It had been a very long week, but I was lucky enough to end it with a pair of games against Trevor or Data and Dice. Trevor was continuing to explore the Basileans in preparation of his Brothermark being rumored to be folded into the army for 4th Edition. He ran the following:
As we tend to do for our double-headers, we each ran a slightly different list. For the Basileans, we have two green Spearmen hordes, two regiments of Paladins with two-handers, and four Elohi regiments to support the humans. Two troops of Gur Panthers and two titanic Phoenixes were around to support, and we have two Ogre Palace Guard Captains, Samacris, the Mother of Phoenixes, and a Priest with Bane Chant and Bastion around to Inspire. Writing up the report, I noticed that while the Priest can take Bastion as a normal spell of his, it is still a unique spell, so Conjurer's Staff should not interact with it, and I know we missed this and allowed a few rerolls this game.
I too continued with the same army but a slightly different list. The Skeleton Warrior Regiments became three hordes, but the bulk of the list was the same, and up to test and evaluate and discuss is everything:
- Skeleton Warriors with two-handers. The concept for these was blatantly lifted from my own opponent here and his Brothermark Penitents. While we've both preferred regiments for our respective smashy roadblocks, I actually have hobbied up 7 regiment's worth of these, and figured I should try all three hordes at least once. Infantry hordes in particular have tripped me up before, so we'll try to deploy these wisely.
- Zombie Trolls. Coming in at just under 200 points, these are great units to start any Undead army, at least for 3rd. They have good Fearless Nerve at -/17, good Defense with Def5, and CS2 will let them grind against a lot no matter the match-up.
- Wights. I wanted to run just a basic unit here, and see what shenanigans I might be able to get up to with them. Fly is neat, but they lack Nimble, and are only Speed 7, which can be a bit limiting. I will note here as well that the Wights have Brutal, which we mostly forgot about.
- Revenant Cavalry. The list is trying to flood the board with a lot of durable unit strength, and these regiments are filling that out. I think the Zombie Trolls are probably better overall picks, but they have a nice charge range, and play really nicely with the ASB's Aura, so definitely have a niche in the build here. We'll try to instigate with them, and then see how the fights go.
- Revenant King with Surge. 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 felt like I needed a little extra Surge in the list. He's a cheap and versatile hero for the Undead, and we'll see what he can do.
- Liche King with Surge, Bane Chant, and Amulet of the Fireheart. The Liche is quite customizable, but you can easily over-invest in them. We have a pretty basic kit here, and we want the Liche to just be a reliable support piece.
- Undead ASB with Surge. The ASB's Aura is Wild Charge 2 for Skeletons, which plays nicely with our infantry hordes and cavalry regiments. The extra boost can be hard to account for, and lead to some surprisingly quick charges from the Undead. We'll be on the look to catch something out with a long charge!
- 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. I will note that Dread and Brutal do not stack, so when he is around the Wights, only one of those is being applied. I think we played this right... by accidentally forgetting about the Wight's Brutal entirely.
Again the Basileans had the slightest advantage in drops and in Unit Strength, but as the last game showed, the Undead has some surprisingly long charges, and if we can get some good combats, things can go very well for us!
Table and Terrain
Trevor was kindly hosting our games, 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.
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| Prepping the new table. A tough and unusual terrain arrangement! |
We got a bit of a weird map, with both buildings on one shorter side, and both forests on one longer side, but decided to keep it and see what happens. I won the roll for sides, and was lazy, thinking the forest might help me hold ground, and push out if and when I wanted to.
We got Raze for our scenario, which we upgraded to Protect and Raze. For Protect and Raze, there is a central objective token, and then we each place 3 more objective tokens on the opponent’s side of the board, 6” from the center line. If we control one of the tokens that we placed, we then raze them for a point, and then that token goes away, so we should be whittling down the points of interest on the battlefield down to a final clash in the center. The new(ish) twist here is that we can control but not raze the tokens our opponent placed, and we can score them if we happen to hold them at the very end of the game. The "protect" aspect provides for a little more interplay than the original version, and we both like the update. Given the buildings, we both went with one token on the left, and two tokens on the right. I placed the purple tokens; he placed the white ones, and the red one is the center token which can't be razed.
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| Overview of the table and deployments. |
For deployment, the Basileans had Gur Panthers and a regiment of Elohi in the small lane created by the buildings. On the other side of the building were more Elohi, more Panthers, and an Ogre Captain on line, with the Mother of Phoenixes and even more Elohi in reserve.
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| The Basileans on the left. |
The rest of the Basilean force committed hard to the right. We have alternating Paladin Regiments and Spear Hordes on the front line, with an Ogre Captain, Elohi and both Phoenixes in reserve, with the titanic fliers behind each horde.
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| The Basileans on the right. |
For the Undead, I immediately donk up my deployment. Seeing the building lane, I dropped a horde without really measuring for my first drop. The intent was to push up with a horde and another unit, and without significant investment from the Basileans, I should be able to hold and eventually take both of these these tokens using just a few units. But the horde is very wide, and I cannot fit two units on the line. Supporting the Skeletons is a regiment of Revenant Cavalry behind, and the Revenant King, with just Surge this time. It's not great, but if we get first turn, we could conceivably move and surge the Horde up a ways and create some space.
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| A close-up of the goof. This is a pretty big oops. |
As you can see from the other pictures, the Undead units were both wide and numerous enough to span the rest of the table. Another horde went on the other side of the building, ready to get tripped up on all the terrain. The ASB was nearby, with Revenant Cavalry, Mhorgoth, Wights and Zombie Trolls partially behind the hill, more Revenant Cavalry, Zombie Trolls and the third Skeleton Warrior horde in the pond, with the Liche King supporting. The final unit of Zombie Trolls on the far right.
Top of Round 1: Basileans:
On the right, with no forest or obstacles, all the human infantry is able to march up as much as they wish to. Both Spear Hordes and the Paladins move the full 10 inches. Both Phoenixes move and shift to clearly see around the forest, but won't be able to spray any sparks this turn. The Priest stays safe behind the central Paladins, while the Elohi and Ogre Captain take the hill.
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| The Basilean infantry move up at the double. |
The Paladins nearer the center of the field are forced to hang back. My opponent was making final decisions and realized that he was giving a free flank to the Revenant Cavalry in the center field, which I would have liked, but he caught it.
The speedier part of the Basilean center moved up, projecting threat and playing the angles. |
| The speedier left of the Basilean also pushes up. |
In the building lane, the Gur Panthers zip ahead, but are careful to stay out of range of the Skeleton horde. The Elohi from the left tentatively move up as well.
Bottom of Round 1: Undead
The Undead are in a bit of trouble on the left. As mentioned, due to my deployment error, I can't fit a second unit right on the line. Shambling also makes repositioning really rough, so we are pretty jammed up here. Technically I should be able to jump ahead eventually, but can't do so now, and don't want to just give up this token for free to Panthers next turn, so we're stuck for now.
The Skeleton Warriors advance. Taking some measurements, the Elohi are both in the front, and any Surge will turn one of those into a flank, so the Revenant King just makes sure he's more than 20 inches away from the Elohi. It's the best we can do out here right now, as we'll be forcing a decision from my opponent next turn instead of potentially just giving the token up for free.
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| The Skeletons move up, but are boxed in by the threat of the fliers. |
It turns out I have a second deployment goof, in that if the Skeletons move ahead, they do not have their leader point in the forest, so are giving up charges while being unable to threaten anything themselves. They sidestep, and than the ASB tries to Surge them forward. I get the successes I need, however I continue to trip myself up, and am stopped from getting into the woods by the Revenant Cavalry. It's not great, but at least I am not in the woods and giving up charges still.
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| The Undead also struggle to project into the center. |
Mhorgoth gets safely onto the hill, and hits a Mind Fog onto the Gur Panthers, but the check is low and they hold. Wary of distances, he does not Surge anything this turn, so this is his only spell. The Zombie Trolls get a leader point onto the hill, but the Wights are jammed up a bit, trying to make way for the Revenant Cavalry.
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| The Undead dare some hindered charges from the Basileans. |
Given all the other goofs this round, things on the right are going as both as good as they can be for the Undead! The Skeleton horde gets its leader point into the forest, seeing out, and moves far enough ahead to be giving up charges. Against hindered humans, I think I can hold if my opponent is brash, and otherwise, the nearby Zombie Trolls are ready to push back, and I should have enough to hold the tokens for now.
Top of Round 2: Basileans
The Basileans continue to pile on the pressure and exploit my early errors across the battlefield.
On the right, the Basilean line of human infantry twists, trying to limit charges into the fronts while protecting the flanks. The Phoenix on the right sprays 2 damage onto the Zombie Trolls, while the other lands 1 against the Revenant Cavalry.
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| The Basileans apply pressure instead of taking the bait. |
The Priest shuffles to make sure things are still Inspired, and the Elohi and Ogre Captain on the hill survey the lines, looking for openings. On the end, the Paladins move up to protect the flank of the Spear horde, and are able to get the troublesome enemy cavalry in front arc too.
A regiment of Elohi, along with the Mother of Phoenixes and some Gur Panthers push towards the center.
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| The Elohi charge in, and have already accomplished their task out here. |
On the left, the Elohi multi-charge the Skeleton horde, and land 11 damage. Because of where I felt needed to end up, the Elohi are both contesting the token, and when I point out the Basileans actually control it, since the Skeleton horde is only US3, my opponent burns this token for a point.
Bottom of Round 2: Undead
The Skeletons counter-charge the inner unit of Elohi, sliding down just slightly, and are stopped by the building, but this keeps both units clearly in front arc. The Skeletons land 5 into the angels, but they hold, and Iron Resolve down to just 4.
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| The Undead try to be patient. |
The Revenant King cowers behind the horde, keeping things Inspired for now, and the Revenant Cavalry I believe actually back up enough to prevent a fly over. With Surge around, no matter where they land, I should be able to catch the Elohi.
The Skeleton enters the forest, peering out and the ASB gets to their right, while staying out of range of the Ogre Captain and out of sight of the Panthers. The rest of the moves melt my brain.
Elohi in the backfield stayed just over 16 inches away, but the ASB can give them the Wild Charge 2 Aura, and they will make that charge. Unfortunately, my base is slightly wider, and I just barely touch the field, so this is a hindered charge, not a clean one, and the Cavalry will land just 3 damage, which is Iron Resolved down to 2 by the end of the turn.
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| The Undead set up for a long Surge, alongside several fights. |
The hill blocked line of sight for the Wights, so they don't have any charges this turn. They move and pivot, and their gaze falls on the Ogre Captain in the midfield. They'll need a Surge 11 to get there, but I have concepts of a plan.
Engaging the infantry line is going to be tricky. With a lot of likely hindered charges, I am not going to break anything, so need to be very careful how I engage. After some measuring, I send the Zombie Trolls peeking over the hill and the Revenant Cavalry into the Paladins out on the end of the line. With the other Rev Cavalry unit grounding the Elohi in the back field, this seems like the safest way to engage the humans.
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| With the threat of hindered charges, nobody wants to really fight on the right. |
I am hesitant to engage anything else. The Skeletons are skeletons, and a hindered charge to be hitting on 6's isn't going to help matters any. Wary of the Elohi on the hill, the Skeletons move ahead to bait future charges, and the Zombie Trolls on the flank inch forward as well.
The Liche King heads towards the center, and is just able to get into Surge range of the Wights to kick off their journey. Apparently he is enthusiastic about the plan, and provides 8 of the 11 successes I need with his cast. The ASB continues with a strong 4 to get be in with a success to spare!
Mhorgoth couldn't bring Dread to the hindered cavalry charge into the Elohi, but brought it against the Paladins, and was going to finish up the Surging of the Wights, but that isn't needed. He Bane Chants the hindered cavalry and lands a Drain Life 1 into the Paladins, though can't heal anything.
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| The long Surge connects, and the Wights deliver! |
The Wights land 11 onto the Ogre Captain, and then slightly reform, eyeing the Mother of Phoenixes and considering trying to fight their way over to the tokens on the left. As mentioned, the hindered Revenant Cavalry ground the Elohi but bounce off, and the Zombie Trolls and Revenant Cavalry get the Paladins into double digits and then break them, reforming slightly.
Top of Round 3: Basileans
Out on the right, the Humans press forward, with Paladins and the Spear Horde making hinder charges into the Skeletons, and I believe a Bane Chant from the Priest fails. IA total of 12 damage connects, but the horde does hold.
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| Brawls break out in earnest on the right now. |
The other Spear Horde charge victorious Revenant Cavalry, with the Elohi joining in as well. They are on 1 damage as it looks like I forgot to Lifeleech them from their combat on my turn. They take a fresh 6, but are Inspired, and do hold.
The Phoenix on the hill sprays into the Zombie Trolls on the table edge, taking from the 2 up to 4 damage.
The Ogre Captain takes a frontal charge into the victorious Zombie Trolls, landing 2 damage and tying them up for a turn. Some Gur Panthers charge in against the Wights but fail to disorder them. Another unit races past the Skeleton horde, slipping behind my lines.
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| Grinding and delaying from the Basileans in the center. |
The Elohi fighting the Revenant Cavalry disengage and withdraw. Fireball from the Mother of Phoenixes will land 4, and the Phoenix on the hill will contribute 3 with a hot round of shooting to take the cavalry up to 7 damage. The first Nerve check is hot, but they are Inspired by Mhorgoth, and the cavalry will hold.
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| The Elohi decide to tag-team and delay on the left. |
On the left, my opponent already took his token, so is just looking to deny my mine. The grounded Elohi back up, and the other unit charges in, to block up the horde again and keep the Undead line gummed up.
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| The Elohi accidentally swing too hard and break the Skeleton horde! |
Unfortunately for him, he rolls good, landing 5 more damage, and will break the Skeleton horde. The Elohi are mostly in line, so he can't get too tricky with reforms, and simply changes facing.
Bottom of Round 3: Undead
It's bottom of 3, and maybe we can still chew through two Elohi regiments? We have to try. I can't get any tricky Surge use here, so the Revenant Cavalry charge, and are joined by the King. We'll take the angels to 8, but don't land the Nerve check, and they'll stick around and Iron Resolve down to 7 damage.
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| The Undead try and fail to break through on the left. |
In the center, the Wights are technically free, but I can't get enough Surge out there to really take advantage of this. Lamely, they countercharge the Gur Panthers, and in victory, will choose to spin around and to fight for the center.
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| The Undead fight, trying to secure the center. |
Long-term, I want the Skeletons in the woods holding the center for me. They need to pivot and move, and will then be Surged into the rear of the Gur Panthers that sipped past them. It's a rear charge with a horde... but I hot on 6's, so we feel the need to roll it all out. We overperform a bit, landing 14 hits and turning that into 12 damage, to devastate and rout the Panthers, as is proper.
Mhorgoth repositions slightly, bringing Dread to the Ogre Captain and two nearby Elohi regiments. He tries a Drain Life, connecting for 1 against the Elohi near the field, and will Bane Chant the cavalry fighting them.
With just an inch between them, I can't get tricky with any positioning for them, even with Surges, so the maimed Revenant Cavalry are forced back into the Elohi, hindered again with another millimeter or so in the field. Sheesh. They'll land another few damage, but hold again.
The Zombie Trolls fight the Ogre Captain, and we'll land 6 damage and get a waver.Revenant Cavalry will get a Bane Chant from the Liche King, and then counter-charge the Elohi in front of them. The expected 4 makes it through, but the angels hold and will Iron Resolve down to 3 damage.
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| And the Undead fail to break through on the right as well... |
Since the cavalry held last turn, the flank of the Spear Horde is exposed, and the the Zombie Trolls make a hindered charge into it. Damage trends low this entire round, but the bottoms falls out here, with just 6 damage making it in against the horde. However, I luck out, and boxcars will waver the horde and keep some momentum in my favor.
The nearby Skeleton horde disengages, forcing more hindered charges next turn. However, the Zombie Trolls will make their own hindered charge into the Spear Horde on the end, dealing 7, which gets Iron Resolved down to 6 damage.
Top of Round 4: Basileans
The Basileans are still trying to hold and delay. On the right, the damaged Spears now disengage from the Zombie Trolls to force another hindered charge. The Phoenix heals them for 2, getting them down to just 4 damage.
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| Charges for the Basileans.. |
The Paladins will make a hindered into the maimed Skeleton Horde, land 5 damage to take them up to 17 damage, and will get the rout. They'll back un in victory.
Engaged on just one facing, the lucky Spear Horde will disengage and back away, and the Priest will bless them with a Bastion, and the other Phoenix will heal them for 1, taking them down to just 4 damage as well.
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| Several Undead units fall on the right. |
The Elohi will countercharge the Revenant Cavalry, land a hot 5 to take them to 11, and the cavalry are popped, and the Elohi will reform to face the Wights, and we agree that the Zombie Trolls can't align into their rear.
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| The Basileans continue to hold the Undead off in the center of the field. |
Centrally, the Wavering Ogre Captain does nothing. The Elohi now countercharge against the pesky Revenant Cavalry, with the Mother of Phoenixes joining in the flank, though only three damage lands, and the cavalry do hold.
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| The Elohi try to delay with another multi-charge. |
Out on the left, the Elohi just need to hold. One counter charges and slides, while the other flies into help, and 5 damage lands against the Cavalry, disordering them. I need to kill a unit per round to make it past them to my objective here, and they have good chances to grind me out instead.
Bottom of Round 4: Undead
On the left, we send the disordered Revenant Cavalry and their King into the injured regiment. Unfortunately, with the double charge, both slide down, meaning if I don't break this unit, the other Elohi now have a flank into the cavalry. It do or die (die again?) for the Undead over here.
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| The Revenants try to break through the more injured unit... |
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| ...and do! |
Mhorgoth brings Dread to the nearby Elohi and against the Ogre Captain. He'll land a Drain Life 2 into the angels, and a Bane Chant to aid the cavalry, and the Revenants will finally best this unit of Elohi, and then pivot to face the Mother of Phoenixes.
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| The Undead continue to push in the center... |
The Zombie Trolls fighting the Ogre Captain will bring him to 10 with more chilly dice, but with Dread, we will pick him up.
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| ...and achieve a few more successes here as well. |
The remaining Skeleton horde inches up into the center, with the ASB in tow.
The Wights charge the Elohi near the hill. They'll underperform and land 6 damage, but this does take them to 9 and we do luck out on the checks. We sidestep, trying to get on the hill and seeing rears of the human units, but only go an inch. Still, they now control one of my tokens, and will raze it, tying the game up.
Zombie Trolls will move out of the woods, and then the Liche will Surge them into the horde of Spears, and we'll land 8 damage, taking them to 12, which will Iron Resolve down to 11..
The third unit of Zombie Trolls out on the right decides to fight, and will take them from 4 up to 9, but they'll Iron Resolve down to 8. My hand is forced into the fight. The Spears are US4 and still just barely ot scoring, and feel the need to fight and try to keep them off the token. The fighting opens them up to a flank charge by the Paladins, but it is, what it is.
Top of Round 5: Basileans
We're talking things out, and I do convince him to take the charge, as he should have two turns to try and chew through the Zombies, and they are uninspired currently. The Spears counter charge, getting a Bane Chant, and the Paladins make their hindered flank charge.
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| The Phoenixes fly out to help play the scenario, putting the Basileans in the lead. |
The damage is ridiculous, with the Paladins landing 11 damage (6 expected) and the Spears doing the expected 5. I am just barely devastated, but still easily routed out here. The Paladins overrun, and go far enough to claim the token, and the Spears about-face to try and keep me off of mine way over here.
The Phoenixes also make a play for the final token for the Basileans. While my Zombie Trolls are just barely holding it while fighting, the two titans are able to fly over the melee and the woods to wrest control of it, making this 3:1 in favor of the Brothermark.
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| And after combats, the Basileans take their third token. |
The Mother of Phoenixes makes a rear charge into the Wights, hoping to ground them. Without fly, they can't get past the Spear Horde to do any weird Surge moves. The Mother will roll hot, land 4 damage, and indeed ground the Undead phantasms.
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| The Revenant Cavalry continue to endure the attacks of the angels. |
Out on the left, the Elohi counter-charge, and land a nice 4 onto the Revenant Cavalry, though I hold, so there is still hope out here.
Bottom of Round 5: Undead
I am suddenly very behind on points, and will need to make plays for both of my remaining tokens if I want to win. On the left, the Revenant Cavalry and King charge the remaining regiment of Elohi, hoping to break through. However, that is not my only play for this token.
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| More charges from the Revenant units. |
With the Mother of Phoenixes flying away, the other regiment of Cavalry are facing the general left of the board. With some decent Surge rolls, I should be able to get there. We move, ending about 19" away from the token, if memory serves.
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| Positioning in the center, with the horde atop the token. |
From the center, the Skeletons move and end atop the token, and the ASB scuttles behind them. The ASB will try Surging the cavalry on, landing 2 successes. I need to claim the token, so Mhorgoth flies nearby as well, to continue pushing the unit on, but he only gets 3 or 4 off of his Surge 10. I was hoping to get there no matter what next turn with this unit, but I am going to be short of what I need with just the move and will need to commit more Surge over here.
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| A mediocre Surge coming from the center, but the Rev Cav on the left come through for me. |
Luckily, the Elohi on the left start the combat injured, on 4 damage. The assorted Revenants land another 6, taking them up to 10 damage, and we will pick the angels up, with the victorious unit overrunning a good amount, and the King a bit less. With the angel bested, I will be able to claim the token with the cavalry on the left.
Back in the center Zombie Trolls move up and are Surged into the flank of the Mother of Phoenixes by the Liche King. The Trolls take her from 0 up to 16 damage with the clean flank charge, and we will devastate and route the legendary character, as is proper.
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| The Undead slowly push towards another token. |
The Wights had left the Mother of Phoenixes behind, and taken their only other charge into the flank of the damaged Spear horde. It's a bloodbath here, with another devastation and another rout. The Zombies overrun 1", and the Wights will sidestep toward the corner, also gaining an inch.
Going in to Round 6, the Brothermark are ahead, but the Undead control the center and are clawing their way back!
Top of Round 6: Basileans
The Phoenixes turn, and will both cast heal into the remaining Spear horde, taking them down to 6 with some low rolls. The Horde forms up to block up the Wights. They have Flying, but also Shambling, and won't be able to get the angles or inches to get past. The Undead will need to fight their way to the token to claim it..
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| The Basileans set up to delay just a little longer. |
The Priest hides between the remaining infantry blocks, and the Paladins turn to face the threats for a potential Round 7.
Bottom of Round 6: Undead
On the left, the Revenant Cavalry do make it to the token, and will burn it, and they will pivot towards the center, just in case, though there is nothing they can do in a Round 7. They've done their job this game, eventually chewing their way through two regiments of Elohi to grab my token out here.
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| The Undead finally claim their token on the left. |
The secondary regiment spins around, and between the Revenant King and ASB, we'll surge them around 3 inches back towards the center. It's not much, but it is necessary. The Phoenixes are free, and with just the US3 Skeletons on the token, I need to prep in case the Phoenixes can fly into the center in a possible Round 7.
But then again, maybe I am over thinking things. Zombie Trolls have a flank charge into a Phoenix, tan take it, thumping 11 damage onto the fiery bird, and getting lucky with the uninspired Nerve check. The center should be secure! That means it's a tie game, and I just need to fight my way through the Spear horde.
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| The Undead make a final push against the Spear horde. |
With no tricky options out here, the Wights go in, hindered, alongside the other Zombie Trolls. The Spear horde did get healed, but the duo of hordes do deal the expected 15 damage, taking the horde to 19, and will break it!
For suspense, the Trolls overrun first, hoping to get in the way of the Paladins and their potential Round 7 charge. Unfortunately, I overrun for a mighty 1 inch.
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| ... and fall far short with a pair of 1's. |
We measure ahead, and agree that the Wights will need a 4 to get in range to claim my last token, and they roll up a mighty 1 inch as well. Boo.
However, I do roll up a Round 7, and the Undead have another shot at victory!
Top of Round 7: Basileans
The pair of 1" overruns is particularly bad for the Undead. Another inch or two from the Zombies and they could be preventing a delaying charge from the Paladins into the Wights. Had the Wights gotten another inch ahead, the Paladins could delay, but we could multi-charge them to hack through the unit faster.
We talk it out, and settle on the best course for the Basileans being the Paladins charging the Wights to provide more Nerve to hew through, and that the Phoenix should be able to park in front of the Trolls and prevent them from helping with the carnage, as the trolls are pretty wide, and we don't think they would be able to pivot clear of the bird to join the fight.
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| More and more delays from the Basileans. |
The Paladins make their hindered charge, and land 3 damage for the grounding. The Priest will land a Bastion on the Paladins to help, and the Phoenix will spray sparks into the Zombie Trolls, landing 2 more damage.
Bottom of Round 7: Undead
I do not have the inches to sidestep the Wights and surge past the Paladins. We've got to fight our way through.
The Zombie Trolls want to help, but can't, and vent their frustrations on the Phoenix instead. They spike their dice, dealing 11 damage, and getting the rout here, and another 1" overrun, for what it is worth. It looks like I should have a hindered flank with the other horde, but I guess I didn't take it since this is bottom of 7.
Charges for the Undead.
The Wights... slightly under perform, landing just 9 damage (10 expected). In between the Phoenix fight and the Paladin fight, I realize Mhorgoth had the range to get onto the hill to bring Dread, and being a casual game, we allow it. Even with Dread canceling out the Bastion, the Nerve Check just results in a waver. The Wight's don't get another chance to overrun.
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| Mhorgoth joins in late... sort of. |
....This is just a pile of errors from me. First, Dread and Brutal don't stack. The Wights have Brutal, so Mhorgoth doesn't need to be here for Dread. However, we forgot about the Wights having Brutal when we retconned to bring Mhorgoth over for Dread. However, if he can get close enough for Dread, he can get close enough for Drain Life, which could have actually swung the fight. So... Mhorgoth should have been over here in the movement phase, and it should have been cast Drain Life. We still only applied the one modifier to Nerve for the check, but only because we forgot about Brutal on the Wights. Again, this is just a wild stack of errors at the end here from me. Oh well, my brain was fried after the long week, and it was a heck of a game!
The Basileans have razed their three tokens, while the Undead have razed two but also hold the center, making this a very enjoyable tie game!
Game Conclusions
It was a close and very cagey game! While I had a number of errors and goofs, I was able to power through most of them... just not nearly enough of them for the win. With several deployment errors, I am more than happy to have clawed my way back for a tie, and this was a great way to end a very long week for me.
I noticed a while back that the Undead don't have a lot for "toys," only the Goreblight and Balefire Catapult. Everything else is a hero. Rotating between armies, I gravitated towards MMU and Soul Reavers, but running just more units was incredibly viable and a lot of fun in these games too. The Undead are a classic fantasy army, and lots of fun no matter the build.
Testing Conclusions
- Skeleton Warriors with two-handers. Overall, I think I prefer regiments of the Skeleton Warriors. The hordes do take up space very well, and can be a nice, cheap area-denial unit, but I continue to struggle a bit with hordes, as demonstrated here. They did fine this game, but the regiments are more my style I think.
- Zombie Trolls. They delivered again this game, and continue to be a fantastic unit to start an Undead army with. Just a solid and reliable unit to brawl with.
- Wights. They just lacked a little bit of luck at the end of it all, but normal Wights did good work all game for me. Multiple of the unit are probably a little cost prohibitive, as they aren't the fastest unit, but a singleton can be a good workhorse in any list. And again, they do have Brutal, which can come in handy, if you remember you have it.
- Revenant Cavalry. The regiments proved their worth again here, making the initial charges and sticking around. They didn't get much support this game, and Heals or Bane Chants could really help them out. Three regiments might be a bit much since they do need some support, but they did fine here.
- Revenant King with Surge. As the stats would suggest, he can contribute a damage or two in combat, and did fine this game in that role. I do think one wants to treat him Surge almost all the time, and as a singleton, I think Surge or Bane Chant or even Hex via items might make him even better. He did well fighting, but I feel like supporting the units would have been better for me overall out on the left this game.
- Liche King with Surge, Bane Chant, and Amulet of the Fireheart. A rather "basic" Liche, but he did well here. A second big Surge caster makes a big difference in a Shambling list, and he was fun to have around, though I did like the kit with Mindfog just a bit better. As a Level 3 Spellcaster, the Liche also takes any Arcane Library spell well.
- Undead ASB with Surge. The ASB is a must-have for me if I are running Skeletons, and giving him Surge was a fine call, as usual.
- Mhorgoth the Faceless. The Arch-Liche still brings a ton to the table, especially for a Shambling list, and he could have probably won me the game had I been a little more mindful of things.
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