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!