Intro and Lists
The November meetup for Kings of War Wisconsin was upon us! I have been starved for games and fun the last couple of months, and as a result, have unfortunately failed spectacularly to give anyone any good practice games at all for their respective events, like Rocks and Cows or the Ohio GT, both of which have already come and gone.
Thankfully, after two months of misses, I was finally able to throw down against Will again, who was now prepping for the upcoming Renegade GT, coming up November 21st -23rd. The main event is 2500 points, and respecting points and unlocks, you need to take a Champion from a second army list to supplement your forces. Way back in September, I figured that the organizers would let you run the Commands of the Renegade's army, and that indeed appears to be the case. Will had the following for his Abyssal Dwarfs:
Will has been making some tournament rounds and doing well for himself. This is quite similar to what we've seen from him recently, and I continue to like this approach. There is Golekh Skinflayer around, leading some Ratkin and Orc underlings, the fighty Blacksouls to fight on once the underlings flee. We have two regiments and a troop of of Lesser Obsidian Golems to hold the line, some Ratkin Tunnel Runners, and two Death Engines to pulp things, and two Gargoyles to interdict. We have a normal Iron-Caster with Bane Chant and Heal, and his pet Infernox unit returns, with the Inspiring Talisman.
The Renegade of choice is the Forces of Nature Druid, played today by an Orc Shaman since the druid is still on the painting desk. I think there was a restriction preventing him from taking the original Druid, so we have the revised 2026 version here, with access to Barkskin, Strider, and Rampage to help the Obsidian Golems, who are have the Elemental Trait and correct criteria. Banner of Command seems like a great pick for the Renegade, and should be very popular, and Heal and Scorched Earth should go a long way to helping the Golems win their grinds too.
I brought the Kingdoms of Men, looking to explore some high-drop, high-US style lists featuring hordes (Ratkin-style lists, as I’ve been calling them, as opposed to the regimentally-focused Goblin-style). We had the following:
We've got a downright silly six infantry hordes, and a lot of mediocre units, like Shield Wall, Militia Mobs, Halberdiers, Crossbowmen. Chariots and Knights are around to experiment with, and we have two Siege Artillery pieces to apply some ranged pressure. The interesting picks this time are two very expensive Pike Hordes, taken without further items so we can get a better feel for them. The army has a lot of mediocre units, but lacking an Inspiring Spellcaster, the humans can be hard to buff and support effectively. We’re trying an ASB with Heal, a Hero with the War Bow, and a mounted Hero with the Trickster's Wand, and using the Renegade format to take an actually good, Inspiring, supporting spellcaster, with the Northern Alliance Ice Queen:
Like the Druid, the Ice Queen is a nice supporting Spellcaster. She’s relatively cheap, but I think should support the list well. It's been a messier intro, but up to evaluate for this "Ratkin" approach is everything.
- Ice Queen, BC, Heal, Amulet. Inspiring Spellcasters are simply amazing Champions nowadays, and the darn Humans don't have any innately. The recruited Renegade from the Northern Alliance has elite on her buffing spells, so we're taking the classics, and we'll stick her with the Pikes, since they are the only thing in the list really worth trying to support. We have the points, and two units to babysit, so we'll give the Amulet a try, and see if we can't engineer a big play.
- ASB, Shroud. I’m not a huge fan of the KoM Champion options, though I like a lot of the units, similar to my thoughts about the Undead, generally. Taking a page from that book, we’re trying a bit of a budget Champion, taking an ASB and Shroud, and seeing how that works for the humans.
- Hero, Bow. The Hero is nice, but rather expensive. The Boomstick would be better, but just slightly short on points, we’re taking the old Bow for wysiwyg. I have historically been terrible at remembering Rallying, so our loose goal for him is to just remember that.
- Mounted Hero, Wand. The mounted Hero is also nice, if a bit expensive. With the extra Height, we’re taking the Wand, and seeing if there is anything we can Hex.
- Crossbowmen Horde, Fire-Oil. Despite the changes to shooting in 4E, I still quite like my one-of horde of Crossbowmen. I don’t think every list needs it, but supplementing war machines with some shooty unit seems like a decent approach.
- Halberdier Horde, Liliana’s Tear. We’re taking a pretty cheap horde of Halberdiers. Some cheap CS might let them leave a mark before disappearing. With some spare points, we’re giving them Liliana’s Tear to combat Shattering and such.
- Militia Mob Hordes. Taking a page from the Ratkin (Wretches) and Undead (Zombies), we’re trying out some Milita hordes, looking to cheaply take up a lot of space and be a nuisance to hack through. We’ll see how they do.
- Shield Wall Regiments. We needed a little more Core, so are defaulting to the Shield Wall.
- Knight Troops. My list is mostly infantry, and should be pretty ponderous. I don’t want to get steamrolled, so we’re taking a few troops of Knights to hopefully slow things down a bit either by threatening some charges, or being chaff. Headstrong should protect against chip shooting, and Def5 should make them a bit harder to take down without significant effort. If we can find a flank, they should also be able to hit pretty hard. We’ll see how they do for me.
- Pike Hordes. Pikes were pretty amazing in 3E. I liked mine as regiments, and just being cheap and sticky. Things have really changed in 4E, and now these are no longer small upgrades, but very expensive upgrades to the new, mercurial, Dogs of War. I don’t know if an anvil unit can justify such a high price tag, but having hobbied up enough for two hordes, we’re taking two hordes to try and see for ourselves.
- Chariots. Phalanx doesn’t work on them, which I don’t like logically, but it does give them a niche in-game. I am a slow list, we are taking these to hopefully let me start fights and initiate trades a bit better.
- Siege Artillery. I wanted a little extra reach, so we’re taking the Siege Artillery again, looking to ignore cover and apply some pressure to tall things across the table.
Table and Terrain
We were out at Warpstorm Games in Greenfield, WI, near Milwaukee. Despite the drive, it is becoming our go-to shop for the region, with lots of space and offerings, including food! We cleared off a cosmic table and set up some terrain, with Forests at Height 10, the blocking Buildings at Height 7, Hills with Height 3, bubbling muck as difficult terrain and Height 0, battlefield debris at Height 1, and Obstacles as Height 2.
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| View from the left. |
The Abyssal Dwarf center was populated by Ratkin, with the Infernox, Blacksouls, Iron Caster, and more Gargoyles behind. The Orcs continued the line, with both Death Engines and the Tunnel Runners on the right, with Golekh in reserve.
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| View from the center. |
I had won the roll for sides and although there was a good argument to be made for the other side and its lack of obstacles, I was lazy. It's practice, but a friendly game. My goals were to keep the Pikes together, but spread the rest out.
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| View from the right. |
For the Kingdoms of Men, I ended up with Militia, the ASB and regretfully, both Shield Wall on the far left. Halberdiers blocking for Chariots, and Crossbowmen near the woods, with the Hero and the War Bow handing back. The center was pretty empty, as I had lined up Siege Artillery to see the Obsidian Golems, with a sweeper Knight troop handing back. We then have the first Pikes supported by the Mounted Hero and the other Knight troop, the Ice Queen tucked in, more Pikes on the line, and more Militia blocking for Chariots.
I did not like my deployment. I wrote the list in late September, and was just too rusty to think things through ahead of time. My earliest drops were the Militia Mobs on each flank, followed by the left Shield Wall on the left... and at this point I realized I had largely tripped myself up already! Having Militia on the line is fine if you have hammers or fighting units behind them, such as the case in the Undead list with Zombies blocking for Wights. But here, my whole approach is to win through higher Unit Strength, and delaying combats in order to leverage my advantage. I really should have put the Chariots down first, on the wings and on the line, to make use of their speed to try and slow the game down, and gone from there, with Militia back a bit and aiming to preserve their US into the late game.
Neither of us have Scout moves. I lose the roll for turn order, but despite my artillery, my opponent decides to give it to me anyways, as he wants the final attempts at scoring in this positionally-important scenario. Off we go!
Top of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men
Getting first turn was unexpected, but a bit of a welcome development, as I could make the best of a bad deployment, and try to rectify a few errors.
I am most displeased with my left. Having two regiments of the same unit deployed side-by-side is pretty inefficient, but unfortunately, due to my very earliest deployments being goofs, there wasn’t anything else that could fit out here. Arguably, staying put and forcing the Speed 5, Shambling Golems without Surge to come to me would have likely been a better play, but with the Golems lacking Surge, I decided that my approach over here is to be a smidge aggressive, and see if I can I can sneak a regiment into his back field and then just tank with the Militia.
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| On the left, the Shield Wall take the initiative. |
Nearby, the Halberdiers adjust while inching ahead, and the Chariots hang back. The space between the muck and the obstacle is just enough to mess with the horde, so we’re taking it slow, and general plan was to try and march the Halberdiers out towards the center and the Ratkin next turn, with the Chariots moving up to deter the Golems.
The Crossbowmen inch up, getting their center point into the woods, and loose into the Ratkin, needing 6’s, and get a silly 5 damage. The artillery fire into the Golem troop, getting one hit between them, but we are able to blast that into a silly 4 damage. It's some nice hot shooting to kick things off.
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| Shooting and the center. |
But…Deployment for the Crossbowmen and Siege Pieces is also not ideal, and I gave up a lot of space for that firing lane, and the Hero and the War Bow is unfortunately stuck and not contributing anything at all right now. Things could be better. I knew I couldn’t get the center point of the war machines into the woods, so opted for the Crossbows to move up and camp the trees. My approach isn’t bad, but the war machines could actually just have their front facings in the terrain to see, be firing with a Cover penalty (since the center point isn’t in the terrain), and then just ignore that penalty, thanks to Indirect.
My sweeping Knights hang back by the war machines, hanging back to preserve the firing lane. I am wary of being jumped over by Gargoyles, but should be up further I think.
Out on the right, the Knights gallop ahead, looking to interdict. I’m finally using a speedy unit well here. I believe the Gargoyles can get into them, but here, I am looking to chaff and prevent things from piling into the Pikes, so I am ok with being bait, and the mounted Hero moves up. I might be able to be targeting the Iron-Caster using the Wand and Hex, but I either moved just a smidge into At the Double territory, or my mind blanks, forgetting that I am Height 3 and can see him.
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| Pikes on the right. |
On the far right, the Pikes move up, and are able to extricate themselves from the woods and obstacle, clearing the terrain. Pikes in terrain would be amazing, but I think we need to try and fight. The Militia move up as far as they can, with the Chariots pulling in behind. I’ve been a bit hard on myself elsewhere, but this is a conscious move. I want to use the Militia and their bodies to gum up some of the fearsome contraptions facing me. The Militia are certain to lose, and likely to lose even on the first charge, but this will draw at least two of the four machines in close, where my Pikes might do ok, and the Chariot might be able to do work with reprisals.
Bottom of Round 1: Abyssal Dwarfs
I am apparently extra-rusty, and take no pictures. Sorry! Will is a very decisive player, and I think it was back to me before I had time to really catch my breath. In short: everything moves up a bit.
With some recently-expanded Commands, Mutated Mastiffs are distributed to a Death Engine (with the lava base), the Orcs, and some Rats, all on the right, who all throw all the dogs into the leading Knightly troop, landing 5 damage in total, and falling just shy of a Waver.
The injured Ratkin in the center have the Healing Pot, and between it and the spell from the Iron-Caster, get down to 3 damage as they scurry forward.
On the far left, the Golems trudge forward. The Renegade Druid heals the Troop for 1, down to 3 damage, and gets a Barkskin Command for 1 on them as well, as the Command hits on a 4+ instead of the usual spell restrictions.
Top of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men
On the left, the Shield Wall scooch up, but stay safe from the reach of the Golems. The goal it to eventually offer a charge into the Shield Wall on the right, which should let the Shield wall on the left outflank the Golems, and complicate things for the scenario.
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| The layers of dudes move up. |
The Ratkin are quick, and I can’t quite just hop the Chariots over without being threatened, so the Halberdiers are forced to scooch back an inch or so, so that the Chariots can get in front, but be safe from both the Ratkin and Golems. I should have just done this last turn.
Again the Hero and his Bow are unable to assist. This is obviously an error, but with just one shot on the Bow, I am simply not prioritizing it. The Chariots are able to loose into the leading Ratkin though, landing a hot 2 damage with their Bows, and the Crossbowmen hold and loose, landing a hot 8, and taking them up to 13 damage. A waver here would be amazing, but the Inspired second rolls finds the Rats to be Insanely Courageous.
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| The firing lane is preserved, but not being used well. |
The sweeping Knights scooch up up now, also about a turn too late, and are still just even with my war machines and being very cautious. The firing lane is protected, but their positioning is not great, and it looks like I only accidentally protect their flank from the Gargoyles on the right.
The Artillery fire again, continuing to try and soften up the Troopo of Lesser Golems, but none of the shots connect.
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| Lots of Pikes, standing ready! |
On the right, the leading Knights have some charges, but none feel great, even from just a delaying standpoint. Unfortunately, I think their best use is a roadblock, and the scooch up a smidge, protecting the Hero, who again fails to Hex anything, again due to my forgetfulness.
The Pikes inch up, keeping things in front-arc, and the Renegade Ice Queen well-protected between the hordes. Unfortunately, my Inspiring coverage is bad, and the right is a little exposed.
The Militia move up, daring charges, but I can’t get them Inspired with bubbles or with a Command, as they are just too darn far away. The Chariots set up behind them, waiting to see what will happen.
Bottom of Round 2: Abyssal Dwarfs
The Tunnel Runners and a Death Engine slam into the unsupported Militia, dishing out 15 damage in total, and breaking the horde in one go. The Tunnel Runners back up, and after a lot of thinking, the Death Engine holds – I think any overrun would put my Chariots into its flank.
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| The Militia Horde break, but the Knightly troop holds. |
Golekh lurks behind the hill, biding his time, and the other Death Engine sputters ahead, stopping between the difficult terrain and the hill.
The Orcs are given a Last Break and urged ahead, in a charge against the Knights. They are leaving the terrain, so are hindered, and hitting on 6’s. I am expecting them to blow up, and the Ratkin following up with a charge (and maybe additional explosion), but that is not the case, and the Orcs just bounce.
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| The Ratkin and Blacksouls scooch in between the buildings. |
The Rats instead get a Mastiff and throw into my reserve Knights, landing 1 damage, and the Gargoyles pull in behind them while the Iron Caster lurks behind the building.
The injured unit of Ratkin push in through the center, heading between the buildings, with the Blacksouls and Infernox in tow.
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| The Golems... continue on. |
The Golem contingent inexorably trudges ahead, now daring and threatening charges. The troop gets a Barkskin 2, and another heal, I believe ending the turn on 1 damage. Chariots are hit by the Scorched Earth of the Renegade Druid, which isn’t great for me. The list doesn’t really have any hammers, and those Golems are proving difficult to move. Perhaps the left wing hiding in the corner would have been the better play!
Top of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men
On the left, the Shield Wall set the trap, and we’ll see if it works. The Golems hit on 4’s, but with Healing from the ASB, I might be able to be sticky and annoying? The regiment on the right moves up to force a charge, and the regiment on the left gets into position to sprint past the constructs.
We’re in Round 3 and no one has really lost anything yet, which might favor me, though things are about to start clashing, and that advantage could slip away quickly. The Militia adjust, ready to join in a subsequent combat, and see how they can grind, and the ASB with the Shourd of the Saint lingers. If I can trickle units into these combats, and get some heals off, that seems like a good approach to things.
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| The Shield Wall set up for their outflanking play. |
The Halberdiers move up, but stay safe. The Hero with the War Bow finally has a shot, albeit with cover, and fires and misses into the troop of Golems. The Crossbowmen hold and loose as well, landing another hot 4 damage into the constructs, though Barkskin blunts two of it. The artillery duo fires again, at the same target, and again, both miss.
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| Chariots smash into the Ratkin, and some Knights ignobly disappear... |
Hamstrung by Scorched Earth, the hindered Chariots charge into the injured Ratkin, for a delaying charge. We roll hot, landing 4 damage (being hindered and losing TC, just shy of 3 looks to be expected), and with Brutal, we are actually able to break the horde, not deal with any Last Breath explosions, and overrun all the way into the Blacksouls, to really slow them down. A lucky development for me!
I want to get the sweeping Knights out on the right to protect some flanks, but can’t quite make it to where I want them. Instead, they move ahead, looking for ways to help in the center over the coming turns.
The Knights fighting the Orcs is fine, but I want to mix things up. They are on 1 damage, and move to Withdraw. The first roll is a boxcars, a fail. The second roll is also a boxcars, and they break and flee the field. I finally try a Withdraw move, and this is how it plays out! Shucks.
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| Two huge overruns from the Chariots and the Pikes. |
It’s a bit of a mess, but we send the Pikes in against the Orcs. We poke them, break them, and the Orcs explode, thanks to Last Breath. It’s only a regiment though, and the damage is kept down to just 2. The Pikes then overrun, which is probably a bad call, and they get a mighty 6, stomping forward to touch the Ratkin.
The mounted Hero runs past, looking to protect the flank of the other unit of Pikes. The Gargoyles could still fly in, but this should prevent the Ratkin from joining as well. I think I am using the hill to block, and so just get what he can see in front-arc.
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| The Pikes try to maintain some semblance of a battle line. |
Out on the right, my Chariots charge the tunnel Runners, and then the Pikes charge the Death Engine, getting a Bane Chant from my Renegade Ice Queen, though for Talanaar fails. This horde catches a Bane Chant, and we poke the Death Engine down, and then back up, getting off the hill, which I think gets me safe from the other Chariots.
My Chariots roll hot, getting 11 hits, and turning that into a strong 7 damage against the opposing unit, though I don’t break them.
Bottom of Round 3: Abyssal Dwarfs
I am apparently rusty enough to have made some significant mistakes. I think I am using the hill and being clever, for some reason assuming all the chariot units are Height 3 out here. My own Chariots aren’t even Height 3! Golekh is Height 4, and the Death Engines are a scary Height 5! I can’t hide anywhere out here.
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| Charges from the Abyssal Dwarfs. |
The Tunnel Runners stay and fight my Chariots. I got the first charge, and thought I might hold out for a turn, but the opposing contraptions have CS and literally twice my attacks, the dice are great, and my unit takes 12 damage and crumples. In victory, the Runners overrun.
The Death Engine sputters to life, smashing against the Pikes to tie them up, though I think there was definitely a way for it to get into my Ice Queen too. My horde is still ensnaring the contraption, but the extra attack rolls are good, and 4 damage makes in through the sticks and the armor.
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| Victorious reforms for the Abyssal Dwarfs. |
Due to my errors, Golekh gets a flank charge into my mounted Hero. I goofed, not knowing he could see me, and could have overrun with the Pikes to prevent this, so this is entirely my error. The opposing Warlord rolls hot now, landing 8 damage, easily breaking my hero, and overrunning to menace the Pikes. Looks like even with the flank, only around 4 damage is expected, so, this is a bummer for me.
Ratkin get a Last Breath command and charge in against the Pikes, choosing not to explode. The Ratkin are Ensnared, and only manage 1 damage. It's not a lot of damage, but the point is to tie the Pikes up, and he's definitely done a good job, particularly with Golekh lurking nearby.
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| The Battle Report's blurry shot! Gargoyles are in the back field now. |
In the backfield, the Gargoyles apparently have a charge into the Siege Artillery, and eagerly take it, clawing 7 damage onto the war engine, and scattering the pieces.
The Blacksouls murder my other Chariot unit, landing 17 damage. It’s hot rolling all around today, apparently. I believe they hold, wary of giving the Knights a flank charge should their little legs carry them too far forward. The Infernox supervises.
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| The Golems start brawling on the left. |
On the left, the Golems continue on. The Troop takes the hill with the regiment still in tow, and the other regiment takes the bait against the Shield Wall, charging in, and needing to align to open a path for my other infantry block.
I apparently miscalculate things over here too. The Renegade Druid has some great synergies with the Obsidian Golems, and is able to grant them Rampage 4, resulting in 8 damage against me. That’s rolling is actually on the low side, and this flank isn’t looking well for well for me now that we are clashing.
Top of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men
Doubt is creeping in a bit, but we’re still going to try. The sacrificial Shield Wall continue fighting the Golems, and get a Heal 1 from the ASB. The other regiment sprints past and pivots, getting an Indomitable Will from the ASB as they leave his bubble. The Militia Mob here inch up.
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| The Shield Wall, persist, with one outflanking to threaten the Renegade Druid. |
The Halberdiers elect to charge the Obsidian Golem troop, manage to hack 6 new damage onto the damaged unit, and succeed in breaking them. They had been healed down to just 1 damage as I recall, so I really luck out here, and am just against a troop! We’re exposed to the Golem Regiment now, but we’ll see how things go. We still have a lot of Nerve and US out here, but I don't know if the grinds will favor us.
The Knights make a delaying charge into the Blacksouls, land a respectable 5 damage, but obviously do not move the opposing horde with the first blows against them this game. I had been hoping to toss them into the flank of the troop of Golems, but alas, I was about a quarter inch too far away.
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| The Knights charge, and the Crossbowmen reposition. |
The Gargoyles in my backfield are concerning. The remaining artillery piece fires, landing 2 damage onto the reservist Golem regiment. The Hero and his bow move out to take a shot at the Gargoyles, but miss. The Crossbowmen pivot and fire at the Gargoyles as well. Fire-Oil is in-play, but overkill, and only 2 damage makes it in, which is much more reasonable than their output over the previous turns, and the Gargoyles hold.
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| The pesky Gargoyles. |
I was concerned with getting my Crossbowmen flanked, but I think this is an overreaction. The Crossbowmen are not the only target for the fliers, and they should be shooting if they can. If I am pivoting this hard, I should be moving out of the woods too, to give me more options in the coming turns. Alternatively, I could have pivoted less, to see the Gargoyles while keeping an eye on the Blacksouls for the future. There were a few options here, and this was the worst one.
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| Aftermath of fighting on the right. |
On the right, I think this is the turn for the Amulet, but I donk it up a little bit. I don't use it often. It's a big turn, and I'm outmatched 2:1 for combat units. I’d like to Bane Chant both hordes, but as we read, the spell needs to be different. I think I am less likely to break the Ratkin, and the Pikes fighting here can probably survive a turn if indeed with Golekh in the flank if I am unable to break through, so they get a Heal 2, getting down to 1 damage, and the For Talanaar Command from the Ice Queen fails. The Pikes here poke a hot 15 damage onto the Rats, and Rally from Golekh just barely keeps them around. Nuts. Good try though, and the reasoning was solid.
Bane Chant hits the other unit, as they continue on against the new Death Engine. We’ll land 12 damage, which is about as-expected, win. I can’t box them in at all, given their overrun last turn, and don't think there is a way too get out of their arc, so we just change facing to get the Tunnel Runners in my front arc. The choice is theirs next turn.
Bottom of Round 4: Abyssal Dwarfs
Writing up the report, potentially, I suppose the victorious pivot of the Pikes could have been able to just barely box them in, but it’s a casual game here. The Tunnel Runners wisely choose to delay, rolling ahead and then pivoting once out of arc of the Pikes to threaten them.
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| The Tunnel Runners scurry away. |
Golekh issues a Last Breath to the Ratkin, and as t hey claw from the front, he assails the Pike horde in the flank. Still Ensnared, the assault takes the pikes up to 8 damage, but they hold.
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| The Gargoyles fight the hero instead... |
The Gargoyles can see my remaining Hero, and charge him, clawing 1 damage into him, and ignoring the Crossbows and the remaining Siege Artillery.
The Blacksouls murder the Knights now and overrun, just barely threatening the Crossbows with a charge next turn. The Infernox declines to join this fight, and lumbers ahead.
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| The Halberdiers get hit hard, but hold. |
The other unit of Gargoyles has been immensely patient, hiding behind the building on the left all game. The Iron Caster grants them a Last Breath, and they join the Obsidian Golem’s charge into the Halberdiers. These Golems should get another Rampage 4 from the Renegade Druid, and land 11 damage and the Gargoyles contribute just 1, though the Halberdiers hold, the left isn’t looking great.
The Druid tosses a Scorched Earth into the outriding Shield Wall, and a small Heal to one of the Golem regiments. The second regiment lands another 10 damage onto the maimed Shield Wall and will break them, and hold.
Top of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men
The magically Scorched-but-surviving Shield Wall opt to scoot past the Golems. Had I been more cagey out here, sacrificing them to bog down a regiment and keep stuff in this back corner could have been a play, but I am too far forward with everything else to buy time like that. Unfortunately, I need to pivot around the golems to get more than a few inches, so we only move our speed and turn back to threaten things. Even had I gone the full 10 I don't think I can quite get into the center zone in Round 6, so we'll threaten here for now, and see if we get a Round 7.
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| The Militia Charge. |
The Militia charge the victorious regiment. It’s not wise, but we’ll try to contain things up here. If we can hold somehow, my 8 US should muscle out everything here. Heal lands another pitiful 1 for the Halberdiers, who have a hard choice. I don’t want to pop the Gargoyles and take more damage from Last Breath, but also don’t think I’ll survive another round regardless. A bit greedily, I split 13 attacks into the Golems, and 12 into the Gargoyles, and unfortunately, while we deal 2 to the former, we only manage 3 against the latter, and the Gargoyles hold. It seemed like overkill to throw more into the Gargoyles, but checking the math now, as-is my split would still only give me even money to break the fliers, and I really needed to throw more into them to make sure I’d get this rout.
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| The Crossbowmen reposition. Again. Yuck. |
My overreaction with the Crossbows really hurts now, and for a third Round, I am running and gunning with them, while being mostly in place. We move ahead a bit, and then turn back to face the oncoming Blacksouls, and the Infernox have to roll great for his Wild Charge to get in.
The Crossbowmen roll cool now, landing just 1 damage instead of the expected 2, and while the artillery strike connects and blasts into 3 hits, only one deals damage, with more chilly rolling. The Blacksouls are brought up to 7 damage.
The Hero pokes the Gargoyles to 2, and gets a lucky break against them. Victoriously, he’ll shuffle towards the center. Gargoyle-duty is a good use for the Heroes. An unyielding roadblock for the oncoming Blacksouls would also be welcome, but he hasn't been in a good position all game.
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| The Pikes poke and try, but can't even the odds. |
The pinched Pikes nearer the center evaluate their options. The Rats are still on Last Breath, so even if I pop them, I’m taking 4d3 damage, and cannot reform, and Golekh would still be in my flank. They get Bane Chant, For Talanaar fails again, and the horde throws everything at the Skinflayer, getting a lukewarm 7 damage (looks like 8ish expected), and the Warlord holds. I don’t get lucky here.
The other unit of Pikes needs to force the issue with the Tunnel Runners, and while we can’t charge, we can move to get in their face. Now, they can’t pivot and run, so will be forced to charge me. Or back up, I suppose.
Bottom of Round 5: Abyssal Dwarfs
The Tunnel Runners do indeed take that charge. As Chariots, they don’t care about Phalanx, but they are still Ensnared. Still, they have a lot of attacks, and overperform, landing another 7 damage onto the Pikes.
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| The Pikes... hold? |
Golekh fails to issue a new Last Breath to the Ratkin, so the task falls to the Iron Caster, who is apparently skulking behind the building in the center, and the spellcaster succeeds. With my gamble failing last turn, the Rats are elected to explode. The rolls are blisteringly hot, with 10 hits out of a possible 12, and then 7 damage resulting from the cacophony, thanks to the spike with the Hit Roll. Golekh contributes 4 from the flank, with the Iron Caster tossing a Bane Chant for him, and on 19 damage, the Pikes are found to be Insanely Courageous!
 |
| The Blacksouls advance. |
In the center, the Blacksouls move up, menacingly, but can’t reach anything this turn, and the Infernox tucks in behind. He fires his Molten Bolder, and with a cover penalty, lands 1 damage onto the Crossbowmen to send a message.
The Gargoyles and Golems pick the Halberdiers up on the second attempt, with both victorious units spinning around, ending up back-to-back.
 |
| The Halberdiers fall. |
The second unit of Golems gets another Rampage 4 from the Renegade Druid, and thumps 11 damage back onto me. Ouch. The Druid is menaced by the outflanking Shield Wall still and lands a Scorched Earth to try and save herself.
Top of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men
The Shield Wall can’t quite make it into the center zone, but still run ahead, and can get there in a potential Round 7. It’s the best I have now.
 |
| The Shield Wall make a partial break, yet unable to reach the center. |
The Militia are able to slash a few damage onto the Golems, but it is immaterial. Still, all the Golems are in the far left corner, which is good for me, and I’m actually winning here for now, thanks to the Militia horde.
 |
| We manage 7 damage on the Blacksouls, but it's not a lot. |
The Hero with the Bow can’t reach the other Gargoyles, so pops into the woods to try and use the bow, but contributes nothing against the oncoming Blacksouls. The Crossbowmen hold, get a hot 9 hits, but just 2 damage, which looks like is about all I should really be expecting out of them ever. They've done great for me generally. The Artillery go to shoot into the Blacksouls, but have Indirect, so we divert the roll into the Gargoyles, but missed. The Blacksouls are on 9 damage, but still not in danger of wavering yet, unfortunately.
Still, between the Hero, Crossbow Horde, and war machine, I am controlling my center zone with a total of 6 Unit Strength. The Blacksouls will need to slay the Crossbows (or something) to wrest control of it from me.
 |
| Fighting on the right. |
The Pikes hold, and are able to poke into Golekh. The rolls are cold and low, For Talanaar fails again, but we take him up to 10 damage, and get the rout. Having measured stuff out, the overrun, and anything will put them into the opposing center zone enough to score it.
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| The Pikes prevail! |
The Renegade Ice Queen give a Bane Chant into the other Pikes, who are fighting the Def5 Tunnel Runners. We’re able to poke 10 onto them, and get the rout. We’re holding this zone.
Bottom of Round 6: Abyssal Dwarfs
The Pikes overran a lot, and the Iron Caster bonks them in the flank. Doing so avoids Ensnare, and a 6 to hit and a 6 to wound takes the Pikes up to 20 damage, and they break now, costing me a lot, and the Iron Caster recovers my opponents home zone in the Bottom of Round 6.
 |
| The Iron Caster throws hands. |
The Infernox and Blacksouls charge the Crossbowmen. Neither are hindered due to my shuffling around the last few turns, and we are dealt 21 new damage, but are found to be Insanely Courageous on 22 damage total!
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| The Crossbowmen are now insanely courageous. |
The duo of Golems will fight the Militia, get some buffs from the Druid, and land a fresh 20 damage onto the horde, taking them up to 31 damage. They break.
The Gargoyle flies out towards my back left to claim it. I don't recall if the Hero with the bow could have made it over here last turn. If so, I should have.
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| The Abyssal Dwarfs gain complete control of the left. |
The Abyssal Dwarfs control both left zones, and reclaimed their center zone for 3 VP total. The humans control our home zone, and the near right zone for 2 VP. We do roll up a Round 7, but it’s not likely to get better for me.
Top of Round 7: Kingdoms of Men
The Pikes advance to grab the far right zone, and the Ice Queen glides over into the near right to claim that too. The Shield Wall march around the building to wrest control of my opponent’s center zone from the Iron-Caster.
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| The Pikes and Ice Queen do their best. |
I think the Crossbowmen are Devastated, but oops, that is not true. I thought there were Nerve 21, but they are both Nerve 22 and Rallied by the Hero. I should be relatively fine, but am throwing hands with half my attacks. With half attacks only, we land a pitiful 1 damage, and while on double-digits, the Blackguard holds firm.
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| The Shield Wall do sneak into the enemy center. |
The Hero doesn't move. I think I should have scooted him over towards the left to fight for the near left zone. He's got to be in range there and I must have missed that.
The ASB starts a bit ahead of the Lesser Golems, and is able to make his way over to blank that zone from the Gargoyles.
It’s a good attempt at a showing? We forsook the far left zone, but have presence in the other 5, and pass the turn winning 4 of them, including both center zones. This lead definitely will not last for me, but considering all the rust and misplays, and no real hammers, this seems like a decent attempt from me today.
Bottom of Round 7: Abyssal Dwarfs
The Golems control the far left, and can’t do much there, given Shambling.
The Druid is able to get into the near left, joining the Gargoyles to and flips control of it from me, since I failed to scoot my Hero in there.
The Blacksouls (and Infernox) fight the Crossbowmen again, easily and obviously breaking them and my US goes from 6 down to 2, against the US 5 of the Abyssal Dwarfs here. My center flips. Yeah, I should have fled with my Hero - he's doing no good here.
The Iron Caster just has the inches to get in to the near right zone verses the Ice Queen and blank that zone for us.
At the real end, the Abyssal Dwarfs control both lefts and my center. I control the opposing center, and the far right zones, with the near right being a wash. It’s a narrow 4:3 victory to the Abyssal Dwarfs!
Game Conclusions
We've talked about Renegade stuffs in years past. I still think it is a neat gimmick for an event, and even if I have not attended, I've enjoyed hobbying up a fancy character or two over the years to help with practice games. With access to Commands now, the Renegade GT should have a lot of fun interactions going on, with the potential for some unique and intriguing new builds. My opponent made a great pick with his Renegade, and used the Druid and her buffs very well. It was a good list, and piloted well.
For better or for worse, the positionally-focused Control was an ideal scenario for exploring a high Unit Strength playstyle. Unfortunately for me, I didn't actually play the scenario all that well, deploying poorly, and advancing out a bit too daringly! Being a little rusty while trying to explore a new playstyle, I had numerous misplays and miscalculations, particularly with respect to grinding combats and how long my units could last. I had hoped to fight Golems with Pikes; Halbs against Rats; and Shield Wall plus extras against the assorted Chariots. I got basically none of the desired match-ups for testing, due to my own deployment goofs. Still, despite it all, we managed too keep it close, and wow, what a darn story for the Iron Caster!
Testing Conclusions
- Ice Queen, BC, Heal, Amulet. I don't think it is a brave stance to say that Inspiring Spellcasters are the best Champions, and the Ice Queen is a solid Champion even among those ranks. I liked her, but the Banner would have probably been better than the Amulet here. I tried For Talanaar in Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 and never got it once!
- ASB, Shroud. I want to like this, and it works ok for the Undead, as they have Lifeleech and can boost it too, but Heal 3 is just not impactful enough, especially with such low-defense units.
- Hero, Bow. I did not deploy them well, and did not ever prioritize positioning them well, as it was more important to get the hordes and such where they needed to be. Not a bad idea, but not impactful. If I have the points, the Boomstick would be much better in this kind of role.
- Mounted Hero, Wand. I did not use him well either, completely flubbing on every height calculation. Not a bad idea, and likely one I'll default to again, but definitely not executed well here in any aspect.
- Crossbowmen Horde, Fire-Oil. The item is niche, and meta-dependent. I don't hate it, but it's not really making an impact most of the time around these parts. I still like the unit, but did not use it well. I needed to be standing still whenever possible.
- Halberdier Horde, Liliana’s Tear. These didn't get the match up against the Ratkin that I was hoping for, but still did ok overall, hacking down a troop of Golems and spreading out a little bit of extra damage before breaking. The absolute failure against the Gargoyles was disappointing, but lessons learned there, and should have probably thrown everything against them to try and guarantee that they broke. Being able to split attacks nowadays is neat, but I think it is impractical for mediocre units.
- Militia Mob Hordes. Honestly, these did ok, and have some potential for me going forward, but I need to utilize them a bit better, either them up with actual fighting units, flankers to assist, or keeping them back to abuse their high Nerve and high US.
- Shield Wall Regiments. They are an ok unit, but had a rough time here.
- Knight Troops. I wasn't making good use of their speed this game, and didn't use them particularly well. They had lots of clean potential charges though, so cavalry troops could be a thing to play around with in the future. There is potential, but these weren't used well.
- Pike Hordes. They surprised me. We got a little help with Insane Courage, but
- Chariots. They did ok, but weren't used particularly well. They definitely have a nice niche though, bypassing Phalanx, and seeing over Hills. With 12 attacks, these human ones are a bit rough, but can zone and such ok. Since we must take the Bows, they seem do well with a combined-arms kind of list. If I am taking Crossbowmen, a regiment or two of Chariots seems like a good call for me.
- Siege Artillery. I think my targeting priority was fine and had a logic to it, but maybe not ultimately correct? I think just forsaking the left and blasting away at the Ratkin and Blasksouls might have been better in the long run. They had lots and lots of missed shots, and up against Def6, Barkskin, and Heal, they had a rough time this game.
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