September has been really rough for my scheduling. Things have been busy, and while there was a meetup for Kings of War Wisconsin, due to timing and an odd numbers of attendees, while I made the drive, I couldn't actually get in a game that day, which was a bummer. Thankfully, Trevor from Data and Dice was free for an afternoon, and September would not pass without a game played! He had returned to the potent Northern Alliance for our game:
I have continually been impressed with the army, and liked my forays with my own Varangur, though I am not keen to re-re-rebase my old Marauders as Tribesmen just yet. Varangur (Northern Alliance) also did very, very well at the latest Clash of Kings (which Data and Dice recently analyzed), which is likely why they are back on my opponent's radar. We have a resilient list opposing us here, with four very fighty units, and I quite like the items the Tribesmen are carrying. There is also a very sticky horde with the Naiads, ample chaff with three troops of Snow Foxes, a cluster of Pack Hunters to screen and instigate trades, and an assortment of supporting heroes, including some ever-present spellcasters in the Ice Queens. The Master Hunter was an odd pick, but actually pretty intriguing. Piercing Bow shots are fine, though four attacks from the hero are not likely to contribute much for actual damage. Scout plus Speed 7 could be nice for scenario play, but I think Frostbite is the big draw here. Frostbite gives the Frozen status, which lowers Speed by 1, and I think it could be some really nice tech against Ogres and the like, pulling them down to Speed 5 while the Northern Alliance makes use of Wild Charge to eek out a charge distance advantage. Without too many orders to fuss over, avoiding an expensive Warlord pick and command-boosting items seems wise too.
I brought the Herd! The updated army has been fun and intriguing since Fracture, and there is still a ton to learn. Up to test and explore is everything in the list:
- Flaxhoof. With some very nice Commands, unlike the Norther Alliance / Varangur, I think my Herd / Nature lists will want a Warlord. I think my Avatar of the Father is ultimately going to win out here for style points, but now that the Herd has some options besides the (now-nerfed) Chieftain, I do want to explore my options a bit, as that is what the blog is all about. Flaxhoof here is the returning Centaur lord for the army, with ok combat stats, and a Brutal 1 Aura nowadays. The aura boost is static and not additive, so he doesn’t actually play well with the Specialist Sprit Walkers (Dread) or Gryumbrocks (innate Brutal 2), which is a bummer, but we’ll see what he can do and how he works alongside the other units in the list.
- Druid, Barkskin, BC, Steed, Banner. I quite like the Druids as support pieces, as Inspiring Spellcasters are still generally strong and desirable. The Heal/BC approach has not been as strong as it was when the edition launched (Heal Command plus Heal Spell into aggressive Tree Herders was strong!), however, I still very much want Bane Chant, since so much of the list has TC, but we’re dropping Heal for other spells, Barkskin, in this case, as I want more experience with the spell generally, and seeing how well we can utilize it alongside the similar Command Order.
- Druid, Veil, Horn, BC, Steed. Ditto for everything above, but we’re going with Veil of Shadows and the Sacred Horn for our exploratory spell package here.
- Tribal Warrior Hordes. The Tribal Spears return! I have three hordes of them, so we’re taking two and seeing what they can do. I think having a little extra “meat” in the list will be good, though they might struggle on the offense nowadays, with the changes to Pathfinder. They'll need that Strider Command and some support, so we'll try to lend it to them.
- Critters. We’re stuck with Critters for chaff, so we’re taking them. Troops of Centaur Striders seem potentially strong in this role too, though unlocks make this somewhat difficult now.
- Centaur Bray Striders. I still think making these Core was a good design choice, though with so many other slots revamped alongside the change my builds are a little wackier nowadays.
- Grymbrocks. This are still an intriguing unit for me, and I think practice could offer some nice insight on how my other armies could better position and use their cavalry. To that end, we’re taking a regiment, and a few troops, trying to run a variety of things for more chances to learn.
- Guardian Brutes. No longer Specialists, the Brutes are now in the support slot, and have yet another new stat line (and base size!) with Fracture. The changes are all a bit irksome, but hopefully they should be set in their ways for a while now. Being very similar to Abyssal Molochs now, they have lost a lot of their charm and uniqueness, but should be a good hammer for the army, if I can protect them. We’ll see how I manage with the changes.
- Great Totem. This is a neat supporting pick for the army with a lot of versatility. However, it requires a lot of thinking and foresight to place it somewhere useful, and I have unfortunately gotten its special deployment rules wrong previously. It needs to come down fully on my half of the table, so we’ll see where it goes, and what it can help support.
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.
We got Control for the scenario, and it seems like it has been a while since we played this one, though it is an area-control scenario, and conceptually easy enough. The table is split into six 2'x2' squares, and Unit Strength determines which player controls which zone. At the end of the game, the middle square on your opponent's side of the board is worth 2 Victory Points if you control it, otherwise each other square is worth 1 Victory Point.
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| Overview of the table, after Scout moves, as I am out of practice. |
The Northern Alliance came down pretty centrally, with Foxes on the far flank, Pack Hunters regiments in the woods along with the Master Hunter, Naiads with Hearthguard and Snow Foxes in reserve, the Blizzard Wizard one Pack Hunter Troop on the line and already touching the obstacle, and the other troop on the line and screening as well for the Tribesmen with the Brew of Strength. The Ice Queen with Heal sat behind the second troop, with Tribesmen with the Brew of Sharpness on the line, and then Hearthguard and Snow Foxes supporting. In time, the Master Hunter would inch ahead with their Scout move, to line up early shots.
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| View from the left. |
Thinking on things on the drive over, I felt like I needed to go wide in this match-up, and seek to envelop my opponent. The Herd is not known for it's grinding capabilities, after all. I had won the roll for sides, and seeing a building to help hide the Totem, was lazy. I think I did alright.
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| View from the center. |
We have the Centaur regiment and Flaxhoof on the far left, opposite the second building. We are then rather constrained, with Guardian Brutes and Barkskin Unicorn, Tribal Spears screening for Critters, Grymbrock troop, the Veil of Shadows Druid, and Guardian Brutes (my final drop for trading) in reserve, eying the same lane. More Tribal Spears poked into the woods over here, with the Grymbrock regiment nearby, and then Critters screening for another Grymbrock troop.
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| View from the right. |
I deployed the Great Totem correctly this time, after all the deployment trades but before the Scout moves, and fully on my edge of the board. It is classified as a War Machine, so the facing doesn't matter (everyone is always tripling attacks against it), and while there is a potential trick to deploy it angled to potentially give you better charges if your opponent chooses to fight it early, I chose to nestle it right into the building, trying to preserve that charge lane. I think technically I am giving up a smidge of frontage as-is, so maybe it should be back and to my right a few millimeters, or angled ever-so-slightly, but overall, I am happy with it's deployment, and this is an ideal scenario to test it out for real! The goal will be to push on through this lane using it's abilities, and then if all goes well, the Totem should be around to score this zone for me at the end of the game.
Rolling hot, I won the roll for determining turn order. I think there can be a good argument made for going second in Control, particularly with Pathfinder. However, up against a lot of shooting, I figured going first and getting Veil of Shadows up from the start would be the wiser course of action, so I'll kick things off for us.
Top of Round 1: Herd
After about a month away from the game, I was trying to just not get bogged down with over-thinking things. On the left, Flaxhoof is able to hide from the sight of the Foxes, but the Centaur regiment runs ahead. We are threaten charges into several things next turn, though opening ourselves up to a charge from the Snow Foxes as well. We'll force our opponent to made the decision on how to engage. Flaxhoof grants a Barkskin 1 to the regiment.
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| The contingent of centaurs gallops ahead. |
I am fine with this aggression, but am a little conflicted elsewhere. Against shooting, I should be on a bit of a clock, but am a little hesitant. The Guardian Brutes move up, but only about 10 inches, and I'm not really threatening a charge next turn unless my opponent walks into it. The Unicorn will land a Barkskin 2 on the Brutes in the Ranged Phase to help them out.
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| The Herd center is indecisive. |
Likewise, the Tribal Spears get to the edge of the field, and stop, with their center point still in the terrain for the benefit of Cover. We could have gotten them all the way up into the pond with the same benefit, but that just seems foolhardy. I don't want to close with a meat-grinder of a list, but also don't really have the luxury or sitting around and waiting for an ideal moment to strike. The Spears get a Barkskin 2 in via Commands from the Unicorn, and Critters and characters shuffle ahead.
The Grymbrock troop moves ahead, ready to instigate in the coming turns, but Barkskin from the Veil Druid fails. The Guardian Brutes move up behind them, avoiding the terrain.
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| The Herd right is also wary. |
The other horde of Tribal Spears moves just their speed, using both pivots to adjust slightly. The Totem is able to land a Barkskin 1 on them. And on the far right, Critters move up a ways, ready to flit ahead as-needed, and both the regiment and troop of Grymbrocks inch up.
The Druid with Veil of Shadows gets nice and central, and with the Horn, is able to just teach the Guardian Brutes on the left, and the Spear horde on the right. However, on 4 dice, the spell fails, and the Herd is feeling a little exposed as I pass the turn.
Bottom of Round 1: Northern Alliance
On the right, the Snow Foxes hang back while the Tribesmen with the Brew of Sharpness move up, just barely daring a charge from the Herd's Critters. The Hearthguard stick some of their front on the hill to see more, and the Tribesmen horde with the Brew of Strength stay put in the rear.
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| The Northern Alliance advance. |
With lots of available shoots, and no real threats from the Herd yet due to my indecisiveness, my opponent is inclined to sit back and shoot, making use of his longer-range bows.
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| All the bows of the Northern Alliance take aim. |
Only one troop of Pack Hunters moves this round, and everything else stays put. With no veil, shots rip out into the leading Guardian Brutes, who have Barkskin 2. The Hunters connects with all 4 hits, and while Barkskin blunts the damage down to just 2, it is a very nice start for the Northern Alliance. The Regiments land a total of 4 damage (6 expected), but the troops make up for it, rolling hot and contributing 5 each, even though one moved. The Master Hunter afflicted the Brutes with Frozen, and Blizzard lands 5 damage too, devastating the Brutes, and breaking them.
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| Without Veil, and with hot dice, the Guardian Brutes are shot off. |
The Snow Foxes behind the Naiads basically hold, the Naiads scoot up maybe an inch, and the Hearthguard in reserve slightly adjust as well. Although the Snow Foxes on the far left have a charge into the Centaurs, they do not take this, choosing to just move up and get in the way.
Top of Round 2: Herd
Flaxhoof runs through the Centaur Regiment, looking to threaten a potential run past the opposing battle line next turn, and then the Centaur Striders charge the blocking Snow Foxes. We give them Tenacity to try and ensure the rout, but the Barkskin Command may have been a more clever choice, had I been thinking ahead.
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| The Centaurs charge ahead, a fraction of an inch. |
The rolls are miserable, and Tenacity doesn't help convert anything. Just 6 damage lands against the Foxes. Thankfully though, they are uninspired, and do break. Measuring things, the Centaurs elect to simply hold. They are a little over 12 inches away from the Pack Hunters, and I don't want to risk any big overruns. The Pack Hunters would be hindered if they charged out from the woods, but I just don't want to risk it and give them easy ways forward, given the scenario.
The Guardian Brutes were not really used well. I recognize that the shooting was hot, and not getting Veil of Shadows off was pretty unlucky, but I still don't really how I've opened here, or my general position right now.
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| The Herd find their line outflanked. |
The Tribal Spears get up and into the pond. Their Speed is 6, but with Wild Charge, there isn't much distance to play around with. I opt to move them up enough to be threatened by the Naiads, and both Troops of Pack Hunters.
The Unicorn Druid will get a Barkskin 1 via Commands on the Spears, and a Barkskin 3 on the Critters with the spell.
The Speed 5 Grymbrocks initially stay just out of 11 inches of the troop, but eventually I will move them closer, threatening a charge while being threatened myself. The Veil Druid will tuck in behind them, and the Guardian Brutes behind her. Veil of Shadows goes off this time, protecting just about everything over here.
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| Veil of Shadows protects the line this time. |
The Spears exit the forest, and get a Barkskin 1 from the Veil Druid via Commands, and we are giving up a charge to the nearest Pack Hunters too.
The Critters zip ahead and get the Entanglement of Thorns Command from the Totem. Apparently I have been playing this wrong as well. In the Movement Phase, a Change Facing order is distinct from any other move. However, in victorious reforms, a Hold reform contains the possibility for a pivot, so the Command isn't a potent as we initially thought. They decline to charge the Tribesmen, but still flit up to gum things up. The Tribesman could pivot through them, but the pivot is hard, and they can't reach anything else. Additionally, the Snow Foxes can't scooch past, and this seems like a good use of the Critters.
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| The Critters flit up to block. |
The Grymbrock troop is more expendable, so runs ahead, with the Grymbrock regiment pulling in behind. With the Critters where they are, they should both be safe, and be setting up for a bloody Round 3 for the Herd.
Bottom of Round 2: Northern Alliance
From the far right, the Snow Foxes scamper past, forming a strong concave with the two Pack Hunter troops, which extends all the way over to the Naiads, penning the Herd line in.
The Tribesmen with the Brew of Sharpness will charge the Critters, break them, and change facing as part of their Hold action. Changing facing (erm... Hold + the swivel) is probably the most common reform in my estimation, as it is not based on chance. The order is ok for slowing things down I guess, but significantly less potent now that we are playing it correctly.
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| The Tribesmen fight the Critters. |
The Hearthguard fully take the hill now, and the reserve Tribesmen with the Brew of Strength pull in behind the Pack Hunter Troops.
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| The Alliance form a concave line, to force some hard decisions. |
The troops moved, and shoot into the Tribal Spears in the pond. Cover from the Pond plus Stealthy from Veil of Shadows blanks Blizzard and one of the volleys, with the second volley just slipping 1 damage in, which is prevented by Barkskin.
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| The Centaurs get shot up. |
On the far left, the Mast Hunter holds, but gets his free change of facing for being an individual. He'll loose into the Centaurs, landing 3 damage. The outer regiment of Hunters holds and shoots, landing 4, and the inner regiment of Hunters adjusts, and lands nothing, and the Centaurs are maimed, Frozen, and on a clock. The Hearthguard adjust slightly, preventing a possible run by from Flaxhood.
The blue die near the Naiads is marking the max starting range of the Centaurs, and yeah, my left flank is isolated and failing to really envelop things like I was originally hoping for.
Top of Round 3: Herd
On the left, Flaxhoof gives the Centaurs a Striding Command and I consider my options. They are Frozen and slowed, but have an easy charge into the nearest Pack Hunters, and are also still just within 14 inches of the exposed Master Hunter. After some back-and-forth questioning, I opt for a bit of a greedy play, charging the Master Hunter, and sliding down to align.
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| The Centaurs commit, charging the Master Hunter. |
Thanks to Striding, the Centaurs land a strong 10 damage onto the Hunter, and with Flaxhoof pulling in nearby to grant his Aura, have Brutal 1 as well. The Hunter needs snake eyes to hold, and does not get them. In victory, the Centaurs overrun, and anything puts them into contact with the nearest Pack Hunter unit. We're still Striding, and so should not be hindered, and will land 12 damage here against the regiment, again add the Brutal 1 from Flaxhoof's aura, and break the regiment here as well, reforming at the end of the rampage to face off against the remaining Hearthguard and Pack Hunter regiment out here. It's a great play... unfortunately, illegal.
After our discussion earlier in the turn, we erroneously came to the conclusion that the Master Hunter was Yielding, which would allow for the fight, rout, and additional fight. Yes, he is an individual, but no, he is not a Yielding one. Breaking him would be the same as breaking a unit, and would not result in a second combat. I'm not sure how we screwed this up. Maybe we were looking for Mighty, which is no longer a thing this edition, Oddly, the Stampede Order could allow for a second combat... but I had already given the Centaurs the Striding Command, and then both combats would have been hindered, and so likely not breaking either unit. We donked this up.
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| The illegally-victorious Centaurs. |
The Tribal Spears get a Striding Command as well, from the Unicorn Druid with Barkskin, and charge the Naiads, though I short them on their attack dice. They get a Bane Chant from the other Druid as well. Ensnared, just 4 damage lands, and the Naiads hold.
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| Fights in the center, struggling greatly against the concave line. |
The rest of the charges this round are an absolute nightmare. The intent across the table is to concave things and thus prevent flanks, so we're working around that. The Critters get a Barkskin 2 from the spell and the Unicorn Druid, and charge a troop of Pack Hunters, clawing 3 damage in. A Grymbrock troop charges the other troop of Pack Hunters. I try a Stampede Command but fail (I think this was on two dice from the Veil Druid). They only have 9 attacks, only manage 5 damage, but we will break them, and reform slightly. Backing up might have been a better play.
With the little things engaged already, the Guardian Brutes can't really do anything this turn, so move ahead once the Druid with Veil gets out of the way. Respecting the concave, the Tribal Spears can't really get in anywhere, and so don't, and scooch around to make some space for the more-important Guardian Brutes.
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| Charges from the Herd. |
The turn started with me wanting to get the leading troop of Grymbrocks into the flank of the Snow Foxes, and the regiment into the horde of Tribesmen and their Brew of Sharpness. This one flank charge really put a damper on the rest of the charges down the line though. And looking at things, the end result here on the far end would have the Grymbrock regiment failing to really align, and be allowing the horde a simple reform to get into their flank. My regiment is unlikely to break the opposing horde, and a horde of Tribesmen hitting on 2's in any flank didn't bode well, so I'm rewinding and noodling things out.
Instead of the flank of the Snow Foxes, the troop of Grymbrocks fights the Tribesmen horde, slides past the Foxes, and then the Regiment hits as well. We're dealing with a hill and all sorts of things and can't really property line things up, and call it good. The Totem has its Vicious aura, and we're able to land a combined 18 damage onto the horde, and with Brutal 2, will break them! It's another great, strong play, and unfortunately for me, apparently another illegal one.
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| Reforms for some of the Herd charges. |
The charges were a mess, and unfortunately both alignment and order of charges did matter. I did not rewind all of the charges and all of the positioning back far enough to catch my sequencing error with the Grymbrocks. With the starting positions, the regiment would need to end up on the left, with the troop on the right. The building is narrow, but I don't think I should have been able to get in with both Grymbrock units here at all. There was a reason the multi-charge was not the play from the start...
It was a big turn for the Herd, but unfortunately both big plays were marred with improper execution.
Bottom of Round 3: Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance are reeling a bit, but still have a lot of units in play. On the right, the Hearthguard charge the Grymbrock troop, the Vicious Command fails, but the damage is severe and the troop is broken anyways. The Hearthguard can't really escape the Grymbrock regiment, or put them in a bad position when they are charged, so they overrun towards them.
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| Charges from the Northern Alliance. |
The unengaged Snow Foxes charge the unengaged Tribal Spears, slipping 1 damage in against the horde. I will note here that the Foxes are classified as Large Infantry, as the "Swarm" category is no more.
The Tribesmen horde with the Brew of Strength charges the other Grymbrock troop, and the Vicious Command fails here too, though the horde breaks the troop here as well. The remaining troop of Pack Hunters fights the Critters and their Barkskin 2. I was expecting to hold here, but the troop continues to roll hot, breaks the Critters after landing I think 6 damage after Barkskin blunts things, and overruns a ways, blocking the corner of the Guardian Brutes.
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| Reforms for the Norhtern Alliance. |
Importantly, this overlap of corners doesn't actually protect the Tribesmen, and we discuss this at the time to avoid any "gotcha" moments, and indeed this already came up a bit in Round 2 with the pesky Critters. Blocking Terrain, Enemy units, and Friendly units not charging the same targeted enemy unit all block movement, but can be pivoted through, provided the pivot ends clean, and this is clarified in the FAQ (though Mantic introduces "impassable terrain" instead of any of the existing terrain nomenclature, which is frustrating. The FAQ is just so poorly written and presented.)
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| Reforms as the concave line pushes back. |
The Naiads apparently regenerate nothing, and slam back into the Tribal Spears, with 8 damage getting in against my horde. The Ice Queen with Blizzard continues to hold, and tosses with a cover penalty into the Guardian Brutes, resulting in 1 damage. They are Frozen and slowed, but it should not matter much now.
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| The Centaur regiment falls. |
On the left, the Snow Foxes are threatened by Flaxhoof, and choose to hide behind the melee, hoping to survive to claim a board section for the scenario. The Hearthguard and Pack Hunters charge the Centaurs, and are both hindered. The Hearthguard land enough to devastate the cavalry unit though, and we fast forward, and are broken. The Hearthguard can't get out of the woods, and reform, with the Pack hunters overrunning a few inches.
Top of Round 4: Herd
I consider some tricky threading of the needle with Flaxhoof, but realize that I can't escape the arc of the Hearthguard. Instead, he bravely runs away, getting into the central zones and looking to help the rest of the Herd in the late game.
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| Flaxhoof excuses himself. |
The Tribal Spears fight back against the Naiads, but are still Ensnared. I remember to roll all their attacks this time, and are able to grant them a Barkskin 2 with Flaxhoof, and a Bane Chant from the Veil Druid again. I'll land a ridiculous 10 damage against the horde, taking them up to 14 damage now, since they failed to regenerate anything last turn.
For all the frontloaded talk about being able to pivot through blocking units, the Guardian Brutes can't quite fit with a final alignment to to the scary horde of Tribesmen, and so instead we charge the flank of the upstart Pack Hunters instead, breaking them, and getting a Barkskin 3 from the spell.
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| The Herd around the Great Totem break through. |
Engaged already, the Tribal Spears don't get Thunderous Charge against the Snow Foxes, but are still wounding on 2's, and are able to land 13 damage against them, thanks to Vicious from the Great Totem, and in victory, they will pivot past the Grymbrocks.
The Grymbrocks rolled their combat first, getting a Tenacity Command from the totem, and landing 10 damage against the Hearthguard. Brutal 2 is clutch, and we are able to break the Hearthguard, and then sidestep an inch, giving the Tribal Spears a little extra space for their eventual reform. The end result for positioning is the Grymbrocks can move ahead to get past the Spears if needed, which could help positioning next turn.
Bottom of Round 4: Northern Alliance
The Tribesmen with the Brew of Strength crash into the Guardian Brutes, who are buffed about as much as they can be. Both Ice Queens attempt the Vicious Command to help the Tribesmen, but both fail to issue the order.
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| Th Tribesmen are victorious! |
However, the Tribesmen apparently don't need the Command, and proceed to roll hot, landing 19 damage, and although this is blunted slightly by the Barkskin, the Brutes break easily, and the Tribesmen are able to reform to get the Spears and Grymbrocks in front arc to try and hold the line.
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| The Naiads fail to break the Tribal Spears. |
The Naiads fight on against the Tribal Spears, and the Herd's horde is brought up to 15 damage, though Barkskin helps the Herd out, and the Tribal Spears do stick around. Amazingly, the Naiads only land 1 of 14 rolls for Regenerate, leaving them on 13 damage at the end of the round.
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| The Northern Alliance left slowly repositions, turning their attention back towards the center. |
On the left, the Pack Hunters move only slightly in order to shoot at Flaxhoof, along with the Blizzarding Ice Queen. He's an individual, and Blizzard misses, with only one bow shot landing. The Hearthguard adjust a bit, swinging back towards the center, but are slowed a bit by the dallying Pack Hunters.
In the backfield, the Snow Foxes scamper out, trying to decide what zone to play for as the game concludes. They have Pathfinder, and could be more assertive, but are apparently still wary of Flaxhoof spinning around and doubling-back to fight the troop.
Top of Round 5: Herd
The Tribal Spears fight on against the Naiads. Bane Chant fails, but they are taken up to 20+ damage, and Flaxhoof's Brutal Aura helps to seal the deal, breaking the opposing horde, and allowing the spears to reform.
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| The Tribal Spears prevail over the Naiads. |
Meanwhile Flaxhoof charges past, hitting the Tribesmen in the flank for 1 damage, as he apparently doesn't have Strider. The other horde of Tribal Spears and remaining regiment of Grymbrocks hit the opposing horde in the front, with the Spears landing 9, and the Grymbrocks 11 more. Brutal 2 of the Grymbrocks is better than the Aura from Flaxhoof, and we will break the horde. The Totem is too far to help with vicious, but all three units get a Barkskin 2 this Round.
The Tribal Spears reform, and I think the Grymbrocks sidestep an inch towards the far corner, hoping to control the far right zone for me as the game starts to wrap up.
Bottom of Round 5: Northern Alliance
The Snow Foxes move into the middle of the board, claiming the back left zone for my opponent, as his infantry departs the zone for the middle.
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| The Northern Alliance fan out a bit. |
The Hearthguard and the Pack Hunters charge the injured Tribal Spears, with the Hearthguard being Hindered in their efforts. The elite unit lands 6 damage while the Pack Hunters land 5, and the Spears are devastated and routed. I believe both are threatened by the fresh Tribal Spear horde, and so both overrun, in an attempt to close the distance and brawl for the important center zones in the final turns.
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| The Ice Queens flee, partially into harm's way. |
The Ice Queens book it towards the far corner. They are speedy, but only one is able to get out of arc of the Grymbrocks, and with Champions only having 1 US each, we're currently tied for this corner zone.
My opponent is trying to keep the Grymbrocks over in a corner, and away from contributing in a Round 7, but I don't like this play. We measured, and the Grymbrocks couldn't even reach the rear of my maimed Tribesmen unit - they need to heavily commit to fight in the center. Sacrificing one Queen (the nearer one, with Heal/BC) is ok, but moving both out here isn't helping him out. I think the one with Blizzard (which ends exposed to the Grymbrocks) should be scooting over towards the left. Blizzard might even be able to slow my second horde from charging things next round, if things were done slightly differently.
Top of Round 6: Herd
For the sake of the scenario, the Grymbrocks charge the Ice Queen they can see in her front. We're Ensnared, but still have a lot of Thunderous Charge behind us, and land 8 damage, plus Brutal 2, and will break the spellcaster and reform. We're winning this zone now, and change facing to see the center, to maybe react in a potential Round 7, not to fight, but to scoot into the middle away zone, if needed.
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| The Tribal Spears get a lucky break against the Hearthguard. |
The center is a bit of a mess, and I choose to charge Flaxhoof (hindered) into the weaker Pack Hunters, and getting Strider from the command, toss the Tribal Spears into the Hearthguard, and they are then granted a Barkskin 2 from the spell, and a Bane Chant too. From a routing-perspective, throwing the Spears into the weaker Pack Hunters is the more likely break, but the thinking is that both my units should survive a round in these solo fights, and my combined US 6 should prevail against my opponent's combined US 4 for his center zone. If it goes to a Round 7, if I get a goot starting fight against the Haerthguard, perhaps the Spears can grind it out with some more magical aid.
It is a tall order to fight the Hearthguard. I have good buffs going, but while 10 damage is expected, only 6 damage makes it in. However, the Nerve check is hot, and the uninspired Hearthguard are busted, and the Tribal Spears reform a bit to potentially help Flaxhoof, who has only managed 1 damage in his fight.
I can't deal with the Snow Foxes, and pass the turn.
Bottom of Round 6: Northern Alliance
My opponent concedes. Yes, the Foxes have a free hand, and could grab either zone on the left, but the other zones are lost to the Northern Alliance.
The Herd has a 6 to 2 US advantage in the center away zone for me, controlling it for the 2 VP. I have both Druids for 2 US in the middle near zone, controlling it as well. The Great Totem holds the near right zone, and with US 2, the regiment of Grymbrocks can bully the remaining US 1 Ice Queen to control the away right zone, and the Ice Queen doesn't even have the inches to leave and contest the Great Totem to try and even things out.
The final tally is a 5:1 victory to the Herd.
Game Conclusions
This was definitely not the result either of us was expecting, especially after the first Round. I think my opponent's list was much stronger than mine, and he had a better plan and execution overall, as well as more tools, like the bows. I managed to claw a way back, but very unfortunately, both of my big plays, were found to be erroneously executed. That's a bummer, but one of the many reasons to write these reports up. Mistakes are going to happen from time to time, and I think we learned a lot today!
Testing Conclusions
- Flaxhoof. Having a Warlord around was indeed nice for more consistent Commands, and he actually did ok this game leading the list. Mostly this was sticking close and supporting things with the Brutal 1 Aura. He did manage to find two combats, but both were from hindered charges, and both only resulted in 1 damage apiece. Combat individuals are still in a rough spot. His utility is not great with Grymbrocks and Spirit Walkers, but if your army isn't using those, he seems like a decent Warlord pick, and could probably do well leading a stronger Centaur contingent, which is probably the design idea behind him.
- Druid, Barkskin, BC, Steed, Banner. I still quite like the Druids generally, and mounts are great for giving them options in scenarios like this. Bane Chant is also still wonderful for the army to have ready access too, and the Banner is still a good pick for an item for one of them. These are great Champion options. Barkskin was only fine. Yes it is nice, but it rarely seems to really pop off or truly swing fights so far.
- Druid, Veil, Horn, BC, Steed. As in the intro, ditto all of the above, and the Veil with the Horn is some nice stolen tech. It not going off in Round 1 was unfortunate, but does happen, and we got to see the contrast between Rounds 1 and 2 to showcase it. I like the loadout.
- Tribal Warrior Hordes. They did indeed add more weight behind the list. The spear upgrade is a bit expensive though. With Bane Chants the extra attacks can be worth it, though Spears/Phalanx still generally seems like a meta-dependant upgrade.
- Critters. They did fine this game. They are still very underwhelming, but unfortunately still our only real efficient chaff unit with both the Harpies and Gur Panthers having been culled in the initial Edition change. Centaur Strider Troops can almost substitute, but we're competing for Auxiliary Slots, and the Centaurs are double the points of the Critters. Herd stuff has always felt a bit pricey to me, so I think some Critters are bound to end up in every list as Chaff.
- Centaur Bray Striders. I did like our Centaurs. Slots are a little more awkward in the new book than at the start of the Edition, but having them as Core still seems good overall.
- Grymbrock Troops. The output at both unit sizes is fine, and Brutal 2 is really nice to have. I wanted to harken back to some 2E Herd styles, with lots of Longhorn troops and flanking maneuvers, but the lack of chaff in the army, plus the detriments of Speed 5 are just tough. Basically anything besides Dwarfs can engage them if they wish, and Retaliate is just so bad still.
- Grymbrock regiment. The regiment is better as it hits harder, and is more worth protecting, but again without dedicated chaff, these seem hard to deliver.
- Guardian Brutes. I am not a fan of their newest changes. They just lost so much character and uniqueness. Still, they are a decent hammer unit for the Herd now.
- Great Totem. This is about a good a game as the Great Totem could get. It helped me break on through with Auras, Commands, and Inspiring, and then even helped with the scenario. Having three different zones to track was a bummer (12" Commands, 9" aura, 9" Very Inspiring, and 6" Rallying was weird, but I don't mind. That seems fluffy, with the Herd fighting harder the nearer they are to it.
- Barkskin Command. I got it right this time, with the Blessing of the Lady swapping out Heal for Barkskin nowadays. Like the spell, the Command felt just ok. It is potentially slightly easier to stick the Command onto tougher targets, but still typically a success onto a unit doesn't feel that impactful, at least with the match-ups I've had with the Herd lists I've been running. Tougher Elementals (Earth Elementals, Tree Herders) might be getting more mileage out of the Command.
- Strider Command. Unfortunately for me, the striding Xirkaali have basically usurped the standing of the older Herd. We got to keep Pathfinder, but with the changes to it nowadays, the Order is really necessary for us to maintain any aggression, and a bit of a bummer that it got harder to cast now with the new Book. If we had more ranged options, I could see
- Thorns Command. The Hold reform also allowing a change of facing was honestly a revelation to us both, and big kudos to my opponent for figuring that out for us. The Entanglement of Thorns is now really mediocre to me. Yes you can maybe slow something down, but you're still losing a unit for it, and the army doesn't have great chaff, or a ton of speed, having lost the Lycans. More thinking is needed on how to use this Command.
- Stampede Command. I think I have yet to successfully cast the Command, though admittedly we've only had a few games with the new Herd. It is also niche. It is keyword locked for Herd only, and you need a 5+ to get it, and both can be tough criteria to meet. I think the thinnest unit in the game is an infantry troop at 40mm, or ~1.5 inches, so it is never guaranteed, though maybe with an odd angle and a wider attacker we could find a situation where the overrun can't miss (like the bad Master Hunter into Pack Hunter fights this game). We had a nearly ideal set-up here, with the Pack Hunters screening for, but flush with some Tribesmen. However, we were charging with Grymbrocks, and the second combat is automatically hindered, which isn't great with all their TC. The Guardian Brutes are the ideal unit for this Command, but there are just so many hoops to jump through before this Command can go off, I am getting doubtful we'll ever land it, let alone have it actually be a memorable play.
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