Hobby Update: Free Dwarf Rangers

Huzzah! Up now are some Rangers, which I hope will be a staple in the Specialist slot for my new Free Dwarf-styled army.

Two regiments of Rangers.

The models are mostly Mantic. The bodies and armaments are all from Mantic Dwarfs. The backpacks are sourced from Mantic's Northern Alliance Tribesmen. The fun bits of flare are the numerous antlers from the Wargames Atlantic Dead Animal Bits. Like the ram horns for the Shieldbreakers, unfortunately many of the antlers were too big to use here, though by buying two boxes to start we did end up with enough for two regiments of assorted smaller stag horns, like with the ram horns.

It's a good sprue!

Hobby-wise, they got highlights and everything all the other Free Dwarf units are getting, namely two-to-three shades of each color for just about everything so I can practice some sloppy highlights.

The Golden Crowns regiment.

I had two regiments' worth of guys, but as I started hobbying on them, I realized that I needed to do some actual unit planning. The shooter sprues are weird, with one aiming model, and one extra guy. I couldn't have a unit full of people aiming; I needed to split up the shooters; the models with backpacks; and I needed to arrange for varying beard coloration. With two piles, I realized I also wanted to color their helmets differently, just in case one ended up with an item or upgrade down the road. For now, we'll call one the "Platinum Pointers" and the other the "Golden Crowns", but since these names were my first ideas, and the units have yet to see the table, we'll definitely reserve the right to change things up in the future, based om exploits or more-clever alliterations or wordplay.

The Platinum Pointers.

On the table, I really want them to be good, but I am a little worried. The small Scout move should be amazing for securing Round 1 shots, but they are very expensive, and Pathfinder is much weirder than it used to be. I think the Rangers likely want to hide in terrain for cover, but need the foresight enough to not be hindered themselves if melee combat approaches. Feint looks like it might help there, but we’ll see. Suffice it to say for now, they seem like a very high-skill unit, and it will likely take a good while for my own skills to catch up and be able to use them well and wisely.

Hobby Update: Free Dwarf Shieldbreakers

Up now are some more very badly-need Core units for my Free Dwarfs. We have some Shieldbreakers joining the ranks! The bodies are all Mantic Dwarfs, but we've added some Free Dwarf flair with horns from the Wargames Atlantic Dead Animal Bits kit.

A horde of Shieldbreakers

The kit has a ton of neat bits, but I was a little let down. I bought two boxes, and I was hoping to really bling out these Dwarfs, but most of the antlers and horns are much more massive than I had assumed. It's on me, and this does have a ton of neat bits to dip into for the future. A box has three sprues, all duplicates. For ram horns, a box netted me just three suitable pairs of smooth ram-style antlers and three pairs of ridged ram style antlers, enough for a single regiment. With two boxes purchases up-front, I opted to just bling out one horde with ram horns, and the Shield Breakers felt like the appropriate unit for this, as they would be swinging their hammers around, and might want adornments that wouldn't get bonked off in a fight.

Only a few bits used so far...

The horns were attached with Tamiyo cement, and they've stayed on pretty well, which makes sense being a little closer in on the helmet. Painting-wise they followed the painting pattern set out with the Ironclad test unit, namely multiple colors for everything, especially greens and browns, as I practiced some messy highlighting attempts.

The first regiment.

Like everything else right now for the Free Dwarfs the units lack additional flowers and an edge color. And about the only additional hobby thing I want to do is backtrack with some sprue go to fix the heads of the mallets. But these are all final little touchups, and these are ready for the table in the meantime.

And the second regiment.

These have always been the melee damage-dealers for the Dwarfs, but have had quite the ride over the years. Way way back in 1E they just had CS1, then in 2E they got bumped up to CS2. In 3E they were back to CS1 originally but were eventually bumped back up to CS2 as the edition rolled on, and now in 4E the designers are being cute and they have CS1 and TC1, letting them hit hard if they get a clean charge, but slack off a bit in any grinding brawl. Conceptually, I like this as it is a neat design space to play around in, but the TC makes them a little harder to use well, and I'm not sure how often Speed 4 Dwarfs will get the charge. Still, these are a very welcome addition, and it will be great to have some fighty dwarves in the collection!

Hobby Update: Free Dwarf Champions

Up now are several handfuls of Champions for the Free Dwarfs, ready to aid the army with their inspiring presence, spells, or other abilities.

The lowly ASB, in need of an item.

First up is an ASB, which just a Mantic kitbash from their Ironclad sprue. I picked up several ebay bundles of Mantic Dwarfs over the years, and one had a ton of kitbashed characters, in various conditions. For the ASB here, I couldn’t pop the arms off this one easily, and with this already mostly painted, I just chose to just repaint him and put him to use.

On the table, the 4E ASB is back to just being very basic. No Auras or tricks - just a source of Very Inspiring for the army, though with a significant price hike now. I always liked my ABSs to carry items. The Lute is no more, but the Boomstick could be a great call alongside some Dwarf shooting, or perhaps the Shroud of the Saint for some healing for hordes or high defense units. We'll call him finished for now, but if we find an item we consistently like, we might add something to represent that item to his base in the future.

A Mantic Stone Priest, with massive hands.

Next are some Stone Priests! The first one is Mantic, one of their older, metal offerings. His proportions (hands) are a little big, but I like the overall pose, and we're trying to give this army a lot of Mantic-made options, so I did want to have him around. He got a basic paint job, and there's not too much to say about his hobbying. I might give him a similar stone treatment as the Wizkids model coming up, but he's all set for now.

A Wizkids Stone Priest.

The second one is another Wizkids model, the second half of the blister that had my Wizkids Berserker Lord. The manufacturer's primer obscures a lot of the facial detail, but I really like her pose as well, and tried my hand at taking some pink insulation foam scraps and turning them into a rock, like she's manipulating the stones for an attack of her own. I tried using a paperclip speared through the bottom stones for stability, but it was rough, with the clip easily wearing down and expanding the hole whole I fidgeted with the foam. The upper stones were attached bit by bit: PVA glue on the existing stone to attach another, then coating the newcomer rock and hour or so later after things had dried, then repeating.

The Stone Priests obviously pair well with Elementals, as any Elemental Surged by the Priest gets some TC via the new Quake special rule, which is a very nice and fluffy touch! They also Inspire, and have access to Bane Chant, which are great plusses for supporting Champions. Shambling is a little rough right now, and while I have some Earth Elementals planned, they aren't pained up yet. I think the best use of these currently (for me) is Bane Chant plus an Arcane Library Spell, and then just being a versatile supporting spellcaster. Scorched Earth looks great for supporting a turtling and defensive dwarf build, and as long as it remains over-tuned, Blizzard could also see a lot of play alongside a bunch of shooty units, I think.

Continuing on, we have some oddball miniatures, and are honestly all placeholders for now, and are "counts-as" Warsmiths. I want my Dwarfs to tech into cannons and rifles and such, as my Kingdoms of Men do not run any gunpowder, and the Warsmiths look like the clear frontrunners for my Champion wants, brining Elite and Radiance of life to (I think) all of our shooting options.

Rangers? Engineers? Warsmiths?

The first Warsmith models are Mantic kitbashes. We don’t get a rifle option currently, but we did back in third, when the I assembled that mini. I liked the bald head to set him apart from the rank-and-file, and the pointing to me relayed a "you're going down" feel, which I liked.

...The second one came assembled in an ebay bundle, and for better or for worse, had the exact same approach of my model from a few years ago. Ideally, he could be a Ranger Captain with that Crossbow, unfortunately Ranger Captains aren’t a thing right now in the new Edition. Oh well. Both are painted up, and ready for the table.

Packmasters! I mean Warsmiths!

Then we have some Packmaster kitbashes, from that same ebay bundle. I repainted them, but can't take credit for the poses and such. Dwarf Packmasters are unfortunately also not a thing right now. But they embody the Free Dwarf vibe better than the minis above, and also read better as to having a smaller-ranged shooting attack. At least I think so. The Rule of Cool prevails, and we have these around as counts-as Warsmiths as well. 

...That's a whopping 4 counts-as Warsmiths, which is significant over-representation considering the new slot rules for list-building, but the variety should hopefully give me a head start on future builds, when the Dwarf rules  and roster eventually (hopefully) get expanded and specialized again.

...And then somehow there are still more characters coming! Rounding things out now are some Flame Priests! I didn’t like the techy official model with the flame thrower. I think we could kitbash something from the Ironclad sprue and with some green stuff flames, but I liked the look of these Wizkids Clerics, and will just use them for now.

The Flame Priest blesses the hammer. Maybe with Bane Chant.

The first one is blessing their hammer, which is fun, and she looks quite sturdy to “sell” the Def5. I washed and then re-primed the mini, which covered up the transparent spell bit. The mini got painted up normally, with the spell bit painted white, and then hit with some speed paints and dry brushing to recreate a spell effect.

Readying-up for some Burning Hands.

The second one is doing her best to “summon the fire”, which is an awesome song if you want to pump yourself up (though I like their NPR set with less distortion better). It made sense to me that she would wear some special clothing, so gave her a reddish tunic, with highlights to red and pink, and then a green cloak, to tie her in with the rest of the army. It’s all basic stuff, but I dig it.

On the table the Flame Priests look like a lot of fun! They are one of the few spellcasters that still come with a known spell, but it is Fireball, and I actually like this. They Inspire, and can buy a boosted Fireball (probably worth it), and a Bane Chant for 140 points, and that seems like some good price for some good utility. I want to explore shooting more with my Dwarfs, so their Fireball, plus a Command to have a nearby melee Holdfast unit (Ironguard, Ironclad, Shieldbreakers) toss a Mastiff in too looks like a fun tactic to employ.

Oof, and with all this, I now have all of the current Dwarf Champion options hobbied up! The post is already ridiculously long, but to ramble on and summarize things in one place for my future self:

• ASB. Seems ok with any build, but a low-priority choice since he doesn't do much on his own, and I'll need to find an item that I really like that supports that specific list to make him feel worthwhile (eg. Boomstick with Ironwatch units and shooting; Shroud of the Saint with Ironguard).
• Champion. Another ok option, and is nice and relatively cheap. He is not yielding so can chaff and delay things if-needed, and could help mop-up units wavered by shooting, or just add a bit more damage assisting melee units, or preventing reforms and the like. Like the ASB, also probably fine holding items, if I can find stuff I like, otherwise keeping them basic and cheap seems fine.
• Stone Priest. Great for Surging Elementals, or learning some Arcane Library spells. Since he can get Bane Chant, he seems like a fine support piece all-around, and he best pick if you want to dabble with more serious magic.
• Flame Priest. Has Fireball and can get Bane Chant. Seems best supporting non-shooting units, ideally with the Holdfast keyword, to hand out a Mastiff while he Fireballs things too. Maybe "scenario Dwarfs" with lots of lots of Ironclad could be fun with them.
• Warsmiths. They don't have great fighty stats, and only a short ranged-attack in their profile, but they do give lots of buffs to our shooters.  

The Dwarfs have a nice variety of Champion options, and most feel useful. The spellcasters and the Warsmiths are the clear frontrunners for me though, and I think I'll need to figure out some bespoke battle groups to get the best mix of and the most out of the various Champions. Testing is sorely needed to figure all this out, and hopefully we can get these on the field very soon!

Hobby Update: Jarrun Bombard and Iron Belcher Cannon

Dwarfs can run some very interesting (and scary) artillery pieces in 4E. Previously, some martial contraptions have been for the Imperial Dwarfs only, but hey, we’re pressing on and going to be exploring what we can as long as we can, and we will just adjust as new book releases inevitably make changes. Up now are some war machines for the (Free) Dwarfs!

Little, versatile, Bombards.

First up are some Jarrun Bombards! The machines are from an old GW kit (Battle for Skull Pass, I think? A bit before I started.) The cannons are pretty cute, and were picked-up second hand. I liked how compact they were, which I felt read as a lighter cannon, and would let me get the gunner on the base without issue. They got a simple paint job, and the gunners are from Mantic bundles over the years.

The Bombard looked like a neat little pressure piece, slightly weaker than a normal cannon, but able to use different shots to play around cover penalties and hit things at range no matter what. It is a typical war machine and just hitting on 5’s while standing still, and is limited to 2 per battalion now, so they might not make a big splash, but at 85 points, they seemed worth checking out at least.

Iron Belcher cannons!

Next up are Iron Belcher Cannons, which are all Mantic, procured second-hand and pre-assembled through one of the handful of ebay bundles I somewhat absentmindedly picked up over the years. I was surprised to find out that Grapeshot without Reload was around in 3E, though that does ring a vague bell. The rules back then meant you were very often hitting on 6’s, so it wasn’t that impactful. In 4e, the various big Cannons all got a silly buff to their Shooting value, and can be aiming and blasting away on 4’s at range, or moving and Grapeshotting on 5’s, which are some very serious buffs, as some of my recent games have showed. I have to imagine someone screwed this stat up during formatting, but time will tell. Alongside a Warsmith, Dwarven Cannons will get Elite, and will be extremely dangerous. 

While I really wanted to explore shooting with the Dwarfs, some of the cannon play against me, surrounding Grapeshot in particular, has felt very overpowered, so we’ll be sporting and just stick to two big cannons for now.

Yay, an Organ Gun!

Last up is an Organ Gun. Way way back, I was look at expected damage per point imvested on some ranged units, and stumbled across the Kingdoms of Men Ballista as a points-efficient shooter. The Organ Gun is and was similar. Right now, for the same cost as a Troop of Ironwatch Rifles, you get 50% more attacks, up to 12 from 8. There are some other differences, but it’s a pretty effective mid-range shooting platform and a good way to deny an area of the board. It has done some ridiculous work in my demo games. It eats into Support slots now, which are way harder to come buy in 4E than typical unlocks were in 3E, but it is still neat and worth exploring more too. This was previously a Imperial-only pick, so we’ve just hobbied one up for now, and haven't even glued it to the chassis, so we can wait and see what the future holds.

Oh, the poor, neglected Battle Driller.

...And speaking of Imperial-only stuff, we’ll pour one out for the old Battle Driller. Almost all my Dwarf stuff was purchased years ago, in the beginning or the midst of 3E. I knew that I wanted to run Free Dwarfs, but alongside the Organ Gun, the Battle Driller caught my eye as a fun-looking unit, and I picked one up way back when, just so I could dabble with some imperial ambitions if the mood struck me. A plain and simple, Brutal 2 was pretty unique at the time, and sticking just one of these around a more Defensive Dwarven line looked like a lot of fun. It’s unfortunately no longer an option currently, but we’ll see what the future holds!

These are all some neat additions. I want to explore shooting more with the army, but I also realize that gunlines might not be run to play against regularly. I think limiting things to one battalion will help the fun factor, and we’ll try and use all of these in moderation.

Hobby Update: Touched-up Undead Zombie Trolls

I have been idly looking for more Zombies for my Undead (a fourth horde!), and instead stumbled onto an odd ebay bundle with some Dungeon Saga minis. It was a set of repeated Zombie Trolls, along with a Troll Necromancer, I think? He might be a campaign baddie or something. I don’t have a plan for the Necromancer guy yet, but a few of my existing Troll units have had minis popping off their bases, so I figured why not buy this, and take the opportunity to touch these all up while expanding them a bit?

Same-Model Syndrome, but thankfully, spread over two units.

While my existing units are varied with skin tone and such, the new Trolls all got the same coloring, since I was going to spread them across those existing units. Each unit got a new Troll, and with the models replaced, I was able to make another regiment. Two troops are bespoke for demo games, but I now have three full regiments to deploy in regular games as well.

The first touched-up regiment.

The troops were finished first, and once I was onto fiddling with the regiments, oh boy, the new green was jarringly bright. I didn't really mind it with the smaller troops, but having one extra-bright model in the regiments was too much. I took a dark green paint, watered it down a bit, and just slapped it on, and then used a green wash to even things out. They are zombies, so tidiness wasn't a concern, I just wanted to deaden the vibrant green.

The second regiment.

On the table, these have actually been a little disappointing in 4E. All Large Infantry, aside from Ogres, took nerfs to their number of attacks, and the unit size revisions smack down their Unit Strength a bit too. We've played with them a few times already, and both nerfs have been noticeable on the battlefield, and they cam take up space just fine, but don’t grind as well as they used to. 

And then the third.

The Zombie Trolls can't help with the Core Tax at all, and with the new unlock system, they are competing against Wraiths and Soul Reavers and Werewolves in the Specialist slot.

Werewolves are the hot new trend, a strong, fighty unit with 20 attacks and Strider. Soul Reavers are also a pretty fighty unit, so these seem in competition with each other for a damage-dealing role. As mentioned, the Trolls mostly take up space well and survive, thought their output isn't good enough to really reliably out-grind an opposing unit. In my head, their main competition is with the Wraiths, with both filling similar roles of staunchly holding ground. I hope to explore these two particular options more directly very soon!

Hobby Update: Flame Belchers

Almost all of my purchases for the Free Dwarfs were done at least a year ago, with the bulk of things bought up two years ago or more, mainly though ebay bundles. However, with 4E revealed, and the Free Dwarfs being rolled up into Imperial Dwarfs (at least for now…), I splurged over Christmas and picked up a weird assortment of pre-built GW Irondrakes / Ironbreakers second-hand. I wanted the Ironbreakers as Def6 Ironguard, as I couldn’t come up with a good Mantic solution but did want to dabble there, but the Drakes were just going to be hanging around or be resold, until I noticed the nifty Flame Belcher. So of course up now are a pair of Flame Belchers for the Free Dwarfs!

The scorching duo.

As-mentioned, the units are GW Irondrakes, apparently a shooty / flame-throwery unit. I only played against the Dwarfs a few times in WHFB, and I don’t recall them being a unit back then, though with a sample size of probably not more than 3 games played or viewed, and all of those well over a decade ago, who is to say. My only tangential experience with them was in some Total War replays (replay #1, and replay #2) from Turin a few years ago. The visuals of those replays stuck with me though, and they seemed quite fitting for Flame Belchers!

Three came assembled and well-painted, and I had enough bits to build up a fourth and copy the existing paint scheme, as I liked the darker, duller metallics that the previous owner had going on. One had a harpoon-like gun that I snipped away, and with some minimal touchups, these were all quickly finished.

Basing for these was done in the first batch, with all the trials and errors, though instead of all greener grasses, I also added some of Army Painter’s darker Steppe Grasses onto the front of the base, to try and mimic some scorched areas from the flamethrowers, while still fitting in with the rest of the army overall.

On the table these look interesting! I’ve always liked the Dragon Fire-Team our resident Abyssal Dwarf player utilizes, and this is in a similar vein, spewing out a lot of attacks, but with very decent hit chances now. If we hold, we can hit on 3’s! They seem decent at area denial, though probably want something else nearby to help them, as they lack Piercing, and at best can only tickle infantry for a turn or two before likely being caught themselves.

It seems like you could stick these with other shooters to create a big no-go zone for your opponent, though with so many shooting things in the Support slot, fitting in one, let alone multiples is probably too tough most of the time, for a more dedicated shooting list. To me, they seem most likely poised to be a mostly-mobile (importantly, war machines can't move at the double!) shooting platform among a more fighty and aggressive list, peppering things before the lines close, or picking them off in the late game while your fighters look elsewhere. We’ll endeavor to explore both potential uses of them sometime soon!

Hobby Update: Undead Barrow Wight

Up now is a bit of a wildcard hobby update for me, a Barrow Wight Warlord for the Undead! One of my major friend groups in the ought’s was incredibly nerdy, and we all pulled each other into a number of our respective nerdy hobbies, including MTG, board games, a few online games, WHFB, and then we all jumped into D&D5E in 2014 as a group. The DM duties fell to me, and because we started this before any modules were released, I just made stuff up, throwing out a lot of hooks, and then developing the ones that piqued their interest into little arcs and an ongoing adventure that lasted 5ish years. 

One of the longer-term threads that never came to fruition was Skullbuddy. The party found some children's toys themed like Demi-Lich skulls, which would float around the child. This one was “defective” though, and had a technicolor flame. This was actually a real Demi-Lich, but with amnesia, and despite some meta-gaming concerns, the party failed every arcana check to identify it as a threat in any way. That floating, sentient skull became Skullbuddy, and for a few sessions it acted a bit like a familiar to the party, and became a way for me to help out and provide hints or reinforce details . After a time, it and some armor disappeared from their hideout. Skullbuddy was going to be a big-bad down the line, with the amnesiac Demi-Lich coming to his senses and picking some old schemes back up, but schedule conflicts eventually derailed the whole campaign. I assembled him at the time, but with the campaign ultimately collapsing, never painted him up. June is upon us, and this seems like an auspicious time to paint up this old techicolor model. Happy Pride!

A pretty fabulous Barrow Wight.

The mini is an old Reaper mini, with a plastic headswap and then some very old greenstuff flames, which are not well-done, but we’re keeping them as a testament to my original efforts many years ago, and because I am a smidge lazy, and didn't want to redo it. 

As-was, rediscovered a few days ago.

Painting-wise, he was primed, and then the armor was painted black, with a dark metal drybrush, coming at it from the top. The flames were painted off-white and then hit with Speed Paints, allowing each color to dry before painting an adjacent color. Unsure what to do with the cloak given the techicolor flames, I blindly started experimenting with with some very neutral grays and browns, and then that idea evolved into an attempt at a burning / cinder kind of effect. It looks alright. I think I need some reds instead of yellows to sell the lesser intensity, and probably need to have a sections burning rather than just edge highlighting, but the yellows are sporadic enough that this looks fine and I'm not going to futz around with it anymore. 

As-now, from the back, with the cinder cloak attempt.

On the table he looks very weird, and I feel like Mantic is just messing around with design space here instead of making a streamlined, purposeful unit. He’s ostensibly a very important Wight, but has Strider, as well as better Def and a little extra CS for being a character. Instead of a Large Infantry characters, he’s a Height 2 infantry hero, and a combat hero, though he’s only got 4 attacks. That stat changes and such are peculiar, and he almost feels more like a Barrow Wraith than a Barrow Wight.

The biggest weirdness of him though is an innate Host Shadowbeast 5, though the spell has changed with 4E. He can target himself, cast into combat, and even cast it while engaged, which are all neat twists, but the extra attacks are not a flat result like in 3E, and instead are linked to the successful hits from the spell. So, we’re looking at 2-3 extra attacks most of the time? So… 235 pts for a 5-9 attack combat individual? That doesn’t seem particularly great, but it is hard to judge. Host Shadowbeast seems to have dropped off, but maybe there is something there, now that Disordered is gone and the caster can keep it going turn after turn, and Magnilde has consistently surprised me with her Speed 7, so he might have some tricks in store as well with Fly. We’ll try him out sometime soon!

Hobby Update: Free Dwarf Steel Juggernaut

Up now is maybe a Faber Ironheart, or more likely, since Faber is an Imp, a generic Steel Juggernaut for my new Free Dwarfs. Even then, Free Dwarfs didn't get these in 3E, so this may not be long for the table, but hey, for as long as we can legally field the contraption, we'll use it.

Quarter profile.

I picked up the model probably nearly a decade ago, when a local store was going out of business. I had a bit of store credit to use up, but was late to the sales, and came away with a small hodgepodge of models, as even the paints were all gone by the time I made it out to the shop.

Almost dead-on.

I didn't like the exo-skeleton of the official Mantic model, and wanted an alternative. The model is a Warjack from War Machine. (Looks like the Retaliator Crucible Guard?) The model had a beaky head low-down, like a hunchback, which I didn't like, but after fiddling around, I liked the concept of a “ball-gunner turret” approach to this. To get that feel I covered the head nook with a shield to make a chest piece, and then put a Mantic dwarf head further up, and then bulked out the model slightly with some dwarf pauldrons picked up from a bits store long ago. The idea is that dwarf hops in, where he can manipulate levers and gears unseen, and the pauldrons secure him inside the contraption. This has been assembled for maybe three years now. It’s funky, but I think it works!

And one pic from the other side.

As-mentioned, on the table, this is most likely going to be a Steel Juggernaut. In that role, the Steel Juggernaught doesn’t Inspire, but does have longer-ranged shooting than the Faber option, and I think it could do some nice work interdicting and defending other shooting units. 

The Dwarfs have tons of support units to pick from though, so we’ll see how often this guy can actually hit the table. Speaking of, I'm finishing up a number of those support pieces, so more to come soon!

Hobby Update: Free Dwarf Ironguard

While I want to run Free Dwarfs… 4E has smushed the Free and Imperial factions together for now, so I’m taking the opportunity to finally dabble with some Def6 units for myself. Up now are two reinforcing regiments of Ironguard for the Free Dwarfs!

The regiments! Ready to take some hits for me!

The models are GW Ironbreakers, largely picked up second-hand around this last Christmas, once things were fully spoiled, and as I started really making painted progress for this new army. I could not pass up the chance to finally try out some Def6 stuff for myself! The majority of these models came assembled and painted already, and I just had to repair and cobble together a few newcomers, and then match the existing overall scheme, which I quite liked with the mix of metallics. The shields got green paint to aesthetically tie things together, and that’s about it. The heavy armor and round shields made these perfect for some Free Dwarf Ironguard (in the fluff the Free Dwarfs apparently like rounder shields and things, while Imperial Dwarfs are more angular), so despite not being Mantic, these seemed too perfect to pass up.

Right now I am pretty happy with where they are at for hobbying. In addition to the flowers, I think the only things I want to touch up are the books, maybe with more runes or something, and maybe try some silver highlights on the very highest metal bits, just to attempt them. But these are ready for the table and I really dig their look.

One regiment.

Over the years, the Ironguard have been at the forefront of balance complaints for the Dwarfs. Running an “oops all Def6” list is strong, and is completely bonkers in an Ambush setting. I liked that 4E put them in a specialist slot, but don’t like that they are unlimited (as opposed to Berserkers, Brocks, and Rangers), nor do I like that multiple Warlords can make them Core choices. If anything, I think these should probably have a limit too, and that the weaker Lord on foot should be the only way to get these into Core, and actually give the Dwarf player some tough list-building decisions. Still, the slot change should prevent them from ubiquitous appearances in smaller settings were Warlords are verboten, so we’ll take the baby step here, and hope things get a little more attention in their eventual book.

And the second. The book definitely needs some fixin'.

On the table, these regiments have been very strong historically, with Def6 able to endure quite the beating from all sorts of things, and buckets of dice needed to break through the high defense. In 4E they got a nice buff too, upping their attacks to 15, which I actually really like for elite units like them and Basilean Paladins and Kingdoms of Men Foot Guard. I am excited to try my hand with these elite, armored Dwarfs, and we’ll see what I can do with a few regiments!

4th Edition: Battle #036 Kingdoms of Men vs Kingdoms of Men in Pillage

Intro and Lists

While I had another busy week and then another busy weekend, I was lucky enough to at least fill some of the weekend with wargaming. We had a meetup on the calendar, and I got to get in a surprise demo game for a new player, which was great, though was a bit of a bummer as I didn't back up my Free Dwarf demo list, thinking there was no way I'd need it today. Nuts. We'll continue hobbying away at them, and hopefully they can debut with a proper game instead very soon!

After the demo, Rob was waiting with his shooty Kingdoms of Men. Having jumped over to a different army, Rob was prepping hard for US Masters coming up in July, and had the following to test out:

It is the same list as last week, as he's been a little short on games for any fine-tuning. The list aims to punish elite builds, using the arguably over-tuned Blizzard and Cannons to blast away at range, lots of Rifles to cheaply hold objectives while contributing some shots, with a lot of quicker stuff to interdict or punish poor positioning as folks try to deal with all the pressure the shooting brings.

I brought the Kingdoms of Men as well. I was very excited for the army going into 4E, and I still think that it could still do well, but I am just overwhelmed. It’s jack of all trades army, and there are just too many things I want to test, and the new list building is clunky enough that I am struggling to build interesting lists that feel viable, able to test a few things, and aren’t just spamming many copies of a few units. We’re acquiescing a bit on the spam-front, but have a nice mix of things to test out still, and up to discuss is everything: 

• Baron on foot. We’re taking the Baron! He’s a combat individual, which is a bummer, but he will let us swap the Foot Guard over into the Core slot. I don’t mind our core options, but they aren’t anything too special, so we’ll see how a more elite infantry corps core feels, and if is worth his cost. 
• ASB, Heal. I’m not thrilled with our Champions, so we’re taking an assortment. The ASB is fine, but needs an item. With the BC Lute gone now, we’ll try a tiny Heal. 
• Hero, Horse, Wand. They are neat, but very expensive for what you get, basically doubling in price from 3E. These are not Yielding, so they can gum things up. I don’t think they are worth any of the fighty items, so we’ll try the Wand and Hex and use him to pressure a bit.
• Wizard, Talisman, Heal, BC. The Wizards are neat, but do not Inspire, which is a huge strike against them in 4E as your heroic slots are so ridiculously limited, while heroic costs increased. 
• Militia regiments. We are taking a few regiments of Militia to block for the Footies, or help play the scenario for cheap. We’ll see how they end up being used.
• Core Footie mix. I hobbied these all up long ago with regiments in mind, each getting a banner and such. This was before I knew the power and efficiency of hordes. I can get good use out of them now, so we’ll give them a try, and try a mix as that is what I have, and it will be nice to compare and contrast.
• Dogs of War, Hann's.
• Knights with Boots. As I am wont to do, there was an alternative build with a 4th regiment of Footies, and 3rd regiment of Militia, but I figured the Knights were a stronger pick. We're taking just one regiment, with the Boots. Even though I will continue to explore some other options, 
• Light Cavalry mix. With Footies swapping over to Core, I was at a loss with what to do with the rest of the list. We’ll give a mix of Light Cavalry a try. They should be able to be mobile for pressure, objectives, or just screens as chaff. Maybe we’ll get to use Feint!
• Mammoths. Finishing up the list are a pair of Mammoths! I loved these in 2E, back when they could have a 10pt Ballista atop them, like a Goblin Slasher these days. All the Foot Guard regiments made me a bit nostalgic, so we’re taking these and trying some of my old MMU Kingdoms of Men style!

Our little meta doesn't have a ton of overlapping collections, so we don't often have "civil war" games featured in the blog, and I have tried to avoid too many "near-mirror" matches as well. Despite the variety of lists and styles around, showcasing a variety of armies and match ups was always more appealing to me, but we do run into these match-ups occasionally. I know Rob is getting every game in that he can, and I still brought my own humans out, as they are what I wanted to run today, and I don't want to be tailoring lists against him. Going into this game, I did not like my chances with my oddball Foot Guard against his Masters-level list though, but was determined to make him work for the win.

Table and Terrain

Lost Trove Collectables was another shop within Gamers Realm before the former unexpectedly closed last month. The latter relocated, and while the focus was collectables and nerdy accoutrements, they are pivoting to add gaming spaces and TCGs and such too, and we were lucky enough to be able to get out and check them out.

Their new space was an old bank branch, and they converted some of the conference / closing rooms into play spaces. While they have tables, and are acquiring some additional things, we brought our own terrain and mats.

Here we had some Height 10 Forests, the still-small blocking Buildings were Height 7, Hills were Height 3, Obstacles were Height 2, and the difficult pieces were Height 1.

For the scenario we got Pillage, which took me a bit of time to wrap my brain around, though it’s really not that hard. We’ve got 7 immobile objectives tokens to right over using our unit strength. Each one held will be worth a point at the end of the game.

Overview of the table.

Rob’s humans out-deployed mine, due to cheaper core picks and war machines, though the discrepancy wasn’t actually too gratuitous here. As I recall, the Baron and Knights were the final drops from my opponent, which makes sense.

The bulk of Rob's deployment.

Left-to-right we have Chariots, Shield wall with Light Cavalry in reserve, triple Riflemen with the ASB in reserve, a Giant, more Riflemen, and the Dogs of War with their Hammer. We then have the four Cannons, with the Blizzard Wizard in the woods to start out. The far right has the Knights, flying Baron, and more Chariots.

A spread of Mammoths.

I have won the roll for sides, and was lazy. My only deployment goal was to spread things around, so that like was not next to like. On the left we have Light Cavalry with two-handing Foot Guard in reserve, my foot Baron with Militia in reserve, and a slightly angled Mammoth, to try and get around the terrain. Awkwardly, the Militia were my first drop, and they weren’t back nearly far enough for uniformity!

The center, with the Cannon contingent.

Terrain split my line up a bit, as I felt the need to be aggressive, so we have some relatively isolated Def5 Foot Guard next, then my Dogs of War with the ASB supporting. We have the Mammoth, and then Knights behind the woods. The Knights were a late enough drop that they should be getting cover from the Cannons, and my plan with the Knights was to hop into the woods in Round 1, and then use the Boots to get a clean charge out. 

The right.

We have the regiment of Light Cavalry next, with the mounted Wizard in reserve, more Def5 Footies, the Mounted Hero hiding for now, and then Militia and Light Cavalry on my far right. 

Overview of the table.

My opponent has spread across the table, and with another elite-leaning build, I am already feeling the pressure. Rob wins the roll for turns, and takes it, looking to get some early value out of his cannonballs before the war machines start moving around.

Top of Round 1: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

On the left, Chariots move up, and get in range to dare a charge from my light Cavalry. The Shield Wall get their front onto the hill to see, and the Light Cavalry remain in reserve. 

Positioning on the left.

The Rifles all step up an inch to get in range for volleys next turn, and eventually the Giant will start lumbering out towards the left. 

The Dogs of War hop into the terrain for cover, though I have nothing to threaten them. 

The Cannons all fire, with cover penalties into the Knights. Two miss completely, and two spike hard to compensate. One maxes out on hits and converts 7 damage, another blasts into 6 hits and 5 damage. We get a Shattering 2, and my Knights are already wavering and on 12 damage.

Pushing out on the right, while the cannons roar.

The right moves up to pressure as well, with Knights inching up slightly to get an angle around the woods, and the Baron and Chariots playing coyly against my Light Cavalry on the far right. The Chariots wheel into bow range but land nothing, and the Blizzard Wizard will land 1 from the spell into the Light Cavalry to slow them down.

Bottom of Round 1: TastyBagel’s KoM

My right is mainly here to delay, so I think I am ok durdling around out here. Slowed, the Light Cavalry back up and pivot slightly, and the Militia reposition.

My right backs up a bit for now.

Foot Guard peer onto the hill, and the Hero canters up, though Hex fails into the Blizzard Wizard. It’s a decent idea, but Hex got some huge nerfs in the new Edition. Before you had to choose whether to move or cast, and if you casted, you took 2 damage per success. Now, it’s just the damage, and against a Blast spell, the caster damage dealt to taken is probably still in the caster’s favor, and unless I have a way to force a Nerve Check, the damage is immaterial.

The center pushes up.

The Light Cavalry zip up to threaten things, and I should have some good options next turn. As-planned, the Knights pass Headstrong, and make it as far as they can, getting into the woods for cover. But they had cover last turn and took 12 damage, so this plan might be a bit dubious. 

The ASB and Wizard linger to Heal the Knights, and we’ll average out to 3 combined successes with the spell.

The Mammoth hops ahead to threaten things as well, and my Dogs of War move up 10 inches to be aggressive.

The left pushes up too.

The Foot Guard should be out of arc of the Giant, but move up to try and support. 

On the far left, the Light Cavalry run up to chaff and die. The 2h Footies and Baron tuck in behind, with the Militia and Mammoth in reserve.

Top of Round 2: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

On the left, the Shield Wall get a Brace order, and then ignore it, charging out into my chaffing Light Cavalry instead, alongside the Chariots. Each unit lands 4 damage, and the Light Cavalry fall. 

Charges and positioning from the shooty Kingdoms of Men.

Unfortunately, we are fighting near the table edge. The Shield Wall get an overrun of 6 inches to block things up, and then the Chariots reform, putting my Footies in front arc, but I have no wat to align and get in. 

Well played! The reforms absolutely trash my plans here.

I did not see this, but the reserve Light Cavalry just have arc to, and are like a quarter inch in range of my Dogs of War, and they’ll take the flank to gum me up, landing 4 damage.  With my horde bogged down, the Giant repositions, spinning back towards the center, and the Dogs of War are able to back up out of range of the Knights. 

Oops, two free flank charges here.

It’s another gross turn of shooting. Cannons take aim at the Mammoth, and land a combined 9 damage into it (one misses, three deal three each). Two Rifle Regiments without cover land another 5, and Blizzard manages to contribute 2, taking the beast up to 16 damage. From the far left, the remaining two Rifles have the Mammoth barely in arc, and are drawing line of sight around the other side of the Giant, and with cover… will land 3 damage, and pop my Mammoth, which is terrible for me. It’s close to 1,000 points of shooting, which I feel should be able to break stuff, but this is just withering fire here.

I apparently missed the enemy Knights too. I thought my Light Cavalry were out of range and / or arc, but it’s neither. My cavalry have their back corner in arc, and are in range, so the Knights take the easy flank charge. This is a dead-spot in my line, unfortunately. The opposing Knights don’t need the boots, and land 22 damage into the flank of the Light Cavalry. They’ll break them, and overrun, getting 6” and essentially bumping up into my Knights.

The right pushes in.

Two accidental flank charges is sloppy play from me, and really bad. I have a unit deficiency here, and losing some without doing anything is exacerbating things. I’ll need some serious luck to catch back up.

On the right, the flying Baron and Chariots reposition safe from the infantry. 

Bottom of Round 2: TastyBagel’s KoM

On the right, we try and pressure. The mounted Hero charges the Chariot to “disorder” them with a sticky combat, and the Light Cavalry run up to threaten. The Militia run up at the double and pivot. 

Aftermath on Round 2, out on the right.

Threatened by the flying Baron, the Foot Guard back up and pivot. He’s threatening the Knights and maybe the regiment, but hopefully we can trade the Knights for him in the coming turns, if he takes the bait.

My center pushes outward.

My Knights pop their boots, and charge the opposing Knights. My opponent thinks I could get into the Giant too. That didn’t occur to me, but does look to be the case looking at the photos. With the push-and-pull of the game though, I think hitting the Knights is still a good idea, removing some stuff on the right, and then the hope is I can start punching through on the left in the turns to come. My Knights get a Heal 1 from the supervising Wizard, and they will pop their opposites and reform.

Positioning on the left.

Both the Giant and flying Baron are into them, and it is some rough angles for the reforms. I don’t think overrunning is really an option, so I give the flank to the Baron, hoping to draw him in. 

I want to consolidate a bit on my left and hopefully push through there a bit in the coming turns, so my Dogs of War have some interesting choices. I opt to reform, centering and sliding over towards the Giant. Heal fails here, but we land 14 damage to best the Cavalry, and then can reform, spinning through the building, and getting into a better line of battle with my left. Through the combat they will Lifeleech 1 damage, getting down to 3 damage.

My Def5 Footies here take the hill to threaten the Riflles. It felt important to grab this high ground and threaten from a harder angle, rather than play it closer and position to maybe pile in against the Giant, but I could see an argument either way.

Reforms in the center, while the left fails to break through at all...

The rest of the left is a mess. Had the Shield Wall rolled under a 5” I’d have so many more options! The Chariots are the threat out here. As it is, my 2h Footies can’t charge the Chariots like I would like, and are forced to pack up with a pivot to allow the Baron to get in against them and tie them up. The Baron lands 2, but doesn’t budge them. 

With the angles, the Mammoth can’t get past the Shield Wall to charge the Chariots either, so it is forced to charge the Shield Wall, and the Milita Join in. The Mammoth rolls up a solitary extra attack, and only lands 5 damage, though the Militia spike and land 4 to help out. Still, it’s not enough to budge the Inspired Shield Wall.

Top of Round 3: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

The Chariots are in combat, so don’t have Thunderous Charge, but land 1 damage in against my Baron on foot. That’s fine. The Shield Wall swing on the Militia, landing 5, but that is fine as well, and I hold. 

The Giant crashes in, and the Rifles take aim.

The Foot Guard on the hill are lit up by all three Regiments. I was hoping to force a hard angle, but could not quite get out of arc of the far regiment, and since I did not put down an “Undo” marker, opted to risk it. The Rifles spike, landing 10 damage (~6 expected), and even Inspired, I am unfortunately wavered up on the hill. 

The Giant smale into my Dogs of War, but 4’s are swingy, and just 5 damage lands, taking them up to 8. The opposing Dogs of War move through the terrain, and are just barely 10 inches away from my unit. More Rifles move up to support as well. While I was hoping to push in from the left, I am being very effectively contained now instead. 

Clashes in the center.

The Baron takes the flank, and reforms, keeping my avenging Footies in front arc, and will forcing a hindered charge from me. Well played!

On the right, the Chariots look to withdraw, and back up. The first check is a Boxcars, and we get this rule wrong. We didn't look it up. They are safe even with the Doomed result, but should take additional damage, since they are engaged. We thought the extra damage only applied in checks from the combat phase, but nope, it impacts Withdraw moves too.

The Chariots erroneously emerge unscathed, and grapeshot charges fly and scatter.

The Withdraw opens these units up to shooting. The Chariots land 1 into the Light Cavalry with their bows. The Cannons reposition, and two Grapeshot volleys spike to land 9 more damage, with Blizzard landing 3 to push the Light Cavalry into devastated status. 

The other two Cannons reposition, and always hitting on 5’s, the remaining two Grapeshots also spike, landing 7 damage into the Hero, effectively ignoring the Individual penalty. For what it is worth, the Hero will hold though, unwavering, but it was yet another hot round of shooting here. 

Bottom of Round 3: TastyBagel’s KoM

Things are not great, but Kings of War is a scenario-driven game. With the tokens spread out as they are, we really only need to contest half the board, and we don’t really care about the right, so we’ll keep scrapping. 

The Hero charges out into a Cannon. We land 3 damage, but luck out with the checks. We Overrun, trying to warp the line of Cannons a bit and hopefully utilize my speed, but only get one inch, and aren't really making the Cannons work for it. 

The Hero punches through!

The Militia control the token way out here, but inch back, preventing a charge from the Chariots.

My Mounted Wizard moves up to the flying Baron, but is not charging. The positioning prevents a hindered charge from my Footies, who will land 5 damage into the Baron, and threaten a reforming flank charge next turn. The Wizard will also land an Indomitable Will onto the Footies for good measure.

Charges in the center.

Blocking the slide, the Wizard had pivoted to attempt a Heal into my Dogs of War, though against the Def5 Giant, a Bane Chant might have been the better call? The ASB helps with a Heals too, and the spell results are strong, getting the horde down to 3 damage, and they’ll eventually Lifeleech down to just 2, after thumping the expected 8 damage onto the Giant. It’s good damage, but we aren’t going to break the titan, and unfortunately can’t escape from the opposing Dogs of War next turn either, though I land another Indomitable Will on them too, just in case.

Positioning on the left, with some tough reforms.    

I’m casting Indomitable Will to get used to the Order. In 3E, this was awesome, turning a unit Fearless and Self-Inspiring, and removing wavers too. Here in 4E, the order is nerfed, just granting Headstrong and Inspiring (Self), but it is still my best chance for getting something out of the wavering Footies on the hill. They get the order, but don’t pass Headstrong, and are stuck. 

The Baron swings against the Chariots, brining them up to 5 damage, but we can’t budge them still.

I need to preserve units for the late game, so the Militia withdraw from the fight against the Shield Wall, and reassemble behind the 2h Footies. The Footies still can’t fit in against the Chariots, so tag-in to fight the Shield Wall. The Mammoth rolls up 2 extra attacks, and we’ll devastate and rout the unit on the second attempt.

The chariot base proves hard to reform though. I would like to help my Dogs, but just can’t, so I opt to overrun with both. The Footies get a an inch, and the Mammoth gets a few more. We can’t help against the Giant, but can hopefully silence some Rifles next turn.

Top of Round 4: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

The Chariots get Indomitable Will from the ASB, who then flees towards the midfield. The Charioteers will land a few damage onto the Baron, but he holds.

The Rifles again light up the Foot Guard on the hill, and again roll hot, landing 8 more damage onto them, enough to devastate them, and so will get the rout at range.

The brawls continue on the left.

The Giant reforms, letting the opposing Dogs of War in with a Hindered charge against my horde. The Giant lands another underwhelming 4 damage despite rolling up some extra attacks, but the hindered Dogs greatly overperform, landing 10 damage instead of the expected 6. I hold, but barely, and am on 16 damage.

The isolated Rifles turn and move towards the center, and the Baron reforms to prevent the reform into his flank, and then claws a hot 5 damage into the Footies, though they hold.

Blizzard blasts into 7 hits into the Hero, resulting in 4 damage, and a Grapeshot volley will land another 3 to devastate him, and pick him up.

The Chariots move in to pressure.

The Cannon in the woods holds, and with the center point in the terrain, is able to ignore it, and lands just 2 damage into the Militia on the right. The Chariots move up and loose their bows, but contribute nothing. Shattering 2 is in play, but the Militia hold.

Bottom of Round 4: TastyBagel’s KoM

On the right, the Militia move up to threaten the Chariots. I don’t think I’m going to win this, but is the only real move here to threaten them and not just simply get picked off at range.

The Militia hop ahead, ready to die.

We get a Bane Chant off to help the Foot Guard against the flying Baron, and we’ll cut him down this turn. My original intent was to reform to force a hindered charge from the Rifles, but I don’t look to have done that. I think I talked myself out of that. I’m likely getting shot next turn, so giving myself a cleaner charge seemed more sensible.

The Foot Guard drag the opposing Baron off his fancy mount.

My Dogs of War throw everything into the Giant, and I finally get some good, hot dice, landing 12 damage into the titan. He’s not quite devastated, but he still breaks.

Charges and such on the left.

The 2h Footies take the hill, threatening the opposing mercenaries or Rifles, and Indomitable Will helps them out.

With no other real options, I throw the Mammoth into a regiment of Rifles, to see how that feels. We again roll up 1-2 extra attacks, and landing 6 damage, and have Brutal, but will fail to break the inspired regiment.

More grinding fights on the left, though the Giant does fall.

The Baron fights on against the Chariots, who start on 5 damage. The Baron lands 3 and the Militia contribute 2 more to take them up to 10, but I fail to break them, and Inspiring (Self) from Indomitable Will doesn't even factor in here. 

Top of Round 5: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

The Chariots poke at the Militia, trying to remove my remaining unit strength. They land 2, taking them up to 7 damage, but the Militia hold. 

The opposing mercenaries best mine.

The engaged Rifles will poke 1 damage into the Mammoth. Another regiment will move up and Brace, hoping to keep fights one-on-one. And the third regiment will roll hot, landing 4 damage into the Foot Guard on the hill, while the ASB gets central.

The opposing Dogs of War will pick up my mercs this turn, as expected, and they’ll reform to continue to pen me in on the left, since I have been unable to push through. 

More wavering from shooting.

The Cannons all move out, and are all just within range to Grapeshot my Def5 Foot Guard in the center. I’m in cover, but not really since the Cannons are innately hitting on 5’s. The triple volleys will land 8 damage (6 expected), Rifles brace and contribute 1, and the Blizzard will throw with cover to land 1 as well, and on 15 damage, I am definitely wavering.

Somehow, the Militia hold. I'll take it!

The Chariots on the right are out of Inspiring range, but not too far for Orders, and the Blizzard Wizard is able to grant them Indomitable Will, as they charge the Militia. Miraculously, the Militia are only brought up to 4, and will hold. There was apparently some confusion on the part of my opponent, and he had mistaken this disheveled unit with its mismatched weapons for Foot Guard. That was discovered and clarified this turn, which is why he charged in, so this is finally just some bad dice for him.

Bottom of Round 5: TastyBagel’s KoM

The Militia poke another 1 into the Chariots on the far right. With missed out on the extra Withdraw damage, so I really need a lot of luck out here, and we don’t budge them. My opponent was doing a great job at using the Orders to keep them Inspired. 

The Militia soldier on way out on the right.

The wavering Foot Guard still have a chance to contribute. Indomitable Will lands on them, but we fail Headstrong, so they can’t charge the Rifles. The Wizard attempts a Heal here, just in case, but doesn’t get any successes.

The Indomitable Will / Headstrong gambit fails a second time.

The ASB Heals 1 for the Footies on the hill as they charge down into the Braced Rifles. We roll very hot here, landing 11 damage and pick up the Rifles. There is unfortunately no way to avoid the Dogs of War though, they are just too close. I victoriously change facing

Still some grinding fights on the left...

The mammoth lands 7 damage into its combat, and the Rifles need to be Insanely Courageous to hold, and don’t get it. The Mammoth reforms.

...but finally a little luck and some victories!

The Baron and Militia will land a few more damage into the Chariots, devastate them, and I will finally break them, as is proper. 

Top of Round 6: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

My victorious reform was pretty poor. The Rifles have a flank which isn’t bad, but my opponent is able to leverage his ASB with a blocking move, to let his Dogs of War hit the Footies at a bonkers angle, and be fighting for two objectives. It’s a smart play, and nothing I can really do about it, as I am engaged on two facings and can’t reform.

Ouch, a very wacky charge from the Dogs of War.

It doesn’t matter though as the Rifles land 3, and the Dogs will overperform again with double-digits of damage to devastate and rout me. I’m boxed in over here.

No reforms for the mercenaries. They are right where they want to be. Well played!

The Cannons all move and shoot again. One is in range of the Wizard, and Grapeshot ignores cover from the woods and the individual penalty, and will overperform too, landing 4 damage into my spellcaster. 

The Militia somehow hold, again.

One Cannon holds, controlling a token alongside the Blizzard Wizard. It’s cannon ball with cover into the Foot Guard goes wide. But the other Cannon and the Blizzard Wizard will be able to land the last damage needed to devastate the regiment and thus break it.

The Chariots will land 1 more damage into the Militia, taking them up to 5, and they are found to be Insane, handing on still.

Bottom of Round 6: TastyBagel’s KoM

The valiant Militia poke another 1 damage back into the Chariots. Basically 3 damage (2.7) is expected every round here, so this is the third turn of pitiful performance, though the Chariots haven’t been doing much better. Still, I don’t need this bad luck. We’re contesting the token, but that isn’t enough.

The Mammoth charges the Rifles, as the Dogs of War were out of arc. I again roll up just 2 extra attacks, landing 7 damage into these Rifles, who hold. I was hoping to overrun, to either contest the token or threaten a flank and force him off a token in a Round 7, but just can’t make it happen. 

Positioning I guess? I'm out of gas on the left here though.

The Milita Hide, and the Baron steps up. I have a lapse and think the Warlords are US3. No, they throw 3 dice at Command Orders. They are US2. We’re just contesting on the far left with the Militia and Baron Warlord vs the Dogs of War. The opposing Dogs and Rifles hold the back left. My ASB controls a token in the front left, and my Wizard controls one in the front right. A Cannon controls the center token, and another Cannon and Blizzard Wizard controls one on the back right, with the Militia and Chariots contesting the token the far right.

Despite it all, it’s only 3-2 in Rob’s favor, and I can live with a narrow loss. Unfortunately, I do roll up a Round 7 for us, which turns this into an absolute bloodbath instead.

Top of Round 7: KoM - Rob’s Rifles

The ASB is able to safely tip the scales on the far left. Rifles wrest control of an objective from my ASB. My Wizard takes some Blizzard damage, and the Chariots best my Militia, with a Cannon coming up to tip the scales anyways.

Bottom of Round 7: TastyBagel’s KoM

I’m down to holding just 1 token, with Rob Holding 6 now. My Mammoth rolls up 1 extra attack, and I think even fails to break the Rifles with some abyssal rolling. There are not positional tricks I can do, so the game swings to a 6-1 victory for Rob and his Riflemen!

Game Conclusions

Well, we did not play the cleanest of games. Giving up two accidental flanks early on was not great. Both aggressors were grabbing just a sliver of arc and less than an inch of distance, and could have been avoided with slightly more care from me. 

Still, I think we recovered well, and tried everything we could after those early goofs. It just wasn’t enough. The dice were pretty one-sided with a lot of hot shooting phases, and I needed to devastate basically each and every unit before I could manage to pick them up in melee, which really slowed me down. We fought our way to a narrow loss in Round 6, and then lost it all with Round 7. That happens, and I think overall, we still played well.  

Testing Conclusions

• Baron on Foot. A combat individual is hard to justify, particularly so while just on foot. We got some use out of him, but it felt more like salvaging part of a cake that you dropped, rather than real utility. The swap was neat, and I’d like to try it against a more typical list, but didn’t feel great here. 
• ASB, Heal. He did fine, but despite it performing about as-expected throughout the game, the spell felt underwhelming, though I can’t see a different standout supporting item ready to step up. More testing is needed.
• Hero, Horse, Wand. Hex flubbed, and it isn’t as impactful now. Inspiring and conditional Rally is cute, but limited. He still did ok, but a 3 attack hero is not great on the offense, and 130 points is a hard ask if he is just going to sit around in the back line. 
• Wizard, Talisman BC, Heal. We’ve tried this across three armies now (Herd, Varangur, KOM), and this was by far the weakest version. The Herd/FoN Druids can double up with Spells and Orders to heal, and have the Tree Herders and their Radiance of Life to really help the healing go farther. Varangur/NA spellcasters get Heal 5 and extra dice are always nice to roll. Our Wizards just struggle. The stock spells are inconsistent with the lower dice, and we can’t get the consistency from additional wizards due to the price increases. Our Wizard’s don’t Inspire, and we can only get the Talisman once. Between slot limits, point increases, and the need for Inspiring coverage, non-inspiring characters are really hard to justify. A Wizard plus an Arcane Library spell seems viable though, and is something to keep in mind.
• Militia Regiments. They held ground fine! We don’t have real chaff (outside maybe troops of Light Cavalry), so the regiments took up space very well for me. I would like to hobby up another regiment at some point to try and make use of two hordes, but that is a project for the future.
• Core Footies. I would like to try this approach against a more normal list sometime. I liked the changes to the units, and they performed ok. These are not all-comers though, and there is a big decision between the Def5 and CS1, especially with Bane Chant being less available now, due to the lack of Lute.
• Knights with Boots. Unlucky against all that cannon-fire, but we still managed to get some use out of them, though my opponent used his knights much better. One regiment with the Boots seems like the smart way to play the unit now that hindered charges are so debilitating. 
• Dogs of War. They still seem like a good buy to me, and it was neat to see two of the more appealing options duking it out on the table, and even fighting against themselves. Both of these options seemed viable, though my opponent just supported his far better! Hann's was ok, but not as impactful as I was hoping for it to be alongside the healing spellcasting. An ok item, but not something to strive to fit in.
• Light Cavalry mix. Intriguing, but not used well. I just didn’t have the stuff to help support them or help them pressure, so they were harassing without real purpose. Not bad picks, but they have limited use against a wide army, or a shooting army, and we were up against both here.
• Mammoths. Also very unlucky vs cannons. And unlucky in their combats too. They just don’t have the attacks or stats to punch through regiments like they need to. Even maxing out attacks, only 7.5 damage is expected against ideal targets. There’s Brutal, but that’s still even money at best to break regiments. They need support, much like the Giants, which is tough considering their cost. Devoting 300-400 points to a combat gets difficult as the game progresses.
• Indomitable Will. Less potent than the 3E upgrade, and just Headstrong is not something that can really help you claw back with any reliability. My opponent used it better than I did. Granting it to a unit just outside your Very Inspiring bubble seems fine, and giving it to a unit that just needs to delay for a bit seemed strong. 
• Brace for Impact. With no Stoic units (our normal Core offerings), I couldn’t make use of it. My opponent eked some value out of it, but it is admittedly a bit niche, since the army is juggling 3 Keywords (Noble, Stoic, Mercenary).

It’s a very tough list to engage against, though the speedy elements do add some nice, more dynamic play and interactions that are very welcome. I usually need a more than a bit of good luck to be competitive against Rob, and just didn’t get enough of it here. We had some early errors, but recovered well and conducted ourselves well afterwards, keeping it close, at least for a while. It was a tough match, but a good time. Thanks for the game!