Kings of War 3rd Edition: #148 Undead vs Basileans in Salt the Earth

 Intro and Lists

It was a particularly draining week for me, coming after a series of tougher weeks. After some missed gaming attempts earlier in the week, I was elated to connect with Trevor of Data and Dice for a pair of Friday games, and Halloween games, no less! Trevor was exploring the Basileans a little more, and fielded the following for our first game:

As he is wont to do, he kept the majority of the list from his original effort, and was tweaking it. We have two Veteran Spearmen hordes, two smashy Paladin regiments, and four Elohi Regiments to interact with them. Supporting the main line are two Phoenixes and two Gur Panther troops. Iron Resolve is great, so he wanted to mess around with that a bit with the Bearer of the Holy Icon, who can dole out extra Icons throughout the game. There was a traditional scoring Ogre Palace Guard Captain around, and a Dictator with Iron Discipline and a watchful eye behind a periscope. Lastly, his new Samacris, Mother of Phoenixes, took the field. I have played against the Mother once before, and between Iron Resolve, Radiance of Life and Regeneration, she was incredibly sticky. She's got a neat suite of spells and stats, so we were both interested to see what she might get up to this game!

While I wanted to run the Abyssals for a chance at redemption after our last game (Battle 147) and all my poor plays, it was Halloween, and the Undead won out. With 4th on the horizon, I've been trying to cross off the last list ideas I had for each army, and really wanted to give High Unit Strength another try for the Undead. I ran the following:

About a year ago, I tried using his own data against him, running nothing but "cost-effective" units as-decreed by Data and Dice in his own Undead Army Review. Things worked out well there, and while I've been pretty distracted by MMU concepts in many of my armies, I've been meaning to get back to exploring Zombie Trolls and more classic Undead for quite some time now. We have a pretty sturdy list here, with a lot of Fearless 17, Def5 units, so the plan is to fight and grind and hope the stats can win out for me. I am no Undead master, so up to test and discuss are everything:

• Skeleton Warriors with two-handers. The concept for these was blatantly lifted from my own opponent here and his Brothermark Penitents. The Skeletons here are cheap unlocks with a nice chunk of Fearless Nerve, and with CS1 they can likely slip a damage in most of the time, against most things. They are great at just continuing a battle line and taking up space for cheap.
• Zombie Trolls. While they are dead and lack Regeneration, good Def, good Fearless Nerve and CS2 makes the Trolls a fantastic main-line unit to bump and grind against just about anything. Being under 200 points is also amazing. Previously, these have also been picks, and we'll see how they fare here.
• Wights with Brew of Sharpness. Fly is nice, but Speed 7 is pretty limiting, and line-jumping unlikely. We'll see what they can do. While the rest of the -/17 picks are in multiples, I had some points left over, and opted for an unusual pick for me with the Brew of Sharpness. We'll see how hitting on 2's feels with a hammer unit.
• Revenant Cavalry. The Undead are generally pretty slow, but Revenant Cavalry can compensate a bit in a shambling list with some good reach on their charges normally. Pairing them with an Undead ASB for Wild Charge 2 for Skeletons makes this range even better! We'll want to use these to project threat and initiate fights. Hopefully their own -/17 and Def 5 can let them survive while the Trolls and such arrive to finish fights.
• Revenant King with Surge and Heal. The Revenant King is neat, with good Nerve, and alright combat stats. In spite of a low number of attacks, he should be able to land a damage most of the time, but I feel like if I am buying a character for the Undead and a Shambling list, he needs to do more, so we bought Surge and Shroud for Heal. Where ever he ends up, I want that group mostly enduring and holding and grinding, so he should be a nice little toolbox out and about. We'll see if that works, or if that's a silly over-investment.
• Liche King with Surge, Bane Chant, Mindfog, and Amulet of the Fireheart. With a bit of a wide list and so much Shambling in it, I wanted four sources of Inspiring and Surge at least, which led me to the Liche King. Taking just Surge on him is silly, so we gave him a bit of a kit here as well. Bane Chant should help the Revenant Cavalry grind, or help the Trolls or Wights deal with any high Def stuff, and Amulet might get in a nice Surge and boost, so we're giving the item a try as well. With a few points left over, we gave him Mindfog to explore the spell a bit more. As Mindfog provides shattering, I like it most alongside other mundane shooting, though the Undead don't have a lot of great shooting options. Still, it can waver exposed chaff early, or clean-up injured units in the late game, so with points available, I wanted to try it out more.
• Undead ASB with Surge. As mentioned, they have a nice aura for Skeletons, which impacts the Warriors, the Revenants, and even our Wyrms. Very Inspiring is also hard to come by in Undead rosters, so they can be a nice pick regardless. They are great, but they still need to do a little more in my lists, so we are giving him Surge via an item. 
• Mhorgoth the Faceless. I have an aversion to unique/legendary picks, as I am always running oddball lists, and fluff-wise if never makes sense for some renowned hero to be around, but have been making an exception for Mhorgoth. He has a great selection of supporting spells, and having a rather mobile bubble of both Inspiring and Dread has made a big difference in many games. He can be a nice force multiplier, so we're making the exception and taking him here as well.

Head-to-head, the Basileans had the slightest of edges in both drops and Unit Strength. While the Elohi were great fliers, the bulk of the Undead forces outranged the humans for charges, so with clever positioning, the Undead could conceivably initiate a few combats.

Table and Terrain

As is often the case, Trevor was kindly hosting our game, 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 Salt the Earth for our scenario, using objective tokens. There is one un-razeable token in the center. Otherwise, we each deploy three tokens around the field, using normal objective-placement rules. These additional tokens can be controlled at the end of the game for 1 point apiece. However, if we control a given token, we can raze it to remove it from play entirely, narrowing the scope of what we need to fight over. I don't remember who placed where. After dropping tokens, I won the roll for sides, and was lazy. 

The table, deployment, and objective tokens. The one in the center cannot be removed.

For deployment the Basileans went pretty wide, and saved their Elohi for their final drops. Starting on the left we have Elohi, the Mother of Phoenixes, and then Gur Panthers screening for another Elohi regiment. A building broke up the Basilean line, and the center had Spears supported by a Phoenix, Paladins supported by the Icon Bearer, with Elohi in reserve. The Dictator was on the line, surveying things. On the right we have a Phoenix starting with its leader point in the woods, then Paladins with Gur Panthers in reserve, and then Spears with the Ogre Captain and Elohi supporting.

I did not have a great plan with deployment besides wanting to not deploy the same units together. The Wights and most of my individuals were on the later side, as I started drifting into deploying in groups, and wanted Mhorgoth and the Liche around to push, and the Revenant King and ASB in a more supporting position.

View from the left. 

Starting on the left and facing down fliers was a horde of Zombie Trolls, regiment of Warriors, and regiment of Revenant Cavalry, supported by the Revenant King. 

View from center-left.

We then had unsupported Warriors ready to zone out the hill, and angled Zombie Trolls ready to shamble up to support a push into the center.

View from center-right.

Off-center we had Revenant Cavalry in the pond, with Zombie Trolls nearby. Supporting them was the ASB for an extra-long charge for the cavalry with the Aura, and some Skeleton Warriors in reserve.

Mhorgoth hid behind the building. I wasn't sure where I wanted him, but seeing all the infantry opposing me out on the right, figured somewhere over here is where the fighting would be heaviest.

View from the right.

Lastly, my right had Skeleton Warriors, Wights, and Revenant Cavalry, supported by the Lich.

Bouncing from army-to-army and list-to-list can be difficult, but overall, I was happy with my deployment. I was able to spread out and had a good mix of units in each area to hopefully give me enough utility to at least grind against things.

I won the roll for deciding turn order, and opted to go first. Up against fliers, I wanted to gain some early ground, and see if I could mitigate how aggressive they could be by applying my own pressure.

Top of Round 1: Undead

There is a lot of enemy fliers out on the left, but I have a big chunk of Nerve out here and think I can grind this out if I apply pressure. The Zombie Trolls and Skeletons move ahead at their speed, and the Revenant Cavalry uses most of theirs as well. The Elohi are speedy, but at the edge of their charge range, things should be arranged here so that the angels don't have any multi-charges. The Skeleton Warriors and the Revenant Cavalry are holding the token out here for now.

The Undead left pushes up, with an uneven line.

Nearby, Skeletons shamble into the woods, just to continue the line and project threat. With all these opposing fliers, I don't want a lot of dead space between my battle groups, and these regiments are fantastic at zoning out space. 

The Zombie Trolls make it into the gap!

I had measured, and the Zombie Trolls would be able to scoot between the forest and pond, so I deployed them at an angle and do scoot them forward this turn. Centrally, the Revenant Cavalry move forward at speed, clearing the pond. The ASB nearby increases their charge range with his Aura, so they are already threatening a delaying charge for me. 

Keeping on this side of the building breaking up my line, the Zombie Trolls shamble ahead as well, and as do the Skeleton Warriors, who are holding the token out here.

 

The Undead trudge ahead on the right and in the center too.

Mhorgoth flies a bit to the right, but casts no spells this turn. Over on the right, the Wights and Cavalry move ahead along with the Liche. I do want them moving up, so the Skeleton Warriors sidestep, and can barely get into range to control this token for now.

I currently control three tokens, but I have no shooting. I'm going to be advancing in the coming turns anyways, so I choose to burn all three and try to be very aggressive this game.

Bottom of Round 1: Basileans

Popping all three tokens surprised my opponent, and his plan now seems to be to zone me out and try to hold with all his Iron Resolve and healing.

The Basilean infantry match the aggression of the Undead, moving at the double where ever they can.

Out on the right, the Spears are able to move ahead at the double, offering up charges, but they should be a pretty sturdy bulwark. Gur Panthers move up ahead of the Paladins and get ready to chaff things up so the Basilean line can heal and grind. The Elohi and Ogre Captain move up to support, and things are spaced such that the Wights can only charge the front line, either due to distance or to lack of places to actually align. The Phoenix enters the woods, takes some penalties for shooting, but manages to spray 2 damage onto the Wights.

The Basilean infantry advance towards the center.

Centrally, the Veteran Spears move up here too, with Paladins on their flank, and holy fighters not quite getting onto the hill. The Dictator tentatively advanced, but is hiding behind the hill, so as not to give the Revenant Cavalry a long, wacky charge. The central Elohi hang back, ready to charge in and avenge anything that threatens the humans. The Phoenix moves up to support and sprays sparks into the Revenant Cavalry, but no damage lands. The Icon Bearer hides behind the Paladins and distributes a holy fragment.

Delaying actions over on the left from the Basileans.

Out on the left, Gur Panthers ran up to guard the token and to block for some Elohi, who flew in behind the slightly wider unit. Trying to hold and delay, the Mother of Phoenixes and other Elohi regiment back up a bit.

Top of Round 2: Undead

On the left, the Revenant Cavalry make a hindered charge into Gur Panthers, and are able to best the unit in combat. The combat has the cavalry clear of the field, with everything in front-arc, so the unit holds top threaten a clean charge next turn if it is not dealt with. It is not Inspired, but I think the math is on my side, and I'm hopeful that a Def5, Fearless 17 unit can hold out as the piece-trading begins here.

First blood goes to the Undead!

I want to keep the fliers fighting out here, so while I do control this token, I do not burn it. The Zombie Trolls move up, and should be able to be charged by the Elohi, I should be able to hold here as well. The Skeletons move ahead a bit. One Elohi regiment cannot see them through the intervening Revenant Cavalry, and I think the other is out of range. The other Skeletons in the woods nearby are just around to deny space right now, and are doing a fine job of it. The Revenant King here casts no spells as nothing is injured, and Surges could give up some flanks.

The Undead hesitate in the center.

Centrally, the Revenant Cavalry alone have some charges, so I opt to be patient. The cavalry hold, and the Trolls inch ahead. Now, all three fighting units have charges into the slower humans. The Elohi are back a little too far to threaten any charges into me next turn, so this is pretty good pressure.

The Undead have a mix of luck out on the right.

On the right, it's probably not-advisable, but I opt to try and make something happen before the Gur Panthers can gum me all up. Mhorgoth flies out, and lands a bit away from the Spears, ahead of their Leader point. Then flying Wights and Revenant Cavalry charge in. 

I knew for sure the cavalry would be gummed up by the Spear horde, but I figured hitting on 2's with the Brew of Sharpness, the Wights could maybe make up the difference... but Phalanx will hinder the Wights as well since they have Flying, and I spaced about that interaction.

Mhorgoth tries a Drain Life into the Spears, and underperforms, landing just 1 damage, and brings the Wights from 2 down to 1. He then Bane Chants the Revenant Cavalry, so hopefully they can do a few damage at least here. The Rev Cav to 4, and the Wights thump 11 onto the horde. With Dread I should need 6's twice to break the horde, but roll up Insane Courage for them.

This should be ok though, as luck is with me elsewhere. With Mhorgoth landing Bane Chant, the Liche King is able to hide, using the Wights to block line of sight from both the Elohi and the Gur Panthers, while he is able to safely spy the corner of the base of the Panthers, and will land a Mind Fog, and with Shattering, will get a very lucky waver against them, gumming things up greatly for the Basileans.

Bottom of Round 2: Basileans

With the Gur Panthers wavering, the right is now a certified mess for us, which tends to happen a lot in our games! Out come the corner markers.

Corner markers are such great game tools.

The Spears are insane, so can fight, but are also very near the table edge, making multi-charges extremely difficult. Eventually, the Phoenix flies towards the center, and the Gur Panthers pivot and back up with their rear towards the center, in order to make way for other Basilean reinforcements.

Eventual responses out on the right.

The Dictator enters the woods, and enacts his discipline on the Spears, unfortunately exacting the full 3 and taking them up to 18 damage. My opponent is most worried about the Wights, so the Elohi make a hindered charge to help the Spears fight against them. With Elite and Vicious, the Spears land 6 and the Elohi 3, taking the Wights up to 9, but the phantasms hold. 

Unable to help this round, the Ogre Captain and Paladins shuffle about, trying to get better angles for the coming turns.

A standoff in the center.

Centrally, I believe the Spears hold. With the speed advantage, I can engage when I want to, so they just need to hold, and the Icon Bearer distributes a holy fragment to the spears to hopefully help in those efforts. If they were not even with them already, the Paladins do adjust slightly to get even with the spears now to avoid surprise flanks. The Elohi move up, and are proactively now threatening their own charges to help break the stalemate and force issues. The Phoenixes both spray into the Revenant Cavalry, and will land 5 damage. I believe he was wary of their longer range, and was hoping to focus them down and get a little lucky.

A triple charge from the Basileans.

Over on the left, the pressure is on, so both Elohi units and the Mother of Phoenixes make clean charges into the Revenant Cavalry. The armor is thick though, and just 6 damage lands, and lucky for me, the Nerve check is within tolerances, and the cavalry do hold. 

Top of Round 3: Undead

With the triple flying charge bouncing, things are not looking great for the Basileans on the right. I decide that I need to remove the units, and can hopefully ignore the Mother for now. The Zombie Trolls will make a hindered charge into the outer unit of Elohi, with the Revenant Cavalry counter-charging into the same unit. 

Rebuttals from the Undead.

Skeletons wade through the field, and the other leave the woods, eying the unengaged Elohi unit for a Shambling charge, needing 5 successes. The ASB from the center Surges them ahead 2 inches, and Wight King surges the Skeletons ahead 2 inches, meaning I fall just short of connecting, and this Elohi unit will be free next turn, along with the Mother of Phoenixes.

The Surges fall short, but the combat goes well.

Thankfully, we overperform a bit, and take the angels up to 9 damage, and even get the lucky break against them! The Cavalry will sidestep, covering the leader point of the free Elohi unit and grabbing their attention, and the Zombie Trolls with pivot.

A triple charge from the Undead this time.

I have options in the center, but eventually choose to triple charge the Spears with the Revenant Cavalry and both Trolls. The cavalry are going to be hindered, but two hordes of Trolls should hopefully do some good work here. A regiment of Skeletons then make a delaying charge into the Paladins on the hill, looking to tie them up.

The Undead prevail in the center.

Checking the math while writing, we should deal around 18 damage here. In-game, we overperform slightly, dealing 20, and will break the unit on the first attempt. The cavalry back up a lot and bump into the ASB, the Zombies on the right back up a bit, and the zombies on the left are then able to change facing and be a menace.

Positioning on the right.

Over on the right, things are still messy, but definitely in my favor. The Skeletons leave the hill, eyeing the flank of the Gur Panthers. It's close, but I cannot just charge, so I will need a 6 or 7 from Surge to connect. The Revenants make a new, hindered charge into the maimed Veteran Spears, and Mhorgoth prevents a big slide. Then the Wights countercharge the Elohi.

Then Mhorgoth flies to the other side of the Wights, and will Drain Life 4 into the Gur Panthers, which heals the Wights. The Arch-Liche then tries to Surge the Skeletons into the Panthers, but only gets a few successes. This leaves the Liche King, who completes the Surge into the Panthers, and then uses the Amulet to try and cast Bane Chant onto the Revenant Cavalry, to help insure I pick the horde up this turn, but the spell fizzles.

...and another big get for the Undead. The second Spear horde falls!

Between the Elohi and Dictator and Ogre Captain, everything will be inspired no matter the order of combat. The flanking Skeletons land 6 into the Panthers and will luck out and pick them up, the Wights will land the expected 10 into the Elohi and will pick them up as well, and the hindered Revenant cavalry will also slip a few damage onto the Veteran Spears. The Spears need another occurance of Insane Courage, do not get it, and are routed. I'm happy with my positioning, so the cavalry are the only ones to reform, pivoting slightly.

Both Veteran Spear hordes are broken, along with several Elohi regiments. It's a big turn for the Undead!

Bottom of Round 3: Basileans

On the right, the Basileans push back. The Dictator has duelist, and happily makes a hindered charge into Mhorgoth, but only lands 2 damage. Still, this disordered the Arch-Liche, which is good for the Basilean efforts.

The Wights take a beating.

The Ogre Captain makes a charge into the very dangerous Wights, with the Paladins joining with a hindered charge. A slight underperformance means only 4 damage makes it through though, and the Wights hold firm, which is definitely not great for the Basileans.

On the central hill, the Paladins counter-charge the Skeleton Warriors, and are joined by a Phoenix. The Paladins deal 6 and the Phoenix 1, and the Skeletons just barely hold, thanks to Fearless.

The Basileans delay in the center, but do not break through.

The Elohi charge the wounded Revenant Cavalry in an attempt to pick them up, and will take them to 8 damage, but Fearless 17 is a bit much to overcome when Inspired. The cavalry hold.

The remaining Phoenix tries to protect the rebuttals, flying up and spraying a hot 4 sparks into the Zombie Trolls. Currently, the Trolls are in the front of the titan, but cannot align.

More pushback on the left from the Basileans.

On the left, the Mother of Phoenixes and Elohi go into the Revenant Cavalry again, underperforming a bit here too, and landing 3 damage to take the Cavalry up to 8 here as well. However, the Nerve Checks will spike, and the Revenant Cavalry will fall, with the Mother backing up 1 inch, and the Elohi 2 inches.

...and a lucky break for them with the Nerve check.

...for those keeping track at home, this is the first Undead unit to fall this game. Things are going very well for the Undead.

Top of Round 4: Undead

Unfortunately for the Mother of Phoenixes, the victorious 1 inch backwards doesn't get the Zombie Trolls into front-arc, so we don't even need to surge to hit her cleanly in the flank. Skeletons go into the front of the Elohi regiment, and then the other Skeletons, originally from the woods, move to line up into the flank of the Elohi. I am not a whiz with Surge, but to my knowledge, since I need to stay an inch away during movement, I'll need a Surge 2 to get in, and I will get the necessary 2 from the nearby Wight King, though the alignment will bump into the obstacle, making this hindered.

Positioning on the left.

The Skeletons in the front land 3, and the hindered unit lands 0, but the Elohi are grounded. The flanking Zombie Trolls unfortunately flub, dealing just 8 damage, but the Nerve checks are both good, and the Mother of Phoenixes falls. The victorious Trolls do nothing. The Undead are controlling this token for the scenario, and outnumber the Basileans, so we should be able to hold this and grind out the Elohi next turn, as they cannot disengage or get away since they are fighting on two facings.

The injured Undead continue to press hard into the Basilean center.

The Zombie Trolls hit the flank of the Elohi regiment, and the Revenant Cavalry smart-charge while counter-charging, sliding down slightly to allow the Trolls to connect and align. As should be expected, the angels fall, and the Zombie Trolls will back up to get the Phoenix in front arc. 

More Elohi are knocked from the sky.

The Zombie Trolls just to the right will charge the Paladins, land 7, and waver the unit with a hot Nerve check. Skeletons make a delaying charge to go and ground the Phoenix on the hill, and will land 3, and indeed ground the titan.

On the right, Mhorgoth is disordered and grounded, but will still disengage, withdraw, and then scamper away, presumably while cackling and wringing his hands, menacingly, as BBEGs tend to do. Hiding on the other side of the Wights, he is safe from the Dictator, will Regenerate 1, and will still bring Dread to these combats.

More flank charges and multi-charges from the relentless Undead.

Skeletons will move to get into the flank of the Paladins, and then be surged in by the Liche King. The Wights will counter-charge the Paladins as well. Wights are hitting and wounding on 2's, but I roll up a crazy number of 1's, but still manage to get the rout, though it is a lucky one here, though it is a very lucky one, and I believe we only get it thanks to Dread. The Wights back up, into the Liche.

Nuts. We can't quite make it through the report without a blurry picture.

The Revenant Cavalry make a clean flank charge into the Ogre Captain, and also greatly underperform, landing just 9 damage (12 expected), but thanks to Dread, we are still able to pick the Captain up as well.

Bottom of Round 4: Basileans

My opponent concedes. He's managed to claim one regiment of Revenant Cavalry on a bit of a fluke, but things are overwhelmingly grim. We'd much rather rerack and get a second game in than spend any time playing this out.

A victory to the Undead!

Game Conclusions

I did a good job to set myself up for success. I've played MMU lists enough to know that I don't want to ever run like units next to themselves, and deploying a mix in each group served me well. Salt the Earth is a really dynamic scenario, but I do think it was the right call here to burn the tokens and press forward overall, as I didn't want to ever be in a situation where the fliers could hop my lines to contest in the late game.

I was perhaps a bit reckless on the right, but I got really lucky with the waver against the Gur Panthers, and then just about everything bounced my way for combats and engagements, leading to a strong win.

Testing Conclusions

• Skeleton Warriors Regiments with two-handers. They could have stayed back to hold objectives, but pressing by ahead they continued to zone out a lot of space, and as a Shambling unit, fliers can't really get away from them. They helped keep the entire Basilean line boxed in, allowing me to pick the fights I wanted to without Elohi from one group relieving the pressure anywhere else. Overall, I still really like the pick, and this game was a great showcase for the regiments. 
• Zombie Trolls. I forgot just how solid these units were. Against a lot of Def4, they just cleaned house here for me. 
• Wights with Brew of Sharpness. This was a really fun unit for this game, as it is a very scary and my opponent didn't have much to target them down. They were a bit lucky to hold on, but did so, and just continued to dish out the damage. 
• Revenant Cavalry. Overloading the list with Def5 and -/17 worked wonders here. Against Spears these weren't great, but they were indeed able to start fights and contribute throughout.
• Revenant King with Surge and Heal. Surge did not pay off, but the kit felt ok? 
• Liche King with Surge, Bane Chant, Mindfog, and Amulet of the Fireheart. The Liche got such a boost with the a la carte spells, and this kit felt ok as well, considering the rest of the list and what it needed. A great and powerful spellcaster when you need one.
• Undead ASB with Surge. An ASB of mine always needs an item, and here, the Tome and Surge felt great with so many Shambling units.
• Mhorgoth the Faceless. I feel like Drain Life usually flubs for me, but all you need is one good showing of the spell to turn the tide, as shown here. Dread was great, and he continues to be a very valuable piece for the army, no matter the list I'm running.

It was clearly a very strong showing for the Undead. Thankfully, we were able to fit in a second game, and give my opponent an immediate chance at revenge!