Intro and Lists
Schedules aligned enough for a quick game against Trevor of Data and Dice, and he took the chance to continue on with his Northern Alliance, running the following:
As before, he's taking a lot of the stuff we liked from Jeff Schiltgen's US Masters list, but giving it his own twist again. Ice Queens, Barkskin and Blizzard are shared between both builds, as are several hordes of Tribesmen, and lots of Pack Hunters. A unit of Snow Foxes is here, because every list needs some chaff, and Trevor has added Surge and Ice Elementals, and swapped out the old Hearthguard for Snow Trolls.
I brought the Free Dwarfs out, wanting to get some experience with the new Stoneclaws as well as with some more troop-heavy play. Up to evaluate is everything.
- Berserker Lord on Giant Brock. He's done ... just ok for me in the past. Usually he's charged out on his own, and been broken after maybe routing something himself. We'll try to improve on his track record here. Previously, he was one of the only quick things in the list, and I theorized that he'd be better with a little more help, so we'll try that here with the Stoneclaws.
- Captain. A blog debut I think? They've done ok in demo games, and I did not want to mess around with any points optimization or tweaks. We'll see how he holds the line in a larger game.
- Flame Priest. I still like them as generic supporting units, as Bane Chant is very useful for the Dwarfs, and Fireball plays nicely with the Throwing Mastiff Command.
- War Smith. The list focuses more on melee, so we're down to just one Warsmith here, to help support the Rangers. He should be fine, and we'll see what trouble he can get up to on our behalf.
- Ironclad Troops. Previously, I figured four troops would be excessive, but they all found uses in those games. We'll see how they do as a front line here.
- Shieldbreaker Horde. I'm only competent enough to one one horde of these, so that's all we've brought! Points are tight as well, so no item for them. Our goal will be to try and get a charge off with them, and maybe we can graduate to multiple hordes in the future.
- Shieldbreaker Regiments. The regiments have been good all-comers as a second-line, so we're taking them again here, in that role.
- Rangers. I still really like the Rangers, so we're taking them yet again! They are a high-skill unit, and I like a challenge and learning stuff. We'll see what they can do for me this game.
- Berserker Brock Riders. They're a TC cavalry unit, so we're taking but one regiment, and with the Boots. Cavalry is something I want to mess around with more, across all armies, as I think folks are skimping out on spears / phalanx, but we'll keep it simple this time.
- Stoneclaw Rider Troops. Newcomers! They are a bit fragile, which I honestly like, fluff-wise, for an aerial unit, and I don't quite know what to expect. They have Fly 10, but just TC for modifiers. They have Feint, but just 13+ Nerve, and 4+ Defense. I think like all my other fliers, the primary use will be positional pressure - threatening things and forcing reactions. Delaying charges and such will be avoided, if I can, and we'll try to get them working alongside the Berserker Lord, if at all possible. That's a lot to keep in mind, and we'll see how I do with them.
Reading through his list, I was bummed that my Rifle Horde with Fire-Oil was sitting this game out, as the Trolls are a rather ideal target, as I can make use of the boost to Piercing. Oh well. Comparing the Pack Hunters to similar FoA Flame Bearers and FoN Tribal Hunters, they still seem like a steal for their points, and in multiples, they were going to be very tough to deal with. I have a few quick units, but the Dwarven infantry is greatly outmatched in this area, and there were a lot of potent and durable units opposing me. It was looking like a very tough game for me.
Table and Terrain
We were at his place, making use of his luxurious table-top setup, and home terrain. We had Forests with Height 10, the blocking Buildings at Height 7, Hills with Height 3, fallow field and shallow pond as Height 0, and Obstacles as Height 2. I keep forgetting to either change up or explicitly state heights against Trevor, but I don't think it matter for this game. I'll try to do better next time.
We went with Protect and Raze for the scenario, which is still one of my favorites for the interplay and ways to win that it offers. There is a token in the center, and then we each place three tokens 6 inches off the center line. With tokens increasing to 40mm in 4E now, things are getting a little awkward, and we donked the set-up a bit.
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| Overview of the table. |
I had won the roll for placing, and went as close as I could on my right, and my opponent mirrored me, though needing to stay 12 inches away from my token. Once I put my second one down on the right though, my opponent would not be able to place his since it is too close to the table edge. Unless something is really funky, I think you are usually going to be opposite your opponent with your split, with your heavier side playing into their lighter side. We donked this up, but it is what it is.
It was a weird map. He's pulling arrangements from his little program, which pulls from a variety of tournament setups. I think we've played this one before, as I remember an obstacle on the hill in the middle of the field from some prior game. I was planning to layer-up, so I didn't mind either side, but winning the roll for sides, was lazy.
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| View of the left. |
My opponent had a lot of beefy units. On the left we have Snow Foxes, Snot Trolls, the Blizzard-casting Ice Queen, and more Trolls. He wasn't happy with this, but with a building in his deployment done, there wasn't much he could do.
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| View of the center. |
With space tight on the important side, my opponent layered up as best he could. Ice Elementals and both hordes of Tribesmen sat in reserve, with the Def5 unit out on the woods on the right. From left to right the front-line consisted of Ice Elementals, Pack Hunters, Ice Queen with Barkskin, Pack Hunters, the Snow Troll Prime, and then both troops of Pack Hunters.
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| View of the right. |
For the Dwarfs we have Stoneclaws, and an Ironguard troop on the far left, then another Troop, the Champion, a regiment of Shieldbreakers, the Berserker Lord, and more Stoneclaws. Berserker Brocks with their boots waded through the water, and then we had the Warsmith near the forest, with both Rangers settling in.
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| Overview of the table. |
On the far right, we have two screening units of Ironclad troops, a regiment of Shieldbreakers, the horde of Shieldbreakers, and the Flame Priest.
I've got mixed feelings about my deployment. I like what heroes ended up supporting what units, and generally like what I've done with everything. I couldn't quite fit in both Shieldbreaker regiments and the horde on the right, but I do like how I adjusted, and think that's stronger with how things ended up overall.
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| Scout moves! Which I originally forgot. |
I forgot my Scout moves, but my opponent was gracious enough to not only let me wind that back to move those few inches, but also keep our rolls, since we caught this as we were rolling. In retrospect, I should have insisted on a reroll. Scout moves aren't crazy nowadays, but this is rather generous. The Rangers both inched up around two inches, to get range while keeping their center points in the terrain, and since I had won the roll for deciding turn order (making it a sweep in my favor for all of the determinative rolls), I selfishly chose to go first.
Top of Round 1: Free Dwarfs
Checking the rules, we can’t raze any tokens until Round 2. A one-way run with the Stoneclaws on the left is out of the question, and I do like this from a gaming balance perspective. First turns are already pretty powerful! I think we can wrestle control of my token out here as the game goes on, and hopefully with all these troops, still have something to contest my opponent’s token.
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| Moving up on the left. |
On the left, the Stoneclaws move up as far as they can, but stay safe from the Snow Foxes, as I don’t really want to give them an out.
The Ironclad troops out here advance as far as they can, with one being stopped by the field, and the other swinging in from the center, supported by the Captain. The Shieldbreakers move up a bit, but not their maximum. I want to give them options to swing either way around the building, depending on what my opponent does.
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| Pressuring the center. |
Centrally, the Brock Lord moves up far, but stays more than 13 inches away from the Snow Trolls. I can’t think of a cheeky way to abuse the building, so just play it safe with distances. The central Stoneclaws also move up, but hang back, getting on the hill to threaten things, but ultimately staying off of the obstacle.
The Berserker Brocks exit the pond, not quite going their speed in order to stay well out of range of the javelins.
The Warsmith repositions, and the Rangers hold. While I’d like to pick off Pack Hunters, I am wary of Stealthy, and racing against Barkskin. The Rangers take aim, and shoot into the Ice Elementals instead, landing 6 damage. Checking the math… the Stealthy bottleneck is outweighed by easier to-damage rolls, and we should be expected to deal slightly more damage to the Pack Hunters.
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| The Dwarfs gain some early ground on the right. |
On the right, it seems a bit foolish to just charge up, but I am wary of letting my opponent dictate the pace of everything out here on this very important flank, so everything moves up as far as they can while staying well out of range of the Javelins. One could play coy here, handing just outside of the move-plus-throw range of 17, but with distance measured from closest points, I add another inch or so across the battlefield to really try and stay safe. The Ironclad troops stay ahead to block, with the Shieldbreaker units keeping pace behind., along with the Flame Priest, who doesn’t have much to do this turn.
Bottom of Round 1: Northern Alliance
On the right, the Northern Alliance move out! The Javelins don’t have shots, but do move up and ready themselves for a volley next turn. With a 12” range, they Dwarfs will need to eat a volley before we can close, and this is not a great situation for me. Wary of unexpected flank charges, the frontage stays tight, with the Prime hanging back ever-so-slightly.
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| The Northern Alliance pushes out. |
The Def5 Tribesmen struggle in the terrain, but plod forward, while the other horde moves and adjusts towards the center of the field.
The Ice Queen gets a Barkskin 4 on the most-central unit of Pack Hunters, really reinforcing my decision to target the Ice Elementals last turn.
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| The Stoneclaws flew too close! The Ice Elementals get to fling into them. |
The Ice Elementals stack and shamble towards the center as well, and one is just in range to throw against the Stoneclaws, which is an error on my part. The shards slice 4 damage onto the birds, with Blizzard from the Ice Queen hitting thrice, Blasting into 7, and ultimately resulting in another 4 damage, and a waver on the birds.
The Snow Trolls move towards the center, keeping things in front arc, but stay back enough to stay Inspired, if memory serves.
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| The Snow Foxes scamper away, getting our of frame. |
On the left, the Snow Foxes back up and pivot, trying to zone out potential landing zones fro the Stoneclaws. Ready to protect the token, the Snow Trolls move to the edge of the field.
Top of Round 2: Free Dwarfs
I have a number of half-baked plans here, and unfortunately don’t have the inches for any of them. The Stoneclaws are zoned out, and are a bit shy of reaching the Ice Queen with Blizzard with a flank charge. Shucks. They’ll pivot, move, and pivot to get more towards the center, and be threatening everything out here now, including both units of Snow Trolls.
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| The Dwarfs move in to bully the Snow Trolls. |
The Ironclad troops don’t have a charge, but both advance on the uninspired Snow Trolls, and are backed up by the Shieldbreakers, and still supported by the Captain. A mastiff id distributed, but only lands 1 into the Trolls. It’s a lot of points here, but we’re constricting things well, and should be giving my opponent some tough choices next turn.
Centrally, the Stoneclaws were too brazen last turn, and are unfortunately wavering now, so all plans with them are dumpstered. I wanted to throw the Brocks and the Lord on Brock into the Snow Trolls, but the Brocks are just out of range, and the Lord on Brock is also a bit shy of a flank into the Hunters with Barkskin.
I was hoping to be jumping on stuff thus turn, but that seems foolish with just a few solo charges possible. The Lord is able to back up to safety behind the ruins. The Stoneclaws shyly inch back off the hill, getting to relative safety, and the Berserker Brocks inch back as well so they cannot be charged yet, as they are threatened by the Hunters. We’re going to be stuck trading them away, and with Fearless, I am ok with them taking some Javelin shots and such, if it spares my other units, but I can’t let them get tied up in combat just yet.
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| The Stoneclaws inch back to heal their wounds. |
The Warsmith hops up to facilitate that back up. I think he is safe, but cannot recall for sure. The Rangers again hold and take aim, and roll hot, landing 10 damage against the same Ice Elemental unit, and taking them up to 16 damage! This is great, but the unit is Fearless, and I have no other way to tip the math in my favor, and the Elementals will hold.
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| The Ironclad Troops try to make something happen. |
On the right, a troop of Ironclad runs up at the double to block. Given the angles, the Pack Hunter Regiment will need to pivot in order to get around them, and the Shieldbreaker regiment is able to stay safe from charges, and while the Smith attempts to give them a Mastiff, the order fails. The Ironclad also gum up the Snow Troll Prime, and force a pivot for the nearby troop of Pack Hunters too.
The other troop of Ironclad inches up, trying to clock for the Shieldbreaker horde. They get a Mastiff, but the one hit doesn’t damage. Fireball from the Flame Priest goes hot, hitting 4 times even with Stealthy, but just blasts into 7 hits, and just 4 damage when all is said and done. We were looking to waver the troop on the right, but don’t pull it off.
I’m doing my best out here, but have misplayed the Ironclad troops a bit. As-is, with the staggered Ironclad, the Pack Hunter troop on the left I think hits the Ironclad on the right first, but the troop on the right is actually free, and could be charging into the Shieldbreakers, if my opponent wishes. I don’t realize the goof until the Ranged phase, when I start fishing for the waver to save me. It is not to be though, so the Northern Alliance had a pretty free hand out here.
"Bricklaying" with the troops is a nice default approach, but with the table edge helping me out, there's no space the Northern Alliance can get to me out on the right. I think the Ironclad troops just need to be closer together, and the one on the right can be just about flush with the Shieldbreakers, and I'll be just fine. Additionally, I'll note that I moved the Shieldbreakers up to be able to charge anything. I think with the troop on the left so far up, and uninspired, I should be writing them off, and be back a bit to give the horde some space to maneuver.
Bottom of Round 2: Northern Alliance
While the Shieldbreaker horde is in danger of being chaffed up, my opponent opts to press his unit advantage out here more, and prioritizes the removal of the Ironclad troops, and double-charges both of them while the Def5 Tribesmen make it out of the woods.
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| Two multi-charges from the Northern Alliance! |
Two troops of Hunters charge the Ironclad to the right, and deal the expected 5 damage. It’s Inspired 7’s to hold, but I don’t luck out. One Overruns, and the other changes facing.
The Ironclad to the left is charged by the Prime and a regiment of Hunters, take 6 damage, and break, since I could not Inspire them. They hold, wary of goofy overruns.
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| Two victories to the Northern Alliance! |
The other horde of Tribesmen continue on towards the center, but are slowed so that the Pack Hunters and Ice Elementals can fling. The Ice Queen lurks behind the Hunters, and gets them a Barkskin 5 this turn! The low defense paired with Elite of the Ice Queen is really nice for all of this!
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| The Frostclaws take another blast from Blizzard. |
Blizzard lands 3 more damage onto the Stoneclaws, taking them up to 11, and the Ice Elementals will slice 4 more with the Shards, enough to devastate the unit, but they are found to be insanely courageous, which is most improper. I don’t look to have added the last damage done to them though, which is really sloppy bookkeeping from me.
My opponent is feeling the pressure on the right though. The Ice Queen needs to adjust to get away from the Stoneclaws on the left, and the Snow Trolls are forced to move up to deny the same unit a flank charge.
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| The Snow Troll back away from the Dwarfs, eluding the Shieldbreakers. |
On the far left, the Trolls don’t like the math of charging into either Ironclad regiment, so they back up, still threatening me, while denying a charge from the important Shieldbreakers. The Foxes are threatened again, and again back up to zone out potential landing zones for my faster Stoneclaws.
Top of Round 3: Free Dwarfs
With the Snow Trolls backing up, I see an opening for this token. The Trolls are just a regiment, with US2, so both Ironclad Troops charge in, with the Captain running up behind them. This Brings 3 US from the Dwarfs to this token, so we are able to wrest control of it and raze it, putting me on the scoreboard! Incidentally, one troop is hindered, and only two damage makes it in against the unit of Trolls.
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| The Ironclad Troops pounce! |
The Shieldbreakers move up, threatening the Ice Queen, and a flank into the Snow Trolls. Engaged with two units, the Trolls would need to break both Inspired Troops in order to get their victorious reform to try and parry the Shieldbreakers. We’ve committed a lot out here, but it seems ok.
With this token razed, the healthy Stoneclaws turn and fly towards the center, where things are not going nearly as well for me.
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| The dwarfs push into the middle. |
The devastated-but-insane unit of Stoneclaws is able to charge out and into the Ice Elemental unit in reserve. We are devastated, and down to 4 attacks, but to do 2 damage on the charge.
I positioned the Lord on Brock a little too conservatively, and he isn’t able to fight the Snow Trolls. He could charge the injured Ice Elementals, but this would just be offering himself up to the Tribesmen, which doesn’t seem wise. Wild Charge could get him the range needed into the flank of the Hunters with Barkskin, but I can’t get their in a single pivot. He runs behind the hill instead, looking for a future opportunity.
The Brocks pop their boots, and charge the Snow Trolls. We’ll hit with 13 attacks, and Vicious pays dividends, and we’re able to break the uninspired Trolls on 13 damage.
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| The Shieldbreakers make their flank charge. |
The Warsmith moves into range to target the Ice Elementals, and will pop them for 2 damage, enough to devastate and rout them. I’m losing on the right, so the Rangers need to get moving out of the trees so they aren’t hindered in the coming turns. They are positioned to take shots at the Ice Elementals, and one gets a Mastiff for better chances at damaging the chilly unit… which is an illegal order. Mastiffs are for Holdfast units only!
Thankfully, that dog is hot tossed, and with the Warsmith popping the Elementals, the Rangers loose into the Tribesmen horde instead, with one taking a cover penalty as well. I can only bring Elite to one unit, but they still manage 6 damage combined, which looks to be a little warm.
The Shieldbreaker regiment doesn’t have a charge, but moves up at the double to block, as I need to protect the horde.
The Shieldbreaker Horde flank-charges the injured unit of Pack Hunters, as this will keep them safe from the lurking Tribesmen. It is a tiny frontage, so the Flame Priest should be able to nestle in without complicating the reforms and toss with Cover into the Snow Troll, though no damage lands.
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| Reforms for the Dwarfs. |
In retrospect, I think this is an illegal charge. Looking at the pictures from last turn, with its one pivot, I think the horde is going to smack the angled Pack Hunters first, and thus be forced to charge them instead. Apologies to my opponent – there is a reason I tend to avoid hordes in most of my play. I had some Undo Corners out, but was really bad at using them this turn, as so much was just moving a few inches here or there.
With the likely-illegal charge, the Shieldbreakers will pulverize the already injured unit, and reform, safe from the Tribesmen, but making it competitive out here on the very important right.
Bottom of Round 3: Northern Alliance
The angled Hunters charge the Shieldbreakers to tie them up, and the horde takes 5 damage. The Snow Troll Prime charges the Flame Priest in the front, and lands 4 himself, but the Dwarfs all hold.
The Tribesmen charge the Shieldbreakers, get Vicious from the Ice Queen, and carve 18 damage onto the regiment! The regiment is devastated and routed, as-is proper, and the Tribesman reform.
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| The Northern Alliance form a line. |
Pack Hunters run up to create space to allow the reform for the horde, though this opens them up to a potential flank charge from one unit of Rangers, though they do toss into and land 5 damage against the other Ranger unit.
The Other horde of Tribesmen move up, and both the Tribesmen and the Pack hunters are able to get in-line with the Ice Elementals, who easily bash the devasted-but-insane Stoneclaws away, and then hold firm in their victory.
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| The Brocks hold, and the insane Stoneclaws fall. |
The Berserker Brocks weren’t able to get out of arc of the nearby Pack Hunters, so the Hunters take the charge, getting it, landing 4 damage, and stripping off the the thunderous charge of the cavalry unit.
I was a little imprecise with the remaining Stoneclaw unit, and the Ice Queen with Blizzard is able to move, getting out of range of the Shieldbreakers while getting line of sight to the Stoneclaws, and attempts a Blizzard into them, though no damage lands, thanks to cover granted by the building.
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| The Snow Trolls withdraw way too far. |
On the left, the Snow Trolls don’t like being ganged up on, and try to withdraw. They regenerate down to 1 damage, and easily pass, then accidentally zip 11 inches backwards!
Trying to make a play for the token here, the Snow Foxes run past the Ironclad troops.
Top of Round 4: Free Dwarfs
The massive withdraw move frees me up here on the left. The fresh troop of Ironclad spring ahead to hopefully block up and delay the Snow Trolls, and the injured unit positions behind the hill, slightly withing range, but out of line of sight of the Trolls. They should be able to get back to my opponent’s token here before the same ends.
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| It's time for the Captain to show me what he can do! ... |
While the Snow Foxes are clever, the Captain is an individual, and is able to change facing, and then charge them, barreling through the field. No damage lands, but they are held up.
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| Brocks fight on. |
Fury of the Ancients fails from the departing Lord on Brock, though the Warsmith is able to land it. The Brocks roll hot, landing 15 damage into the Pack Hunters. In victory, they change facing, getting partially on the hill, but I don’t think I pivoted them correctly. I’ve been bumping the hill since Round 1 though. I can’t get out of charge range of the Ice Elementals though, so while this is worth pointing out to improve upon later, this is all good enough for right now.
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| A goofy reform for the Berserker Brock Riders.. |
The uninjured Stoneclaws charge the Tribesmen horde in the midfield, looking to hold them up, and they’ll claw two damage into the horde, taking them up to 8 damage total.
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| Rangers swing into action. |
The injured Rangers move up, and shoot into the Ice Elementals, I think with cover penalties, sticking 4 damage and taking them up to 6 damage total.
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| The victorious Rangers set up against the Tribesmen. |
The Brock Lord arrives at the far right of the battlefield, as the fresh Rangers do take the flank into the Pach Hunters. It’s clean, and the Rangers land 12 damage, and will break the Hunters, and reform, to box the Tribesmen in.
The Flame Priest stays put and flails ineffectually, while the engaged Shieldbreakers thump 12 damage onto the Pack Hunter troop, break them, and then back up a few inches.
Bottom of Round 4: Northern Alliance
The Snow Troll Prime stays engaged with the Flame Priest, hoping to break them and overrun. Just 2 damage lands this time, and the Priest holds again.
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| The Tribesmen start butchering. |
We remembered that the Flame Priest was Yielding, and thus there was potential to break them and even overrun into a new combat against the Shieldbreaker horde, but forgot the whole “ignore Yielding individuals” aspect. My opponent could have opted to just ignore the Priest, and charge past them and into the horde, which might have been a safer play.
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| Reforms for the Tribesmen. |
The Tribesmen charge the Rangers, and will wrest control of this token and raze it, tying the game up 1:1, but it is a flank charge, and the horde is pulled into an awkward position for their reforms. With the Troll failing to get through the Flame Priest, the Tribesmen are foced to give a flank charge to something, and give it to the Berserker Lord and his Brock.
The other horde of Tribesmen easily shred the Stoneclaw troop, and reform.
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| Fights on the left, with the Ice Elementals making their big, complicated play. |
The Ice Elementals can charge the Berserker Brocks, but my opponent doesn’t think they along can break the crazed riders. They move up, with Cloak of Death from a Command landing, and they toss, adding 6 damage with their Ice Shards. Blizzard contributes another hot 6 damage, taking the Brocks up to 17 damage. The Ice Elementals are then surged in, needing just a few inches, and they’ll land 2 damage, and will break the Brocks and then reform to face the oncoming Shieldbreakers, who were making their way over from the left.
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| Reforms for the Northern Alliance, with victorious Ice Elementals! |
The Snow Trolls fight and break the uninspired Ironclad, and overrun for a few inches, and the Snow Foxes will bite at, but struggle against the armored Dwarf Captain.
Top of Round 5: Free Dwarfs
The Captain lands 3 damage against the Snow Foxes this time, but can’t break them. Meanwhile the injured Ironclad troop makes a break for the enemy token out here, looking to claim it next turn.
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| The Ironclad move towards the token. |
Shieldbreakers charge the Ice Elementals, landing 6 damage in the melee, and taking them up to 12 damage total. They hold, but barely, thanks to the Ice Queen. Wanting to keep the Shieldbreakers Inspired, the Warsmith sprints up to get into range, and start securing a dwarven claim on the center objective.
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| Rangers charge in, dealing a little more damage to the Tribesmen. |
The Injured Rangers need to buy time, and will charge the Def4 Tribesmen horde, landing just 2 damage and taking them up to 10 damage total. It's not much, but the Ice Queens do not have Heal, so every bit helps.
The Flame Priest stays engaged, but again swings and misses.
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| The Free Dwarfs hit the Tribesmen. |
The Brock Lord will flank charge the Tribesmen horde, landing 10 damage, while the Shieldbreakers charge in cleanly, and will land their expected 11 damage. The Nerve check breaks my way, and the defensive horde falls!
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| One horde of Tribesmen falls! |
I'm on a movement tray, but with the Tribesmen and the Shieldbreakers on the same bases, the Breakers choose to overrun, and the Brock Lord spins around, demanding the attention of the remaining horde, and hoping to keep them from the center.
Bottom of Round 5: Northern Alliance
The Snow Troll Prime breaks the Flame Priest on the third attempt, and reforms, razing the token, and threatening the flank of the Shieldbreakers.
The Tribesmen right the Rangers, who take a whopping 15 additional damage, with the Dwarfs ending the fight on 20 damage. The Rangers are devastated and routed, as is proper, and the Tribesmen are forced to spin around.
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| Fights near the center, with the Tribesmen being drawn away. |
The Ice Queen lands a Barkskin 2 onto the Ice Elementals, and they slam 4 damage into the Shieldbreakers, though the dwarf regiment holds strong with the Warsmith nearby.
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| The Ironclad waver. |
The Snow Trolls have regenerated down to 0 damage over the previous turns, and now pivot and sprint ahead, avoiding the field, and making another play for the Northern Alliance token out here. Blizzard from the Ice Queen lands 5 damage onto the Ironclad troop, and wavers them.
The Snow Foxes again fail to damage the Dwarf Captain, though are holding him up.
Top of Round 6: Free Dwarfs
The Ironclad actually pass their headstrong roll, and to pivot twice to about-face, and then get up in the face of the advancing Snow Trolls. They are granted a Mastiff from the Captain, and the dogs will munch 2 damage onto the Trolls, who will need a big overrun to claim the token.
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| The Ironclad about-face to delay the Snow Trolls. |
The Captain lands another couple of damage onto the Foxes, and will break them this time. In victory, he backs up, getting closer to the token. I can’t claim it at this point, but if the Snow Trolls have a low overrun, he might be able to catch them in a Round 7 and prevent them from scoring.
The Shieldbreakers get a Fury from the Warsmith, and will land 6 in the front, as the Smith swats at the Elementals from the rear, contributing 1 damage. The Ice Elementals are broken, and the Warsmith backs up while the Shieldbreakers overrun. We notice that the token and the hill have shifted around a bit, but the Dwarfs are holding the center.
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| A multi-charge into the remaining Tribesmen! |
The remaining horde of Tribesmen are on 10 damage, and get charged by the Shieldbreakers and the Brock Lord, as the Lord is safe from the Snow Troll, and the Shieldbreakers just need an inch to get safe themselves.
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| Reforms for the Dwarfs. Things are looking good! |
The Shieldbreakers land the expected 11 damage again, while the Lord contributes a strong 7, taking the Tribemen up to 28 damage. The Tribesmen break, and we’ll raze this token, with the Shieldbreakers overrunning to safety, and the Brock Lord wheeling about to face the Prime.
Bottom of Round 6: Northern Alliance
The Snow Troll Prime races back to get in front of my other token on the right, trying to keep the Brock Lord off of it. However, the Brock Lord is a Warlord, and speedier, so I should be able to just run past the Prime in a Round 7 to gain control of it. Still, the Prime holds it for now.
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| The Snow Troll Prime controls my last token. |
The Ice Queen with Barkskin charges the Shieldbreakers. Being an Individual, the Ice Queen with Blizzard is able to ignore her sister, and cast Blizzard. The spell lands just 1 damage, taking them up to 5 damage. The Shieldbreakers are engaged (sorta), and so we do not test. The Barkskin caster can’t land the hit though, and the Shieldbreakers hold.
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| The Ice Queens conspire for a clever play to neutralize the center token. |
Rereading the rules, I’m fairly confident we did this correctly, though sheesh, again and again I will state that they should just toss a lot of these Individual rules for the sake of simplicity. They took a messy part of 3E and just exacerbated all those problems.
On the left, the Snow Trolls get a Frostbeast Cloak of Death and then fight the injured, upstart Ironclad, and easily scatter them. The victorious overrun is just one inch though, and they can’t reach the token this turn, and the Captain is poised to intercept.
 |
| The Snow Trolls are victorious, but unfortunately stumble. |
The Northern Alliance razed their two tokens on the right, as well as hold one of mine on the right for 3 VP. The Dwarfs razed one on the left, and one on the right, and hold the center objective, for 3 VP as well. While the Dwarfs are poised for a Round 7 victory, we do not roll up an additional turn.
It’s a tie game!
Game Conclusions
As-always, this was still a lot of fun! Any day you are rolling dice and pushing little guys around a battlefield with a friend is a good day for sure. The map was definitely goofy, but we both adjusted well to it and had a pretty even game plan. Driving home, I was really pleased with my play. But in writing up the report … oof, this not our cleanest game! An illegal charge from me, and a wacky token placement for him… a tie feels about right!
I had hoped to bring the Dwarfs out to Best of the Rest, but I couldn't quite settle on a list worthy of that many games. Even with a long list of positives for the event itself, I couldn't justify the expense or added stress (finishing a new display board), particularly if I wasn't jazzed about playing the list. I figured I was about three games away from settling on something I'd really enjoy exploring in such a setting, and with a few other games played since, yeah, this is close to something I'd have wanted to try out. The troop heavy play has been a lot of fun!
Testing Conclusions
- Berserker Lord on Giant Brock. He found a flank charge, and even survived the game! That might actually be a first for him. He was used well, and worked well with a few more speedy units, like I was postulating. He should be used more like a flier of mine – pressuring in the early game and pouncing only after causing some positional problems for my opponent.
- Captain. Not stellar, but he did fine. I deployed him well, and he did a fine job helping to hold down that flank. Combat heroes are still in an awkward spot, and Full-fledged Warlords (NA/Varangur Magnilde, FoN/Herd Chieftain) might be a bit too costly, but cheaper non-Yielding Champions keep being useful for me.
- Flame Priest. The Priest was not used especially well here, but they were a tempting target for the Snow Troll Prime, and held their own against the monstrous hero for several rounds. The Flame Priest is still a good, generic pick for the Dwarfs generally, and the Ironclad Troop play in particular.
- Warsmith. I could have deployed a bit more optimally, but that is nitpicking. He did well! I think I forgot about the one time Radiance of Life would have triggered, but that was immaterial, and he was really around to give Elite to the Rangers, which was helpful. He was even able to finish off the Ice Elementals too, so he had a good game. I caught myself with the Mastiff / Ironcraft error, so hopefully that is the last time I make that error.
- Ironclad Troops. There is plenty of room for improvement, but I am liking this playstyle overall! The duo on the left did well at bullying the Snow Trolls and playing the scenario, but the duo on the right were just positioned too poorly to be as effective as I would have liked, and luck didn’t break my way to let either hold for me. I learned a lot there, and will try to position things better in the future.
- Shieldbreaker Horde. Ignoring the illegal charge which set up all the rest of their success… these did fantastically well. Protecting them is key, and something I’ll need to improve on in future games though.
- Shieldbreaker Regiments. These were a mixed bag. One did good work threatening multiple things while swing around and back into the center, and the other was a little too slow to really help out. I like the flexibility the regiments have offered me, and think having this split is nice, but I need to be using them a little more wisely.
- Rangers. My shooting priorities proved wise, though they had a bit of a lucky streak as well in this area. The transition to a melee focus was done at the right time, and they each got some value before the game was done. These didn’t survive, but also had a good game.
- Berserker Brock Riders, Boots. These were used well. Experience told me I couldn’t just toss them away, and I was able to preserve them long enough to trade for two units outright, as well as get some positional advantages too.
- Stoneclaw Troops. I need to be a little wiser with early positioning, but was just confounded by that hill and obstacle! These were a mixed bag, which is pretty normal for a new unit. I think they deployed well enough, and I really liked the reach they gave me, and they worked quite nicely alongside the Lord and the Brocks. Despite being slot-hungry, I liked the troops, as it let them be useful, but ultimately disposable.