4th Edition: Battle #031 Abyssals vs Orcs in Raze

Intro and Lists

Kings of War Wisconsin had a long demo day recently, and during a lull, I was able to get in a full game. Up against me was Joe and his ever-growing collection of Orcs.

I will apologize at the top, having played against him regularly, I assumed I had a good pic of the army for the cover. With the growing collection and new basing though, I do not. The new units eschew his typically favored grasses, are all based with really slick, vibrant red bases, reminding me a lot of Warcraft's Draenor. I dig it, but don't have a current picture for things. We'll try to update this later.

This list itself was a little ridiculous, with two Chariots with items, eight Gore Rider regiments, some with items, a Godspeaker, a few mounted Riftforgers, and Thonar, as one does, if you are an Orc player. It's a lot of speed, and very scary since the Orcs can get a Wild Charge from their orders.

I brought the Abyssals. I was looking to explore some more Core options for the army, and up to test and discuss is everything. 

• Lower Abyssal Hordes. I’m still trying to explore the Core options for the Abyssals. I miss the Abyssal Guard, and don’t particularly like any of our options. Lower Abyssal regiments seem ok, to just pay the Tax and have something to block, instigate, or play the scenario, but also don’t really seem like fun. I am not a fan of the hordes, as they have bad Nerve and hit on 5’s but we will try out an assortment here and see how we do with flooding the board.
• Bloody Cardinal. Yep, we’re being very unoriginal, and taking the Cardinal again. I like him as a second-line fighter, bringing Dread to the opening fights, and then just being a bit of an opportunist as the game progresses. We’re trying out Hordes of Lower Abyssals here, so we’ll try to hide him early and do just that later on.
• Warlocks with Drain Life. I like the Warlocks, and we’ll try Drain Life with them here. Bane Chant is nice, but doesn’t seem worthwhile when so many things are hitting on 5’s. We’ll give Drain Life a try here, and see if we can’t be annoying resilient with our hordes and such.
• Gargoyles. I like them a lot, but points and slots are a little weird here. I could only fit in two without spending a ton of time trying to optimize, which I did not want to do. I think here, they will be best used in reserve, and hopping out to mitigate what is coming in against the hordes, so that’ll be the approach we try.
• Tortured Soul Regiments. I wasn’t a huge fan of the regiments, but I wanted to try them here anyways. If we can finagle it that the hordes get charged, and the hordes hold, maybe these can shine on the rebuttal.
• Nagarri. I wasn’t a big fan of these in 3E, and am not sold on them yet for 4E. They are just … weird, still. I like the CS2 TC1 mix, and I like hitting on 3’s but they don’t have Regeneration, and are just Def4, and have just 12 attacks, for a rather hefty price tag. Pathfinder was nice in 3E, but seems less impactful now, especially on such a large unit, where difficult terrain can easily trip you up. I feel like you are unlikely to traverse the terrain fully to make use of it, but we’ll see what opportunities we find. We’re trying them out because of Rally, and seeing how that might work with the Lower Abyssal Hordes. 
• Fiends. Another wild pick here! I liked them in 3E as they Inspired, could fight, and had Fireball, and were just generally a nice, all-comers kind of unit. Now, conditional Rally seems rough, but I want to get a game in with these regardless. We’ll see if their Fireball can be supplemented by Orders, and see if we can’t get them some flank charges too with them.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Gamer's Realm in New Berlin, which as we discovered last week, is closing at the end of the month, due to a doubling of the rent from the previous, inaugural year at the new location. It's a bummer all around and just madness. We had arranged for one more demo day, and the owner honored that, letting us get in for one more meetup and general hang out too.

Set for Demo Games!

I was hoping to snag the purple and green mat we had often played on here, but some unknown customer apparently beat me to it. We were able to use Rob's mat and what was left of the terrain in the shop to throw down.

For our game we got Raze, an objective-based scenario which received some changes in the new edition which I still don't quite understand. There is a central token which is immutable, and we each place 3 objective tokens into either deployment zones. We can contest but not control Objectives in our own deployment zone, and if we can reach and control one in the opposing deployment zone, we can raze it for a point, and remove it from the game. Ideally, we'll whittle down what were are fighting over, down to just the central token for a clash at the end. Aha, writing up the report, and rereading the scenario... the Objective tokens don't care who placed them, just where they are. So you can be a real jerk and stick your tokens in your own deployment zone to muddy up your opponent's plans. I don't really like this, but I understand it now.

A pre-deployment overview of the table. 

I believe we rolled the side-picking and token-placing rolls together, which technically should have been separate, but Joe came away with the win, and kicked us off.

Overview of table, more or less.

The Orcs came down in a few distinct groups. On the far left, guarding one of my objective, were two basic Gore Rider regiments, a Riftforger, and the Chariots with the Boots. The center-right had two basic regiments escorting Thonar, and one with I believe the Brew of Sharpness in the back. The right then had the Gore Rides with the Brew of Strength, the one with the Blessing of the Gods, a Riftforger, and the Godspeaker, who was hiding behind the building.

View on the left.

With a brand new and rather sprawling list, I wasn't quite sure what to do. The deployment goals were to spread the hordes out, and try to pair each with one of the other units. On the left, we have Gargoyles hiding behind the building. This is overcautious, since the Orcs don't have any shooting. We have the Lower Abyssals with the Sanguinary Scripture out here, supported by a Warlock, with a Fiend nearby.

View in the center.

Nagarri took the woods, so I could maintain a long line. Lower Abyssals with two-handers we a big back from the line, with Gargoyles and the Bloody Cardinal in reserve. Two units of Tortured Souls ended up nearby, as I felt like the fighting would be fiercest here, as all three of his tokens were placed out here. 

View on the right.

The basic, Def4 Lower Abyssals start on the hill, with the Warlock supporting, and then Tortured Souls screening for the Fiend, as I could not squeeze them all in on the line, due to poor planning with my spacing. 

I won the roll for turn order. Despite wanting to play a little passive with the list, letting the Lower Abyssals take some hits and see what they could endure... letting the speedy Orcs get first turn seemed like a very bad plan, so I choose to kick things off for us.

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

There are no tokens on the left, so we just need to delay. The Gargoyles hold, behind the building. I don’t really care about charging, so they can sit tight.

The Abyssals posture a bit on the left.

The Lower Abyssals move up a few inches, and partially hide behind the obstacle. The Warlock scoots to their left, and the Fiend to their right.

The Nagarri move up.

The Nagarri are Height 4, so they pivot-move-and-pivot towards their left, just getting out of the woods, but staying more than 19 inches away from the Orcs and their potentially wild charges.

The Lower Abyssals with two-handers move up into the field. With the intervening Hill, they are save from charges. The Gargoyles tuck up behind them, as does the Bloody Cardinal.

Tortured Souls avoid the field.

The Tortured Souls both inch up. One hands back a bit, staying out of the field, so they are not hindered, and the other moves up just a bit more, again staying more than 19 inches away. 

The horde on the right moves up to bait a charge.

The stock Lower Abyssals on the far right move up, getting just over 18” away from some of the Gore Riders. The Tortured Souls stay safe with the Fiend behind, and the Warlock adjusts here.

No orders, no spells, and it is a pretty quick opening turn for the Abyssals.

Bottom of Round 1: Orcs

The Orcs seek to leverage their speed, applying some early pressure with a unit or two, but not over-enthusiastically run up. It is a wise approach, given the match up. I wish I had more Gargoyles!

On the right, the lead Chariots (I believe with the Blessing) give a charge up to the Tortured Souls on the far right, but nothing else. The Gore Riders hang back in reserve, ready to join in the fun if I do decide to charge.

The Orcs tentative push out as well, in a game of cat and also cat.

The Godspeaker peers out from behind the building, making use of the new line of sight methods to barely spy the Warlock, and Hex him. I haven’t encountered the spell enough yet to internalize the ramifications, so we look it up. It appears the movement restrictions for a successful hit have been removed, so it is just taking 2 damage for each successful hit. I like this change. While the spell loses some versatility, simple is good.

Some Gore Riders take the hill, but overall, the greenskins are quite reserved.

A pair of Gore Riders hangs way back, while the third takes the hill, with Thonaar supporting thing behind the hill.

The Orcs shuffle about on the left as well.

Most of the thought goes into the left. The Chariots with the Boots just barely poke into the woods to see. They should be out of range of the Nagarri but threatening a potentially Striding charge themselves. The Riftforger tucks in, and a unit of Gore Riders pivots to face the corridor on far left potentially threatening to run around in the coming turns. The last regiment of Gore Riders moves up, threatening the Lower Abyssals, but is far enough away to be safe from the infantry, and the Fiend behind them. It’s clever, but very patient play.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

The original plan was to use Gargoyles to block up charges into the Lower Abyssals, preventing some multi-charges, but I am doubting that approach now. I don’t really have any big, mean hitters to punish over-commitments, and so that would mostly just be tossing away Gargoyles for free. I have a 20” charge with them, and so we will start threating to use that and gum things up for a turn, and forcing some reactions. The Gargoyles on the left flap out more to the left, and will start pressuring the Gore Riders.

The Gargoyles go wide to be annoying.

Again, there are no tokens out here for my opponent, so this horde just needs to delay as long as possible. They back up. The Gore Riders will need two successes on the command to get in, and the horde is safe from the Chariots. The Warlock and Fiend adjust as well.

I see a weird opening, and decide to take it. The token ahead of the Nagarri is uncontested, so they can zip up and control and raze it, and I opt to do so. I am out of arcs, but the Riftforgers are individuals, so this is a bit sketchy in the long run.

The Tortured Souls get a double charge.

Joe and I are getting much better at discussing intentions and also actually confirming them ahead of time. It is not enough to announce, ya gotta measure and confirm before you pass the turn or any issues arise. Most of the measurement attention was on the left though, and when I go to measure, I appear to be just barely in with the second regiment of Tortured Souls vs the Gore Riders on the hill. Joe graciously acquiesces, and I’ll take the charge, really wanting to see how they perform. Checking the math, a little over 5 damage is expected per unit with a clean charge here, and while we slightly underperform with only 9 damage, we are luckily able to pick them up and then reform both units, to face Thonaar and the other Gore Riders. Double flowers go to Joe here, as I completely forgot to roll my only combat before passing the turn back! Thankfully we immediately caught this and rewound slightly.

The hordes move up to keep the pressure on.

On the right, I am a bit of a loss. With the Tortured Souls charging, I feel compelled to press up to try and support that push. Going super-far up could pen in the Gore Riders in, in that little corridor, but would also open the Lower Abyssals to a flank charge from the other side of the building. So they inch up, protecting the Fiend, and we’ll see if we can survive a double-front charge. For science!

The Warlock grants the Lowers a Fireball, which blasts nicely but only singes 1 damage into the armor of the Gore Riders. The Fiend also tosses, but funds into the same issue, with a blasting 9 hits, but only 2 damage getting in.

The Tortured Souls pivot, move, and pivot off to the left, looking to see how they might help in the coming turns.

Bottom of Round 2: Orcs

I had a little fun drawing first blood against an elite list, but now it is time for the Orcs to respond. The Chariots charge out, as does the Gore Riders with the Brew of Strength, with both slamming into the Lower Abyssal Horde.

Two double charges from the Orcs. Ouch!

The Riders get a normal rage, and with 18 base attacks, land 17 damage, thanks to the exploding dice from the Order. The Chariots land 9 damage. The Abyssals are Rallied by the Fiend and Inspired by the Warlock, but this is more than enough to easily devastate the Lower Abyssals, who break. The Riders overrun, and the Chariots change facing, to try and box in the Tortured Souls.

Reforms from the speedy Orcs.

A Gore Rider duo multi-charges one of the Tortured Souls on the hill, with one getting a normal Rage from the Godspeaker, and one getting a boosted Rage from Thonaar. I was expecting solo charges, but I’ll take it, as each regiment contributes 15 damage, overkilling the Tortured Souls by a lot. One reforms to try and box in the Tortured Souls, and the other will overrun.

The Orcs continue to play coy out on the left, and occupy the Nagarri.

The Riftforger opts to rear-charge the Nagarri to tag them, and 2 damage lands. Thonaar moves up threateningly, but doesn’t charge, as he isn’t an individual, and didn’t have them in his arc to start.

On the left, the Orcs are inexplicably cagey, still messing about in their deployment zone. One regiment exposed their flank to the Gargoyles, while the other regiment moves slightly to deny proper alignment to that flank. They Gargoyles can only charge the closer unit, in the front.

The Chariots inch slightly ahead through the woods, just barely threatening a normal charge into the Lower Abyssals.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

We still just gotta delay the Orcs out on the left. The Gargoyles decline to charge, but can sneak in out of arc, and maybe force some reactions next turn.

Gargoyles zip ahead! The Lower Abyssals do the opposite.

Again, the Lower Abyssals inch back, and are over 18” away from everything. The Orcs will need a lot of lucky Command Dice to get in next turn. The Warlock inches back, and is even further away, and the Fiend does similarly, looking to avoid the forest, as he lacks strider.

No good options for the Nagarri...

The Nagarri lands a hot 8 into the Riftforger on Manticore, and thankfully will pick him up. Thonaar complicates reforms, but the Nagarri are in a lot of trouble next turn no matter what I do, so we don’t sweat it too much.

A pair of flank charges from Tortured Souls.

The Tortured Souls do have fly, so we endeavor to utilize it this round, while we still can. Centrally, the Lower Abyssals make a hindered charge out of the field and over the obstacle, sliding way way down to let the Tortured Souls hit the Gore Riders in the flank. The Souls land their expected 10, and hitting on 6’s, the Lower Abyssals manage to smack 5 as well. The Bloody Cardinal is around for Dread, and we fell another regiment of Gore Riders.

Both units are pretty safe. The Tortured Souls are forced to do a 180 spin, while the Lower Abyssals want to overrun for now, to get off of the obstacle, since just changing facing won’t get that done. They get a 1” overrun. Despite facing a speedy Orc list, most of the fighting is on their side of the field though, so I’m pretty happy.

And the piece-trading goes ok.

The right has all the Orc tokens. With the Lower Abyssal horde falling, we’re in damage control mode, and want to try and fight our way through and keep them off the tokens as long as we can. I do some measuring, and then the Gargoyles fly up and into the Chariots to slow them down, landing 1 damage too.

It’s admittedly cheeky, but I can get a 15-20mm connection into the flank of the other Gore Riders, and will take it, with the Fiend joining in the front. The Tortured Souls land 8 damage, the Fiend 2, but the Nerve checks break our way, and we are able to pick up the unit with the Brew of Strength.

I am eying my token in the far corner, and the Fiend tries to overrun, getting another 1 inch, and the Tortured Souls spin around, ready to fight the Chariots in the coming turn.

Bottom of Round 3: Orcs

On the right, the Riftforger grants a rage to the Chariots against the Gargoyles, and as an individual, is then able to skirt around and hit the Bloody Cardinal in the flank, landing 2 damage. The Cardinal holds.

The Chariot is able to trample the Gargoyles without any problems, and then reform, getting both the Fiend and Tortured Souls in front arc.

The Abyssals get bogged down on the right.

The Godspeaker charges in to delay the Lower Abyssals with Two handers, and even manages to damage them with his one attack.

The Nagarri are obliterated .... four times over.

Thonaar hits the Nagarri in the front, with some Gore Riders coming in from the right flank and getting a boosted Rage from the Warlord. In a cute but probably unnecessary move, the Chariots shuffle back, preventing more Gore Riders from being hindered into the other flank of the Nagarri, who also get a rage. The Nagarri start on 2 damage, and for kicks, we see how high things can go. Thonaar lands 1, the ones on the left do 35 damage, while the ones on the left “only” manage 23 damage. The Nagarri end on 61 damage and…. Are devasted and routed, as is proper. In victory, the Orcs shuffle around.

On the far right, the Gore Riders again inch up, just barely threatening a charge into the Lower Abyssals. With good order, the Chariots in the Woods might be able to get in too, but I do not recall.

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

It’s been some impressive damage, but the Orcish cavalry are still largely fighting in their own deployment done. I’m somehow doing ok here, and am in the lead, having Razed 1 token so far. The Gargoyles on the left flitter up slightly, securing a second token for me, and stare down the deployment zone for the Orcs.

The Gargoyles nab another token for me.

Again, just trying to delay, the Lower Abyssals back up again, getting out of range of the Gore Riders without very hot Command Dice, and out of range of the Chariots completely.

A delaying charge from the Tortured Souls.

The Tortured Souls have a few options. They can’t quite reach the Gore Riders behind Thonaar though. Charging Thonaar seems mediocre, so after some measuring, we make a boring charge into the nearest Gore Riders. Thonaar is too far away to threaten the Lower Abyssals, so sacrificing more units to keep the fights on the Orc’s side of the table seems like a decent approach. This unit has the Brew of Sharpness, and we’ll smack 6 damage onto them.

Scrums on the right.

Elsewhere, we are gummed up. The Lower Abyssals with two-handers regenerate their 1 damage, but underperform a bit in the melee, smacking 4 damage into the Godspeaker. We have Dread, but just barely fail to move him.

The Bloody Cardinal lands 4 into the Riftforger on Manticore, Lifeleeching back down to 0 damage. The first check is good for me, but the second check is good for the Riftforger, and he just barely hangs on too, despite Dread.

The Orc leaders survives, but the Chariots are bested.

The Warlock repositions, landing a Drain Life 2 into the Chariots, though has nothing to heal, as the Cardinal was just out of range. We need to pick this up, so both the Fiend and the Tortured Souls hit the front. The Souls add a hot 7 and the Fiend adds 3, and we will break the unit. My opponent has these on 16 damage, but I think it’s 13 (Gargoyles 1, DL 2, Souls 7, Fiend 3?), I’m not sure how we got off here, but the checks are high enough this doesn’t matter.

I still have the far token to fight over. The Fiend overruns nicely, but the Tortured Souls overrun for just 1 inch again.

Bottom of Round 4: Orcs

We’ve somehow won out on the right, though are starting to loose ground elsewhere. Still, it is Round 4 and we’re up 2:0 and the Orcs are still fighting essentially in their deployment zone, so we’re doing ok overall.

The Godspeaker fights back against the Lower Abyssals. His solitary attack doesn’t land this time, but still, my horde is engaged and bogged down.

The Gore Riders trample the Tortured Souls on the hill.

The Riftforger smacks another 2 into the Bloody Cardinal, but I hold again. The Gore Riders reform, and are joined by another unit. Thonaar grants one of them a boosted Rage, and 29 damage lands, with the overruns being a silly 5 and 6 inches.

Needing to play the scenario, Thonaar makes his way into the center of the field, seeing what he might be able to accomplish in the coming turns.

The Orcs try to close in before the game ends.

On the left, the Chariots finally leave the forest, again just barely threatening charges. The Gore Riders do similarly.

Top of Round 5: Abyssals

I guess we just keep delaying on the left? Even with two turns, the Gargoyles are too far to reach the token on the far right for me before the game ends. I’ll need another plan for that, but this does free them up.

Gargoyles delay on the left.

I pivot and fly them up to complicate the Orc movements on the left. The Warlock zips over a bit, and the Lower Abyssals tuck in by the building. The Gargoyles flap up, denying the space for the Gores to get in, and the Chariots will need a pivot past them… and so can’t get in against the Lower Abyssals either.

It’s cute, but a little awkward. I should be pivoting harder with the Lower Horde I think? If they are protected, I should be trying to get into a better position. This move with the Gargoyles slows them Orcs down, but doesn’t really impact much. Blocking up the Chariots completely might have been a better call too, as again… nothing is out here for the Orcs and the Horde is just a distraction.

The Fiend backs up a bit, and pivots. I think he moved as far as he could, and is just within 17 inches away from the Chariots.

The scrums continue on the right.

The Lower Abysasls with the two-handers reform, allowing the Fiend to trip over the obstacle and come to try and help. The hope is to pop him, reform, and box in both units of Gore Riders. The Fiend lands 3, and the Abyssals a fresh 6, and we’ll devastate and Rout the Godspeaker, as is proper. Indeed the Lower Abyssals are able to spin and reform to capture the attention of the Gore Riders, and the Fiend spins as well, waiting to counter-punch.

Having measured things from my perspective, the Warlock makes a break for the token in the far corner, and will be able to reach it next turn.

Reforms for the horde, at least.

The Bloody Cardinal holds, and ultimately, I choose to send the Tortured Souls into the rear of the Riftforger. The Cardinal will land 2 more for Lifeleech, and we’ll devastate the Riftforger with the first back of rear attacks…. But the Riftforger is found to be insane.

I had a choice here, whether to take this charge or send the Tortured Souls out to try and dissuade Thonaar. I was hoping for the break, and then be able to reform to threaten Thonaar too, but this was apparently too greedy, and not to be, unfortunately.

Bottom of Round 5: Orcs

Its Bottom of 5, so the Orcs are starting to consider transitioning away from Kill to whatever scenario we are playing...

Thonaar grabs a token, and the fighting continues.

On the hill, one unit of Gore Riders considers running away to try and fight me for my token in the back right, but my opponent realizes he can’t beat me there. It will charge the Lower Abyssals instead. The Riftforger should be in range to grant a Rage, but I don’t see a token, so this may have failed or been forgotten, and the damage is kept to just 11, and the Lower Abyssal horde holds.

The insane-but-devasted Riftforger does throw into the Tortured Souls, landing 1 damage.

Thonaar does run out to raze the middle of the Orc’s tokens, and the second Gore Riders from the hill run over to the middle of the field, joined by a regiment from the right. The departing regiment is just out of charge range of the Lower Abyssals out here. Bah.

The Chariots go in, making a play for the token!

The Gargoyles are ignored, and before departing, Thonaar grants the Chariots the needed Wild Charge range to get in against the Fiend, and brawl for that token. The Boots are popped, and a concerning 10 damage lands. The Fiend is not Inspired, Brutal is in play from the Chariots, but we do manage to hold on.

Top of Round 6: Abyssals

The Lower Abyssals can’t charge, but run ahead in case there is a Round 7. The Gargoyles flap in, looking to gum up the center for a possible Round 7, but in retrospect, this is silly. I should have kept these back to threaten a charge in Round 7 – just moving in does nothing right now.

The Gargoyles fly in, just because.

The Warlock moves up to Inspire the Lower Abyssals and Fiend, and we’ll land a Drain life 2 into the Chariots in the woods. The Fiend lands 6, and with no Inspiring, one hot check dooms them. In victory, the Titan reforms, but I don’t like this in retrospect. If I am playing for Round 7, I should be trying to overrun into the woods, and threaten a hindered charge into the center next.

The Lower Abyssals regenerate a hot 6 damage, and reform, sliding down and allowing the Titan to join the fight. Some damage lands, I guess 6, but we don’t prevail here.

We are able to pick up the insane Riftforger, and seeing how things are going, the Tortured Souls opt to face the center. I could try to threaten Thonaar, but won’t be able to stop him from grabbing the a token in the back right, and if he goes for that, he can't help the center, so I think I need to prep for a possible fight in the center for a potential Round 7.

The Warlock zips up, and will raze my last token for me.

Bottom of Round 6: Orcs

Thonaar runs out and will raze a second token for the Orcs, making this 2:3 in favor of the Abyssals.

The Gore Riders hold, fighting against the Lower Abyssals, and the regiment with the Brew of Sharpness leaves the center to join in this fight. There is no Rage, but the horde is still taking damage on 2’s, and takes 19 new damage, to be devastated and routed. One unit is still engaged, but the unit with the Brew backs up, trying to get back to the center, but is a little short.

Charges in the bottom of Round 6.

In the center, the Gore Riders take their free rear charge into the Gargoyles, will break them and reform to face the Lower Abyssals, since neither the Bloody Cardinal nor Tortured Souls have the inches to get in against them.

What remains of the Orcs.

Holding the center puts the Orcs at 3, making this a time game, but we do roll up a Round 7. My opponent considers conceding, as I can fly into the center, but he is convinced to keep playing.

Top of Round 7: Abyssals

The Fiend holds, and the Bloody Cardinal charges in against the injured Gore Riders. They each deal 3, taking them up to 12 damage. Brutal and Dread don’t stack, and while the check is a 3 the unit should still be bested. We must have gotten the math wrong somewhere.

The Tortured Souls hop into the center, successfully contesting it.

The Tortured Souls hop into the center.

Since the Fiend didn’t overrun, he can’t help. The Warlock moves in for another Drain Life 2 into the Gor Riders, and the Lower Abyssals contribute a nice 6 damage, but the Orcs hold, and the horde is about a half inch away from helping control the center.

Bottom of Round 7: Orcs

The Gore riders on the hill throw into the Bloody Cardinal, land 12 damage, and break him.

I think the Gore Riders with the Brew of Sharpness are boxed out, but apparently not quite.

We don't need to respect a 1" buffer anymore, and with a pivot-move-pivot, they are just about into the center token, measuring from the edge of the token, to wrest control of it back in favor of the Orcs. Our observer Rob thinks they are out, but I think they are in. This is probably the kind of situation that calls for a die roll to determine things, but it was a clever play, the Orcs deserve a tie here. I could have charged the Cardinal in against them, or had my Souls slightly back or closer to my deployment zone to prevent the first pivot or them getting close enough. I can say well done here!

Having wrested control of the center back, the Orcs claw things back to 3:3 and a tie game!

Game Conclusions

I definitely had some options to try and seal the deal in the final turns. Overrunning the Fiend, charging the Cardinal into the other regiment; preserving the Gargoyles, or even just moving the Tortured Souls ever-so-slightly differently… and I simply didn’t recognize any of them to take them and help me close out for the actual win.

With what felt like an inferior list, I was very happy to even have this game end remotely close, and I am more than happy with a tie. While we weren’t tracking attrition, that did cross the Orc player's mind, and it looks like the Abyssals lost 1405, and the Orcs lost 1480? So a slight edge to the Abyssals, but not enough to make a big splash for any typical tournament. I didn’t really like my list, but apparently I ran it well enough here!

Testing Conclusions

• Bloody Cardinal. A second-line opportunist continues to be a good playstyle fit for him, and he had a decent run, all things considered. With my Despoilers still needing to be rebased, he's a good go-to for now, and I might even pick up the Mantic model, now that I don't need to buy the full Champions box to get him. 
• Warlocks with Drain Life. The Warlocks are fine, and did ok for me throughout, keeping things Inspired and playing the scenario and such. I avoided Firebolts to try and deny charges, and playing it safe was probably the right call. Drain Life was mediocre though. It's not bad, but with so few dice being tossed around it's never as impactful as I'd like it to be. 
• Lower Abyssal Hordes. I had to try them out, but I do not like these. They did ok, but low Defense and Low Nerve (even Rallied, as many were this game) was not enough to hold, and hitting on 5's is just so very rough. Without Abyssal Guard, these really need to hit on 4's to be impactful. They are an expensive, regenerating tar pit that I think will struggle to absorb the damage taken. A bunch of regiments are cheap though, and might be the way to go, racking up unlocks and then dedicated scenario monkeys.
• Gargoyles. I was thinking of using them to block incoming charges into the horde, but that seemed like it would just be tossing away points here, so I tried to be a little more proactive with them, and it worked out ok. A great unit, and I wish I had a few more this game!
• Tortured Soul Regiments. I did not have high hopes for these. They actually did ok, with fly making the difference in the mid-game, when my opponent forgot that they had it. Flank charging was great with them, but overall, we have much better picks in the slot, and for real hammers, and I think these are best as troops.
• Nagarri. This was unfortunately not a great test for them. I tossed them away a bit early, though their sacrifice did keep everything but Thonar fighting on the Orc side of the table for the rest of the game, which seemed worth it. Still an odd unit. We'll try to fit them in another time.
• Fiends. They Survived, and we'll give them that, but I did not really like these. Conditional Inspiring is meh, lacking Inspiring is bad, and getting a points increase for all of these changes just feels like an insult. They might do ok in a Flame Bearer list, but otherwise, I think I can leave these on the shelf for a while.
• Abyssal Commands. We eeked out one use of Fireball, for 1 damage. Without a strong Flame Bearer contingent, this command really falls flat. We didn't face any shooting, so the Unholy Shield wasn't ever considered. The Abyssals have neat Commands, but they are very niche. 

I love the look of these new Orcs, and we'll get better pictures in the future. It was neat (terrifying!) to see the Orcs casually dishing out so much damage. Rage is a fantasticly potent command, though it's hard to hold when the damage dealt can exceed the units base attacks... I think 61 damage taken might be the new damage record for the blog? In any event, this was a good time. Thanks Joe!