4th Edition: Battle #028 Abyssals vs Basileans in Pillage

Intro and Lists

I was fortunate enough to be throwing down with Trevor of Data and Dice fame, after far too long away from the table. The Northwoods GT was long passed, and Trevor had shifted gears to explore the Basileans with a one battalion list:

As we tend to do, our rematch lists were very similar to our initial lists. He's got two hordes of Spears, and two regiments of Paladins to hold the line and pay the core tax. Then, two regiments of Ogre Palace Guard to smash things, with one even having the Brew of Sharpness to hit on 2's. There was a troop of Elohi to threaten and pressure, and now two troops of Gur Panthers to chaff up opposing scary units. Two War Priests were to inspire and cast spells, including the trusty Bane Chant and devastating Blizzard, with the Mother of Phoenixes lending her support as a Warlord doing the same. Adding to the ranged potential are two Cannons, which can hit on 4's, which seems powerful and unique for war machines. For Commands, the Basileans can heal and grant Elite, though both have limitations, and will mainly hit human units. I unfortunately forgot to get a shot of the Mother of Phoenixes for the cover page, but we'll try to remedy that in the future, as it is nicely painted and deserves the spot!

For the second game I continued on with the Abyssals, again running largely the same list. I liked the variety of units I had, and wanted to keep those and get more experience with them, but dropped the very expensive Warlord for more heroes. The Command Orders for the Abyssals aren’t great, but I really wanted to explore those a bit more here while I had the chance. Up to discuss and evaluate is everything:

• Efreet with the Talisman. With Fireball now having both Shattering and Blast d3, it feels much more distinct than Lightning Bolt, and I like where it is at. The shorter range is still an issue, as you can really only safely target infantry, but we’ll see how it does. With characters in shorter supply now, we’ll take the Inspiring Talisman too, just to squeeze a bit more utility out of him.
• Harbinger. I really want my ASBs to be doing more than standing around looking pretty. The Lute and Bane Chant was my go-to though, and it is gone now. I don’t want to run them stock but they do have a small ranged attack already, and we’re taking a lot of other shooting, so we’ll take the opportunity to try them out as-is and see how they do here.
• The Bloody Cardinal. He’s a weird little guy but my comparable Depoilers are all on the old monstrous 50s instead of 40s, so we’re taking him. No regeneration on him, but Lifeleech 3 compensates and Dread plus good offensive stats makes him versatile. I had him used against me to good effect at the semi-recent Northwoods events, where he was held back to make use of Dread, and then charged in on subsequent turns to finish off units. That seems wise, so we’ll try to mimic that here.
• Warlock with Bloodboil. Unfortunately, this is the only spellcaster in the army. We’re taking a lot of shooting, and while the Warlock can contribute with Firebolts… Bloodboil seems like it will be more impactful. 
• Flame Bearers Corps. The Core units of the Abyssals are a bit perplexing to me, and I wanted to kick off my testing with the most simple approach to the Core Tax, taking a lot of Flame Bearers. The 18” range is really tough though, and usually precludes any Round 1 shots. They are much more immobile than 3E, so we’ll see what we can do here.
• Gargoyles. I think the Speed 10 Gargoyles are in a really strong place. With good positioning they can be a terror at disrupting enemy lines. I hobbied up a few more units, but with a focus on shooting instead of melee, we’ll take just three units. 
• Berserkers. They were over-tuned in 3E, and seem far more reasonable now. We’re taking a stock regiment to hopefully nail down the changes in my noggin.
• Tortured Soul Troops. I liked these a lot in 3E, but lacking Nimble prevented them from being too bonkers. With the movement changes now, I think these could be really strong. I think these will do best in a melee list, where everything is pushing up and being scary, but we’ll try them here with shooters, with the idea being that the Shooting can soften things up and the Souls can finish it off.
• Abyssal Horsemen. They came out ok with the 4E changes, getting the extra attacks, losing their CS but kept Regeneration. It’s a mixed bag. With Just TC they need clean charges, so we’re going with the one unit of cavalry and the J Boots approach again, which I still think will be the standard for using cavalry a while. As-mentioned in the forum’s Tactica, charging, withdrawing, and then using a Command Fireball with them seems clever, so that will be a goal of ours!
• Molochs. With the shake-ups in the new edition, there is much more of a choice to be made between them and the Berserkers now. They look like a very solid hammer unit and so we’ll try them out agaon, and with the same leftover points as before, we'll give them the Blessing of the Gods again and see how we do.

As before, we have two combined-arms lists clashing, which should make for another fun and interesting game!

Table and Terrain

Trevor was hosting, and we made wonderful use of his table and terrain and spacious ping-pong table setup. I think we are still intuiting the terrain, but I don't think there were any impactful game moments, so we can say that we had some Height 10 Forests, the blocking Buildings were Height 7, Hills with Height 3, fields as Height 0 and Obstacles as Height 2.

Overview of the new table.

We got Pillage for the Scenario, which is a weird one. Instead of taking the tournament maximum, we rolled, getting 5 Objective tokens to scatter about and then fight over. I think I lost the roll, and don't recall who placed what token. They are objectives, so cannot be picked up and carried around, so we'll see how this all works. 

And the table, with deployment.

My opponent won the roll for sides, and after some consideration, was lazy, staying put. He deployed rather centrally. On the left we have Gur Panthers screening for the Taller Elohi, and some Spears supported by the Mother of Phoenixes. The hill meandered a bit into the deployment zone, and we agreed to treat the center points on the hill to help out with things getting jostled. The center had the Blizzard caster, both Paladins, and Spears on the line, with both Ogres in reserve to help the Paladins, and the second unit of Panthers and War Priest supporting the Spears.

Not having a real feel for the army or list yet, but fighting for objectives, I tried the same approach as in the previous game, trying to keep shooters pretty central, and spread out to pressure from elsewhere.

View from the left.

The left third of the board didn't have any tokens to fight over, but it seemed like there might be some good vectors to pressure and tie things up. We have Gargoyles and Tortured Souls on the line, and more Gargoyles in reserve. While some folks have adamantly argued that fliers can still fly out of difficult terrain without issue, like in 3E, I do not agree with that interpretation. Charging is the most lenient move, and fliers are hindered entering or exiting difficult terrain, so I don't think they can be issued "At the Double" move orders out of terrain. So, until we get an FAQ that is actually useful, this is my default, for now, unless agreed to while setting up, and is why my fliers are actively avoiding the field.

View from the center.

I want to pressure from the left, so we have Horsemen in reserve, and a rather mobile Efreet to Inspire and hopefully issue orders and toss Fireballs. We then have two Flame Bearer regiments, the Warlock, and other two Flame Bearer Regiments, with the Harbinger on the other flank.

View from the right.

On the right, we have cowering Gargoyles, Molochs and Tortured Souls, with angled Berserkers, and all overseen by the Bloody Cardinal. I slightly out-dropped my opponent, and was able to save the Molochs and Berserkers until the last, and so hopefully this push is a little more better supported than last time.

Overall, I am not thrilled with my deployment, but I think it is more uncertainty and unfamiliarity with the scenario. A bit oddly, I again win the rolls for turn order again. I was hoping to compare / contrast going first and second with short range shooting, but seeing the commanding hill with the artillery pieces facing me, I feel forced to again take first turn and try to relieve the ranged pressure against me and pen the Basileans in.

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

On the left, the speedy Gur Panthers can cause some trouble for me, as can the equally speedy flying Elohi. I have essentially just chaff way out here, so the plan is to deny charges for now, and hopefully use Fireballs from the Efreet and command Fireballs from the Efreet to deal with them, and then sweep over. 

Positioning on the left. Hopefully Fireballs are in the forecast.

The Gargoyles and Tortured Souls stay back, and the Efreet and Horsemen use the forest to gain some ground. With the Boots, I can ignore the terrain, so as long as I don't charge the Spears in the front, I should hopefully be able to get some use out of them. Using the Efreet, I try out another Command Order, boosting defense of the Horsemen from Shooting into their front facing next turn.

The Abyssals move... forward?

I don't really know what to do in the center. I obviously don't have shots and have a pretty exposed Warlock. I am a big proponent of learning lessons from other people. Usually these are life lessons, but the mentality does bleed over into many aspects of my life. I've been very interested in Rob's Halfling Rifles, as they also with 18" shooting. He can get Round 1 shooting with fancy command orders, but generally, his approach for going first had been to jam the shooters up far enough that folks can't back up out of it. He's got Bear Trap Orders to punish aggression though, and I don't think that's viable here, and after some hemming and hawing, I move my 5" up and call it a day. 

The Abyssal Right pushes in.

On the right, we are a little more daring, as with nothing really opposing us we are moving up! The Tortured Souls move their maximum and pivot, joined by the Molochs. The Berserkers move their maximum as well, but starting a few inches back, they lag a bit behind. 

Bottom of Round 1: Basileans

The Basileans ... hold. We both comment that it seems weird, but both think it is the right call. We've got a whole game ahead of us, and with all the tokens in the middle, units shouldn't need to move too far to secure them, and you only need to hold 3 to win. If he holds, I don't have any great shots next turn and will need to inch up again, while I am in range of his longer shots already. It feels weird, but is a good plan.

Positioning for the Basileans.

On the right, Gur Panthers zip out to zone out the space behind the building, and the Ogres pivot to face the oncoming threats. The center holds, and on the left, the Elohi and Gur Panthers back up and pivot.

For shooting, both Cannon and the Blizzard rain down on the Warlock. I couldn't figure out a way to protect him, having deployed him out in the open. I need to eat these shots, learn my lesson, trust in Regeneration, and hope I can keep the damage down to just wavering for a few turns.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

On the left, I spy opportunities to try out my orders. The furthest unit of Gargoyles stays out of range of the Gur Panthers, but the other unit hops into the woods. The Efreet tries to grant them a Fireball... but fails. The Efreet moves into the woods, and the wavering Warlock grants a Fireball to the Abyssal Horsemen. Everything stays over 10 inches away from the Spears, and we throw a combined Fireball 10 into the Gur Panthers, which has alright rolls, and results in a waver, on what I think is 9 damage.

A lot of effort for a few Fireballs.

The Flame Bearers are forced to inch up. I choose to move up far enough to get shots (2 inches?) and that's it, with the left-most unit moving up to touch the obstacle to ignore it, as we think that rule still applies. Two units throw into the nearer war machine, landing 6 damage, but do not waver it.

Two more regiments and the Harbinger toss into the right-most Paladins, landing 6 damage, which will be Iron Resolved down to 5 when they are found to be steady.

More Fireball Orders on the right.

On the right, we have another chance for Orders. The Harbinger grants a +2 Fireball to the Molochs, and the Cardinal does the same for the Berserkers. A combined Fireball 8 goes into the Spearmen, landing just 5 damage, which is Iron Resolved down to 4. It's a bit underwhelming. 

Still, the Tortured Souls should be able to hop the line next turn if they want, we have Gargoyles waiting in reserve, and both the Molochs and Berserkers have charges into the Spears next turn, which could be big.

Bottom of Round 2: Basileans

On the left, the Panthers inch back, just looking to zone things out. The Spear horde moves up, getting both Molochs and Berserkers in front arc. The Ogres move up to protect the Spears, and the War Priest orders them to heal, and then casts a spell for an additional 3, getting them down to just 1 damage. Between Iron Resolve, command Heals, and Spell Heals, the Basileans sure are tough!

Positioning for the Basileans. The center jumps ahead!

The center of the Basilean line has waited long enough, and springs into action, moving at the double. All my weak shooters are threatened now. 

The cannons roar, and despite moving and cover, Blizzard hits all 4 times, blasts into 8, and the Warlock is brought to 14 damage combined, and routed. Hot dice, but bad positioning from me, and face-tanking is not a great plan!

The Horsemen are bonked.

On the right, Spears move up, joined by the Mother of Phoenixes. Gargoyles in the woods take 1 damage from her Fireball... and despite being Inspired, both Nerve checks are blazing hot to waver my fliers.

The Elohi take a hindered charge into the Abyssal Horsemen, looking to tie them down and strip Thunderous Charge. They land just 1 damage, but they don't even need that! The mission is a success.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

The game seems like a bit of a lost cause already, but we're here to explore. From the left Gargoyles fly out to menace the war machines, but the wavering Gargoyles are really bad for me. Ideally, they charge the wavering Panthers, it's hindered, but likely to break them, putting a second unit towards the war machines next turn. Then the Horsemen disengage, the Efreet moves to Fireball elsewhere, and the Tortured Souls charge in against the Elohi to pin them down in turn with some judo. Ideally. The Wavering Gargoyles changes all this, as I can't deal with the Panthers, nor effectively tap out the Horsemen. 

A darned mess.

Instead, we go for more tests, really stretching and seeing what we might be able to do. We aren't playing on a clock, but golly, I have spent a lot of time this turn, as I am really on the back foot already. The Gargoyles from the far left fly out, as planned. Tortured Souls move up to box out the Spears from helping the Elohi, and the Efreet grants them a Fireball to toss at the wavering Panthers. My wavering Gargoyles back up and pivot. The Efreet is boxed in and will just throw at the Spears, and the Horsemen are left to see what they can do. I have Regeneration, and nearly twice as many attacks, so I could catch up, theoretically, at least!

Nothing turns out. Fireball 3 from the Souls lands 1 on the Panthers to take them to 10, and I have Shattering... but that just brings their Nerve down to 10, and since I don't exceed it, this is just a waver again. The Efreet is stuck throwing into the Spears, with Cover since things are so jammed up. He lands a few damage, but it is against a horde, and immaterial. I believe they end the turn on 3 Damage, thanks to Iron Resolve.

The Horsemen land 3 damage into the Elohi, though Iron Resolve immediately kicks in. They do regenerate their 1 damage away, but the left is a bust.

The Basilean center is scary, and I spend even more time stressing here, lining up what feels like half a dozen last stand attempts, which is not where you want to be in Round 3!

The Flame Bearers on the obstacle fling into the nearest war machine, and take it up to 9 damage, and secure a waver. Another Troop moves up to block the Ogres in, and then everything flings into the nearest Paladins. Dice are low, and the regiments contribute a combined 5, with the Harbinger doing nothing. The Paladins hold strong.

Everything that was accomplished on the left this turn. Uh-oh.

Now that we can choose our path, I consider charging both the Molochs and Berserkers in, but space is tight, and sliding down, I'd still be hindered. I need to relieve the pressure on the center. I have a ton invested in Flame Bearers, and need to but them some time. I can see the flank of the Paladins near the woods, and will take that charge.

The Molochs get a flank charge!

The Harbinger grants the Gargoyles a +2 Fireball and they Gargoyles fly up to toss into the Spears, hoping too pile on some damage. The Cardinal keeps everything Inspired, and the Berserkers lurk. The Gargoyles land 2 into the Spears with some lowish dice.

But the reform is worthless.

I do not like this, as the Molochs aren't really being protected. I should have forgone the Fireball for better blocking by the Gargoyles. We can ignore the old 1" rule, so I should be in the face of the spears, and protecting the flank of the Molochs, just in case.

This error gets worse, as while I do pick up the Paladins, when I go to victoriously change the facing of the Molochs, I can't get the woods in front of any part of me. I think compound the error by giving up, but should have pivoted harder back, the gargoyles are doing no blocking at all for my frontage. It's the middle of the table and hard to see, especially feeling so behind already, but yeah, this is a lot of cascading errors here, stemming from trying to toss a Fireball into a horde.

The Fireball pursuit continues though. The Harbinger gave that one to the Gargoyles, and the Cardinal gives his to the Tortured Souls, who can't fly over the building, but can get around, and toss into the waiting Gur Panthers. It's a Fireball 3 with no cover, and just 1 damage lands, and the Nerve Check is quite reasonable. 

Bottom of Round 3: Basileans

The Gur Panthers charge the Souls, dealing just 1, and I do hold out behind the building, but all the mistakes outlined above manifest here on the right. The Spears aren't blocked, and my positioning of the Molochs lets both them and the Ogres into my front, cleanly. The Molochs take 20 damage and rout, with the War Priest granting them Elite and giving them a Bane Chant.

Charges on the right, from the Basileans.

The War Priest with Blizzard lands 2 into some Flame Bearers, and the Cannon contributes 3, taking them up to 5 damage. I am Inspired, but again, another pair of hot dice waver me. 

Aftermath on the right.

The Paladins get Elite and carve up the Flame Beaters for 9 damage, and the Nerve check breaks their way, and the Ogres here have the Brew of Sharpness, with 17 hits and 16 damage to davastate and rout the other unit, as is proper. The Paladins look to butcher the wavering regiment, and the Ogres turn their eyes towards the Horsemen fighting the Elohi.

Fighting on the left.

The Elohi land another 1 into the Horsemen, and the Spears make a hindered charge into the Tortured Souls, landing 7 damage, but the Inspired check breaks my way, and for what it is worth, they do hold.

The Mother of Phoenixes I think tries another Fireball into the Gargoyles, with another 1 damage, but they look to hold as well.

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

The situation has not improved! I also look to make an illegal move. It looks like from the woods, the Gargoyles charge out into the ever-wavering Gur Panthers, with the others charging a war machine, however, the unit in the woods cannot see over the brawl. We could have flipped those charges, though the positioning would change in the war machine fight, with the Gargoyles into the front instead. Oops. I've been struggling all game for ways back, and my brain is mush by now, and apologies to my opponent!

Ope, bad Gargoyles! Charge only what you can see.

The Gargoyles do land 3 into the Panthers, and will finally pick them up. The other Gargoyles flub, I think landing just 3 damage into the War Machine, which holds without an immediate care, and Iron Resolves down to 2 damage.

The Spears are on just 2 damage. The Tortured Souls are fliers, but aren't charging, so are fighting as cleanly as they can. We will land a few damage, but it is immaterial. We're still fighting against a horde with heals.

The Horsemen take the Elohi up to 4 damage total, and this race is not going well, or quick. With the Ogres lurking nearby, I cannot safely withdraw now, and am really stuck in for the long and tortuous grind. Prolonging the inevitable, Flame Bearers move up to protect the flank of the Horsemen, and fling into the Ogres with Sharpness, fishing for a waver. The Efreet moves around, and tosses a Fireball into the Ogres as well, but they end the round on just 2 damage, with their armor proving very effective.

Fights across the field.

On the right, the Tortured Souls fight the Gur Panthers behind the building, taking them up to 5 damage, and luckily getting the rout. We overrun for a mighty one inch.

The Cardinal grants a Fireball +1 to the untouched Gargoyles, who fly over, and look to toss into the Ogres with Sharpness as well, but as described above, that shooting was a bust, with a regiment of Flame Bearers, the Harbinger, and a combined Fireball 10 barely touching them, as they are not an ideal target, and Inspired, so are hard to waver.

The Cardinal then moves up to bring Dread, and the Berserkers slam into the Spear Horde, headless of their points. I think the Spears are fresh by now, but we roll well enough to take them up to 16 damage, and have Dread, but can't get the break here.

Bottom of Round 4: Basileans

I think the Basileans got for Elite orders, and then Bane Chant to help out the Spear horde, who hold and fight the Berserkers, poking a defiant 10 damage into them. I am Inspired, and do manage to hold here.

The Berserkers hold, but are far from the objective.

The Baslieans commit both the Paladins and some Ogres to mopping up the injured and wavering Flame Bearer unit in the center, and will easily do so. 

The Mother of Phoenixes and Blizzard caster will shift to target the Gargoyles behind the spears on the right, each will land 5 damage, and with Shattering, my Nerve becomes a 9, and the Gargoyles are routed.

One war machines is engaged, and can't do anything. One can shoot, but has no targets, now that the Basileans are hacking their way through my lines.

The Gargoyles are obliterated.

On the left, the Spears get Elite from the Mother of Phoenixes, and fight the Tortured Souls again, and manage to pick them up. The Elohi roll well and smack 5 new damage onto the Horsemen to take them up to 6 damage total, and the Ogres with the Brew of Sharpness completely shred the blocking Flamebearers.

Top of Round 5: Abyssals

Stuck and cornered, the Horsemen continue their slap fight. We Regenerate down to just 2 damage, but but the output is not here. The Angels are on 4 damage, and not going anywhere.

Fights for the Abyssals.

A second unit of Gargoyles makes it into the second war machine, and with the previous fight continuing, we'll pick both up this round. This would be nice, being Round 5 and with objectives to claim, but with everything central, and with Blizzard still online, I think I've been rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic all game.

The Efreet moves back towards my deployment done to claim an objective, and lobs a Fireball into the Paladins, landing 2 damage. The Harbinger holds, trying to help, but contributes nothing with her two Fire Bolts. I don't think she's contributed a point of damage all game, so in retrospect, trying to prioritize her shooting is an error. She should be doing other things right now, like moving over towards the unclaimed objective on my right. Still, I get a boxcars result on the check, the Paladins are uninspired, and will waver.

Several victories, but they don't seem impactful.

The Spears start on 15 damage, and fight the Berserkers again, with Tortured Souls charging into the flank to help, as they can't reach anything else. We do devastate and rout them, as is proper, but reforms prove to be difficult again. The center point of the Berserkers is like, 11 inches from the Ogres, and they can see around the woods, and I can't figure out a way to reform to escape, so they square up.

Bottom of Round 5: Basileans

The Basileans focus on the scenario. they are in a pretty commanding position, but don't want to goof it and lose the game. With all troops 1 US and all Regiments 2 US now, the math is a little more difficult, but they only need to claim 3 objectives over the next two turns to win here. 

Instead of making the hindered charge into the Berserkers, the Mother of Phoenixes moves over to Fireball the Berserkers, and the War Priest with Blizzard joins in the barrage. Thankfully, just 4 damage lands, and back on 10, the Berserkers hold.

The Basileans spend the turn setting up.

The wavering Paladins hold, and the Ogres adjust to lock down this objective with them.

The Spears join the Elohi fighting in the front facing of the Horsemen, hindered, with the Ogres and their Brew of Sharpness hitting the Abyssal unit in the flank, albeit hindered as well. I don't even make him roll this though. With the Brew of Sharpness, the probability of holding is miniscule, and we're just playing for fun.

With the reform to make way for the Spears, the Elohi can victoriously reform to end clear of the forest. The Spears pivot to try and clain the nearby token in the coming turns, and the Ogres turn to face the Efreet, and secure that for the Basileans. With those three tokens, the Basileans should be able to take the game.

Top of Round 6: Abyssals

It's not quite over, but it's not looking great. The best I can seem to do is be annoying. The Tortured Souls hang back, just barely claiming the top-right token for me.

I felt like I probably should have pivoted the Berserkers more last round, to let the Tortured Souls have a flank if the Ogres came in and I survived, but because I didn't, even Frozen, they can pivot once and run at the double over to the bottom right token for me.

Having not moved, the Harbinger unfortunately can't make it to the bottom-right token, and in the woods, neither can the Cardinal.

Pretty good positioning for the Abyssals! Unfortunately, we're at the top of the turn order.

Gargoyles run up to annoy the top-left token. They are holding it for now, and out of range of the Spears, and with the woods the Spears will not be able to claim it in Round 6. So the Elohi will need to charge them.

The other Gargoyles rear charge the Mother of Phoenixes, land a silly 7 damage, and will even pick her up with some hot checks! It doesn't change much, but is nice.

The Efreet is out of range of the Paladins, but currently claiming this token, and will toss a Fireball in against them. They received some nice heals last turn, and start on 2 damage. Fireball takes them back up to 5, and the Harbinger contributes nothing. The Abyssals are holding 4 to the 1 of the Basileans, at the end of the round.

Bottom of Round 6: Basileans

The Spears move up, but cannot secure an objective. The Elohi will dutifully charge out and shoot the Gargoyles away, securing that one. 

Ogres and a Priest will advance, wresting control of a token away from the Tortured Souls.

Blizzard will hit the remaining Gargoyles for 2 damage, but they will hold.

Paladins adjust and secure the center token.

Ogres and their Brew will shred the Yielding Efreet, to claim that token. 

The planning of the Basileans pays off, with a commanding reversal.

The lead of the Abyssals was tenuous, and the Basileans flip it completely, ending their Round 6 with the 4:1 lead instead.

A victory to the Basileans!

Game Conclusions

I stumbled into the rematch just as ignorant as I was in the initial game, while my opponent actively applied a lot of lessons learned from the first game to our rematch here. This was a well-deserved win for him, and I was on the back foot starting in the deployment phase! Still, Kings of War is a scenario-focused game, and despite all my missteps, we made him work for it. That feels good, and we got a lot of insight and testing in for the Abyssals too!

Testing Conclusion

• Efreet. He is a neat character, and seems like he could be very fluffy, but darned if he is awkward. Overall, I really like the new take on Fireball, relative to Lightning Bolt, as the spell really feels unique now. Or felt, unique? Blizzard but now it is head and shoulders above Fireball, though you are limited to just one. Nuts. With all the hits to Individuals in the FAQ, he's really hard to find a place for. He doesn't Inspire, can't take additional spells, and our Orders aren't giving us much to work with either, though the barrage of Fireballs was a lot of fun. 
• Harbinger. Three shooty champions was a bit much. With the Lute, Aura, and accompanying Abyssal Guard, the Harbinger was very neat in the latter stages of 3E. Now, all those things are gone, and you really need to be desperate to fun him. The two attacks don't do anything, and the only way I could see him run is with Shroud of the Saint to try and heal things instead of shoot.
• The Bloody Cardinal. I think we used him well enough, coming in to bring Dread but not risk himself, but this was another rather inconclusive result. Dread didn't tip anything over, and he didn't really get into combat to do any real work. 
• Warlock with Bloodboil. I stuck him out in the open and was suitably punished. He was not used well this game, and did not get to contribute much. Seeing Blizzard in action though, especially compared to my new Fireballs, that spell does seem super-strong, and it might be the better choice for a Warlock in a ranged build. We'll need to compare and contrast sometime, and maybe one with Bloodboil and one with Blizzard would be a good call with a shooty core.
• Flame Bearers Corps. This game highlighted for me how hard they are to use, and what a difficult time "mobile" shooters have in the new edition too. Lots to consider! Running them up super-far doesn't seem wise, but I think I need to at least move them into shooting range for the following turn to give myself some options. I should also try and be more cagey with them. Front and center might not be the best approach, even if it is the shortest shooting vector. 
• Gargoyles. All things considered, they did great! They are really versatile and really fun picks and do seem really strong in this edition. 
• Berserkers. They feel like a more balanced unit now. They still command some respect, and did fine this game. They are easier to use than the Horsemen, and seem like great picks to bully a lot of weaker core units.
• Tortured Soul Troops. I like these! The troops are great with the extra pivot and they seem like they can still punch above their weight. Definitely worth exploring more in the future.
• Abyssal Horsemen. These were definitely not used well since I was trying to be fancy with the Command Orders and risked them. Cavalry without TC can't do much, as demonstrated here. 
• Molochs. Seems like a good unit, but they not used well since I did not protect them well. YOu can't trade these 1:1, they should be cleaning up at the end of the game. I should have prioritized using Gargoyles to chaff and block for them instead of trying to be fancy, but so it goes. This was all good stuff to test out early.
• Abyssal Command Orders. We actually used both this game! In a shooting list, Burn the Sinners / Fireball has some play to pile on a little extra damage, and seems like the better of the two orders. Burn the Sinners interacts with a lot of your basic units, just not Flame Bearers, and it's hard to get the necessary coverage of the Order to mitigate incoming damage. It could be useful, but seems awfully niche. But niche orders are probably better for game balance. The Fireballs are fun, but neither order is amazing, and I think I will be generally better off playing a normal game and sprinkling these in as I can, rather than try to force use out of them. I tried the latter approach this game, and it just didn't work well.

Two great games, and a lot to go home and think about. It was a great day and a great time. A big thank you to Trevor for hosting and for the games!

4th Edition: Battle #027 Abyssals vs Basileans in Seek and Destroy

Intro and Lists

It has been far too long since we've seen Trevor of Data and Dice fame across the table from us! After several missed connections in February and then most of March, we finally connected for a pair of games as the month wrappedup. Post-tournament, we were both branching out into other armies for 4E, with Trevor fielding a nifty one-battalion Basilean list now that there is no time pressure to explore:

The Brothermark are no more, so the models are being pressed into service of Basilea proper. We've got two hordes of Spears, and two regiments of Paladins to hold the line and pay the core tax. Then, two regiments of Ogre Palace Guard to smash things, with one even having the Brew of Sharpness to hit on 2's. There was a troop of Elohi to threaten and pressure, three troops of Gur Panthers to chaff up opposing scary units, with an Ogre Captain and two War Priests to inspire, with the latter casting spells too, including the trusty Bane Chant and devastating Blizzard. Supplementing this powerful spell are two Cannons, which can hit on 4's, which seems powerful and unique for war machines. For Commands, the Basileans can heal and grant Elite, though both have limitations, and will mainly hit human units. The list has got a little bit of everything, so it should be a good introduction to the army in order to see what he might want to pursue more.

I brought the Abyssals. They’ve been an army I just can’t quite wrap my head around in 4E, especially with core options, so I also brought a variety of things, and up to evaluate and discuss is everything:

• Ba’su’su the Vile. I rebased him, so I want to try him out! The extra Nerve, extra CS, and Regeneration is more appealing to me than the variable Brutal on the comparable legendary Seductress Mau-ti-bu-su. We won’t get much use out of our Commands with him, but he should be very annoying if I can use him wisely. 
• The Bloody Cardinal. He’s a weird little guy but my comparable Depoilers are all on the old monstrous 50s instead of 40s, so we’re taking him. No regeneration on him, but Lifeleech 3 compensates and Dread plus good offensive stats makes him pretty versatile. I had him used against me to good effect at the semi-recent Northwoods events, where he was held back to make use of Dread, and then charged in on subsequent turns to finish off units. That seems wise, so we’ll try to mimic that here.
• Warlock with Bloodboil. Unfortunately, this is the only spellcaster in the army. We’re taking a lot of shooting, and while the Warlock can contribute with Firebolts… Bloodboil seems like it will be more impactful. 
• Flame Bearers Corps. The Core units of the Abyssals are a bit perplexing to me, and I wanted to kick off my testing with the most simple approach to the Core Tax, which is taking a lot of Flame Bearers. The 18” range is really tough though, and usually precludes any Round 1 shots. They are much more immobile than 3E, so we’ll see what we can do here.
• Gargoyles. I think the Speed 10 Gargoyles are in a really strong place. With good positioning they can be a terror at disrupting enemy lines. We hobbied up a few more units, but with a focus on shooting instead of melee, we’ll take just three units. 
• Berserkers. They were over-tuned in 3E, and seem far more reasonable now. We’re taking a stock regiment to hopefully nail down the changes in my noggin and get a good feel for the unit.
• Tortured Soul Troops. I liked these a lot in 3E, but lacking Nimble prevented them from being too bonkers. With the movement changes now, I think these could be really strong. I think these will do best in a melee list, where everything is pushing up and being scary with other scary things ready to support them, but we’ll try them here with shooters, with the idea being that the Shooting can soften things up and maybe the Tortured Souls can finish it off.
• Abyssal Horsemen. They came out ok with the 4E changes, getting the extra attacks, losing their CS but kept Regeneration. It’s a mixed bag. With Just TC they need clean charges, so we’re going with the one unit of cavalry and the J Boots approach, which I still think will be the standard for using cavalry a while. As-mentioned in the forum’s Tactica, charging, withdrawing, and then using a Command Fireball with them seems clever, so that will be a goal of ours!
• Molochs. With the shake-ups in the new edition, there is much more of a choice to be made between them and the Berserkers now. They look like a very solid hammer unit and so we’ll try them out, and with some spare points, we are rocking the Blessing of the Gods. It's an unusual; pick for me, but we had an awkward amount of points left over, so we'll try it out.

We've got two combined-arms armies, and it should be a great time!

Table and Terrain

Trevor was hosting, and we made wonderful use of his terrain and spacious ping-pong table setup. We forgot to reaffirm the new heights, but I don't think there were any impactful game moments, so we can say that we had some Height 10 Forests, the blocking Buildings were Height 7, Hills with Height 3, fields as Height 0 and Obstacles as Height 2.

We got Seek and Destroy for the scenario, and scattered seven Loot Tokens across the battlefield to contest. Each one help will be worth one VP at the end of the game, but if a unit it routed while holding a token, the victor may choose to destroy it instead of claim it themselves, which is a neat feature.

Overview of the table.

My opponent won the roll for first token and for sides. For deployment, infantry came down early, and then he surprised me with a strong and stacked left flank. 

The table, with deployment.

For the Basileans, we have two units of Gur Panthers, the Ogre Captain, and Paladins near the line, with both Ogre units in reserve for a very strong left. The center has Spearmen, Paladins, and more Spearmen with Elohi and Gur Panthers in reserve and both War Priests around. The Blizzard Priest is on the flank, and the cannons are back as far as they can be.

The view from the left.

They Abyssals haven't seen the table much in 4E, and I've really been struggling to figure out how I might want to run them nowadays. With infantry coming down centrally, I dropped my shooters centrally too, and then split the rest on the wings, hoping to delay on one and push with the other. On the left, we have Tortured Souls, Horsemen, and Gargoyles in reserve, with Ba'su'su supervising.

The center.

The center had Molochs, the Carginal, and supporting Gargoyles, with the Flame Bearers and Warlock nice and central, ready to fling fire all over the four middle tokens.

And the right.

My right had Gargoyles hiding from the artillery, then Tortured Souls and Berserkers. I've only got three sources of Inspiring in the list, and did not spread them out very well. The right has nothing to keep them in line, but the Tortured Souls are Fearless, and the Berserkers have good Nerve, so it's a bit of a calculated risk trying to learn the army.

A bit surprisingly, I win the roll for turn order. I have a lot of points tied up in short-range shooting, and have been grappling with best-practices for playing with and against it. Surveying the table, I still think it wise here to seize the initiative and try to pen the Basileans in, even if I don't get to shoot this round.

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

The left of the Basileans has both scary Ogre units, so we need to delay here and push on the right. I forgot just how speedy the Gur Panthers are! My Herd really misses them. We don't want to give them many easy outs, but do want to try and deal with them. Tortured Souls inch up, baiting a charge from one and only one unit. If my opponent takes the bait, I should be able to beat the Panthers with the Souls for free, while adjusting elsewhere. 

The Abyssals set a small trap for some chaff.

The Horsemen and Ba'su'su hand back, just out of range, and the Gargoyles flap up, ready to interdict here, depending on how aggressive my opponent wants to be here.

I don't know where to be sending the Molochs, and forget to move them entirely. They definitely should be moving up, and could be in a very nice position, but spend their turn loitering. Oops.

The Flame Bearers struggle to sort themselves out.

I'm not quite sure what to do with the center. I don't have any shots, and terrain stymies me a bit too. One unit takes the hill, and if memory serves the intent is to get the center point on the hill so we're not shooting with a penalty next turn, though it doesn't look like we physically achieved that. The rest of the line inches up, with the Cardinal hiding but grabbing a token, and the Gargoyles lurking. The Elohi are far enough back they don't have any charges next turn.

The Abyssals push out on the right.

On the right, we need to push, and do so quickly. The Gargoyles are speediest, and zip their 20 inches ahead, already threatening a war machine if memory serves, with the Tortured Souls and Berserkers doing everything they can to keep pace.

Bottom of Round 1: Basileans

The cannons roar, but land just 2 damage into the Gargoyles. Still, I lack Inspiring over here, and a hot check wavers them. Aww nuts. Trying to blunt the push the Spearmen move out towards the right, presenting their poky bits.

The cannons deliver a tempo swing already.

In the center, the Blizzard caster moves up and casts his spell, blasting into a strong 6 damage into a unit of Flame Bearers, and a pair of hot checks will waver this unit as well. Shooting is already paying off for the Basileans!

The Flame Bearers get frosted.

The Paladins are slowed by the obstacle, but Spearmen move up to grab a token. The Elohi and Gur Panthers also reposition, looking to protect the Cannons.

The Basileans grab some tokens.

On the left, the Gur Panthers take the bait, charging out and landing a surprising 3 damage into the Tortured Souls. I am accidentally not Inspired here, but I do manage to hold on. The various Ogres and Paladins move up as well, with the Paladins grabbing a token, but overall, the Basileans are taking things slow and steady out here.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

Out on the left, the Tortured Souls fight back against the Gur Panthers, and will eventually pick them up. A bit out of charge range of the Ogres, they'll just hold and bask in their victory. My Gargoyles will charge the other unit of Gur Panthers, looking to just chaff things up, but we land some decent damage and pick the second unit up as well, despite it being Inspired.

Victory over the Gur Panthers!

The Horsemen will just inch ahead, but the individual Ba'su'su spies an opening and flies out, jumping the Basilean lines. As an Individual, he won't be doubling or tripling his attacks, but a little extra damage never hurts, and he's going to be hard to block in.

Since I forgot to move them last turn, the Molochs don't have a charge this turn into the intrepid Spearmen, like I would like. Before departing though, Ba'su'su gifts the Molochs a Fireball, and they'll move and toss into the Spears.

Hot command dice, for some mediocre Fireballs.

The Cardinal will bestow a similar gift to the Gargoyles, who will move up to toss into the Spearmen as well, while stopping just in front of them and blocking them up. The errant Fireballs I believe land 7 damage in total this round, which will eventually be Iron-Resolved down to just 6 damage.

One Flame Bearer unit is wavering, and will hold while regenerating down to just 4 damage. The others hold and toss into the Paladins, landing a combined 10 damage, which looks to be a little hot. The Warlock also has Firebolts, but I want to try Bloodboil. Unfortunately, I look to be a millimeter out. In the spirit of trying things out, my opponent offers to roll for it, but we opt to just move the Warlock up, forgoing the benefit of halting, and letting him toss to add another 3 damage, taking the Paladins to 13 total, where they will waver.

Fighting out on the right.

On the right, the Gargoyles hold, regenerating both damage, and are safe from the Elohi and Panthers next turn. They're still threatening a charge into a Cannon, but I would have loved to have gotten there this turn. Oh well. The Tortured Souls inch around. As fliers, I don't want to charge them into the Spears, and they'll stop to grab a token. They can always drop it later.

I solo-charge the Berserkers into the Spears, landing a strong 11 damage! It's risky, but we are hear to learn. The hope is that my high Nerve can endure a rebuttal and be a menace. And maybe we get to test out Retaliate too.

Bottom of Round 2: Basileans

On the right, the Gur Panthers hop ahead, and threatening the flank of the Berserkers. The Spearmen fight back against the Berserkers, poking 5 damage in. The Elohi join them, contributing 4, and taking the Berserkers up to 9 damage, which is still a tall order to remove. Luck is with my opponent's Nerve check rolls this game though, and another 10+ on the die removes the uninspired unit here. Shucks.

Booo, the Berserkers fall.

In victory, the Spears overrun, and the Elohi I believe back up. They are wary of the Souls dropping the token and charging out, and this gets them safe. My push is over it seems...

The Cannons fire into the injured Flame Bearers, with Blizzard contributing more too, and the unit is brought up to 11 damage and wavered again.

The Flame Bearers are wavered again.

The Spears don't like it, but will charge the Gargoyles, and thankfully, will pick them up. I believe command Heals and Spell heals get them down to just 1 damage at the end of the round, which is some great healing.

The Basileans destroy some Gargoyles.

The Basileans don't want to be stuck up on Gargoyles, so commit to obliterating the unit, with the Paladins making a hindered charge and Ogres making a clean one. Mitigating what can get in to fight next, the Captain moves up to block. In victory, both units will overrun, but the Ogres will be stopped by their Captain.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

Delaying is still the plan on the left, and I have good chances to achieve this I think. First, the Tortured Souls and Molochs charge the Paladins, with only the latter being hindered. Next the Horsemen charge the Ogre Captain, hitting cleanly and not needing to use their boots.

Fights on the left.

When it is time for rolling the combats, we roll the Horsemen first, looking to remove Inspiring, and we'll land 11 damage and rout him. The Horsemen back up, clearing the Tortured Souls, as planned. Next, the Souls land just 2, though the Molochs contribute 11, and we'll break the now uninspired Paladins, and choose to destroy the token, and try to limit how much the Ogres can do for me opponent. In victory, the Tortured Souls will sidestep, blocking out a path to the Horsemen, and the Molochs will spin, landing atop a different token to claim it.

In the center, Ba'su'su can actually see and reach the injured Paladins, and we'll send him in over here, looking to pressure these center tokens. He'll land just 1 damage, but will get the rout here.

Ba'su'su hits the center.

The Cardinal steps up block in the Spears, and the trio of unwavering Flame Bearers will all hold and toss into the Spears, with Bloodboil coming at the end with 14 dice, landing 6 more damage and taking the horde to 20 for a nice waver. It's pretty hot shooting dice from the look of things, but we're still not tipping things over into routing.

And Tortured Souls run and hide with their token.

On the right, the Gargoyles take their charge, fighting and besting a war machine, and spinning around. After some measuring, the Tortured Souls can't get away, but can go and hide behind the hill from both the Elohi and Panthers, so do that.

Bottom of Round 3: Basileans

On the right, the Gur Panthers and Elohi take the hill and zone out the Tortured Souls. I can't really do much, but they're not going to get to me until Round 4, so maybe I can delay out here now. Token all but secure, the remaining Spear horde spins around and moves back towards the center to help contest the tokens here.

The Abyssal push on the right is definitely out of gas.

The Cannon loads grapeshot, landing a crazy 9 damage, and the War Priest turns to cast Blizzard into the Gargoyles as well, contributing 6, which is enough to rout the fliers and protect the remaining war machine.

The wavering Spears take their token and inch back, getting a command Heal for 1, and perhaps a success or two from the spell. I do not recall. Individuals cannot carry loot tokens per the FAQ, so they support as they can, but can't really contribute to the scenario.

The Molochs take a hit and hold.

On the left, the Ogre Palace Guards join the fight. The one with the Brew of Sharpness makes quick work of the Tortured Souls, and the other unit makes a hindered charge into the Molochs, lands 9 damage, but the Nerve check is finally average and I hold.

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

Out on the left, I can't multi-charge anything, so am forced into solo fights against the Ogres. The Horsemen land 9 damage. The Cardinal drops his token, pivots once and runs towards the woods, brining Dread and Inspiring, but only to the Molochs. They land a solid 10 damage, while regenerating down to just 6 damage themselves. I have Dread in play for the Molochs, but neither check spikes, and I fail to break either uninspired unit, which is super-unfortunate for me and my chances.

The Abyssals push back on the left, trying to make something happen.

In the center, Ba'su'su charges the remaining cannon, lands 13 damage, and will indeed break it, relieving some shooty pressure against me. With a slight reprieve, all my Flame Bearer units are unwavering, and we'll try to capitalize on that this round.

Shooting in the center.

One unit will move up on the hill, pick up the token dropped by the Cardinal, and will toss into some Spears. I believe the other three regiment holds. In total, I think two toss into the far Spears to take them up to 14, and the two toss into the nearer Spears but struggle, taking them just back up to 19 damage at the end of the volley. Bloodboil needs to go into the nearer unit of Spears, taking them up to 30 damage, and will break them. 

It's an awkward round of shooting. The far Spears behind the building were a little out of range of some of the units, and some other had cover penalties. I was probably not shooting as efficiently as I could have been here, but was trying to stay still. We still claimed a horde of Spears though, and even if it wasn't efficient shooting, that counts for something.

The Tortured Souls make a last stand.

On the right, I can't really do anything tricky, so the Tortured Souls just move towards the corner, then pivot to face, and drop the token. He'll claim it, but one unit will need to stay put next turn to claim it.

Bottom of Round 4: Basileans

Still out on the right, the Gur Panthers and the Elohi will land a combined 9 damage into the Tortured Souls, with the Panthers contributing a surprising 4 damage. The Souls are broken, and both units victorious spin. 

The Panthers will grab a token and stay.

If memory serves, the Panthers spin, land atop the token, and claim it. Arguably, I probably should have dropped the token on my left, leaving it for the Elohi, but honestly, with several rounds to go, the difference is immaterial. The Elohi aren't going to stay back and camp a token, we're definitely over-thinking things here. The Basileans have won, and the Panthers can claim the token in the coming rounds.

Positioning in the center.

Centrally, the Spears get some attention with Command Heals, and the Blizzard War Priest lands another 5 damage onto the Flame Bearers, securing another waver against them. 

The Abyssal left collapses now. Ouch.

On the left, the Ogres with Sharpness land 12 damage into the Abyssal Horsemen, who are uninspired, and will break. The other Ogres bring the Molochs up to 14 damage plus Brutal, and while I am Inspired, I break here as well, and the Ogres will steal my token.

Checking in on the scenario, I destroyed one, so six tokens are in play. The Ogres on the left have a token, as to the Panthers on the right, with the Basileans holding 2 total. My outer Flame Bearer units each hold a token, for 2 for the Abyssals, and we have 2 tokens left to fight over in the center. A tie game at the moment!

Top of Round 5: Abyssals

It's a gamble, but I feel like we must risk the Cardinal out on the left. It's a hindered charge into the Ogres on the left, but they are on 9 damage, are uninspired, and are holding a token. I should deal a point or two of damage, have Dread, and that would tip the chances of them breaking in my favor. If I win, I can destroy this token, and effectively take the scary Ogres with Sharpness out of the game.

The Bloody Cardinal tries to earn his moniker.

The Bloody Cardinal lands a single damage, taking them up to 10, and with Dread, we just need a six to bust the uninspired unit, but we don't luck out. Three essentially "even" chances to win a combat out here and we've flubbed them all. Nuts.

In the center, I think everything goes into the War Priest with Blizzard, with everything taking an penalty for him being an individual. The Flame Bearers land 7, and Bloodboil then contributes just 2 more, and although he is wavering, he is still around.

Positioning on the right and in the center.

Ba'su'su can't claim tokens, but be can contest them, and he moves out to the right to menace the Gur Panthers.

Bottom of Round 5: Basileans

The Panthers run, trying to get behind the hill, but cannot quite escape. The Elohi fly out to threaten the flanks of my Flamebearers now. The outer one is holding a token, so this isn't great.

Positioning on the right.

The Priest heals the wavering Priest, and I think a command heal helps the remaining Spears. Since the Panthers can't get away, they about-face to protect them.

And the Cardinal gets bloodied and sent home instead.

On the left, the Molochs land 8 damage into the Cardinal, with Brutal, and my opponent does get the rout here, and breaks through fully on the left now.

It's is still 2:2 with two tokens up for grabs.

Top of Round 6: Abyssals

It the Gur Panthers are still carrying the token, Ba'su'su could actually destroy it instead of trying to hold it against the Spearmen. That might have been a better call, but instead he rear-charges the Blizzard War Priest, to no mechanical effect, but we do land 6 damage off his 7 attacks, and will remove the last of the counter-shooting form the Basileans.

The Elohi menace with their speed.

One unit of Flame Bearers turns to zone out the Elohi. They can get into the front, hindered, but that's it. They'll toss and I think land 2 damage, which will Iron Resolve down to 1. 

Another unit holds, and flings into the remaining Priest, and a third unit moves and does the same, taking him up to 5 damage, but I don't think we waver them.

The Abyssals try again to pop the uninspired Ogres... maybe ranged attacks will work this time?

We're gambling a lot this game, and the final unit of Flame Bearers moves up to claim the token dropped by the atomized Spearmen, and will turn to face the oncoming Ogres while being about 13 inches away. They'll fling, into cover, landing no hits.

The Ogres are still on 10 damage, and the Warlock is able to just get into range for Bloodboil, and try that, also landing no hits, and now opening himself up to a charge. Esh. Maybe the Firebolts would have been the better play this round... but I just keep gambling out here on the left.

Bottom of Round 6: Basileans

The Ogres take their charge, going into the Warlock hindered, but will pile on a lot of damage, and break him, and reform, still holding their token and now menacing my lines.

The Ogres get yet another kill. 

The other Ogres try to help, but are slowed down by the woods. They have their Brew of Sharpness, but as-is, can't make it to any combats next turn.

Being the bottom of Round 6, my opponent feels the need to play for the scenario. The Spears again spin around to face the center, and the Gur Panthers take up position behind them, safe from Bassu-su.

Elohi have the inches to fly over to the center, and grab the token there, tying the game up 3:3 now. But we do roll up a Round 7!

Top of Round 7: Abyssals

With some quick measurements, the Ogres with Sharpness can't reach anything, and are more than 6 inches away from the Ogres Menacing me from the hill. The Flame Bearers all turn and fling, and will scorch the Ogres, who drop their token.

Ba'su'su charges the Elohi, dealing 3 damage, but more importantly locking them in place.

Bottom of Round 7: Basileans

The Elohi hold a token but are stuck in against Ba'su'su. The Panthers hold a token, and are quick, but can't do anything since they are starting behind the Spears. The Ogres can't reach the dropped token to reclaim it, so the lead slips to 3:2 in favor of the Abyssals as the game concludes! 

Game Conclusions

The initial plan basically failed, as I wasn't lucky enough to push through on the right to be impactful with murdering, nor deft enough on the left to delay perfectly. Ogres in all forms are still premiere large infantry! Still, we adjusted, persevered, and somehow came away with a very cagy win! And thanks to shooting, no less!

Testing Conclusion

• Ba’su’su the Vile. I wasn't sure I would like him, as he's very similar to the Vampires on Pegasi that I was recently quite lukewarm on, but as a weaker individual. Sticking around to maybe break a unit of Ogres might have been more sensible, but actually making use of Individual and zipping him all around the battlefield proved worthwhile this game! Individuals are in a rough spot, especially as Warlords, but he did really well this game. 
• The Bloody Cardinal. He isn't durable enough to be a front-line fighter, but he is still a neat little guy. More testing is needed, but I'd say he did fine.
• Warlock with Bloodboil. This seemed like a pretty good pick? Bloodboil is fun, and works very nicely with the shooting component, but it also feels a bit like overkill, but the spell seems like a good way to try finish off a unit to let your other shooting target other stuff. 
• Flame Bearers Corps. The quartet is a massive investment, but did technically win me the game here. Their output seemed a bit hot, and only 1-3 damage expected most of the time, in pretty ideal conditions. I enjoyed the playstyle as it was pretty high-risk, and will try it again, even after today but it is definitely seem like a gamble, and probably not great for serious competition.
• Gargoyles. Wild wavers aside, these are very nice in 4E! Three felt great, and I'd probably go to 4 if I have more hammers that need protecting.
• Berserkers. They are ok, and great against Spearmen, but didn't have the Inspiring support  nor luck needed to stick around, unfortunately. Their adjusted speed feels nice, and I do like the distinction between them and Molochs.
• Tortured Soul Troops. I like them a lot! Slots are tight though, and they can't fit into every list. Fearless is still nice, though and I think them plus Molochs would be a good build, if one can figure out the core tax.
• Abyssal Horsemen. I used them about as well as I could. Inspiring was an issue again for longevity, but overall, they were ok? The Boots seem mandatory though, which makes them harder to effectively use. About in-line with everything I was expecting for cavalry though. Fine for now, and more testing needed.
• Molochs. Aside from forgetting about them in Round 1, they were used decently well here, but probably want a little more support in the future. With Def4, they don't want to be front-liners, but rather come in late game to clean up units that are already injured.  

Combined arms is a lot of fun to play, though the decisions on optimization, particularly with shooting are very taxing. With both armies dabbling with the playstyle, we not only had a very dynamic game, but a rematch too! That will be up soon.