Kings of War 3rd Edition: #119 Varangur vs Halflings in Invade

Intro and Lists

Kings of War Wisconsin has launched its 2025 escalation league! Featuring a slow-grow approach and set monthly meet-ups, I’m excited to lock this into my schedule going forward. For my second game of the day, I was up against Kenny Lull of Combat Phase fame, who is dallying in Kings of War. We’ve seen him before running his Abyssal Dwarfs, but for the league he was branching out, and wanting to explore his new Halflings. He brought the following:

I’d personally quibble with the items and upgrades, but I don’t think he’s got a definitive plan for the army yet, so this balanced approach with a variety of units, and just seeing what ideas grip him seems like a great starting point. 

I brought the Varangur, an existing army of mine that didn’t see a lot of play in 2024. Like my opponent, I brought a rather balanced list, and since it’s a smaller game, we’ll comment on and evaluate everything:

• Night Raiders with Bows. The big question I want to try and tackle in these ambush-level games are when to take axes and when to take bows, so I’ll be focusing on that this month and next. We did alphabetical Axes for game one , and will explore Bows in game two here and see what we can learn.
• Human Tribesmen. The basic Tribesmen get outshined by the Hearthguard in larger games, but seem quite sturdy themselves, so I wanted to try them out more in these smaller games.
• Snow Foxes. These have been used to great effect against me, often deploying behind hammers to start, and frolicking ahead to block. I want to get in better habits with them myself, so we’re taking a unit and will pair them up with the Tribesmen. 
• Magus Conclaves. Their first Ambush game was underwhelming, I have run these at least once before in a larger game, and they were a lot of fun! It’s not often a war machine has Nimble or Steady Aim! Or hits on 4’s! I have a few larger build ideas for the Varangur that utilize these, so wanted to get in some early practice with them. We’ll see what we can re-learn.  
• Snow Troll Prime. The Snow Troll Primes are staples for both the Varangur and the Northern Alliance, and have similar units in other armies. He’s got some offensive power, but in these early months I want to lean into their defensiveness and see just how durable they can be. 
• Reporting. I haven’t been playing a lot, and my reporting habits have suffered. In the mid-game, I’ve been not diligent at taking pictures on my opponent’s turn, so despite this being a small game, I still wanted to report on it, and try and rebuild some better habits with my picture-taking.

To start the league, I wanted to bring something easy and balanced, and not optimized or overbearing. I think I managed that. …However, in messing around with the Companion App afterwards and brainstorming for my May lists, I discovered that I had built using the normal army construction rules. Normally, this is a legal list for the points. However in Ambush, each and every hero, monster, war engine, titan, or irregular unit needs an unlocking troop or regiment. With irregular Snow Foxes, a Magus Conclave, and Snow Troll Prime, I need 3 unlocks, and only have 2 between the Tribesmen and Night Raiders. My sincere apologies to my opponents, and I’ll get May squared up properly.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer’s Realm in New Berlin, WI, which is hosting our league games this year, and if you find yourself in the area, you should check them out. As mentioned in other reports, they moved into a new shop at the start of the year, which is far larger than their old one. It’s a bit of a labyrinth, with separate rooms for board games, card games, war games, role playing games, in addition to being a normal shop selling all that, hobbying supplies, and all sorts of things. All this to say, we were there, making use of their tables, mats, and terrain for our meet-up.

We were playing Ambush rules, with a small 3’x3’ table. The mat was 3’ deep this time, so we have a 6” deployment zone, and 24” between us.

For the Halflings, they ended up spread out, and trying to push from multiple angles. On the left were the Juggers, the center had the Poachers, the Muster Captain was in reserve, and the Stalwarts held the right, ready to take the hill.

Table and deployment of everything.

I believe my opponent had won the roll for sides, and had deployed the Poachers first. With the hill near the center of the field, and roughly in the center of the field, that looked like an error to me, so I deployed centrally, hiding behind the terrain. The Human Tribesmen came down on the left with Snow Foxes behind to support; the Magus Conclave came down centrally to shoot around the hill; the Night Raiders with bows came down next, hoping to pincushion the Stalwarts, and the Snow Troll Prime came down on the far right to just get him starting on the line. 

My opponent scouted up a bit, and then won the roll-off for turn order, giving it to the Varangur since he didn’t have any shots for the Poachers to capitalize on.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

The Varangur advanced, looking to hide behind the hill to protect the important units. 

The Snow Foxes scampered out onto the far left wing. They are Stealthy, in terrain, and the only thing the Poachers could shoot at without moving. I wanted to get them out here so they could interdict the Juggers and hopefully protect my Tribesmen.

Movement for the Varangur.

The Tribesmen hid behind the hill, and the Magus Conclave moved up to shoot at the Juggers, the only target they could really see. The magic lands 2 damage, and 1 is immediately Iron Resolved back.

The Night Raiders inch up, also mostly hiding behind the hill. They have no shots this turn, so I just want to get them in a position to dissuade or slow the Stalwart infantry in the coming turns.  

Bottom of Round 1: Halflings

The Poachers take the hill, hoping to block a Varangur advance and charge off of it. The Muster Captain gets nice and central to spread the Inspiring bubble, but is at his limit.

Movement for the Halflings.

The Poachers do not have great shots, and even end up moving to just set up for future turns. They shoot into the Foxes, take a boatload of penalties, and land no hits.

Scout is really hard to get a feel for, and the Poachers did not start in a great position, thanks to the hill. 

The Juggers move up, trying to zone things out. I don't recall for sure, but I feel like they must have a possible charge next turn.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

The Foxes scamper up to block for the Human Tribesmen, who are hiding behind the hill and cannot be seen by the Poachers unless the Halfling unit moves again.

The Snow Troll Prime moves up to reinforce the left. Should the Juggers take the bait, I have a multi-charge and should be able to prevent the Tribesmen from being hindered.

Movement for the Varangur.

The Magus Conclave repositions to fling magics into the Poachers on the hill, and the Night Raiders hold to loose into the halfling infantry as well. Just two damage lands from the Raiders, with the Conclave and its Elite upgrade failing to connect again.

Bottom of Round 2: Halflings

My opponent recognizes that charging the Snow Foxes is a trap. The Juggers nimble move around to try and change the angles while he bides for time. 

The Halflings try to close in. But they have little legs.

The Poachers hold, and again shoot into the Foxes. The Foxes are still stealthy, but the Halflings manage 2 damage against the unit, and get a very fortunate waver against my chaff.

The Stalwarts hold on the hill. They are isolated, and in a bit of a pickle. Against the Night Raiders, if the Stalwarts move in to charge, they'll get charged instead, and if they hold, they'll just get shot at.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

The Foxes being wavered is very unfortunate for me, and will prevent me from multi-charging the Juggers in any way since there is not a great way to get the Foxes out of the way to clear up frontage. If I charge the Juggers and don’t pick them up, I am exposing something to a potential flank charge from the Poachers. Fortunately, my opponent needed to step out for a moment, and I had time to think. 

Movement for the Varangur.

Ultimately, I pivot the Foxes, and send the Snow Troll Prime in against the cavalry with a Hindered Charge. The Prime is my only source of Inspiring, so it feels risky. The Juggers have a lot of attacks, but if I can strip Thunderous Charge, I think the Prime can hold, even if the Poachers join in too. This should be a good test for the Prime, and preserves my Tribesmen for the time being. The Snow Troll Prime lands 3 damage to bring the Juggers up to 4, but they then Iron Resolve down to just 3 damage.

The Magus Conclave and the Night Raiders hold again, and again shoot into the Stalwarts. The Varangur's ranged units have done a great job delaying, and the Conclave finally connects with a strong volley, dealing a fantastic 4 damage, with the bows spiking and landing a splendid additional 4 as well to take the Stalwarts up to 10 damage. The Muster Captain is out of range, and I am able to rout the Stalwarts with a good check.

Bottom of Round 3: Halflings

The Juggers countercharge the Snow Troll Prime, and we smart charge this to let the Poachers join in as well. The Juggers land 3, and the Poachers contribute 4 (basically expected damage), but the Nerve check is low and the Prime holds strong. Unfortunately, we forgot that the Juggers have Relentless, which could have been enough to swing this.

Charges from the Halflings! The Poachers spring their trap.

The Muster Captain runs to the other side of the Juggers, trying to be safe while keeping the remaining Halfling units Inspired.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

With the Stalwarts gone, the Night Raiders advance to score for the scenario. The Snow Foxes scamper up to do the same and get out of the way.

The Magus Conclave takes the hill, using the extra height to shoot into the Muster Captain with a small penalty due to his individuality. Nothing connects.

Movement for the Varangur.

The Snow Troll Prime regenerates down to 5 damage, and then countercharges the Juggers to strip Thunderous Charge again. The monstrous hero lands 3 more damage, bringing them to 6, and they then Iron Resolve down to 5 as well.

Victorious reforms for the Varangur.

With the Foxes departing, the Human Tribesmen flank charge the stalled out Poachers, landing 15 damage, and routing them. In victory, they turn to face the Juggers and close out the game.

Bottom of Round 4: Halflings

Out of options, the Juggers are forced countercharge the Snow Troll Prime. They land a fresh 4 to bring him to 9 damage, but the Prime holds firm with an unfortunately low check. Also unfortunately, we again forget the Juggers have Relentless, which should have been enough to swing this fight.

A counter-charge from the beleaguered Juggers.

Positioned behind the Juggers, the Muster Captain can’t see anything to help out, so repositions again this turn.

Top of Round 5: Varangur

The Snow Troll Prime countercharges the Juggers, with the Tribesmen joining in. The multi-charge brings them up to 14 damage, and the unit is routed.

The Snow Foxes frolic in the back field, and the Night Raiders join the Magus Conclave on the hill, just in case.

Charges for the Varangur.

The Conclave shoots with an individual penalty into the Muster Captain again, and again lands no hits.

Bottom of Round 5: Halflings

The Halflings have no Unit Strength, but the Muster Captain preservers. He charges the Snow Troll Prime to land a few more damage, and again fails by 1 to waver the monstrous hero.

The Muster Captain valiantly fights on.

In Top of Round 6, I fail to rout the Muster Captain, and in Bottom of 6, the Captain is finally able to best the Snow Troll Prime. Still, the Halflings are out of Unit Strength, and it’s an overwhelming victory for the Varangur!

Game Conclusions

I have played against the Halflings a lot over the last year, so I have some opinions. Generally, I like the list, but not the upgrades. Playing the game, I thought the Muster Captain’s Strider Aura was a unique upgrade (and thus banned for Ambush), but looking at the roster and writing up the report, it is not! With Juggers in the list and a Mounted Captain, my opponent should be picking that up for sure.

Around Round 2 my opponent fully realized his deployment error with the Poachers. He agreed that they should have been swapped with the Stalwarts. Deploying those shooters early and poorly gave me an advantage from the start, and it doesn’t take much to start snowballing a small Ambush game. With a bunch of Nerve checks against the Snow Troll Prime going my way, the Varangur endured and secured another strong victory.

Testing Conclusions

• Night Raiders with Bows. A little more testing is needed, but so far, the bows seem like the better default pick, which I think is where I landed at a few years back. Getting in position to use the axes will put you in danger more often than not, so the bows are much better at threatening a zone. I think there is a spot for axe play, but it is more of a niche role.
• Human Tribesmen. I was able to protect them this game, and they were able to rout two units and end the game with 0 damage too. The CS makes them a good generalist unit, letting them reliably land a few damage into just about anything.
• Snow Foxes. They wavered, but did their job and even survived the game. 
• Magus Conclaves. It had one real good round over two full games. A fun unit, but a prime example of needing to triple down on war machines if you want to get reliable output out of them.
• Snow Troll Prime. The Prime can really be a pain without even trying too hard. With Inspiring, he's going to stick around a little more reliably, and it doesn't take much to really gum up the works for an opponent, particularly when he's fighting stuff without CS. Two games in and I'm just scratching the surface for him. A very strong pick for sure!
• Reporting. Again I did ok, and making sure I at least got one picture as I shifted over into my turn was helpful. Again, good steps towards better habits here.

Kenny is indomitable and our group is lucky to have him around. He's got the longest drive to the shop (beating me by a few miles), so I'm hoping we can turn the tables and organize some more Madison-centric meetups for the club in the coming months, or even just connect for some one-off games for us two. My schedule needs to calm down a bit more first, but hey, one can hope and dream. Thanks for the game and hopefully we see him across the table again soon!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #118 Varangur vs Orcs in Invade

Intro and Lists

Kings of War Wisconsin is kicking off our 2025 Escalation League! The 2025 League is far less fiddly than its predecessor. No overarching map or zones of control, no upkeep costs, and no mercenaries. You can still accrue small veteran benefits for units, but those are slightly harder to achieve than in the previous year. 

Unlike last year, where meet-ups were entirely ad hoc, we are having set, regular days for the League games, to encourage more regular meetups. I prefer larger games, but realize the need to grow the community and encourage new hobbying efforts, so am more formally committing to the league this year, and hopefully the set League day helps me get a mix of larger and smaller games. I’m looking forward to this for all sorts of reasons! 

To kick things off for me, my opponent was Squirmin Vermin, our local Mantic Pathfinder, and the organizer of the League. He most often runs Ratkin, though I have seen him around, I have not seen him across the table since September, when he really started to perfect his swarm-style list. Unfortunately, I’ll have to face that list another time! For the new league here, he started painting up some Orcs,  and brought the following:

I think Skulks are really neat and both they and their upgrade worth exploring, and having more units is good for these Ambush-level games, so I don’t mind the multiple Young Ax regiments instead of flashier units. For bonus style points, these also fit nicely into a narrative game, as they can “grow up” and be promoted to the other Orc units, so it’s a very fun and fluffy list to start out with. Overall, I like the list and still think Orcs look like a very fun army to play. I should also mention the models, which are eM4 Orcs, which had caught my own eye a few years back when I was dabbling with an Orcish contingent. They are mono-pose, but dirt cheap and have a great retro look to them, and I am loving what he’s done with them so far, particularly the lighter green skin tone.

While I would have liked to have started on a new army myself (Free Dwarf infantry was on my radar, and oddly enough eM4 have a nice selection of Dwarfs that I had been considering), but this might be a project for 2026 now. The drive to hobby up a new army isn't there, let alone the time. Instead, particularly in these early months, I decided that I wanted to revisit the Varangur. I brought the following list:

To start the league, I wanted to bring something easy and balanced. I think I managed that. …However, in messing around with the Companion App afterwards and brainstorming for my May additions, I discovered that I had built using the normal army construction rules. Normally, this is a legal list for the points limit we're playing at. However in Ambush, each and every hero, monster, war engine, titan, or irregular unit needs an unlocking troop or regiment. With irregular Snow Foxes, a Magus Conclave, and Snow Troll Prime, I need 3 unlocks, and only have 2 between the Tribesmen and Night Raiders. My sincere apologies to my opponents. I believe May and June are still using Ambush rules, and I’ll make sure those lists are built correctly on my end It’s a small game, so we’ll comment on and evaluate everything:

• Night Raiders with Axes. The big question I want to try and tackle in these ambush-level games are when to take axes and when to take bows, so I’ll be focusing on that this month and next, and seeing what I like. We’ll go alphabetically, and start with axes.
• Human Tribesmen. The basic Tribesmen get outshined by the Hearthguard. I can't take those in Ambush, so this is a great time to try the Tribesmen out! The regiments seem like they should be able to fight and hold without much babysitting.
• Snow Foxes. The Snow Foxes have been used to great effect against me, deploying behind hammers to start, and frolicking ahead to block. I want to get in better habits with them myself, so we’re taking a unit and will pair them up with the Tribesmen. 
• Magus Conclaves. I ran these at least once before, and they were a lot of fun! It’s not often a war machine has Nimble or Steady Aim! Or hits on 4’s! I have a few larger build ideas for the Varangur that utilize these, so wanted to get in some early practice with them. We’ll see what we can re-learn.
• Snow Troll Prime. I liked how the green crystal turned out the best, so he gets to represent the Primes for their debut on my side of the table. He’s got some offensive power, but in these early months I want to lean into their defensiveness and see just how durable they can be.
• Reporting. I haven’t been playing a lot, and my reporting habits have suffered over the last few games. In the mid-game, I’ve been not diligent at taking pictures on my opponent’s turn, so despite this being a small game, I still wanted to report on it, and try and rebuild some better habits with my picture-taking.

My Varangur didn’t see the table much in 2024, but oddly enough did get to play against Russ’s Orcs later in the year in Battle #090. I really enjoyed that game as both armies are very “fighty,” and I've been looking forward to playing this match-up again. Now's the time!

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer’s Realm in New Berlin, WI, which is hosting our league games this year, and if you find yourself in the area, you should check them out. As mentioned in other reports, they moved into a new shop at the start of the year, which is far larger than their old one. It’s a bit of a labyrinth, with separate rooms for board games, card games, war games, role playing games, in addition to being a normal shop selling all that, hobbying supplies, and all sorts of things. All this to say, we were there, and making use of their tables, mats, and terrain for our meet-up.

We are playing with Ambush rules, and aiming for a 3’x3’ table. The mat we were using though was a typical 6’x4’ so for our game we cut it in half, and then have 6” of dead space, a 6” deployment zone, and then maintain the standard 24” between us.

We were using our typical terrain rules, running the building as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, stone fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the field and marsh as some Height 0 difficult terrain. Given the smaller table size, we have a lot of terrain. I should have brought the Herd!

Table, terrain, deployment and Scout moves! All in one picture.

For deployment, the Orcs had Skulks screening for some Young Ax on the left. The center had Young Ax with the ASB and Drum, and then finally the third unit of Young Ax on the right. The orcs were very compact to make use of the Rally from the Drum and ability of the ASB, which wants more units surrounding him.

Given the scenario, the Varangur still deployed on the line, but were more spread out. The Tribesmen were supported by the Prime nearby and the Snow Foxes behind. The Night Raiders and Magus Conclave were off on the right, hoping for some enfilade shots into the orc lines for style points.

The Skulks had scout, so moved up a bit through the marsh, and then the Orcs secured the first turn.

Top of Round 1: Orcs

The Orcs were cautions. Not wanting to incur penalties for shooting, the Skulks held, and then loosed into the Snow Troll Prime, as the Tribesmen were in cover in the woods. Still, no arrows landed.

Movement for the Orcs.

The Young Ax contingents moved up, with two securing the hill. Given the scenario, this is a very strong position to take.

Bottom of Round 1: Varangur

The Varangur were equally cautious, advancing, but not haphazardly. 

The Night Raiders moved up 7-8” , staying just out of charge range, but were not able to throw any axes this turn. The Conclave released Bloodbolts into the Orcs on the right on the hill, but even with Elite, couldn’t land any hits.

Movement for the Varangur.

The Tribesmen existed the woods, wanting to get out of it and avoid a hindered charge should the Orcs advance further up. The Snow Foxes kept pace and remained behind in reserve while the Snow Troll Prime moved up to project threat. 

Top of Round 2: Orcs

The Skulks moved up, but got their leader point out of the woods, incurring fewer penalties as they loosed into the Tribesmen, and would ultimately land 2 damage with their volley.

Movement for the Orcs.

The one regiment of Young Ax moved up behind the Skulks, while the other two wisely remained on the hill, threatening some big charges should the Varangur dare to advance.

Bottom of Round 2: Varangur

I want to throw with the Night Raiders, but can’t move up and out of arc of the Young Ax regiment. So the Raiders just pivot and throw, landing 4 damage onto the Orcs while staying more than 10" away from the unit. The Maguc Conclave repositions and flings magic as well, but again lands no hits.

The Varangur hold.

Most of the Orcs held, so on the left, my Tribesmen, Snow Foxes, and Snow Troll Prime all hold as well. This is a mistake, as the only Orcs that did move are out on the left, and my units are in danger.

Top of Round 3: Orcs

The Skulks make use of Pathfinder, and charge in against the Tribesmen. The ASB blesses them with a Bane Chant, and the Skulks land 2 damage against the humans. Their Nerve is pretty high though, and they hold, unbothered.

The Young Ax behind the Skulks moves up again, but cannot get out of the muck. 

The Skulks charge.

Given the scenario, and Orcs on the hill descend, seeking to fight rather than get shot at. The Drum and ASB adjust to support the Young Ax units pushing up, who just inch forward. They can't get out of arc of the Raiders, so choose to keep the Varangur unit in front-arc.

Bottom of Round 3: Varangur

Given my error, I am in a pickle. I was supposed to move the foxes up to block these kinds of charges! I am feeling the pressure and the need to delay. Above all, I need to prevent multi-charges from the numerically superior Orcs, and try to leverage my better unit quality.

The Snow Troll Prime can hit the center orcish unit without the regiment in the marsh being able to see him and support their fellows, so this central charge is a no brainer. In melee, the Prime will land 3 damage, but the Orc unit will be unbothered.

Mid movement while I consider what to do with the Foxes.

On the right, I believe the Young Ax regiment can catch a sliver of the Prime after the charge. I could toss axes and magics, but think it’s better to tie them up in melee to prevent multi-charges in the coming turns. The Night Raiders go into the damaged unit with a frontal charge, and will bring the unit up to 7 damage, and will get a lucky waver against the Rallied unit.

The Magus Conclave repositions again, to fire into the Young Ax regiment out on the left, but only 1 damage slips in. At least they did something this game!

Due to my error, I’m gummed up on the left. The Snow Foxes can’t really escape, so after some thinking, the Snow Foxes back up, keeping their leader point in the woods in order to see out. They can charge or reposition next turn.

The Snow Foxes eventually backed up, and the victorious Tribesmen pivot.

The Tribesmen counter-charge the Skulks, landing 6 damage, and picking the unit up as it was uninspired and unrallied. In victory, I could back up and get out of charge range of the unengaged Young Ax, but I’d need the full 3” to do so. That doesn’t seem likely, so instead I change facing, ready to just eat the hindered charge.

Top of Round 4: Orcs

The Young Ax on the left do go in against the Tribesmen, but are hindered. The ASB moves up behind them to get as central as he can, landing a Bane Chant into the charging orc unit to assist. The humans are at 4 damage, and only 1 more slips in, thanks to the hindered charge. The Nerve check is low, and my Tribesmen hold.

Centrally, the Young Ax fighting the Snow Troll Prime dish out 4 damage, but the troll holds.

All three regiments are committed to fights. Thankfully separate fights!

On the hill, the War Drum can see things, but its leader point is to the left of the Young Axes fighting the Prime, and things cannot shuffle around to let it join any combat. It’s having a problem similar to my Foxes. Eventually, it pivots and moves, hoping to sidestep the existing combats and score for the scenario later.

On the right, the wavered Young Ax regiment cowers. This is probably the correct play, to prevent the Night Raiders from flanking the central unit.

Bottom of Round 4: Varangur

The Night Raiders go into the wavering Young Ax regiment again, deal another 4 damage to bring them up to 11, and will pick them up this time. In victory, they will pivot to spy the flank of the central Young Ax unit.

The Snow Troll Prime grinds against that central Young Ax regiment, landing 2 damage and bringing them up to 5. The Orcs hold and the Prime regenerates from 4 down to just 3 damage.

Charges for the Varangur.

With the Tribesmen holding, they countercharge, and are joined by the Snow Foxes. The Foxes roll well, and the Orcs are brought up to 9 damage, but are Rallied and Inspired, and manage to hold firm.

Top of Round 5: Orcs

The Orcs are heavy infantry and unfortunately just slightly wider than the Snow Foxes. If the Orcs countercharge them, the shuffle down will still have the Orc base overhanging a bit, preventing them from overrunning to safety. 

So, the Orcs countercharge the Tribesmen and catch a Bane Chant. The Humans are brought up to 9 damage as well, but just barely manage to hold unwavering, thanks to the Inspiring of the Snow Troll Prime nearby.

The Orcs fail to bust through.

The central Young Ax cut against the Snow Troll Prime, bringing him up to 8 damage, and just barely failing to waver him too. With so few units and so few dice to toss around, Ambush games can be swingy, and everything broke my way here.

Bottom of Round 5: Varangur

The Human Tribesmen countercharge the Young Ax, and this time the Snow Foxes have a flank charge into this combat. The multi-charge prevails here, with the Snow Foxes pivoting in victory to protect the maimed humans. 

The Snow Troll Prime regenerates down to just 4 damage, and counter-charges the central Young Ax regiment, which is hit in the flank by the Night Raiders, and even Rallied and Inspired, the unit is picked up as well. The Night Raiders are scoring already, and overrun 1 inch. The Snow Troll Prime changes facing, to bully the War Drum.

Victories for the Varangur.

With combats erupting, the Magus Conclave advances well into my opponent’s half of the board. It doesn’t have a unit strength, so this doesn’t really matter. I’m just trying to practice with a mobile war machine, and wanting to get them away and safe, so they could spin and pepper any scoring Orcs as the game concludes, though everything is already breaking my way.

Top of Round 6: Orcs

The War Drum charges the Tribesmen, landing 1 damage and bringing them up to 10 damage, and again, the Nerve check falls just short of wavering my unit.

The Orc support units fight on, as Orcs do.

Likewise, the ASB charges the Snow Foxes, manages to connect with his one swing, but doesn’t move or remove the unit.

Bottom of Round 6: Varangur

No other pairing is done yet, and I like symmetry, so I take my full Round 6 turn, in spite of my commanding position. 

The Snow Foxes claw at the ASB, but land no damage.

The War Drum is silenced.

The Human Tribesmen disengage, allowing the scoring Night Raiders to get into position to score and still throw, and the Axes are joined by the Bloodbolts of the Magus Conclave. I don’t record how much damage is done, and don’t recall if the Magus Conclave actually finally connected with gusto, but the Drum is indeed routed, removing the last Unit Strength from the Orcs.

The ASB continues swinging the flag pole.

The Orc ASB defiantly remains, but it’s nearly a complete tabling against the Orcs, and thus a strong victory for the Varangur.

Game Conclusions

I liked his approach, list, and models, and can’t wait to see more of the Orcs in the coming months.

I played just an alright game, and it was more the dice that helped me out. As with so many Ambush games, any little advantage gained tends to quickly snowball, and all the Nerve checks broke my way, wavering his units and keeping mine around and unbothered. With that change in momentum, it just took a few multi-charges from to catapult the Varangur to a strong victory. 

Testing Conclusions

• Night Raiders with Axes. I was having flashbacks to my old Salamanders games, and was quickly relearning some old lessons. For Night Raiders, the Axe regiments have really only shined against infantry for me, and so I lucked out facing a full infantry list here, where I was able to actually use the axes. More testing is needed, but I should have some personal use mantras here by the end of the May league games.
• Human Tribesmen. The innate CS is great. They are a little expensive, but they are a nice generalist unit that doesn’t need a lot of support. I am still intrigued by the CS2 version, but the sword and board version seems like a strong default choice, or when you need to do a little bit of everything in a given list.
• Snow Foxes. I goofed and they were not used as intended, but it all worked out! Starting them behind the unit I want to pamper and protect is a good call, but I should be giving myself some space in the future. Good lessons to learn early on.
• Magus Conclaves. Against all that Def4 they should have shined, but they struggled greatly to hit and did what, 1ish Damage this game? So this was a prime example of needing to triple-down and really invest in war machines if you want to take any at all. Still, running and gunning was a lot of fun with them, and they seem worth checking out in the larger lists.
• Snow Troll Prime. It’s neat having him on my side of the table now. He was able to make use of his slightly quicker speed and grind well. The Prime is just such a steal for the points that it’ll be really hard not not to take all three all the time.
• Reporting. I was able to get into more of a rhythm on my opponent’s turn. To orient myself quickly when writing the reports, I take pictures of the turn tracker dice. Even when my picture-taking has stumbled, I usually manage to still somehow take those. I tried to start snap a picture just before that, and I think as long as I at least get that for my opponent’s turn, my reporting should be better and feel more complete. Good steps here.

As mentioned a few times recently in other blog post, one thing I want to explore more in 2025 is Master / Theme lists. I’ve encountered a ton of Northern Alliance players over the last year, but essentially no Varangur players, and wanted to give that some thought. Is it rules? Models? Fluff? Or something else driving that popularity divide? …Well, kicking off the 2025 League, we had 7 players at the first meetup, and 3 of us were running Varangur. I might need to rethink the popularity questions now! We already each had a different approach to the army, so it will be neat to compare notes as the League progresses.

And a big thank you to Squirmin Vermin for the game, and all he’s doing to keep fosterer and growing the local community. In addition to all the coordinating and organizing he does, he is also a bit of a blogger, helming the Nerd’s Tale. Give him a read and a thank you if you see him around!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #117 Herd vs Brothermark in Control

Intro and Lists

It’s been an absolutely ridiculous year so far, and every time I try to catch my breath and unwind the insanity of the world seems to kick it up another notch or eight. I don’t know anyone that is having a good time, but taking those breaths are still important, and it is paramount to make time for a little escapism and relaxation. Thankfully, after many months, our schedules aligned briefly, and I was able to sneak in a game against Trevor and his Brothermark. He brought the following:

The “staples” of his approach are still here, with a horde of Bowmen, a cluster of Penitent regiments, and some Ogre Palace Guard as the heavy-hitters. Exploring some of the army’s other options, he had a small cavalry contingent (with some new knight models that came out great, but I failed to take a good picture of). He was also only running two Phoenixes, taking three Heavy Arbalists instead, and tweaking the hero kit a bit. In summary, he continued the Penitent Spam approach he’s been enjoying, but veered much more heavily into a combined arms approach here.

I brought the Herd, with a list harkening back to Keith Conroy’s 2020-2021 approaches to the army. I have a lot of thoughts on the older lists, but suffice it to say here, Mr. Conroy’s Herd 2021 list utilized two Lycan hordes, an extra speedy Spirit Walker Horde, and multiple Beasts of Nature to zip out and crush stuff. He attended US Masters in 2020, and won US Masters in 2021, and while the meta has changed with Clash updates and army refreshes, this playstyle still seems worth exploring. We’ll save detailed discussions of the approach for later posts, but will still discuss a little. Up to test and comment on are:

• Lycan Hordes. Keith made use of two hordes with the same items in both the 2020 and 2021 versions of his lists. Since then, the Lycans have actually decreased in cost, so there are all sorts of reasons to explore them now. 
• Lycan Regiments. I really want to double-down on speed right now, and stretch my skills. I don’t know if the regiments are worth it, but I hobbied them up as regiments for a reason, and we’re checking them out now!
• Mounted Druids with Bane Chant. Boss_Salvage on the Forum describes Lycans as a bit “pillowy” on the damage they actually deal, and was advocating for one horde with something like the Brew of Strength. I am doing wide for now, and since normal BC Druids are a staple with my Tribal Spears, we’ll see if the mounted version has any play with Lycans.
• Harpies and Gur Panthers. I need chaff! His lists both featured a trio of Harpy troops, but I can only run two troops myself. We’ll compare and contrast with the Panthers.
• Beast of Nature. The Beasts were hammers in both versions of his lists, but I am only taking two of these myself, due to lack of models. With just CS2, they haven’t been as powerful as I would have liked previously, but I have often forgotten Vicious. We’ll try them out again here.
• Avatar of the Father. I still quite like my model, and still really want to try and find a place for him, even if that’s a niche use. Fliers tend to get better the more of them you take, as it’s harder and harder for the opponent to effectively zone them all out. It’s not the first time I’ve run him alongside the Beasts, but hopefully all the extra speed the Lycans’ bring plays well with him.

Table and Terrain

Trevor was kind enough to be hosting us, and we made use of his home set-up. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the building as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, stone fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the ponds as some Height 0 difficult terrain.

We got Control for our scenario, with the table split up into 2’ by 2’ squares. Each square is worth 1 Point, with the center zone of one’s opponent worth 2 Points.

Trevor won the roll for sides, and was technically a lazy gamer, though it was probably the better side for him, and he made great use of the terrain. On the far left, a Hunter character with Slayer lurked. A building anchored his line and protected the Bowmen, who started in the woods. The four regiments of Penitents came down on the line, supported by Augustus. Two ended up behind the hill, and were blocking for both Ogre Palace Guards. Both Phoenixes were down here, and the Knightly Order was screened by the Skirmishers, and both were in reserve behind the pond, which was held by the (presumably) damp Paladin on foot. All three of the Arbalists set up in the back corner. 

View from the left.

Alpha-strike lists need exceptional positioning, but I couldn’t find good reports on Keith’s games, so I had to just try my best with my own deployment, with the overall goal being to spread out the flying Beasts and Lycan hordes. 

On the left, I didn’t want to put anything behind the hill, so ignored it. Out here was a Beast, Lycans with the Chalice, a Druid, a regiment of Lycans, and Gur Panthers. My center had the second Beast, with the Spirit Walkers and Harpies in the forest. Another regiment of Lycans and Panthers nestled in the gap. Harpies started behind the building, and were soon joined by the Avatar of the Father, and the Druid with the Conjurer’s Staff. Lastly, the second horde of Lycans, with the Dwarven Ale sat on the far flank. 

View from the right.

Where to put the Spirit Walkers was a conundrum, as I didn’t want to be fighting through Penitents, but figured they should probably be more central. The Avatar and being out-deployed, I eventually settled on protecting the Avatar and putting him behind the building, which was crowded. Against lists with shooting, I think layering the chaff more would be a good idea in the future, especially since the Lycans can regenerate. I did fine at spreading things out, but could definitely have done better. However, this is a new playstyle for me, so for a first-attempt, this is ok.

Both of us were out of practice, but clearly realized the importance of turn order here. Herd at the top would be able to pen the Brothermark in and threaten a dozen possible charges; Brothermark at the top would let them shoot more while gaining some initial ground. The first roll off was a tie, but the Brothermark won on the reroll, and quickly seized the initiative. 

Top of Round 1: Brothermark

On the right, the Heavy Arbalests all shoot into the Lycan horde near the edge of the table, each one getting a hit, and landing 5 damage in total against the horde.

The Brothermark cautiously advances while the Arbalests shoot.

The Skirmishers and Order both move up as best they can, trudging through the pond. The Examplar Paladin hangs around, and the Phoenixes cautiously move up a few inches.

The Brothermark take the hill.

Centrally, the Penitents all move up. Two take the hill, and advance far enough that the taller Ogres can get their respective leader points onto the hill to see things. 

The other two Penitents advance as well, with Augustus tucked in between them.

The Bowmen Horde moves in the woods, but gets its leader point just outside of it. It’s shooting with a movement penalty, and can’t land any damage into Lycan regiment on the left.

The Brothermark left looks to deter and contain.

On the far left, the Exemplar Hunter moves up just a few inches, staying out of charge range of the Herd. I think this is the right call. At speed 8, he’s rather quick, but I am quicker. Had he advanced more, I could multi-charge him and remove him. By holding back and denying me a charge, he’s projecting a lot of threat. 

Bottom of Round 1: Herd

My goals this round are to move up and threaten stuff while denying the Exemplar Hunter out on my left any charges. Big-picture, I’d like to be smashing through stuff before the Exemplar can really contribute. With good stats and Slayer, the Hunters have often proven annoying. Now, having his little tricks but gained a mount, this one seems quite threatening, and has no shortage of targets since I've really invested into Lycans and such.

Movement on the left.

So, on the left, the Beast of Nature moves and pivots. I don’t know why I wasn’t more aggressive with it. I think my plan was to try and bait and juke the Exemplar Hunter here, which would let me charge or juke behind the building, but I don’t like that in retrospect, since I won’t be threatening anything if I do that. I should have been more aggressive with it and moved it up far more.

The Lycan Horde and regiment do move up quite a ways though, making good use of Nimble, and grab the center. Nothing can reach them for charges next turn, and they are threatening a lot. There are a lot of Penitents around, but CS1 is all I need against the rabble, and if my opponent isn’t careful, I should be able to grab a flank with something. 

I don’t know what to do with the Gur Panthers. I don’t need to chaff up anything scary yet, and given the scenario, I’d like to preserve them to the late game, if I can. So for now, they just come with, avoiding the Exemplar Hunter.

Movement in the center, with the Spirits against the world.

Centrally, the other Beast Nimbly moves along the deployment zone, looking for another angle. The Spirit Walkers move up out of the woods, with the Harpies close behind. The Gur Panthers hop up to screen for the Lycan regiment, hoping to bait a hindered charge from the Skirmisher troop. If my opponent does attack them, they are up far enough that the obstacles can be avoided. 

On the right, I’m scared of the war machines. Aside from the monsters, this list doesn’t have anything above Def4, so they, the Phoenixes and Bowmen could all be problematic if I don’t address them. Unfortunately, I’m stretched a little thin.

Positioning on the right.

From behind the building, the Harpies fly up 20 inches and pivot slightly. It’s a little dicey, but they are blocking any of the opposing cavalry from fitting between them and the table edge, which lets the Lycans zip up pretty far too, and be safe from enemy charges. Unfortunately, the Harpies can’t be everywhere at once. Protecting the Lycans is good, so the Avatar spends its Nimble pivot turning slightly towards the table edge and running up. The Lycans regenerate 3 damage from the war machiens and go down to just 2, which isn’t bad.

Top of Round 2: Brothermark

The Heavy Arbalest battery fires again, this time targeting the towering Avatar of the Father, and landing just 2 damage. The Avatar isn’t in danger of routing, but my opponent rolls up Insane Courage anyways. 

The Villein Skirmishers make a hindered charge out into the blocking Harpies. The cavalry land 1 damage, and the Harpies are also found to be Insane. The Order of the Abyssal Hunt reposition slightly, I think moving back an inch or two, to zone out the Herd as best they can.

Aftermath on the right. Damaged, but insane.

The Avatar has a flank charge into the nearer Phoenix, so both back up, turning that into a frontal charge. I believe both still have range into the Gur Panther unit nearby, and will use their Firesparks to pick them up.

Having no charges, the Penitents shuffle about to block what they can, with priority given to blocking the flanks of the units around the hill. 

The Bowmen hold, and manage to land 2 damage into the Lycan regiment this time.

On the far left, the Exemplar Hunter does indeed gallop forth, getting close to the Beast of Nature to menace it.

Bottom of Round 2: Herd

We’re not using clocks, and we’re both a bit rusty, so I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to think things through. Having this much speed is fun, but I am definitely not used to it!

The Exemplar Hunter can catch anything that charges the Villein Bowmen, so I opt to ignore the Bowmen this turn. The Lycan horde instead charges the nearby Penitents in the front. It’s not ideal, but Inspired and with Regeneration, I think I can grind them out. The damage is low but the Nerve checks are good, and I happen to rout the unit. 

Charges in the center. Come cheekier than others.

In victory, I hold. I have a clear channel into the backfield of the Brothermark, and want to threaten to do that. If my opponent doesn’t block this, I will retain my Nimble pivot to then face the rear of units next turn. This seems like a better plan than pivoting now to face the Bowmen. 

The Exemplar Hunter is stalking, but has no charges.

The Exemplar Hunter did come up, but I have nothing meaningful for the Beast to do now. I could pivot and run towards my opponent’s deployment zone, but will be facing and threatening nothing. So I move him away at the double, evadeing the Exemplar Hunter again, and hoping I can put together a flying multicharged next turn. Also fearful of the Exemplar Hunter, the Gur Panther unit continues to scamper away.

The Brothermark gave priority to blocking the flanks of the units around the hill, and taking some measurements, it’s slim, but we agree my Spirit Walkers would have a flank charge into the other blocking Penitent unit on the left. I take it, and then later on add in a Lycan Regiment that had no other possible charges. In theory, this will let the Lycans overrun and block for the Spirits.

The Penitents take 41 damage but hold firm.

My opponent offers to fast forward this combat, but I do roll up Insane Courage for the crazies. The flanking Spirit Walkers deal 34 damage, with the Lycans rolling hot and contributing 7 to take them to 41 damage, which I think is a record for us…

There is a big stack on the hill, which I try to exploit, as there will not be much room for the Brothermark to shuffle down for any multi-charging. Harpies and a regiment of Lycans charge in, and will get a surprise rout against one of the Penitent units, with the Harpies landing 3 and the Lycan regiment contributing 5. The Harpies overrun, and will go far enough to prevent the Ogre Palace Guard from being able to charge around them, and the victorious Lycans will back up. 

Over on the right, the other Beast moves up a bit. I didn’t want to solo-charge a Phoenix with it. I am hanging back a bit, but am threatening a lot, so just pressuring things seemed ok. 

Charges on the right.

On the right, I do some measuring. The Order of the Abyssal Hunt can just reach past the Skirmishers with their charge range, so I want to charge in, beat the Skirmishers, and then back up, as any success on the dice will get me out of range. Unfortunately, things are a little goofy, and the Harpies cannot back up far enough to not end with their base overlapping the Lycans. They are stuck.

So, the Harpies and the Lycans go in, will best the Skirmishers, and will both back up, with the Harpies getting 1” and the Lycans getting more.

Aftermath on the right.

The Avatar of the Father could charge the knightly Order, but they have Slayer, and innate CS, so that seems foolish. Instead, he flies up, and Nimble pivots. The war machines do not have indirect fire, so he is in danger, but I’m hoping I can tank another volley and threaten Brothermark flanks next turn. If nothing else, he still has charges into two of the war machines next turn, and could spend some time taking those offline.

Top of Round 3: Brothermark

The war machines shoot into the Avatar of the Father, landing 4 damage, to take him up to 6 damage total, but with very high nerve, the monster holds firm. 

The Order of the Abyssal Hunt make a hindered charge into the Lycan regiment near the mess surrounding the hill, and will land 8 damage, but this regiment is found to be Insane as well. Apparently the dice are happy to be rolled again, and don’t want the game to end too soon!

Charges for the Brothermark on the right.

The Phoenixes charge out, looking to take out the Gur Panthers. They land some damage, but with just 3 attacks apiece, fail to do enough to remove the chaff unit.

Charges in the center.

The hill is a mess. The overrunning Harpies are accidently blocking amazingly for the Spirit Walkers, so the Penitents and the Ogre Palace Guard are forced to charge them. The other Ogre Palace Guard is gummed up and delayed, unable to fight this turn.

Charges in the center/left.

The devastated Penitents counter-charge the Lycan regiment in their front, and lands a strong 3 Damage. (We may not have halved their attacks, or they may have rolled great.)

Aftermath of the Brothermark turn.

Augustus knows that Lycans behind the Brothermark Lines will be devastating, so he defiantly charges in, looking to hold them up. With not a lot of shooting options, the Bowmen make a hindered flank charge into the Lycans. They deal 1, Augustus lands 3 damage, and my opponent secures a lucky Waver against the Lycan horde, though this unit has the Chalice of Wrath.

The Exemplar Hunter had no charges this turn, so gallops up again, trying to get to the center of the field, so he can finally contribute in the late game.

Bottom of Round 3: Herd

The wavering Lycan Horde chooses to countercharge the Bowmen, thanks to the Chalice of Wrath. I’m more fearful of the heroes, but want to carve away at the horde and focus on removing enemy unit strength. They claw 11 damage into the horde, but find the Bowmen to be Insane.

Charges in the center.

The Lycan regiment charges the insane Penitents, deals 4, and picks them up. After some discussions, the Spirit Walkers simply chance facing this turn. The hill is still gummed up, and the Ogres in reserve will have a tough time reaching the Spirits, and the regiment will help prevent multi-charges into them.

One Beast flies into the front other Ogre Palace Guard, who have a freer path towards the Spirit Walkers. I’m not going to best them, but I want to gum them up. The flying monster flubs and lands just 1 damage, with is immediately Iron Resolved back. It's unfortunate, but the unit is still occupied.

Another view of the violence.

The Gur Panthers countercharge one of the Phoenixes and slide down, and I do land the damage needed to ground the fiery titan.

The Order of the Abyssal Hunt take a counter-charge in the front from the insane Lycan regiment, a frontal charge from the other Beast, and a flank charge from the Avatar of the Father, and the unit is devastated and routed, as is proper. The Avatar sidesteps towards my opponent’s deployment zone, angling to see around the hill. The Lycan regiment pivots slightly, and the Beast pivots more

View of the right. 

On the right, I had measured a lot last turn, but apparently not enough. The Harpies had backed up an inch, and so are 20.5 inches away from the nearest war machine… The Lycan horde is much further away. I should have overrun with the Harpies at least. Right now, they fly up as best the can, though they won’t be able to block for the Height 5 Avatar of the Father. Still, we’ll force a choice next turn, which seems like the best I can do here.

The Lycan horde moves up, threatening some of the war machines too.

Top of Round 4: Brothermark

I apparently take no pictures this round. The Heavy Arbalests ignore the flappying Harpies directly in front of them, and focus their fire at the Avatar of the Father again, landing 5 damage and brining him up to 11 damage, and will get the Waver against him!

The Phoenixes again multi-charge the Gur Panther troop, and will pick it up this time. They reform, stacking up to face the center.

The Ogre Palace Guard on the hill fights the flying beast in their front, but their dice are cold as well, and only 5 damage lands. 

The final unit of Penitents charge the Spirit Walkers, landing 4 damage, and the Ogre Palace Guard thumps the plucky Lycan regiment, chasing them off and then holds in victory.

On the left, the Bowmen fight back against the Lycan horde, with Augustus hitting them on one flank, and the Exemplar Hunter hitting them from the other. The horde is brought to 11 damage and wavered again, but thankfully this is still the unit with the Chalice of Wrath.  

Bottom of Round 4: Herd

The wavering horde regenerates nothing, which is very concerning. However, the Chalice of Wrath again negates the waver to let them chaw into the Bowmen, and they land another 11 damage to bring them to 22, and am able to grind that horde out. In victory they do nothing. I think my hope was that they somehow survive next turn and are able to zip out into a corner to play the scenario, but regenerating nothing this turn, that doesn’t seem likely. Fighting individuals, facing doesn't matter, so we'll still threaten to overrun, and force a choice upon my opponent.

A weird charge for the Spirit Walkers.

It's awkward, but the disordered Spirit Walkers can just pivot to connect with the Ogres, and do have the space to be picked up and plopped down to align, so I take that charge instead, as getting damage on that unit seems more important than fighting Penitents. I believe Bane Chant lands, and the Walkers land 8 damage onto the Ogres. It's a weird situation, but I felt chipping away at the Ogres was better than fighting the Penitents. Not sure if that was the right call. 

Overview of the center.

The Beast and the Lycan regiment take a frontal charge into the Ogres on the hill, with the other Beast joining in the flank. We land 16 damage, and pick the Ogres up. The injured Beast pivots 90 degrees to spy the remaining combats, and the other beast overruns, towards the same combats on the left. The Lycan regiment regenerates 2 down to 6, and faces off against the Phoenixes. 

The wavering Avatar unfortunately does nothing, and just holds. If I luck out, and he survives, he still has a lot of possible charges next turn.

View on the right.

The Lycan horde from the right zips into the backfield of the Brothermark, threatening charges next turn. That seems better than fighting a war machine.

The Harpies do descent upon one of the contraptions though, and do manage to scatter the crew. Unfortunately, due to positioning errors, this is a turn late, and two are still operational.

Top of Round 5: Brothermark

The remaining Heavy Arbalests land 6 damage into the maimed Avatar of the Father, and drop him from the skies.

The Phoenixes spread out to claim zones for the scenario, and spray into the Lycan regiment, landing 7 new damage between them, and seeing the unit off the field.

The Avatar and Lycans are shot off, and the Beast grounded by two heroes.

The Paladin and Chaplain fight the maimed beast of Nature, landing 2 and 1 damage respectively, and taking the bird up to 8 damage. The Beast holds, but is grounded. The other Beast is untouched.

Luckily, the Spirit Walkers are insane at just the right moment.

The Ogres finally connect against the Spirit Walkers with a counter-charge, and the Penitents join in with a flank charge. The horde is brought to 19 damage, but found to be Insane. 

Bottom of Round 5: Herd

If memory serves, the Lycans in the backfield are an inch shy of reaching the Ogre Palace Guard, and cannot see the Penitents, so they zip forward to claim my opponent’s center zone, and then pivot to threaten some of the remaining Brothermark units. 

Aftermath of the Herd's turn 5.

The maimed beast is stuck up against the heroes of the Brothermark, and I choose to flail against
the Paladin. The Paladin seems more dangerous, so the thinking is, if I can best him, I might be able to survive another round with the Chaplain, and then contribute somehow to the scenario. I land some damage, but am not able to best the Paladin. Individuals can be surprisingly resolute against monster.

The Harpies best another war machine.

The other Beast flies into the flank of the Ogres, with the insane Spirits assailing the Guards from the front. The Orges are brought up to 19 damage, and devastated and routed, as is proper. 

The Harpies land another 8, and will best a second war machine.

Top of Round 6: Brothermark

The final Heavy Arbalest fires into the threatening Harpy unit, landing 3, but failing to scatter the vicious flying ladies, who are actually scoring this zone.

One Phoenix is holding my right zone, the other my center zone, and both will spray into the nearby Druid, landing just 2 damage though. Together, the Phoenixes are scoring 3 points for the Brothermark.

Brothermark turn six.

The Exemplar Hunter will charge in against the previously untouched Beast with a strong 5 damage, and will ground it.

The final regiment of Penitents will charge in against the Spirit Walkers, and will drag them down, then turn to face my opponent’s deployment zone, with a Beast and the Lycan horde. All this is happening in my opponent’s center zone, which I am controlling, making it 3:3 as we move to finish Round 6.

Bottom of Round 6: Herd

It’s a tie game, and the Herd has speed, but the positioning is not ideal.

The Harpies charge the final war machine, skimp a bit on damage, but still manage to scatter the third contraption. They are still claiming this zone. 

Both Beasts are unfortunately grounded, and being fliers, lose Nimble. Instead of flying out and claiming other zones, they are stuck contesting my opponent’s center zone.

End of Round 6.

Both the Exemplar and Augustus are mighty, and the distance between them is about 110mm – there isn’t room for the Lycans to zip through on that side, nor is there room on the other side to zip around and connect against the Penitents in another way. The Lycans are apparently stuck here too, and as a result, I’m stuck overcommitting here, with 5 US against the meager 2 of the Penitents.

The Beast of Nature grounded by the Exemplar excuses itself to try and rout the Penitents for fun, but will fail to do so.

The Lycans will charge the Examplar, land 8 damage, and get a waver against the hero.

At the end of Round 6, it’s still a tie game, and we do not roll up a Round 7.

Game Conclusions

In chatting afterwards, apparently my opponent forgot that the Phoenixes are titans, and thus US2. He had a chance to fly out to surpass the Harpies in that zone, and did not, so I will happily take a lucky draw here, as well as all of the seemingly innumerable Insane Courage results that helped me get this far!

First turn seems extra important for an alpha strike kind of list, and unfortunately, I was not able to seize the initiative and go first to gain ground early and mitigate the Brothermark’s shooting. Knowing how to deploy and when to pressure and when to hide is something that will come in time. As-ever, I had a few mistakes, but nothing crippling, and again I’ll gladly take an undeserving tie here!

The combined arms approach for the Brothermark was very strong this game. The Heavy Arbalests proved to be invaluable, drawing Herd units away to fight them while they relentlessly shot up my units, eventually bringing down the Avatar of the Father. Additionally, while the special religious Orders for the Exemplars on foot are fun and fluffy, just giving him a mount to make him more threatening seemed like the correct call. I didn’t have anything to really deal effectively with this hero, and he was a concern of mine throughout the game. For a pittance, he really pushed that entire flank of mine around since I was trying to avoid him. Some very effective additions for the Brothermark this game!

Testing Conclusions

• Lycan Hordes. In particular, the Chalice proved invaluable, and I do think you will want some kind of waver mitigation on them if you can, since the longer you are on the table, the more likely Regeneration can come into play for you. I want to run the duo some more, and will very likely continue to default to internet wisdom and just take the mitigation items myself here.
• Lycan Regiments. I feel like I did not deploy them well, but don't have a clear vision of how to use them. They would make great war machine hunters, but that flank was messy. Maybe one should have committed to fighting and slowing down the Exemplar? These weren’t terrible, and would be worth trying out again in a similar list. 
• Mounted Druids with Bane Chant. They did work ok alongside the Lycans, and their Speed 9 Mounts is very nice to have. Without Command Dice and the rerolls, Bane Chant was not as reliable, though the one with the Staff did land all her casts, thanks to the item.
• Harpies and Gur Panthers. My chaff use felt a little weird this game. Especially against shooting I think I should have deployed with them layered up and behind the Lycan hordes, so will try that next time. The Harpies are a slightly better then the Panthers (fly, plus two additional attacks), but they seemed mostly inter-changeable here. If you have the points, Harpies do have an edge, but either should do well enough as chaff to block and die. 
• Beast of Nature. I treated the Avatar like a 3rd Beast, and I think deploying them around the field like I did was the way to go. I was always threatening something with them, which is my mantra for fliers, and I did get a few good charges in, but these were not used nearly as effectively as they needed to be. I think being a little move aggressive with their opening moves should help in the future games.
• Avatar of the Father. He was my last drop and lost a few inches since the Harpies were already in his hiding spot. He got a flank charge and worked well as a distraction carnifex, though he’s expensive, and that is probably not the best use of points. A speedy list did seem a good place for him though, so we’ll for sure try him again in a similar list sometime in the future.

As-ever, my opponent brought a good list and played a good game, despite several months away. Be sure to check out his analytical blog at DataandDice.com, and hopefully he settles into his new job swiftly, and we get to see him across the table again soon.

The Herd’s approach here was decent, for a first attempt. Overall, I think I needed to be more aggressive with my movements, grabbing as many inches as safely possible whenever possible, in order to really leverage my greater speed. This is especially true with the flying Beasts. Like so many of my Herd games, it felt like the wheels were rattling and threatening to come off the whole time, but having such a speedy list was a lot of fun. We unfortunately only played the one game, but I have a few other lists sketched out, so we’ll revisit the Herd this playstyle again another time. Hopefully soon!