlock and another Fireball from the Fiend fall well below expected output again, landing just 8 to bring the Spears up to 11 damage in total, and they'll Iron Resolve down to 10 damage. 

I need something to happen in the center, and try to make it happen this turn. The Guard in the woods move up, and will dare a hindered charge. If my opponent takes it, great, if not, I can make a hindered charge next turn and tie something up. With Regen and Def5, I want this unit to be grinding a bit, and don't care too much about their own output so long as they aren't greatly outnumbered or outmatched, and human infantry units like a great fight to take.

Nearby, the Succubi make a Pathfinding charge into the normal Spears over on the left, and the Guard to their left will assist with a clean charge too. With this charge complete, the Gargoyles then make a delaying charge into the nearby Paladins. The Gargoyles will land a surprising 4 damage into the Paladins, which is Iron Resolved down to just 3.

The Guard and Succubi greatly overperform, landing 15 damage, and I will get a waver out of this, which is very welcome, as I have yet to rout anything at all, which isn't a great pace for a shooting list.

Still zoning and delaying the Elohi on the left.

On the left, I want to deal with the Elohi, but think I need to put the Chroneas towards the center. With the Abyssal Guard troop screening again, the Chroneas moves towards the center, and the Despoiler Champion moves ahead to keep threatening Nimble rebuttals.

Positioning on the left.

The wavering Gargoyles disengage and back up, trying to draw the Gur Panthers away more and buy just a little more time. They'll regenerate the 1 damage, and hopefully we'll hold better on the second scuffle down here.

Bottom of 3: Basileans

On the left, Panthers and some Elohi go into the Gargoyles to finish them off, though looking at the pictures, I should easily be out of arc of the angels. Oh well. If I wasn't already out, I should have been as I should have had the inches to back up more.

The other unit of Elohi has space, so just pivots, and continues to occupy my units, staying out of range of the Abyssal Guard troop without even trying.

...and everything is suddenly worse for the Abyssals.

The rebuttals are strong. The wavering Spears do nothing, but the Paladins thump the Gargoyles, as expected. Unexpected though, is the Ogre Captain nimbly stepping hard around that fight and then pivoting back into the flank of the Succubi. He overperforms with 7 damage, but we are double-Rallied, and hold firm.

Dan casts a Heal, getting the normal Spears down to 14, though I can't remember if any other spells were cast or what the results were.

The Phoenixes will heal the Veteran Spear horde down to 5 damage, as they take the hindered charge into the Abyssal Guard in the woods. The Spears will overperform and poke 6 damage into the Guard, but they will hold.

Battles from the Basileans.

On the right, the Elohi regiments start to pick me apart. Paladins take a front charge into the Fiend. It is super close, and we rule that worrisome free Elohi group are actually in the rear due my my poor positioning. The Fiend if brought to 13 damage and routed, and with good positioning already, the victorious units just hold.

More bummer results for the Abyssals.

With an even line of engagement, the other Elohi regiment chooses to charge the Flamebearers, and try to pick them up on the second try. They slide down and end up hindered in the Pond, but will land 3 damage to bring the unit up to 7 damage total. It is Rallied, but another decent check will waver the shooters, again. This is a bit frustrating, but equally so for my opponent!

The arbalest in the woods on the left has no shots, but the one on the right can just see the Despoiler Champion, once the Elohi slide away to fight. Both bolts hit, and 3 damage lands, and then the Basileans spike the check to waver the hero. 

The wavering Gur Panthers do nothing, as my opponent doesn't want to give the troop any easy options next turn besides another fight.

Top of 4: Abyssals

The Abyssal Guard troop is able to dispatch the Gur Panthers, which is nice. They reform with a swivel to spy both Elohi units. Unfortunately, I cannot ground the Elohi here on the right again, and the wavering Despoiler Champion holds, as do the Flamebearers. The Elohi are free, but are outnumbered and will have some tougher choices next turn. 

Positioning for the Abyssals. 

The victorious Paladins and Elohi were happy where they ended, and did not reform. Both nearby Flamebearer units will turn in a bit, getting both the Paladins and Elohi into front arc, and then both toss Firebolts into the Elohi, since they are damaged and have the lower Nerve. The various bolts do well, and bring the Elohi to 10 damage, and I will thankfully get the rout against them.

Fights in the center.

The Warlock opts to cast Bane Chant into the Guard in the woods, as I an not sure if I can pick the horde up, and want to improve my chances, but it fizzles. The Guard will countercharge, with athe remaining Chroneas getting a nice flank charge into the horde. We'll deal 11 damage here, bringing the Veterans up to 16 damage, and will just barely get the rout against them. 

The Succubi will counter-charge the Ogre Captain, will make slight use of the Hammer and land 7 onto the Captain. I screw up Cloak of Death from the Chroneas, catch it later, and the end result is that the Captain is steady, and Iron resolves down to 6 damage. I do remember Temporal Ruptures, and will heal the Succubi down to 4 damage. The plan is somewhat coming together now.

Reforms for the Abyssals.

The Abyssal Guard nearby charge the normal Spears, and will land a miraculous 6 damage to take them, taking them up to 20 and will get the rout. The Guard's front is even with the Succubi's flank, so they are relatively safe, and will hold. At worst, they can fight the Arbalest next turn.

View from the left corner.

Out on the left, we still need to hold and delay, and shuffle towards the center, with the Despoiler Nimble-pivoting to face the corner, though I think he is actually out of range, and I am just trying to deny the nearer Elohi unit a charge into him. Overall, I'm also not a big fan of this. Elohi are height 3, so I should be using the hill better to protect myself. The Abyssal Guard went sideways, but a few inches back and we could negate charges from the corner entirely.

Bottom of 4: Basileans

Again, due to my poor positioning and lack of forethought, the Elohi are picking me apart, but on the left now. The two regiments make a multi-charge into the Guard, will land 10 damage, but the Guard are found to be insane, keeping me in the game another turn.

The Panthers can't see anything to charge, but have the inches to get into the center. 

Positioning near the center.

The Arbalest in the woods shoots into the Abyssal Guard, landing 1. Dan casts a number of spells, Healing the Ogre Captain from down to 1 with the aid of the Phoenix, Bane Chant (maybe into the Elohi) misses, Fireball misses into the Guard regiment on the left, but Lightning Bolt hits them for 1. The Arbalest shoots into the Guard as well, but misses.

Reforms for the Brothermark

A Phoenix heals something, while the other moves ahead to block in the Abyssal Guard in the woods, hitting them with Sparks for 1 damage, and taking them up to 4 total.

Paladins and the Ogre Captain charge the Succubi, and are Ensnared, but spike the damage a bit anyways, landing 9, plus a Brutal from the Captain. The Ladies are on 13 damage and even double rallying isn't enough to help them stick around for more.

Fights on the right.

Out on the left, the Ogre Captain and another Palace Guard fight against some Flamebearers, landing 12 damage, but the unit is Rallied, and a lucky 3 on the check means they are just wavered. The unit still lacks Fury, but this does deny the Basileans a reform.

The Arbalest lines up another shot into the Despoiler Champion, and lands another 3 damage, but he is apparently ready for it this time, and is found steady on 6 damage.

The Elohi finally dispatch the Flamebearers out on the right. They are slightly wider, so are blocked from an overrun by the Champion but will change facing slightly.

Top of 5: Abyssals

On the right, the Despoiler Chamption regenerates 3 to get down to 3 damage, and then charges in against the Elohi. He'll flub, and land just 1 damage though, and they'll immediately Iron Resolve it back to stay on 3 damage. This is rough, but Elohi are US2 so disordering them and holding them up is a net win for me and the scenario.

Fights on the right.

Given the scenario and all the brawls going on, we need to remove Unit Strength, and try a flank and a rear into the Paladins, while the wavering Flamebearers back up, while regenerating 2 damage to get down to 10 damage. Bane Chant helps the flanking Abyssal Guard troop, and they'll contribute 7 damage, with the Flamebearers contributing 3 in the rear. Both are a little short of the expected damage, but thankfully the Nerve checks are two sets of 8s, and we will luckily rout the unit and reform.

The Abyssal Guard in the woods can't get into anything good; the Phoenix is just too big. They are scoring though, and regenerate down to 1 damage, as they back up a few inches. They are outnumbered, and surrounded, but perhaps some hindered charges will help them out.

Fights in the center.

With the Succubi falling, the Chroneas is in a tough spot. I have a front into the Ogre Captain, but I can't multi-charge anything here. Trying to mitigate what can hit the Chroneas, I charge the Palace Guard instead, trying to eat up some more Unit Strength. I roll up a two extra attacks, and do manage to land 6 damage against them, and might be able to pick them up by the end of the game.

The Palace Guard had reformed out of arc of the Abyssal Guard, but they have charges into the Arbalest and Dan the wizard. The Arbalest is a more likely kill, but it'll be harder to get back into the center next round, and impossible if I fail to rout it. I want to keep the Guards circle to score for the scenario, so they charge Dan. He's just a wizard, but the Guard are hindered. They'll slip 4 damage in, and waver him though.

On the left, we're still trying to delay the Elohi, and the Champion and insane Abyssal Guard troop make separate charges into ground them. We do so, but the damage is pitiful.

Bottom of 5: Basileans

On the left, the Elohi charge their respective speed bumps. The Champion takes 4 and holds, while the other unit manages to finish off the Abyssal Guard troop and reform, seeing behind the Champion and eyeing up everything I have remaining in the center.

Aftermath of Round 5.

Dan disengages, and the Arbalest crew in the woods sticks a bolt into the Abyssal Guard regiment and lands 1 damage. I can deal with that volume of output.

The Paladins counter-charge the Chroneas, and again roll out of their minds to land 7 damage, just shy of twice the expected output. The Chroneas holds, but again without healing, this one seems doomed as well.

The Abyssal Guard are sandwiched. I am regretting not charging the Ogre Captain with the Chroneas. A total of 11 damage sticks, and mercifully, they hold, thanks to a low check and Fearless. I will point out that we did not align the Gur Panthers properly from the look of it.

Dan backs away, forcing another hindered charge from me next turn. The Phoenixes both spray sparks into the injured Flamebearers. They start on 10 damage, so are swiftly devastated and routed, as is proper.

On the far right, the Elohi dispatch the Despoiler Champion. I don't note the particulars, but he started on 3 damage and just 3 damage is expected, so something spiked a bit out here this turn.

Top of 6: Abyssals

On the right, with the Champion falling, I can't deal with the Elohi, and can't get out of range. The Flamebearers make a rear charge into the Captain, with the Warlock landing a Bane Chant to help the shooters out. We do land the expected 5 damage, but it is no where near enough, and the Captain is steady.

Charges for the Forces of the Abyss.

I opt to counter-charge the Panthers with the Guard, who regenerate a hot 6 damage. The idea here is to remove enemy unit strength, and then reform to better fight the Captains. The hits are hot with 10, but the damage is abysmal with just 2. The Panthers are completely unbothered, and now things are worse for the Guard than had they fought or done anything else here. Darn.

The Guard charge Dan again, will land 3 more damage, and will then pick him up and reform to face the center as the game concludes.

The Chroneas rolls up 1 extra attack at it fights against the Paladins. Cloak of Death brings them from 7 up to 8, and after the swipes, they are on 12 damage. And hold, but are wavering, with a 3 on the uninspired Nerve check. I think I can only heal the nearest Guard regiment, but forget to.

The Despoiler Champion charges his Elohi regiment again to delay, and again flubs pretty hard, dealing another 1 damage this round, which is immediately Iron-Resolved off.

Bottom of 6: Basileans

It was not the turn I needed, and the Basileans are poised to decisively close things out. I've got 9 US in the circle, but not for long, and with charges, my opponent is able to bring 14 US into the circle by the end of the movement phase, putting him in the lead.

The Elohi now struggle against the Despoiler Champion, flubbing themselves and landing just 1 damage. Neither are scoring, and the Basileans are winning in the damage race though, so this isn't a big boon for me.

Lots of rear charges for the Basileans.

From the left, I convinced my opponent to take the rear charge into the Chroneas, and the Elohi will land the expected 9 damage to take it to 16 total, and will break the second monster. 

In the woods, the Gur Panthers assail the front, while the Ogre Captains take their flank and now rear charges into the Guard. The Captains are hindered, but 11 new damage lands, and the regiment is easily popped. 

My opponent does go and roll up a Round 7, but I will concede. 

A victory to the Basileans!

Game Conclusions

It was indeed a bit of a different style of list from my opponent, but he played it all very well, especially well considering this was the debut of his new Elohi! Having three different rear charges in the end of Round 6 means he was going something right with the list, and this was a well-earned victory for him after too long away.

List-wise for me, I really missed having some speed! Rally was neat, but proved to be a bit of double-edged sword several times, and it is probably not wise to index so heavily into Rally, but ya gotta test it somehow. Despite having Fury as my army rule, wavers really did me in this game, and really helped the Elohi succeed on both flanks. Just enough bounced my way to keep it competitive, but unfortunately I basically blundered right into giving the Basileans their ideal game! Major mistakes were covered in the report already, and I could have played a much better game. Given the bad set-up, most of my other decisions were decent or defendable, given the circumstances I put myself in.

Testing Conclusions

• Abyssal Guard Regiments. Rally is nice but a little niche, and it's the Fearless and now Def5 that makes them really attractive to me. I didn’t get my ideal set up, but they still took their hits like champs and were a great buy. I still really like the unit.
• Abyssal Guard Troops. With such a slow list I leaned on these a lot to try and help against the fliers with an attempt at a layered defense. They were useful here, and Rally coming from a troop is nice, but I don’t think this is an ideal size for the unit. Troops would be worth trying out again, especially if they could actually instigate and block for a Chroneas, but as chaff, the Abyssals have so many other "proper" units like Imps or Gargoyles that would serve better in this role.
• Succubi with Lurker and Hammer. They can be very powerful, but they had the wrong item for this match-up. They did well considering, just got a bit unlucky and were not able to deal the damage I needed. Unless one has a lot of Def6 in the area, Brew of Strength is probably a better buy generally for a single unit. The second group can get the Hammer.
• Flamebearers. These need to focus-fire to do damage, and I did not deploy or utilize these very well. Additionally, my target priority was also pretty bad, and I should have tried to take out the Gur Panthers on the right first. I took them all because I was trying to get use out of Rally, but three regiments was too many and too awkward for a list. Two regiments, with either a Fiend or a Warlock is probably the most one would want to take normally. As-shown here, if you take a lot of Flamebearers and get stuck with first turn, a list can really struggle.
• Gaygoyles. Great chaff. A tad unlucky out on the left this game, but overall used decently.
• Chroneas. My opponent was wise to scorch one down early as they cannot heal themselves with their special rules. Each monster took some some hot damage dice, but were also not used well by my. Conceptually I wanted them to be fighting alongside the Abyssal Guard Troops, but that wasn't how I deployed. With Strider and being slightly speedier than the rest of my list, I was looking to grind and instigate with them here, but that was not wise. Leaning into Rally and infantry hindered their effectiveness here, and I should be trying them with Horsemen or Tortured Souls like some of my earlier games with the army. 
• Abyssal Fiend with Regeneration. Definitely not protected well enough, and I did not get to make use of regeneration at all! This pick ended up being a very expensive blunder for me this game. He seems like a very neat pick alongside Flamebearers. However, without them, he might struggle to make use of Fireball otherwise, as the spell is impacted by Stealthy, and thus not great at clearing out chaff, even. Definitely got a nice niche, but it is a niche still.
• Abyssal Warlock. Having Firebolts can be nice, and the Warlock continues to be a solid character for the Abyssals. They play well with all sorts of units and styles, and their spell selection can really enhance a list. Drain Life plus Abyssal Guard could be a thing for sure, if I have another chance at a game before 4th. Both the Fiend and the Warlock play nice with Flamebearers, but I think the Warlock is going to be a more competitive pick most of the time, as it is more versatile and a lesser investment.
• Despoiler Champions. They are still a weirdly-statted unit, and the Ogre Captains and their higher Nerve seemed far superior to the Champions here, despite all of the other bonuses the Champions are getting... The Champions still seem viable, I think I just need to protect them a bit more and have them nestled in between units to counter-punch. 

Shooting into Iron Resolve is always a tough proposition, and only have 18” shots and a focus on infantry made things even harder for me here, with Elohi in the mix! It was a very tough game, but a very fun one. Glad we could fit this in!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #146 Varangur vs Kingdoms of Men in Loot

Intro and Lists

I had a surprise free weekend due to having to cancel some travel plans, and was thankfully able to fit some games in between all the chores and other adulting that immediately surged forth to try to fill the sudden void in my time. First up for the weekend was Joe, looking for some revenge with his very pokey Kingdoms of Men:

We last saw this list in Battle 144, and Joe has continued to play it a lot online using the Universal Battles program. 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, and this it was really neat to commit this hard to a unit like that.

With 4^th Edition on the horizon and coming soon, I am trying to squeeze in a few final test ideas for my assorted armies. For this game, I brought out the very neglected Varangur:

I explored a lot of Varangur shooting in the smaller League games, but I am overdue to try and apply that knowledge in a larger game. Shooting is not what you think of when considering the Varangur, so up to evaluate and comment on is everything:

• Draugr Hordes. I’m indexing hard into toys, so need the unlocks of these cheap hordes. With the list finished and legal, their job is basically done! They are just around now to play the scenario and take up space, and we’ll see what use I can get out of these “trash” hordes.
• Night Raiders with Bows and Scout. We examined Varangur shooting a lot earlier in the year, and Bows seem to be the way to go, since the extra range lets you interact with more of the board. I did not mess around with Scout as much, but know it can be powerful, since moving in terrain while shooting incurs all sorts of penalties. We’ll try to deploy these wisely, and see what damage they can do from afar.
• Fallen. I hobbied my units up in 2^nd Edition, but do really like these on paper, as they have a neat mix of stats and abilities, having everything but waver mitigation. We’re trying them stock for now, to get a better feel for how the base unit works.
• Snow Foxes. A list needs chaff, so we’re bringing some trusty Foxes. We’ll see what mischief they can cause.
• Triple Magus Conclave. We examined Varangur shooting a lot earlier in the year, and I’m excited to finally get the Triple Conclaves back on the table. The war machines are lots of fun since they are so mobile, so we’ll try to find some good lanes for them.
• Double Cavern Dweller. For a Varangur list, we really don’t have a lot of combat units. No Hearthguard or Mounted Sons in sight! We’re relying a lot on our shooting, but we can’t ignore the melee phase. I really like Cavern Dwellers, and we have the unlocks, so we are grabbing two. With Lifeleech 3, they can be very hard to take down, so hopefully they can munch through whatever is softened up by my shooting.
• Triple Thegns on Frostfangs. Snow Troll Primes are great, but I really wanted to mess around with terrain this game, so we’re taking three striding characters. Hopefully they can hide in terrain and find some good ways to contribute.
• Lord on Frostfang. Running through the list I had 190 points left over. I think the more competitive choice would be Magnilde, and then Dwarven Ale or something for the Fallen, but the Lord never gets to see the table these days, so I figured I should bring him. We’re really committing to Striding characters, and we’ll see how that works out for us.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Planet Chaos in Fort Atkinson, WI, a perpetually charming shop with a variety of nerdy offerings, from collectables, to comics, along with the usual suspects like Magic and 40k. The shop isn't super-big on wargaming, and we've struggled to get a full 6 foot long table previously... because we weren't thinking properly. They have a lot of folding tables, and so we pushed two together to make a proper game shop wargaming table. 

I used the Kings of War App from Data and Dice to generate a table layout for us, and we got Loot for the scenario. I brought the terrain and mat, and 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.

The table. I have the right number of terrain pieces, but I guess they are a little small.

For Loot, we have three grabbable Loot Tokens down the center of the board, one in the center, and one each placed by us. My opponent won the roll for tokens, placing his nice and central while I tried to spread things out. My opponent then won the roll for sides, making me switch.

Overview of the deployments, with the Varangur castling. 

For deployment, the Monarch and a flying General end up angled and out on the left, ready to swoop into the support the center. The Center had two regiments of Pikes, and a horde of Pikes on the front line, with the Wizard on Pegasus in close support, and the regiment of Beast Cavalry and the Horde of Foot Guard in reserve. On the right we had alternating Pikes and Generals, with one angled on the far flank, and the horde of Beast Cavalry were in reserve.

View from the left.

With a nice channel in the center, I was hoping to put the shooting in the center, and then secure a flank, playing for just two tokens and the narrow win. I ended up committing substantially to the left, with Fallen, the Lord and a Cavern Dweller on the line, with a horde Draugr and a Thegn in reserve, and then Snow Foxes in deep reserve. 

View of the center and the KoM's right.

Night Raiders were ready to scout up into the little woods, and a Cavern Dweller and Thegn were on the line, with Draugr and Snow Foxes in reserve. The center had all three Magus Conclaves, and then the third Thegn was on the right, just looking to buy time and delay anything coming into threaten the magical war machines.

It turned out that I had a slight drop advantage, but it certainly did not feel like it. There was a ridiculous amount of unit strength opposing me, and I really needed my shooting to pay off to have any chance here. On the plus-side, I had a fair amount to hopefully contain the Monarch on the left, and deployed the very important Magus Conclaves back. If I could get some good shooting in early, I might be able to pull this off. 

I had some Scout moves from the Night Raiders, and inched into the woods ahead. I don't particularly like this move, as I don't scout up far enough to actually get Round 4 shots, but for better or for worse, my opponent won the roll for deciding turn order, and goes first to mitigate my Conclave shooting.

Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

On the left, the Monarch and the flying General inch ahead, wanting to just barely threaten charges into the stuff on the left, and will be doing so.

Movement from the Kingdoms of Men.

The center advanced at the double, with Pikes all jogging the full 10 inches out. The taller Beasts Cavalry took the hill, and the Foot Guard Horde lurked behind.

The center advanced without delay.

Curiously, the Wizard on Pegasus run ahead, to grab the token. I have several charges and plenty of shots into her next turn, and I think my opponent is just trying to draw fire away from his units.

The Pike blocks also move at the double out on the right.

One of the flying Generals from the right repositions, turning to fly down the line to help reinforce the center. the other flying General out here repositions to the other side of the building, using the Beast Cavalry to get cover. 

Out on the right, the Beast Cavalry move and pivot to project threat into the center, and are orientated wisely so they will not need to pivot to get around the building. Both Pikes out here move at the double, gaining what ground they can now.

Bottom of Round 1: Varangur

On the right, the Thegn sidesteps, projecting just a little more threat towards the center and the Pike horde. The Conclaves back up to create even more space, and eventually all will take the bait and shoot into the Wizard. By taking the token she loses Nimble and Fly... I maybe could have let her go, but taking out chaff is important, and the Conclaves do a combined 8 damage, and will get the rout, as the Wizard is uninspired. 

The Wizard is shot off.

The Draugr near the center of the board move up slightly, and point themselves at the center token, while the Thegn and Cavern Dweller move up, staying 11 inches away from the infantry.

The Night Raiders in the woods shoot into the Pikes on the hill, hoping to waver them and delay the Beast Cavalry regiment, and they roll hot, landing 9 damage combined, and will indeed get the waver for me. Not a bad round of shooting to start out, even with the aggressive infantry opposing me!

Jumbled movement on the left for the Varangur.

On the left, things are a jumble. The Thegn hangs back, waiting and seeing. The Draugr step up a bit, but aren't even on the deployment line yet. Foxes advance to screen, but stay out of range of the Beast Cavalry. This lets my Lord and Dweller project some decent threat, but I can't quite reach the two fliers.

The Fallen move up on the far left. I definitely do not want the Monarch jumping my line, so measure it all out. The Monarch's back corner shouldn't be able to clear the back of my unit, and even if things get bumped, they'll still need an extra inch to land, so they won't be able to hop my line. We're containing the duo here, slowly.

Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

The model is in-hand before we can check, and my opponent insists he's in and the green flying General goes cleanly into the flank of the nearest Night Raiders. I swore I measured this and was safe, but must have been thinking of the opening scout moves. I did Scout ahead and the General did move up in Round 1, so he should indeed be in, this just caught me by surprise.

Movement, with the green General going in!

The feisty General will land 10 damage, and will get the rout against the Raiders, and then reform to get the Dweller and Thegn and such in front arc. 

The Monarch nimbly shuffles sideways, but should still be threatened by the Fallen.

The wavering Pikes hold, and the Beast Cavalry hop ahead, and the blue flying General from the right continues to reposition, flying out and landing atop the hill behind the unsteady Pikes. 

End of the round on the left.

The nearby Pike regiment moves up at the double again, staying an inch away from the Cavern Dweller and Thegn, and daring a charge. The Pike Horde moves up, needing to stop short of the murky pond, and the Foot Guard Horde moves up and pivots to face my left corner, and to see around the Pike Horde ahead of them. 

Movement on the right for the Kingdoms of Men.

Out on the right, the green flying General tucks in behind the Beast Cavalry, who inch away, but are wary of the Thegn and his striding charge. 

The nearby unit of Pikes again moves at the double, exposing a flank to the Thegn, while the other one moves and pivots.

Bottom of Round 2: Varangur

On the right, the Thegn backs up, getting out of range of the Pikes. The flank is tempting, but he's around to delay, I don't think I can break them solo, and so I cannot toss him away yet. 

Movement for the Varangur.

The Conclaves all target the Beast Cavalry horde, but the dice are fickle. I hit a few times, blast into 6 hits, and then flub, dealing just 2 damage. I wasn't expecting to pick them up, but I need my shooting to be doing more than 2 damage per round here. Shooting was hot last turn, so I guess there is some wiggle room with consistency in output though. Things are still manageable.

Many charges from the Varangur. 

Centrally, Draugr and Cavern Dweller take the bait, and make ensnared charges into the Pikes. I don't think I will break the unit, so the Thegn nimbly moves out to the left before the charges. The Dweller rolls up 4 extra attacks, and we are able to land 7 damage in total, and an average 6 on the check does get a waver here.

I need the Cavern Dwellers to do a lot, so need to try and protect them. Things are messy, so I send the remaining Night Raiders into the Beast Cavalry, along with the Thegn to their left, as he can see the beasts and then make a striding charge through the woods to reach them. Each unit deals 3 damage, and very surprisingly we are able to spike the Nerve check twice and remove the unit. The Thegn sidesteps to the left to create space, and the Night Raiders pivot to face the Foot Guard and eye some flanks.

Snow Foxes from the left have a potential lank charge into the injured Pikes. Spacing-wise, I can't get them to protect the Fallen this turn like I'd like, so they will hit the flank of the Pikes and will land 4 damage to take them to 13 total... and then the Pikes are then found to be Insanely Courageous, and will stick around.

Reforms for the Varangur. 

The Cavern Dweller can't pivot past, so takes the front charge into the green flying General, with Snow Foxes from the center chewing at his flank. The Varangur are able to take him up to 11 damage, and do get the rout against him, with the Dweller overrunning the full 6 inches, and the Foxes will change facing, hoping to gum things up next turn as proper chaff.

Things are gummed up for me already out on the left, and with the charges, the Draugr are stuck. The Draugr sidestep their 2 inches, trying to be patient as they continue to spy the desired token on the left from my deployment zone.

The Fallen go into the Monarch. I'm not going to pop him, but I can ground him and hope for the best. Unfortunately, I don't play this well. I could not the Snow Foxes over in a way to protect their flank from the blue General, so I'm really relying on luck here. Additionally, the Lord moves and pivots twice, looking back towards the Monarch. I'm not sure if I could have gone further with the single pivot and been able to threaten the Monarch's flank though, so it's just awkward positioning that I will have to live with. The Fallen will underperform and land just 4 damage.

Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

The Monarch counter-charges, and will be joined by the blue flying General. Each deals 5 damage, and a 5 on the Nerve check means the Faller are wavered. No Iron Resolve for them, but they are still around. 

Fighting on the left, from the Kingdoms of Men.

The Insane Pikes will countercharge the Snow Foxes, deal a good 7 damage, but with a 3 on the check, will only waver them.

As a horde, the Foot Guard can't quite reach anything, so move up as far as they can. They pass over the token instead of picking it up, which I think is a mistake, as this is a unit that my opponent really wants to be holding tokens.

The wavering Pike regiment holds, and the Pike Horde makes a hindered charge through the pond into the Draugr, will poke 7 damage into them, and the zombies will Iron Resolve down to 6 when they are found to be steady.

The Kingdoms of Men continue to push ahead on my right.

The other flying General repositions, nimbly gets into the woods, facing the center, and hoping for an opening soon.

The Beast Cavalry move up, threatening the Thegn, the flank of the Draugr and the nearest Conclave while the Pikes from the right start moving in. One touches the obstacle, but it will be granted cover from it regardless. The other pulls into support and step up as needed. It seems there are trying to slow push the Conclaves.

Bottom of Round 3: Varangur

On the right, the pressure is on, and now is the time for the Thegn to delay. The Thegn makes a striding charge over the obstacle, but is only able to land 2 damage onto the Beast Cavalry, and they are very amused, as I will admit I've forgotten that they have the Brew of Strength, and this is going to hurt more than expected. Still, this will hold them up for a turn, and let the Draugr hold on just a little longer in the center.

More charges from the Varangur.

The Conclaves continue to move around, and nimbly move back this turn, and fling into the Pikes at the obstacle, who will get the benefit of cover. If I can get a little lucky here, we might be able to waver the uninspired unit, stall up the other Pike unit behind them and protect the flank of the Thegn. Luck is not with me though, as no hits at all connect. It's the second turn of cold shooting, which is not good for the Varangur. The obstacle will slow the Pikes down though, so the Conclaves are still online at least, though the Thegn is in a rough spot.

The Draugr disengage and withdraw their inch, which will force another hindered charge from the Pikes. The Draugr's flank should be protected now by the interdicting Thegn, so we are just trying to delay a little more with the horde.

Also in the center, a Thegn goes into the wavering Pikes, hitting them in the flank, and will pick the unit up, relieving some pressure. 

The Night Raiders charge out and into the Foot Guard, hoping to cause my opponent some frustration with the Hammer of Measured Force. 

Charges for the Varangur.

The wavering Snow Foxes withdraw and disengage from the insane Pikes. A Thegn nimbly and precariously takes part of the hill, using the Foxes to block the Monarch from any charges into him, and he is able to threaten the Kingdoms of Men fliers out here as well.

It's overkill, but I picked the second model up before marking, so both Cavern Dwellers will be doing into the flank of the Insane Pikes. My concern is the Monarch and leaving a Cavern Dweller exposed, which probably would have been fine, but I couldn't put it back where it was, so I felt like I had to commit here. Thankfully, the unit is not found to be insane again, and the Dwellers reform, buddy-cop style. 

Reforms for the Varangur.

The wavering Fallen are engaged on two fronts, and cannot disengage, so just hold. More Snow Foxes hit the flank of the blue flying General, landing 2 damage and will ground him. In the front of both enemy units, the Lord has no possibly charges, so can't help this turn, but now gets in to threaten the flank of the Monarch.

The Draugr move up a few inches. I was not able to disorder the Monarch, but it can't get past me, so it's awkward, but I am ok with this spacing. The Monarch can charge still, but will struggle to escape, and hopefully I can run these fliers down.

Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

The Monarch and General both go into the Fallen again, making sure the unit is decisively picked up, and indeed the horde is devastated and routed, as-is proper. Reforms are tough though, and the General turns to face the Foxes, and the Monarch chooses to present a front to the Lord, leaving the flank open to the Thegn, as the angle is too tough.

Reforms for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Foot Guard counter-charge the Night Raiders, and roll ridiculously, thumping 15 damage into the regiment, despite the awkward Hammer. This is about double what is expected, and the Raiders are obliterated, and the horde adjusts slightly, given spacing constraints.

The Pike horde sidesteps, just getting out the muck. Had he charged again, I would have definitely disengaged again, so there is a logic here with a standoff. The green flying General leaves the woods, and moves up to threaten the war machines.

Movement and reforms for the Kingdoms of Men. The Thegn holds!

The Beast Cavalry counter-charge the delaying Thegn, with Pikes joining in with a hindered flank charge. A total of 9 damage sticks, but the Nerve check is amazingly just short of a Waver. I really lucked out here.

The other Pikes do hop the fence, and trudge ahead, hoping to catch a Conclave by the end of the game.

Bottom of Round 4: Varangur

The amazingly unfazed Thegn lands another expected 2 damage back onto the Beast Cavalry, bringing them up to 6 damage, but they don't seem to mind. 

The original firing lane is gone, but the Conclaves all continue to move, backing up while flinging into the advancing Pikes entering my deployment zone. The Conclaves will land 5 damage, but will not bother the unit otherwise as the Nerve check is low.

Movement and charges for the Varangur.

I spy a potentially tricky play, and marking and measuring, I am able to pull it off. The Draugr are able to back up at half Speed, putting a total of three inches between them and the Pikes, and this lets the Thegn on their left flank charge the flying General, instead of the horde. The Thegn lands 7 damage, and will amazingly get the rout, and then reform to get the Pikes behind him into front arc, since the other Thegn is still holding the line. 

I would love to get the Cavern Dweller into the rear of the Pike horde, but I cannot align since my opponent reformed well with the Foot Guard. It's risky, but I can't get away, so I charge the Foot Guard horde in the front, landing 4 damage. 

In the backfield for my opponent, the injured Snow Foxes pivot and run past the Foot Guard. Just about everything is righting, so instead of chaffing for no reason, we are looking to make some late-game plays for Loot Tokens.

More charges for the Varangur.

Out on the left, the Snow Foxes withdraw and disengage from the flying General, moving backwards and nimbly pivoting. I want to zip them around with them for token play as well in the closing turns.

This withdraw lets the Cavern Dweller charge the General, but the beast rolls up a pitiful number of extra attacks, and then fails on the assault, landing just 2 damage. 

The Monarch is pincered by the Lord in the front then the Thegn in the flank. I was using steps, so don't count myself being on the hill, but it is still a good amount of quality attacks. The dice are with me, and the duo roll hot to take the Monarch up to 14 damage, and we will get the rout against the titan. Both heroes will reform to face the center. 

With the fliers on the left finally engaged, the Draugr advance at the double, but being Zombies, can't quite reach the token yet. Still, it is as good as theirs.

Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

The lone surviving General on the left counter-charges the Cavern Dweller, and lands 3 damage, and the Dweller is completely fine with that.

Fights from the Kingdoms of Men.

The Foot Guard Horde counter-charges the other Cavern Dweller, and while the hits are ridiculous again (21!), somehow only 6 damage actually makes it through, less than expected normally, and far less than expected with that hit roll. The Dweller is ok here as well.

The Pike Horde declines to charge again, preferring I come to them.

The Beast Cavalry and Pikes continue against the Thegn, and will beast him easily this time, both adjusting slightly to face the flank of the Draugr in the center.

The other Pike Regiment moves and pivots towards the Draugr as well. Facing a horde of Pikes, two regiments of Pikes, and Beast Cavalry, they are probably not long for this world, but have done a great job at delaying, and them making it to Round 6 will be huge for me.

Bottom of Round 5: Varangur

It's bottom of 5, and I need to be playing the scenario a bit better. On the right, the humans are facing the battle line and not the tokens, so some Snow Foxes are able to get there and zip ahead and pick it up with a few inches to spare.

Movement for the Varangur.

The other Snow Foxes scamper through the backfield, eyeing that center token. I believe they are maybe in inch too far to reach the rear of the Pikes, which is probably a positioning error from me, as I probably could have figured something out.

The Thegn wants to play the scenario, and is able to nimbly get past the Pikes, then pivot and face the rear of the Foot Guard, and spy the center token too.

The Draugr horde pivots slightly, but can't quite keep everything in front arc. Still, they have the attention of 4 units and are not important for the scenario next turn, so this is great for me.

The Conclaves shoot into the injured Pikes, as the shots are clear. They land a fresh 7 damage combined, and will get the rout on the uninspired unit. 

A Cavern Dweller counter-charges the Foot Guard, but flubs the dice again, rolling up 1 extra attack, and only sneaking 2 damage in, and so only Lifeleeching 2 damage back in this very important combat. 

Fights and positioning from the Varangur.

The other Cavern Dweller is equally unimpressive, rolling low and landing just 4 damage back into the General, taking him to 11, and Wavering him. That will still likely spell his doom though.

The Draugr Horde on the left move ahead and pivot, finally claiming the token here after a very patient game.

It's bottom of 5, and the Varangur have nabbed two of the three tokens. Things are looking ok.

Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

On the left, the wavering, flying General withdraws and then backs away, this takes him out of arc of the Draugr, so if I want a kill, I'll need to commit the Cavern Dweller again, and risk a Round 7, and him not otherwise contributing.

Fights and reforms for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Foot Guard compensate for their slight underperformance last time by landing 10 new damage onto their Cavern Dweller, and taking it up to 14. My opponent wants to win and spin to claim the token and get on the scoreboard, but another cursed 3 on the Nerve dice means the Dweller is just wavering. 

This is a bit heartbreaking, but had he bested the Cavern Dweller and gotten on the score board, he'd still be down 2:1, and the horde would still be staring down two Thegns and a Lord, with a lot of possible flank charges into them in my Round 6. All considered, the Varangur are in a pretty nice spot.

Movement for the Kingdoms of Men. 

The Pike Horde finally commits against the Draugr, with the remaining regiment hitting the zombies in the flank, with both human units being hindered. The Draugr are brought up to 21 damage (exactsies) and bested, with the regiment reforming to threaten the Conclaves, and the horde spinning around to try and do something in a Round 7.

The Beast Cavalry so spin around to partially face the Snow Foxes. They'll get them a bit in front arc,  but are mostly concerned with a run-by, and so arrange to zone that out.

Bottom of Round 6: Varangur

I am bit of a jerk, and did not point out that I could potentially back up with the Foxes. Holding the token I lose Nimble and am down to speed 5, but an inch and a half is all I need to escape the arc of the Beast Cavalry, so that's what we do here.

Mid-movement for the Varangur in the Bottom of Round 6.

The Cavern Dweller on the left will charge after the wavering General.

The other Snow Foxes will march ahead to zone out the Pike horde from doing much in a potential Round 7. 

The Foot Guard wavered the Cavern Dweller, but will be hit in the rear by a Thegn, and in the front by a Thegn and the Lord. If I win, I can sidestep any amount with the Thegn in the rear and pick it up for a 3:0 victory. Otherwise, I am still winning this 2:0 currently, and would have another chance in a Round 7 against them. 

I go to move the Conclaves, intending to shoot at the Beast Cavalry (with a cover penalty), when my opponent concedes. He needs a Round 7, but it's going to be a struggle even if he gets it. I have the left token, he needs a cockamamie scheme to have a chance at the center one, and by scooching back, I should be protecting the right token now as I am out of arc of the Beast Cavalry, and I don't think the Pikes have the inches to reach the Foxes, if memory serves.

A victory for the Varangur!

Game Conclusions

Above all, I must first commend my opponent on an overall solid deployment for his infantry, as every unit was poised to jump ahead at the double without any fuss. Infantry, and hordes of them in particular, have tripped me up plenty of times, so his good deployment and then early decisiveness with all of those units really jumped out at me as something to note, and these were very strong moves showcasing his good planning for those opening turns.

My opponent won all of the set-up rolls. Seizing the first turn, along with such a strong advance of all the infantry units really put the pressure on for my shooting list. Thankfully, I recognized that I had good reach with my war machines, and was able to deploy back and then be patient, utilizing all 6 rounds to slowly get into a winning position. I also recognized that the Draugr are just there to take up space, and it was best not to charge or fight with them. Overall, despite a lot of early pressure, the Varangur were patient and lucky, and despite some setbacks, were ultimately able to whittle down the human units for the win.

Testing Conclusions

• Draugr Hordes. They are a Fearless horde, but at Def3, the damage is going to accrue very quickly, and I was lucky to preserve them both as long as I did. The Kingdoms of Men didn’t have any healing, so it was tempting to charge and fight, but the better call was to back off, and I was wise to recognize that. They took up a lot of space and were used well.
• Night Raiders with Bows and Scout. Overall, these were not used well. A small Scout move was the right call generally, but I didn’t go far enough up to set up any Round 1 shots, and getting charged and routed was a bummer, but was probably for the best as it let me trade them for a flier, which was absolutely worth it. If you plan on playing and hiding in terrain, Scout is amazing, and Bows are definitely the more effective takes over the axes in a list like this.
• Fallen. I was trying them out, and a little cavalier with them. They struggled, but that’ll happen when they get his with a good flank charge! Just initiating the piece trade with them was a bummer, but it was another pseudo-error that ultimately worked out in my favor, as I was able to get two more fliers.
• Snow Foxes. My opponent advanced fast enough that chaffing with them wasn’t going to be super-effective. The fight didn’t pan out, but they survived, and I was lucky to have them around in the late game to really pressure and play the scenario well. They were little all-stars this game.
• Triple Magus Conclave. I did not do well in my stats course in college, and war machines and their expected output has always been a bit fuzzy. They were swingy, as war machines tend to be, but did fine overall for me. I was really proactive with moving them around each turn even if they didn’t need the inches, which helped as the game went on as it was hard for the opposing infantry to chase them down.
• Double Cavern Dweller. I did not utilize Frozen at all, and despite some very low additional attacks, both were used ok, and they are indeed very hard to take down!
• Triple Thegns on Frostfangs. Regeneration makes the Snow Trolls a sturdier option, but an extra attack and Strider makes these rather nice road blocks and interdictors. Both heroes have uses, and I think I made good use of the advantages of the Thegn this game.
• Lord on Frostfang. I failed to get an avenging charge for the wavering Fallen, but had they broken I would have been in a great position, so I suppose this wasn’t a big error. Again, this was another small goof that ultimately worked out for me as I was still able to best the fliers here in the coming turns. I think I’d ideally like to stick the Pipes for Brutal on him as well, and lean into his force-multiplier role, but the basic Lord here is still a decent take, and worked well enough alongside the rest of the list.

If you find yourself in the area, Planet Chaos is a wonderful little shop and well worth checking out, no matter what your nerdy interest. It was wonderful to sneak in an unplanned game here over the weekend, and a big thank you to Joe for being flexible and making it happen!