4th Edition: Battle #039 Undead vs Kingdoms of Men in Dominate

Intro and Lists

Unusually, it was a weekend full of games! And getting shot up by many Kingdoms of Men cannons, apparently. Up for Sunday was Rob and his two battalion approach to the Cannons, Blizzard, and heavy shooting, as he prepped for US Masters. He had the following:

Rob started dabbling with this at the end of 3rd, so we've played against this style for a while, tough 4E has made some big changes, making the Rifles more immobile while the Cannons got buffs. While I think some of the strengths of this are going to be updated away eventually, that is always the case with updates and edition changes, and I can definitely appreciate both the strategic approach he's taken, and where this has ended up.

The list plays hard into Cannons and Blizzard to pressure at range in Round 1, also bringing Rifles to bear if they don't go first. Chariots, Knights, and Light Cavalry all help to play the positional game, and now we have a second flying Baron is around seeking to do the same, and the ASB picks up the Trickster's Wand to to shut down heavy spellcasting, as the list has lots of ways to pick up and wizard foolish enough to try and power through the hex. It's a tough list and hard to engage well.

For our first game, I brought had the Undead. This seemed like a good generalist list, which could give him trouble with Fearless, and the trashy hordes, depending on the scenario, while also letting me compare the Wraiths to the Zombie Trolls and get the new Barrow Wight on the field again. Up to evaluate is everything:

• Barrow Wight, Pipes. I want to stress-test Rob’s Cannons, which are a unit that feels over-tuned. Hitting one and getting out of immediate arc doesn’t matter when they can move and shot, and with Grapeshot always hitting on 5’s, tossing individuals or stealthy units into them just doesn’t matter either. The Barrow Wight, with Fearless and Def6 
• ASBs, Tome, Shroud. Undead Characters are all in a rough spot, so we’re going with what I feel is the budget option until the army gets some more love and attention. The Very Inspiring ASBs should cover just a bit more with their slightly larger bubble, and Heal and Surge should be good utility spells for the army. We’ll see how they do.
• Necromancer, Talisman, Heal, Surge. Necromancers not being Inspiring is rough for the Undead. Characters got cost increases and are twice as hard to unlock now, so non-Inspiring characters are very hard to justify. We’re trying them with Heal and Surge here. Having access to Bane Chant is nice, but 
• Skeleton Warriors. We had an awkward 105 points left, so bought the Pipes for the Wight, and some Skeleton Warriors. That seemed better than one unit of Skeleton Spears, since that unit is likely to be easily avoided, and Phalanx only works on the charge now. The Warriors will be around to play the scenario and such, and we’ll see how the one unit does.
• Zombies. Zombies seem like a great Core option, as they are so cheap and bring a lot of Nerve. With Defense 2, and modifiers are wasted on them, and they are good tar pits. I am not great with hordes, but we’ll see what I can learn.
• Revenant Cavalry, Boots. They got the extra attacks but not the extra TC, and just hit on 4's so they aren’t the best cavalry, but we’ll see what they can accomplish, and we’ll give them the boots, as I don’t think they’ll accomplish much without them these days.
• Wraith Troops. I still really like Wraiths in theory, though the troops got a noticeable points increase in 4E. They could get a lot of use out of the “Ignore Shambling” order, and Fearless (with Def6) might let them deal with shooting alright. We’re tripling down on them here, to get a better feel for how they might do, especially when compared to the Zombie Trolls in our recent Undead game. 
• Wraith Regiment. I do still have a fancier regiment of Wraiths, and so we’ll try them out here as well. All the thoughts about troops apply here too, and we'll compare these to both the troops and the Trolls.
• Wights. Wights can be good, but they did get hit with the Large Infantry changes, resulting in less US and less attacks than in 3E. In a vacuum they are weaker now, but a weakening of hammers seems to permeate the new edition, so we’ll revisit them again here and see how they are feeling as hammers and as units.

Table and Terrain

We were back at Warpstorm Games and Lounge in Greenfield, WI. It is a very nice shop with lots of space and tables. The terrain doesn't exactly match with what Kings of War requires, so we supplemented their buildings and forests with some terrain of my own. We had Forests with Height 10, the blocking Buildings at Height 7, Hills with Height 3, obstacles as Height 2, and played the difficult terrain as Height 1, apparently. We apparently didn't discuss the heights here at all, and it didn't come up until our second game of the day.

Rob had been working his way through the player packet the last few weeks, and we got Dominate for the scenario. Nice and easy, just get more unit strength into a 12 inch radius circle in the center of the field.

Quick overview of the table.

Rob won the roll for sides and stayed put. Being a serious tournament player (he is going to US Masters…) he is often playing very hard for overwhelming wins to max out on tournament points, and is spreading in order to play some of the more complex scenarios.

The long battle line of the Kingdoms of Men.

From the left, we have Chariots, a flying Baron, Light Cavalry blocking for a Shield Wall regiment, Rifles, Rifles, Dogs of War in the center supported by the ASB, Rifles, Rifles, three Cannons, the Blizzard Wizard, Chariots, the 4th Cannon, the second flying Baron, and then Knights on the far right.

Knights and such out on the right.

He wasn’t entirely pleased with his own deployment, as he likes the more disposable Chariots on the flanks if he can manage, but his hand was forced. The building on the right is just a bit too close to the edge to allow the Chariots to pass, to the Knights ended up out here instead.

With hordes of Zombies, the Undead could go rather wide as well! The general plan was to try and plug the lanes between the buildings and table edge, and then brawl for the center.

Zombies on the left.

On the left, we have Zombies and the Healing ASB, ready to hold that lane. Then we have Wraiths and offset Wights, the Necromancer, and a Zombie Horde, who I want to get into the center eventually. 

Revenant Cavalry in the middle.

The Revenant Cavalry are in the center, looking to get into the terrain for cover and then project threat. We then have the third Zombie horde, which I also eventually want to get into the center, with the Surging ASB and Skeletons. 

Lots of spooky things out of the right.

Wraiths are ready to hop into the woods, and then we have the Barrow Wight, Wight, Wraiths, and lastly the regiment of Wraiths, ready to fight for the narrow lane on the far right.

Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

On the left, the Chariots roll out, and are very much safe from the Zombies. Bows twang, but nothing connects.

The Chariots move out.

The flying Baron zips ahead, taking a commanding view from the hill, and Shield Wall run up to block for him. The Light Cavalry run up and pivot to face the center, somehow managing to hide behind the building. Well done!

The Rifles in the back just inch up slightly. The Undead are likely going to be moving up to give them shots next turn, but since they have not shots at all this turn, it pays to force the issue.

The center is cautious.

Centrally, the Dogs of War move up with confidence, and claim a nice lane between the woods and the difficult terrain.

Some Rifles get into the terrain to use it for cover and such, and the other just barely inches ahead to threaten shots next turn.

The three Cannons hold, and fire across the board into the Wraiths near the building on the left. The hits are low and Def6 helps, and only 4 damage lands. The Blizzard Wizard takes the hill, and I believe with cover penalties still manages 4 damage onto the Wights on the right. Chariots also take the hill, and their Bows manage 1 damage on the Wights as well, taking them up to 5. They are Frozen from the Blizzard, and slowed.

The Baron on the right has the Blade of Slashing, and moves up, safe from my slightly slower fliers.

A Cannonball from the fourth and final war machine flies into the Wraith regiment, dealing 2 damage.

The human right wing is equally aggressive.

On the far right, the Knights adjust, making use of their slightly longer charge range to zone out the Wraiths.

Overall, the Kingdoms of Men gained some ground, but without the Rifles to contribute, the Cannons fail to break anything so far, despite some decent damage dealt out.

Bottom of Round 1: Undead

On the right, the Warlord commands the Wraith Troop to ignore Shambling, and they hop ahead to try and bully the Knights. The Regiment will pull in behind them, but deny space for the Baron to hit them. With the Knights out here, I’d like to bully them if I can.

Positioning on the right from the spooky Undead.

The Wights move up, hiding just a smidge behind the building. The Baron can reach them, but I think I’ve got good chances to hold if he commits.

The Barrow Wight moves up to block things up. The Chariots can’t reach the Wights, and can hit the Wraiths but be hindered going into Def6, and I call this good enough.

Movement in the center.

The Skeletons in reserve move around to try and zone out the Baron to prevent him from hopping the lines. The Zombies move up, eyeing the center, and the Revenant Cavalry get into the terrain for cover. They are not good Knights, so the plan is the use the Boots to get one good charge out of them.

Zombies to the left of center move up. I think the Light Cavalry and Baron can reach them, but it will be in the front.

More layering on the left.

The Wraiths move up slightly, as to the Wights. It’s tight, but the Baron cannot align to the ASB or Wights, so this is ok. The Necromancer and the ASB each get a Heal 1 onto the Wraiths, getting them down to 2 damage.

And slow Zombies plug the gap on the far left.

On the left, the Zombies are not in a rush, and just shamble ahead, allowing the ASB to Heal the Wraiths. We can threaten the Light Cavalry if they don’t move, and due to their pivot, we can actually reach and threaten unless they move. The lane is clogged up, the Baron can’t easily hop the line, and so I think we’re fine on the left.

Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

Threatened by the Zombies, the Chariots sidestep and loose, but get no hits.

The Baron grants Indomitable Will to the Light Cavalry, who consider charging in, but will ultimate turn tail and flee instead, heading back towards the deployment zone to make space.

The Shield Wall move up a few inches, and the Baron tucks in behind, nice and safe.

The Chariots rethink their bravado.

The duo of Rifles on the left fire into the Wraiths, but only 2 damage lands, taking them back up to 4 damage.

Threatened by the Revenant Cavalry, the Dogs of War back up to safety, and the Rifles in the center fire into the Undead Cavalry, who are in Cover, and only 1 damage lands.

With only Riflemen to back them up, the Dogs of War similarly back away.

Three Cannons and the Blizzard Wizard fire into the Wraiths in the woods, who have cover. Still, the Cannons each land 2 damage, and the Blizzard Wizard manages 1 as well. Being Frozen now, the Wraiths can no longer reach the Wizard.

Some nasty fights on the right.

I end up having misplayed the Barrow Wight a bit, but it could be worse. We kinda hopped right into things, but the idea for these practice games is that if he sees anything he really questions, to point it out, so that he’s not winning off of one early mistake. Doing so obviously helps me and cleans up my play a bit, but also gives him a better game as well.

I eyeballed it, but the Barrow Wight is not quite out of arc of the knights, who’d have a flank charge into him, and clean, if they pop the Boots. Fortunately for me, the building prevents them from fitting! Still, the Baron is in the flank, and can get in, joined by the Chariots in the front. I had several mores inches to work with, and plenty of pivots as an individual, so luck out with the Knights, but could have played the Barrow Wight much better here.

Thankfully, Def6 proves to be very tough in the melees!

The Chariots hit cleanly (a pivot from the warlord could have put them on the obstacle, or an inch or so to the right could also do the same), dealing 1 damage, and the Baron in the flank (again, a pivot could have put him in the front), lands 5 damage. The first check is boxcars, and the second is snake eyes. I may not be good, but I am lucky at times! The Def6 Barrow Wight tanks like a champ!

Unable to fight the warlord, the Knights sourly take their only other charge this turn, and head into the Wraith Troop. They’ll land a strong 9 damage, and break the uninspired spirits.

The Cannon on the right fires with a cover penalty into the Wights, landing 2 damage, and taking them up to 7 damage, but we are Undead, we are Fearless, and we hold.

Bottom of Round 2: Undead

On the far right, the Wraiths charge the Knights, and they land 3 damage. For better or for worse, this is the expected output from the regiment. We might be in for a long fight.

Charges from some very wounded Undead units.

With the Barrow Wight holding, spirits fly in to assist. The Wraiths stride into the Chariots, but land no hits! The Wights are ever so slightly hindered against the Baron, and fail miserably as well, landing just 6 damage (10-11 expected). The Barrow Wight gets a success with Host shadow Beast, and throws into the Baron, bringing him up to 9 damage, and mercifully, we are still able to pick him up.

Only the Baron falls, but that is a big deal.

With the Baron grounded, the Skeletons turn to face the Chariots. The Zombies get their center point in the woods as they lurk around the center.

Slow, inexorable pressure from the Undead center.

Since the Dogs of War backed up, the Revenant Cavalry have no charges. They scoot up as far as they can while still keeping their leader point in the terrain. Again, these are not good knights, so I am fine with using them more as dissuasion than a real hammer unit. They are doing fine in my book, and the Necromancer is able to heal them up.

The Zombies inch up, still just kind of zoning out the remaining Baron, with the Necromancer sticking immediately behind them, to keep things Inspired out here.

The Wraiths have a charge into the Shield Wall, but that seems silly. I’m not going to break them, and would likely just be tossing the unit away. The Wraiths inch up but are inspired, and blocking for the Wights, who between the building and the Wraiths, are safe from the Baron.

The Zombies swing around, pushing out of the lane.

The Healing ASB on the left gets an order off to the Zombies to ignore Shambling, and they move up and pivot pretty hard. We’re playing up against a wall on this side of the table, and reaching across the table, it was hard to be precise, but I think Ideally, I can pivot a little less and still see anything fighting the Wraiths, and vice-versa.

Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

The Light Cavalry Swing around, and are able to hide from the Zombies. A lighter pivot from me would have made this harder to pull off, but this is indeed a great use of the Light Cavalry, and they are hard to pin down. They are out of arc, and I have no Surge around to try anything tricky.

Chariots crash into the Wraiths, and the Baron continues to reposition.

The Baron plays it safe, flapping away while shouting words to the Chariots, who get Indomitable Will as they crash into the leading Wraiths. They’ll land 4 damage, and will break the Wraiths. In victory, they pivot as hard as they can while keeping the Wights in front arc.

Nice shooting into the Revenant Cavalry!

The Shield Wall makes way for the Chariots. I believe both pairs of Rifles fire into the Revenant Cavalry, who are seeking cover in the terrain. They’ll find a combined 4 damage, and the trio of Cannons will contribute 6 into the Cavalry.

The Chariots fight, I believe against the Wraiths, but can’t land any damage against Def6.

The Knights withdraw!

On the right, the Knights withdraw successfully, moving 10 inches back, and allowing the last Cannon to shoot at the spirits. The Blizzard Wizard is in range Wights, so flees to hide behind the hill and toss at the Wraith regiment as well. They’ll land a combined 3, and freeze the Wraiths, who end the round on 5 damage.

Bottom of Round 3: Undead

While the Knights withdrew, and the Wraiths are Frozen, I do still have the inches to fight the Knights  again. If memory serves I can’t quite reach the Cannon, so we will indeed fight the Knights again, looking to get a little lucky.

The Undead pounce on the the Chariots.

The Wraiths will land 5 damage, a little better than average, and a nice check will best the uninspired Knights and really crack open this side of the board.

The Chariots are gumming things up. I want to get the Wights in, but don't have the space. I could try to Command them to fly over and threaten the war machines, but I don't want to deal with Grapeshot. I try to withdraw the weaker Wraiths, fail the nerve check twice (They are on 7 damage, I guess I need 5's to hold), and they rout. Still, I can’t really get the Wights into anything else, so the Barrow Wight reforms, the Wights fly in (hindered), and the Zombies hit the Chariots from the flank with a hindered charge as well, as this charge will let them swing hard onto my opponent’s side of the board, should I break them.

Host Shadow Beast get another two successes, and the Barrow Wight does 4 damage, the hindered Zombies to 3, and the hindered Wights to 7 damage, and we will break Chariots. In victory, the Zombies are able to turn to face the Cannons and Rifles, the Wights overrun, getting out of the woods, and the Barrow Wight I believe does nothing.

We win, at the cost of some Wraiths. It is not a great trade, points-wise.

Unable to help this fight, the Skeletons get into the woods, and start thinking about moving into the center for the scenario, using the terrain to mitigate incoming fire.

The Revenant Cavalry charge the Shield Wall.

On the left, if the Wights charge the Chariots, they’ll be hindered, and in the front. I don’t like that, so the Zombies will move up to prevent a bad slide down. The Revenants pop the Boots and charge the Shield Wall, just to keep the pressure on, and the Necromancer will Heal them for 2, getting them down to 8 damage. The Wights will then make their clean charge into the Chariots.

Surprisingly, the Revenant Cavalry break the Shield Wall regiment, and will back up to get Inspired by the Necromancer.

The Revenant Cavalry break the Shield Wall!

The Wights land 8 damage, have Brutal, but unfortunately, can’t quite break the Indomitable Chariots.

The Zombies continue to dance with the Light Cavalry.

The Zombies on the far left push up a bit, and position to prevent a run-by from the Light Cavalry. We’re doing ok pushing on all fronts, so I’m still fine with using these to corral things out here on the left.

Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

Mostly boxed in by the Zombies, the Light Cavalry speed away. The remaining Baron shouts encouragement to the Chariots, and then does the same, flying out towards the center.

The duo of Rifles on the left also pack it up, very aware that time is starting to run out if they want to make it into the center, and the Rifles in the terrain exit, and move up as well.

A mass exodus from the Kingdoms of Men.

The Chariots fight on against the Wights, landing just 1 damage though.

The Dogs of War move up to fight Zombies, as a cannonball from the right rips through the undead horde for 3 damage.

The Kingdoms of Men relocate to the center.

The last regiment of Rifles charge the Zombies on the right to slow them down, though no damage lands against the decaying horde.

Out on the right, the Cannons are in damage control mode, trying to position to shoot Grapeshot while prioritizing the protection of the Blizzard Wizard.

The humans on the right are scrambling.

The lone Cannon holds, firing a cannonball into the Wraith regiment for 3. Two Cannons had positioned to protect the Blizzard Wizard, and their Grapeshot adds a hot 4 into the Def6 Wraiths, while Blizzard blasts fine, but fails to stick the damage.

Bottom of Round 4: Undead

On the far right, the Wraith regiment charges the lone Cannon, will pick it up, and overrun strongly.

As a Height 2 character, the Barrow Wight can’t see anything at all, so flies out to support the regiment and threaten the war machines, like I originally hoped he would.

In position for the Surge...

The Wights move up and pivot. I think there’s got to be a more efficient way to do this, but it looks like I need the full 7” to clear the Zombies, and will need 2 on the Surge dice to get into the flank of the Riflemen. 

...Success!

On 5 dice from the ASB… I do get the two successes, and am in! We will break the rifles, and the Wights will sidestep on the hill, with the Zombies changing facing to face the center.

The Skeletons shamble up through the terrain towards the center, as-planned.

The Undead start spilling into the center of the board.

The Zombies don’t want to charge the Dogs of War. We’ll be hindered, and that is just inviting them to do more damage against me. We’ve got to delay. The Zombie horde shambles up but doesn’t charge, and the Dogs should be pretty well boxed in. The Necromancer gets a Heal on the Zombie horde here, getting them down to 1 damage.

The Zombies don't really want to fight.

On the left, the Healing ASB hops the fence, and is able to order his Zombies to ignore Shambling, and they are able to move up, pivot, and then get past the obstacle, stumbling towards the center of the board. Again, we’re dealing with a wall and the far side of the board, and these could be positioned better I think, to try and keep the Light Cavalry contained.

Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

The humans are pressed on all sides, and trying to assemble for a last stand in the center to win the game.

The Light Cavalry about-face, safe from a Zombie charge, but threatening them. The Foot Guard cleverly sidestep towards the center, avoiding the bait.

The Kingdoms of Men concentrate in the center.

While they are askew, and my short hand is “if I’m falling off the hill, or need stairs to stay on it, the center point is likely not on the hill,” the hill does have a taper, and the center point of the Wights is awfully close to being on the hill when viewed from above. We’ll be sporting and give this to my opponent, and without cover, the Rifles take the Wights up to 12 damage.

Delaying charges and a lot of black powder smoke on the right.

Threatened by the Wraith regiment, the Cannons mostly hold, with one moving around to block and support still. Against Def6, both volleys of cannonballs thankfully miss, Grapeshot lands 2, and Blizzard lands 3, but on 15 damage, the regiment of Wraiths hold. Blizzard rolled very well, but without the additional damage from the cannons, it’s not enough to move them.

Bottom of Round 5: Undead

The Wraith regiment charges another Cannon, and will pick it up. The Barrow Wight can’t get the Blizzard Wizard, but fights a cannon himself, getting another 2 successes from Host Shadow Beast. The normal attacks are triples, but not the spell attacks, and we’re about to land 8 damage and pop a second Cannon.

Insane Riflemen stem the Undead tide.

I can’t quire finagle another Surge move, so the Zombies reform, allowing the Wights a normal frontal charge into the delaying, Indomitable Rifles. We’ll deal a combined 14 damage thanks to a bucket of hot dice from the Zombies, but the Rifles are found to be Insanely Courageous, and will hold.

Skeletons move towards the center.

The Dogs of War hold. 

On the left, the Skeletons charge the Dogs of War, joined by hindered Wights. The Zombies land 2, and the Wights 5, and the horde is understandably unmoved by this.

On the far left, the Zombies move up, joined by the ASB, continuing to pen things in.

Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

On the far left, the Light Cavalry move up to box out the Zombies. I think this was just preventing a charge, but the intent is to keep them from scoring, as it turns out.

The Dogs of War fight and reform, with some Rifles coming in to fight Zombies as well. Everything gets thrown into the Zombies to try and remove unit strength. A total of 14 damage lands, but the check isn’t quite there, and the decaying horde sticks around.

Riflemen charge the Skeletons, landing 2 damage, but don’t move them either.

Can the Kingdoms of Men hold the line?

The Baron flies in against the Zombies, landing 5 damage, with the intent to hold them them up as well. The Rifles try to fight the Wights, but can’t stick any damage.

The Wraith regiment is in arc of the last Cannon, but both it and the Blizzard Wizard fail to stick damage onto the Def6 unit.

Bottom of Round 6: Undead

The Undead are pressing hard from all sides still, but I think more of my stuff is scoring that it actually is…

Combats, in the bottom of Round 6...

The Wraiths could try to ignore Shambling and fly into the center, but charge the Blizzard Wizard instead. The Barrow Wight could also fly over to help play the scenario, but fights the last cannon for fun instead, getting another Host Shadow Beast 2. The Cannon Breaks, and the Barrow Wight overruns for vision in a Round 7, but the Wizard survives.

The Wights reform into the flank of the insane Rifles, and will break them, and then victoriously reform.

The Zombies throw hands into the winged Baron, and claw three damage onto him, but he holds.

The Skeletons slash 2 damage on the Riflemen, but the shooters hold.

Reforms from the Undead.

The Dogs of War are on 7 damage. The Wights thump a strong 10 onto them. The Zombies get a bonus to Lifeleech, and a heal from the Necromancer, and ultimately, I think the Zombies need to fight the horde as well, as I need to pick them up. The Zombies contribute 2, taking them to 19 damage, and we will indeed break the Dogs of War. The Wights overrun, but still engaged, the Zombies are forced to stay grinding.

The last horde of Zombies fight the Light Cavalry, clawing 2 damage in, and with the ASB around, we do not break them.

I’m feeling pretty great here, but again, less is actually scoring than I thought. I miss the Mats by Mars overlay! I don’t really care about the win, but would have been nicer to play a little cleaner or mindfully at the end here… as we do not roll up a Round 7.

The positioning of the Light Cavalry actually prevent the Zombies on the left from scoring, and are cheekily scoring themselves. On the right, the Wights are also a bit out of range, and the Baron is blocking my Zombies on the right from scoring too, while barely scoring himself. Eye-balling things, I was thinking one of both of the Zombie hordes on the wings might actually be in, but I was just a little bit off. I should have been actively checking things myself…

So, for the humans, we have Light Cavalry (1), ASB (1), Rifles (2), Rifles, (2), and Baron (2) for 8 US, against the Undead’s Wights (2) Necromancer (1), Zombies (4), Skeltons (2) for 9 US.

I luck out, and it is the narrowest of wins for the Undead!

Game Conclusions

Allegedly, according to the player packet, this is a tie, with the true victor needing to win by more than 2 US. I don't have a copy of that packet though, and Rob could be pulling my leg, so we're counting this as win, and regardless of the outcome, it was indeed a great game. I still have plenty to improve on, but we had a good plan, and mostly executed it well, and some luck saw us the rest of the way.

I was bullish on the Undead as 4E was revealed, but my outlook has been dampened a bit. We don't have fleshed out Commands, and a lot of units are unsupported. Our Champions are awkward, our Warlords very expensive, and without amazing options in these slots, we struggle to get much use out of Surge / Shambling. Still, despite the balance shortcomings, the Undead can still put on a good showing!

Testing Conclusions

• Barrow Wight, Pipes. Well, they officially have a dumb name in my book. With these stats and rules, they are obviously a Wraith abusing steroids! The Barrow Wight has got really good combat stats (on par with a dragon!), but a miserably tiny amount of attacks, and the change to HSB is a big nerf to the spell overall. Getting 5-9 attacks just doesn’t cut it. They can tank really well, but the damage output just isn’t there. The Pipes was ok, but I don’t think they carries items as well as I was thinking they might. They did great at tanking and opening play up for me though.
• ASBs, Tome, Shroud. They are frustratingly expensive for what you are getting, but these have been good picks recently. Deployment can be a bit wonky, but Surge near where you want to push and Heal what you need to hold is the obvious approach. These are working well.
• Necromancer, Talisman, Heal, Surge. This seems like a fine kit. If you have Revenants or Soul Reavers, Bane Chant could be justified, but I don’t think it’s really needed for Zombies or normal Skeletons right now. It’s a huge bummer that these don’t innately Inspire.
• Skeleton Warriors. Spears are obviously nice, but now a niche upgrade, a little too expensive on regiments. These did just fine as-is. With Phalanx not interacting after the initial charge, I think my Skeletons are just fine “bare bones.”
• Zombies. The tar-pit approach has worked very well the last few games, and these are still a great Core pick for the Undead. Spamming Skeleton regiments might work better for multiple battalions, but the Zombies bring a lot of staying power for a strong, one-battalion approach.
• Revenant Cavalry. They did more than I thought they would! Drawing fire for a turn or two is good enough, but managing to break the Shield Wall was icing on the cake. Overall, I’d say these were used pretty well, though unfortunately I think they do need the Boots.
• Wraith Troops. They all did fine – the low Nerve has always been their issue, as any spike in damage against them is greatly rewarded. With the cost of characters going up in 4E, it’s harder than ever to keep them Inspired. They do fine as blockers and instigators and chaff, but troops require a lot of finesse to control well, and are very expensive to use in these roles. They worked great with the Barrow Wight, and are probably better used supporting a push from a fast and scary warlord than as chaff these days. They are just too expensive to throw away.
• Wraith Regiment. I actually really like this. Their damage output is… bad, but with Strider and Def6, they can be a bit of a menace against some units. I used a lot of Troops in my 3E games, but with slots in 4E now… a regiment might be the way for me to go.
• Wights. After a few more games now, like the Zombie Trolls, you really do notice the fewer attacks, and they definitely aren’t hitting as hard as they used to. They still feel ok on the battlefield though. Unfortunately, they lack any Traits, so we can struggle a bit to supe them up. Actually able to land damage, the Lifeleech command would be great on them, but perhaps a little too powerful. Hopefully they, the Wraiths and the Soul Reavers all get some Traits and support eventually.

Well, we managed to push Rob around a bit, which is unusual, but good for him, and definitely a confidence boost for me! It was a good time and a great game! We got one more practice game in, which should be up in few days.