Kings of War 3rd Edition: #157 Abyssals vs Brothermark in Stockpile

Intro and Lists

Honestly, I had hoped to be a few games into 4th Edition in some form by now. Back in early October, Pathfinders were told to work with our local shops to schedule demo games for 4th Edition for anytime in December, with a small heads-up on the rules and army rosters heading out to us in early November to help us adjust and plan for the demos. Those target dates for advance knowledge have come and gone several times now, and any demos this first week of December were cancelled at the direction of Mantic, due to a lack of timely info to Pathfinders from Mantic themselves. It's frustrating, to say the least.

Fortunately, some of us are still gaming for relaxation and escapism no matter the edition, and Trevor was down for a quick weekend match recently. He fielded the following, looking to close out his adventures with his renowned Penitent-spam:

The list has everything we've come to expect, plus some surprising iterations still! Returning are the Penitents galore, with four regiments and a horde. Supporting them are two hordes of Ogre Palace Guard and one of Paladin on Foot. Surprisingly they took the Brew of Sharpness, which with just CS1 isn't the most amazing take, but it is fun to hit on 2's, and against my flimsy defense can potentially do lots of work. The Villein Bowmen return, as do triple Phoenixes while he can still field them all. Supporting all these units was the usual Exemplar Chaplain with his Fury Aura for the Penitents, and an Ogre Palace Guard Captain. Unusual picks here is a Bane-Chanting Priest, a War Wizard with Barkskin, and an Examplar Hunter on a horse with Duelist. The list has a lot of drops, a lot of Unit Strength, and a surprising amount of shooting, albeit from bows. 

With the Pathfinder advance info stalling out, I had mentally moved on from 3rd Edition a few times, but was happy to squeeze in another game all the same! The Varangur had a good showing from the Northwoods Melee, and the Kingdoms of Men had a strong result at the small meetup the following weekend. The Undead were definitely calling me, but I didn't have any lists with the recent additions, and I had rebased too many heroes to run any of the lists I had prepped, so alas, I will not be able to try out the Undead Werewolves at all. Additionally the Herd would have been a great choice as it sounds like 4th will not treat them kindly, but I could not figure out where I had left off with my Guardian Brute experimentation, so that left us with more Abyssal Guard-based MMU:

Around the time of their previous outing, I had done up a few other lists set to explore the last of my ideas with Abyssal Guard MMU. With the Guard rumored to be voided in 4th, letting them fight one last time seemed fitting, especially against the Brothermark! The Edition is closing, but for what it is worth, up to test and comment on is everything:

• Def5 Abyssal Guard. We are trying two regiments, and will try to have them operating together to get rally. If we can keep them from being multi-charged, I feel like they should be able to hold the line nicely for me.
• Succubi, with Lurker and Hammer. The Lurker has been a nice upgrade, and gives the Succubi a nice niche of deterrence. The Hammer has been underwhelming for me, and I’d like to try to get them the Brew of Strength, but this was an old list, and I still see the application of the item, I’ve just had a series of bad match-ups with it. We’ll see how the unit and item go for me this game.
• Flamebearers. They are neat, and can provide a nice vector for the Abyssals, but they are almost always outclassed in any actual shooting contest. Steady Aim is nice, but the 18” range is a liability for Round 1, and bow-fire hits them very hard. We’ll see how they do today.
• Gargoyles. A list needs chaff, so we’re taking two units, and seeing what they can get up to and die for.
• Hellhounds. The Hellhounds have been intriguing, but I need to explore them more still. The Hounds lack regeneration, but seem to reward good positioning and clever engagements via Ferocious Charge, so we’ll try to use them and their prodigious speed to pressure things.
• Tortured Souls. Lacking Nimble, they can be a bit hard to use, but are still strong fliers, and can be a great unit to instigate fights or threaten things. Fearless plus a Lifeleech 2 can make them very survivable, and they have been a lot of fun to field previously. We’ll hopefully instigate some fights, and see where we can go from there. 
• Imps. I had a few ideas for lists, playing around with troops or regiments of Hellhounds. The cheaper regiment here let me fit in a unit of Imps. The swarm doesn’t generally see the table very often these days, either in my lists or online more generally, but I think they should see more play as cheap chaff or objective players. We’ll see what they can get up to today.
• Chroneas. With no ability to self-heal like the similar Cavern Dweller, it needs far more support than I have been giving them historically. Still, I like them in theory, and we’ll give them another try here. Hopefully with instigating Tortured Souls or Abyssal Guard holding strong they can get some tasty charges and do work for the list.
• Abyssal Warlocks. The Warlocks have been a great multipurpose unit for the Abyssals. They come with Firebolts, so are perfectly fine to run stock as they can plink away here and there while Inspiring and playing the scenario. But they are spellcasters, and can get you a lot of value with smart spells. I think 1 spell is the way to go, but we are overloading them a bit here, with both Bane Chant and Drain Life. Drain Life seemed like a fun way to explore the grinding potential of the Abyssals, potentially pairing nicely with Regeneration. Bane Chant isn’t a great call here though, as the Succubi have the Hammer, but could still have some play with the Guard units. We’re having fun with a non-optimized list, and we’ll see what we can learn.
• Despoiler Champion. I want to like them, but they’ve been a little disappointing with their lower Nerve. Going up against shooting they have seemed quite easy to waver in the past, but small scoring heroes can be powerful, versatile and fun, and we’ll just have to see what damage he can do for us this game.

I've always liked this match-up for us, as the Brothermark have sworn to fight and contain the Forces of the Abyss in the lore, and this draws me into the setting a little more than many of the other match-ups in such a sprawling game. Going into the game, the drops and US slightly favored the Brothermark, and they had a shooting advantage, which was countered by a speed advantage from the Forces of the Abyss. It seemed like a pretty even game on paper, so with smart play, I could envision either of us winning this.

Table and Terrain

Trevor was kindly hosting us, and had used his Kings of War App to generate a table by the time I had arrived. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the buildings as Height 9 blocking terrain, the forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the pond and field as some Height 0 difficult terrain. The app also gave us an unusual scenario for us: Stockpile.

The scenario gives us a pile of three tokens in the center, and two piles of two that we place along the center line of the table, and placed before we know sides. From the Pile, a unit can only pick up one token a turn, so armies are incentivized to move up relatively quickly to contest things, let they run out of time to pick stuff up.

Quick overview of the table, with stacks of white tokens, all on the left.

The table had two buildings near the starting line, but if memory serves, one was close enough to the line to prevent a stack being placed there. I won the roll for placing, and hoping to prevent the other building from being really unfair, I dropped my stack near it, but towards the table edge. It probably still favored whoever got that side, but it would at least give the other player a fighting chance. My opponent measured and then surprised me by dropping his stack between the two, meaning we'd be ignoring a third of the table. With so many Penitent units, I thought for sure he'd be spreading out to leverage them.

I then won the roll for sides, and opted to switch from where we had been chatting, giving me the advantage of the building. I have been playing for narrow wins, but with such a compact board, felt like I needed to have a plan for each stack. After some thinking, I resolved to pressure the stack in the center of the board and just try to delay things there; use the Abyssal Guard for the middle stack; and try to press onward from the left, using the Imps to hold the tokens there while everything else moved on while fighting. 

View from the left.

Left-to-right for my opponent is the Penitent horde, with the Phoenix and Priest supporting. The building broke up the line. We then have two Penitent Regiments with Ogre Palace Guard and Exemplar Chaplain in support. Bowmen started in the woods, supported by the Phoenix. Near the woods is a Penitent regiment, with the second unit of Ogre Guards in reserve, with the Captain and War Wizard supervising efforts. The Paladins were late drops, and angled, with the third Phoenix in support, and another angled regiment of Penitents guarding the flanks. The mounted Exemplar Hunter was a very late drop, saved to counter some of my plans.

View of the center of the board.

I deployed my center first, but starting out on the left again we have a Chroneas, Despoiler Champion and Tortured Souls on the ling, with Imps and the other Chroneas in reserve, all ready to press hard for the left stack. Tortured Souls started in the field as I wanted to hold them back to pressure, and Gargoyles held back in reserve. The line continued with Abyssal Guard, a Warlock, and more Guard, then both Flamebearer regiments and the other Warlock. The Gargoyles started in reserve, but with their leader point in the woods. and the Succubi were out here as well, as I wanted to use the building to protect their flank while threatening the stack in the center of the field.

View from the empty right.

My last drop were the very speedy Hellhounds, way out on the far right. Unfortunately, they were conspicuously absent, and with a slight drop advantage, my opponent was able to leave the Examplar Hunter out here as a counter to them.

Thus deployed, we rolled for figuring out the turn order. My opponent won the roll, and chose to stick me with it, hoping to blank a turn of Flamebearer shooting and then open with a strong volley himself.

Top of Round 1: Abyssals

On the right, the Hellhounds move up as far as they can while avoiding the Examplar. In actuality, they can't move up very far. Still, we have a lot of space to work with, and with the plan being to delay, this is fine.

Threatening things from the right, as planned.

The Succubi take the woods, keeping their corner just back from the corner of the building and being safe. With Wild Charge and the Lurker for Pathfinder, they are already threatening the center token, but the front line of Penitents will make this hard to engage, given they have the Hammer of Measured Force. We'll want to be patient and wait and hope for a better target, but as with the Hounds, the goal is to pressure and threaten things out here, so waiting a bit is ok.

For reasons I don't comprehend, I move both of my Flamebearers and accompanying Warlock all up two inches. They definitely should have stayed put.

Some movement in the center. Not all of it wise.

The Guard and accompanying Warlock move up a few inches, hiding behind the hills for now. With a bunch of terrain gumming up the Brothermark, I think we can push slowly here.

Pushing hard against the weak wing of the Brothermark line.

On the left, I think we can bully the Penitent horde. It's just a matter of if we can contain the Phoenix or not, as it hopping the lines to grab tokens and disrupt things is definitely a possibility. Everything moves up out here. The Tortured Souls stay out of charge range of the Penitents, and will pick up a token. The Champion holds back slightly, but both monsters will moves up at the double. Running both Chroneas monsters out here together is also not typically advisable, but the hope is to peal the one lagging behind off to threaten the center soon, as the other unit of Tortured Souls is doing, having left the crop field.

The Imps move up, but keep some distance between them and the advancing line.

Bottom of Round 1: Brothermark

On the left, the Horde of Penitents moves up nearly at the double, pausing just slightly to keep both units of Tortured Souls in front arc. The Priest tucking up behind them, also keeping everything in front arc, but with no space to land. The Phoenix here flies up, also keeping everything in front arc while denying landing space. 

The Penitent horde rushes ahead.

I made a pretty big error moving the Imps up. The Phoenix could spray into them, but thankfully this didn't occur to my opponent, and instead the bird sprays into the Tortured Souls with the token. Four damage lands, but the Fearless phantasms hold.

The Penitent regiments brave the obstacles, slowly making their way forward. 

Movement in the center.

The Phoenix flaps ahead to get into range to spray into the weak Flamebearers. It lands 5 damage, and since the Flamebearers moved up, the Bowmen are able to hold and loose and land 4 damage, taking them to 9 damage. The Flamebearers are Inspired and Rallied, and waver. 

The Brothermark zone out the Hellhounds.

Coming from the right, the rest of the Brothermark starts trudging through terrain as well. A Barkskin lands 3 into the leading Penitent regiment, who could be reached with a good Wild Charge from the Succubi. 

The Penitents change facing. Unfortunately for me, I believe the regiment is just out of range of the Hounds, as that angle should let the Hounds connect without touching the pond. Alas. Wary of the Hounds just running out of arc of the Penitents and getting into the backfield, the Exemplar Hunter backs way up to zone out the corner.

Top of Round 2: Abyssals

Out on the right, the Hellhounds continue to dance and delay. With no charges this turn, they move up again, staying just out of the Exemplar Hunter’s range. Now they are threatening quite a bit, and should reach near the far edge of the pond.

Playing with angles, and delaying, as-planned.

The Succubi have a charge into the Penitents, but with the Hammer this is a bad charge, and with Barkskin 3 on the crazies, things are even worse. The Succubi hold. 

The wounded Flamebearers and their supervising Warlock back up a bit, getting back behind the line. Backing up isn’t much, but will necessitate something moving out to try and pick them up next round. The Flamebearers regenerate just 2, getting down to 7 damage. I spaced and should not have moved them up. With the shooting disadvantage, I need to squeeze out some value with them. Taking some opposing shots is *a* use, but I am not using them as well as I could be. Hopefully we can back up, regenerate, and tag-team this for a few turns.

Maneuvering in the center again.

Firebolts from the other Flamebearer and other Warlock go into the central Phoenix, taking them to 6. The Guard units inch ahead, with one getting its leader point onto the hill. The Gargoyles here inch ahead as well.

My opponent did a lot of measuring last turn, and on the left, I see a risky opportunity. The inured unit of tortured Souls holding a tokens can spy the Penitent regiment, and are actually in their flank. While the building would prevent a ground unit from hitting, the Souls are fliers, and can align with the back half of the unit’s flank facing. It’s risky, but I drop the token and take the charge. A respectable 10 damage lands (better than expected), but Inspired and Rallied by the Exemplar Chaplain, I do not pick the unit up. If I had, any sidestep would have gotten them out of arc of the Ogres, and this seemed like a risk worth taking.

A quadruple charge while we still can!

The other quartet of Abyssals units charge the Penitent horde, with the lagging Tortured Souls just barely having them in arc, as we discovered from my opponent's measuring. Cloak of Death triggers, but only once. The Despoiler Champion leads by example landing all 5 possible damage from his attacks. Each Chroneas lands 6, and the Tortured Souls flub hard contributing just 1. Still, it’s a lot of damage, and we are able to pop the horde of crazies on the first attempt

Reforms from the Abyssals.

For reforms, the Despoiler Champion is Nimble, and so Overruns, hoping to chase away the Phoenix. The Blue Chroneas pivots slightly, lining up to run past the building next turn. The Green Chroneas pivots 90 degrees, looking to push towards the center stack. The Tortured Souls try to back up onto the tokens, but only roll 1 inch, and continue to disappoint me.

The Imps back up. They are safe from a charge from the Phoenix, but still in danger. Instead of moving up, I think the Gargoyles should have pivoted to face over here to better contain the bird.

Bottom of Round 2: Brothermark

On the left, it turns out I am being slightly too critical of myself. Pivoting the Gargoyles would still have been a good call, but the Phoenix is in a rough spot. It needs to move more than its Speed to hop over my line and maintain the inch buffer, so it cannot threaten the Imps with shooting. With the Despoiler Champion up in its business it also can’t Nimble away. The Phoenix eventually flies ahead, nearly at the double, but getting up far enough to get out of arc of the Gargoyles. The Priest from over here runs away fast, dodging behind the building and out of sight of the Abyssals.

The Phoenix mitigates things as best it can. The titan can take some Imps, right?

Nearby, the Penitents utilize the Fury Aura from the Chaplain to counter charge the brazen Tortured Souls, and are joined with a hindered charge from the Ogres. The Souls has Lifeleeched from 4 down to 2, but hindered, the Ogres flub it, landing 3 damage. The Penitents however roll out of their minds, landing 7 damage, and the phantasms are bested. The Ogres sidestep towards my opponents side of the board, and the Penitents change facing, and are out of arc of the other unit of Tortured Souls, so I won’t be able to try this again.  

More shooting from the Brothermark.

With my maimed Flamebearers retreating, the Bowmen feel forced to move up. The Phoenix regenerates 3 damage, and then lands a hot 7 against the wavering unit of Abyssals, taking them to 14. They have great chances to rout, and will rout, and the Bowmen will get to split fire to land 3 into the other unit of Flamebearers. 

The right of the Brothermark is still hesitant. Leading the way some Penitents inch ahead, with Ogres making their way through the woods behind them. The Paladins also inch ahead, but the Succubi and Hellhounds are complicating things for my opponent out here. Good!

Measuring and headaches for the Brothermark on the right.

The Penitents out on the right move at the double, past the pond, but the Hounds still have an avenue into the center between them and the building. And a (hindered) flank into the Paladins. Moving the mighty Exemplar Hunter into the gap doesn’t help anything, as the Hounds can nimble charge to the right to still get stuff done. 

Shooting from the Brothermark, but the Hounds still have plenty of charges.

Ultimately, the Penitents still move up, pressuring the Hounds. The Exemplar gets out of arc, but stays back in his corner, ready to react. The Paladins moved up, with an Ogre Captain in front, and a Phoenix protecting their flank against the Hounds. The War Wizard attempts to Barkskin the Phoenix, getting 1, and the Phoenix will spray 3 into the Hounds, but they’ll hold.

Top of Round 3: Abyssals

The Hellhounds definitely do not lack for options! Ultimately, they go into the flank of the Penitents near the center stack. With a unit only able to pick up one token a turn, my plan at this point is to try and keep him off the stack in the center as long as possible. It’s overkill, but the Hounds should gum things up now, with the Succubi able to continue doing so in the next turn. The Hounds will savage the Penitents, and then reform.

Positioning from the Abyssals.

The Succubi hold. They have a charge into the Paladins, but that seems wasteful; a charge into the Ogre Captain would be ok but would gum up the Hounds; and a charge into the Penitents would be even more overkill that the flanking Hounds. If the Succubi charge, they are getting picked up next turn. With the goal being to delay and keep my opponent off the stack, we are going to try and trickle in these units and slow him down.

Reforms, with a Phoenix shot off and and some Penitents ravaged.

The Warlock inches up again, and Sprays into the injured Phoenix. The Flamebearers regenerate 1 and do the same. The other warlock joins in the fun as well. A total of 9 damage lands, and on 12, we are able to pick the Phoenix up.

Abyssal Guard take the hill, and the other unit move and pivot, nearing the central 2-stack.

Gargoyles make a hindered charge into the severely injured Penitents, landing atop the obstacles. The Green Chroneas moves ahead a the double to threaten the center, and is able to bring Cloak of Death to both Penitent units and the Chaplain. The Gargoyles land 2, and are able to pick the Penitents up and then reform to threaten the center and the Bowmen.

Movement out on the left. The Imps charge!

The blue Chroneas moves ahead, but stays safe from the Ogre Guard, using the building to block line of sight.

The remaining Tortured Souls change facing, landing atop the dropped token and the stack, and will pick both tokens up.

The Imps charge the Phoenix, and will land a vicious 4 damage to the bird. The Despoiler Champion will about-face and run back to assist the Imps. 

With the Tortured Souls now holding 2 tokens, the Abyssals take the lead again.

Bottom of Round 3: Brothermark

On the left, the Phoenix counter charges the Imps, landing 2 damage. They are uninspired, but thankfully hold strong against the fiery titan!

The blue Chroneas played it safe, but is also not threatening a charge next turn, allowing the Ogres to safely reform for now. 

The Gargoyles unexpectedly fall to the Chaplain's strikes.

The Priest continues fleeing, and Chaplain makes a hindered charge into the Gargoyles, lands 2, and then spikes the check to rout them, which is unfortunate for me. 

The Bowmen land a hot 9 damage into the remaining Flamebearers, with the Phoenix contributing another hot 5 damage, and the final unit of Abyssal shooters will be picked up.

Hot dice rout the other Flamebearers, and protect the Ogre Captain.

The Ogres in the woods shuffle, and the Paladins and Ogre Captain charge in and dispatch the Hounds, with the Captain getting a ridiculous 5 successes from Barkskin.

Out on the right, the Penitent regiment and Exemplar Hunter turn in, moving towards the center of the battlefield.

Top of Round 4: Abyssals

On the right, the plan is still to keep him off the stack as long as possible. The Succubi move back their full amount, denying the Captain a charge. The Warlock does likewise, but also flings bolts into the Penitents on the far right. We land 3 damage, and a hot check here will rout the uninspired rabble.

Delaying, still. We really don't want to fight the Captain right now.

The Gargoyles have multiple charges, but I think it’s best to flap up and try to block, keeping units off the tall stack in the middle of the battlefield still.

Both regiments of Abyssal Guard charge into the Penitents ahead of them. One is coming off the hill, and the other is hindered. The Warlock nearby Bane Chants the hindered unit, while moving up to grab a token for himself, and extending the lead to 3-0.

Charges from the Abyssals.

Cloak of Death hit the Penitents, and each unit of Guard lands 6 damage, and we’ll pick the unit up. One unit overruns, getting into the face of the Ogres. Measuring stuff, I’ve misplayed the Gargoyles, and we determine that if the Bowmen back up, the Ogres should be able to pivot around and make a charge into the Guard, so the other unit of Abyssal Guard is forced to change facing. I debated just charging the Ogres with the Gargoyles and making that block easier on myself, and in retrospect, it appears I should have done just that!

Reforms from the Abyssals.

Out on the left, the blue Chroneas moves and pivots around the building to threaten the Ogres and the backfield. I get a little greedy, and the green Chroneas charges the Chaplain, looking to remove Inspiring out here, though I forget the Priest is nearby as well. Still, Cloak of Death triggers on a handful of units. We do rout the Chaplain, and with the Ogres looking like they are in the flank of the Chroneas, sidestep to get them into front arc.

On 14 damage, the Phoenix is found to be insane.

On the far left, the Imps continue on against the Phoenix, and are joined by the Despoiler Champion attacking the bird in the rear. I accidentally only roll 10 attacks for the Champion, but we will take it up to 14 damage, and factoring in Brutal from the Champion the uninspired bird will need Insane Courage to stick around … and gets it.

Bottom of Round 4: Brothermark

The insane Phoenix fights back, landing 1 into the Imps, but fails to rout them again. The bird is stuck, but the insane hold has greatly delayed these units.

Some charges on the left.

The Bowmen back up, allowing each Ogre Guard horde to make hindered charges into each unit of Abyssal Guard. I am short on Inspiring, but with hindered charges and the Guard rallying each other, I think the math is on my side to hold.

Charges in the center.

Charging in front of the Bowmen, the first unit of Ogres lands a hot 10 damage from their hindered charge, and then removes them with a good check. The second unit of Ogres gets a Bane Chant from the nearby Priest and a long-range Barkskin from the War Wizard in the woods. They’ll also land a hot 9 damage, and with another nice Nerve check, will remove the second regiment as well. 

It’s a disaster, and both Ogres will reform to face the pair of Chroneases, and without other units to assist, I don’t think the monsters have it in them to fight this. 

Paladins make a hindered charge into the Gargoyles, and we agree that the Ogre Captain should be able to nimble skirt around the combat to pick up a token, making this 3-1.

Three routs and a waver. Not bad from the Brothermark!

The Exemplar Hunter sees an opening, and can just barely spy the Succubi’s corner around the building. It’s hindered and Ensnared, but he charges in, lands 3 damage, and wavers the unit with a  hot check as well. It is a very good turn for the Brothermark!

Top of Round 5: Abyssals

My opponent was able to exploit some openings, and with hot dice, is able to momentously shift the trajectory of the game. I’m still technically up, but I know I won’t be for long. I need to get some luck  of my own and keep trying to delay things to preserve my lead. 

The Succubi furiously counter charge the Exemplar, so at lease we have that going for me. The Warlock attempts a Drain life to assist, but unfortunately lands no damage. Still, the Succubi will land a strong 10 damage and pick him up, and then overrun, and are back on duty to threaten the stack in the center of the field.

The Succubi break through, with no help from the Warlock.

It sucks, but delaying is still the plan. Even with both monsters fighting together I don't think I can break either Ogre unit, and more importantly, I can't leave either unengaged. So each Chroneas solo-charges a horde of Ogre Palace Guards.  The extra attacks are both low, and the dice mediocre. Each deals 3-4 damage, and then the Ogres Iron Resolve. In retrospect, ending an inch away and forcing hindered charges might have been the better call, but if this is the last game of 3rd I felt like the monsters should be fighting! 

The Warlock holding the token is safe from the Ogre Captain, even if he drops his token, and is able to move up to assist the Chroneas fights, brining Inspiration to just the green one, and attempting a Drain Life into the blue’s fight, but this spell fizzes with no hits.

The Tortured Souls are slowed to Speed 5, and move up, but are stopped by the obstacle. I was hoping to grab another token with them, as I didn't want to leave it open with the Phoenix around. However with US2, they should be at their holding limit already. I don't like this move from me and I think I should have stayed put.

Reforms for the Abyssals.

On the second try, the Despoiler Champ and Imps are able to remove the insane Phoenix, and turn to face the rest of the battle, but it’s feeling like a little too late.

Bottom of Round 5: Brothermark

The Bowmen slide down to take very penalized shots into my Tortured Souls, landing 1 damage. The Phoenix flies up, grabbing a token while shooting in as well, and should take them up to 3 damage.

The Ogres each counter charge their Chroneas. Bane chant is attempted but fizzles. The Ogres fighting the blue-flamed monster land 10 damage and will rout them. My opponent did not expect this, and the Bowmen complicate reforms, and the Ogres are forced to overrun.

The Ogre Guards claim another unit of Abyssals.

The other horde of Ogres lands a more reasonable 7 damage into the green-flamed monster, and it basely holds, and is still in fighting form thanks to Fearless.

The Paladins dare a charge from the Succubi.

The Paladins get a Barkskin 2, and move to land atop the stack in the middle of the board. They pick up a token from it, making this a tie game at 3-3, with things favoring the Brothermark now.

Top of Round 6: Abyssals

I’ve lost my lead and most of my army. The game is coming to an end and the pressure is on!

The Succubi don’t have great chances, but will charge out into the Paladins. The Warlock Nearby is able to land 3 damage from Drain Life to heal the ladies, and the other Warlock, holding a token, will also make his way over, landing 2 from his Drain life, choosing the heal the Tortured Souls with the tokens from 3 down to 1. The Succubi flub it, and the Paladins will Iron Resolve down to 7 by the end of the turn. I am not liking my odds here.

The Abyssals try and fight.

The green Chroneas fights on against the Ogres, but only lands 3 damage including Cloak of Death, and the output is mitigated by Iron Resolve. The Ogres end my turn on just 6 damage, greatly winning the damage race against my monster. Still, they will be occupied next turn, which was the hope. Neither Ogre horde will be able to fight for tokens in Round 6.

Moving the aforementioned Tortured Souls up last turn screws things up a bit for me this turn as neither the Despoiler Champion nor the Imps have the inches to get up and help. Had the Souls not moved last turn, they could have handed off the tokens this turn. 

I am worried as my main token-holder is in combat. The Tortured Souls charge the Phoenix, landing 4 damage and taking it up to 6, but I am out of steam.

Bottom of Round 6: Brothermark

On the left, the wayward Ogres on the obstacle turn and advance, eager for more bloodshed in a potential Round 7. 

Their brethren thump the Chroneas again, and will pick it up on the second attempt, and will turn to face things as well.

The Phoenix regenerates a hot 5 damage, going from 5 down to 1. It will counter-charge the Tortured Souls, and the Ogre Captain will join in. A total of 4 damage lands, but the fearless phantasms hold on.

End of Round 6.

The Paladins tear into the Succubi, with Ensnare and the Brew of Sharpness cancelling one another out. A strong 12 damage lands, and the ladies are swiftly cut down. The Paladins pick up the last token from the stack in the midfield, and the Brothermark pull into the lead in the bottom of Round 6, with the score being 4-3 in favor of the crusaders.

We do not roll up a Round 7.

It a victory for the Brothermark!

Game Conclusions

As-always, it was a great time and a fun match-up. Adding to the positives, this game was also very close! I feel like I had a good strategy overall, but failed at a few points with my execution. My opponent had a few goofs as well, but was able to really seize on a few openings in Round 4, and paired with hot dice, broke the back of my army with just enough time and momentum to take the win. What a great note to end on for the Penitents and the Brothermark!

Testing Conclusions

• Def5 Abyssal Guard. Writing the report, the math should have been on their side, I just got very unlucky that round with two very hot combats and two good Nerve checks against the uninspired units. We kept them to just solo charges, but perhaps they can’t quite actually cut it as front-line anvils. Alas, they are rumored to be disappearing, so this unlucky stand will have to be it for them for now. We'll see what the future holds for the models and units.
• Succubi, with Lurker and Hammer. The Hammer was largely an impediment here again for me, and not the budget Brew I had hoped for. They did a fine job at deterrence for a few rounds, but we were asking a bit much of them this game. The Lurker has been amazing for them, but is allegedly going away, and allegedly Pathfinder no longer applies to charges, so we’ll see how the unit does in the new edition… Ensnare and Stealthy are nice, but Def3 and no Regeneration makes them rather flimsy as a main-line unit. I think I’d need to flood the field if I want to run Succubi again.
• Flamebearers. With a shooting deficiency, and themselves ripe targets for enemy shooting, I did not use them well. Spacing out and moving them up was not the play in Round 1, and while I was able to shoot down a Phoenix, these units were not used as well as they could have been. 
• Gargoyles. They were used decently, though I should have charged the Ogres to tie them up and make that cleaner. Lesson learned.
• Hellhounds. The unit is just ok. Ferocious Charge is a nice buff, but can be easy to mess with (and is allegedly going away too). It’s definitely an expensive glass-hammer, and like the Succubi, would benefit from taking more units and flooding the field. 
• Tortured Souls. Having Fly but lacking Nimble, it is still a hard unit to use well, but they did ok here. Had the risky flank charge paid off I would have been in a great position to disrupt the middle, but it did not. The other did fine holding tokens and helping out, so I can't complain. 
• Imps. These were not used particularly well, and were exposed to a lot of unnecessary danger early on. Thankfully, targeting them was not a priority, and they survived. Unfortunately, they were delayed, and couldn’t really contribute to the scenario like I had hoped. Having just US1, their utility in scenario play is also more limited than I was thinking, as they can only hold one token. I still think they are under-utilized though. I think the slots are going to be a little too competitive to fit them in but who knows, and maybe we’ll see a resurgence of them in 4th depending on keywords or points or abilities.
• Chroneas. I have liked the monster previously, and they occasionally surprised me with solid results. Cloak of Death got some decent work in, but it was not enough, and this was not a good game for them with both Guard units falling. I didn't get to use Temporal Ruptures at all, which is a big bummer. I think I needed more units instead of the monsters.
• Abyssal Warlocks. Despite liking Drain Life in theory, it has never really performed as well as I’d hope, or even statistically expected for me, even when doubling up on a target like this. They continue to be a good unit, but I think one spell is the most I should be taking on them.
• Despoiler Champion. Alas, he was not able to contribute for the scenario, but he actually had a good time in his combats, dealing his full 5 damage to the Penitent horde, then getting two rear charges into the insane Phoenix. Not the best showing overall due to being held up and delayed by the insane Phoenix, but still, not a terrible showing with regards to fights. When messing around we’ll take the wins and upsides where ever we can!

This was a delightful way to take another stab at closing the book on 3rd Edition. A big thank you to Trevor for hosting and for fitting this in. Hopefully we’ll have some 4th Edition games to share soon!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #156 Varangur vs Kingdoms of Men in Control

Intro and Lists

We have a second secret battle report coming to light! Rob wanted some secret prep for a one day speed tournament attached to the Renegade GT in late November. The event rewards wins and time left on your clock, and a swift, elite meta has evolved around it. Rob was trying to attack the meta, taking the Kingdoms of Men:

The idea is that his shooting should outrange any hammer, giving him at least one volley of withering rifle-fire along with the Ballista and maybe even the Wizard too. The Hero and Chariots around to interdict and buy time for the shooting. And expecting monsters and large infantry / cavalry, the Giant with Slayer would smash anything that got close. Minimizing the movement and melee phases should save precious clock time, and hopefully this would all be enough for him to come out ahead in the event.

Our first game was me throwing something together on the spot with the models I had. The second game here was a little more thought out from me, though getting in the game when we did was unexpected and I needed to make one model substitution. I brought the Varangur, and up to test was:

• Draugr. They are a great unit, but against so much shooting, they will not last long, and probably won't even be threatening enough to draw a round of fire away from the rest of the list. We're taking them for the unlock, and to play the scenario, whatever it may be.
• Fallen. I like the Fallen, though haven't gotten to use them very much. I felt like a Speed 8 Nimble unit with Iron Resolve and Pathfinder would be good at pressuring the gunline, so we're taking them for a spin, and giving them the Staying stone to increase the odds of Iron Resolve coming into play.
• Tundra Wolves. I also like Tundra Wolves, and wanted to explore them. Again, we have a speedy unit with Pathfinder, and hoped I could bring some good Pressure. 
• Snow Foxes. I felt like the list needed chaff, so brought one unit of trusty Snow Foxes.
• Cavern Dweller. When I've faced them, if they are supported at all, I often feel like I have one chance at picking them up, or Lifeleech 3 starts contributing too much and they start running away with the game. I think Monsters can dominate small games, and wanted to bring the Cavern Dweller to test that out. 
• Thegn. The Varangur can take some nice scoring heroes, but the points means I cannot take any multiples. So we have a few singletons. We'll try to get the Thegn up front, making use of his longer charge range and Strider. Getting in this game was unexpected, so the Thegn is the counts-as Frostfang model with the raised sword.
• Snow Troll Prime. We'll take a Prime as well, and see what they can tank for us. The Prime will have double axes.
• Kruufnir. We had the points, so we'll give Kruufnir an outing as well, and see if we can't get him rampaging into some of the Riflemen.

Astute readers might notice that this list is very similar to my Northwoods Melee list. I was trying to build for that event and explore some units like the Wolves and Fallen, but doing my own secret testing and trying not to tip my hand to anyone attending the event. I had hoped to squeeze this game in during October, with some time to think on it, but my weekends filled up, and this game was played the night before the Northwoods Melee, after I had driven over to Milwaukee to help set up.

Table and Terrain

In preparation of the Northwoods Melee, we had set up all the tables. But since the speed tournament will be played on a square, 4 foot area, we randomized and then voided a chunk of it. We'll be ignoring the left-most section, and Rob blocks it off with game aids. We opt to try 20 minutes on the clock this time, getting in some practice for Game 2's time limit.

We got Control for the scenario, and went with it. On the smaller table, we'll have four 2'x2' zones, each worth 1 point, making it a little easier to tie.

Overview of the table. We're playing on Rob's farm table.

I lose the roll for sides, and after consideration, Rob stays where he's at. This is an actual choice and not just being lazy.

With a nice lane on the right, I was curious to see if he would go with his predetermined plan for deployment, with the Giant flanked by the two rifle hordes, and he did. Left to right for the Kindgoms of Men we have the Riflemen on the hill with the hero on Pegasus behind, Giant, and more Riflemen, with the ASB near as well. The Alchemist Curse Wizard on Pegasus hit behind the building. The Chariot Legion sat angled to see past the building, and the lone Ballista held down the firing lane.

Deployment.

Again, I had been hoping to pull double-duty here, helping Rob practice while getting in some secret practice of my own for the Northwoods Melee. It was going to be a weird list without any real battle line units, so I wanted to take the opportunity here to try and noodle out my general deployment for the list. 

Not being Nimble, I think I generally wanted the Cavern Dweller central, and to play a bit of a refused flank. Hopefully I could support the Dweller long enough for it to start feasting well, and then start pressuring from odd angles.

For the Varangur, I hiding behind terrain to minimize that first round of shooting. On the line we have the Cavern Dweller and Kruufnir, with Tundra Wolves hiding behind the woods as best they could, and Draugr back here as well. The idea will be to just leave the Draugr here for an easy point, while the rest of the list tries to brawl.

On the right, and we can't quite fit it all through the gap, so we have a stack of characters with the Thegn (sword) and Snow Troll (axes), and then Fallen with the Snow Foxes behind, to protect them from shooting. We do not want them wavering and holding things up, so we'll protect them until it is time for them to become a speedbump.

I win the roll for sides. It is tempting to make the humans go first and have a bad round of shooting, but ultimately I decide that I probably need to be aggressive, and grab what early ground I can. The Varangur will seize the initiative.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

The Cavern Dweller has Strider, but not Pathfinder. It pivots and moves it's 6" up, staying in the woods to get the cover bonus. Kruufnir tentatively approaches, keeping the Dweller Inspired. 

The Wolves just peak into the woods as well. I won't have charges, but they should actually be safe from the rifles, unless the shooters move. I was trying to give my opponent bad choices between a regenerating Kruufnir, a stealthy Cavern Dweller, and the Wolves.

The Varangur move up, but slow play the middle.

The Draugr sidestep, using the woods to hide from shooting. We'll try to keep them here all game if we can to play the scenario.

On the right, the Foxes zip ahead to block and protect the Fallen from the Chariots. The Thegn pulls up alongside the Fallen, with the Snow Troll proxy a bit behind the Thegn. The Chariots should have a possible charge into the Thegn, but will need to use their Boots, and will be giving up a flank to the Fallen if they don't remove my character. 

Bottom of Round 1: Kingdoms of Men

The Ballista shoots into the Fallen, but lands no damage. The Chariots pivot and flee, and the Wizard will eventually come out from behind the building.

M-dmovement from the Kingdoms of Men. The Wizard will move to the left of the building.

The Riflemen move out, supported by the Giant, but take penalties for moving, and fail to damage anything. The Hero on Pegasus hides behind the hill.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

The Varangur try to keep the pressure on. The Snow Foxes can't charge this turn, but run ahead to threaten the Ballista next turn. The Thegn with the sword hops ahead as well, peering behind the building to pressure the Chariots and encourage them to flee more. 

The Fallen enter the woods, trying to use the terrain to their advantage, and the counts-as Snow Troll behind them will hang back and zone out the flier a bit.

Movement for the Varangur.

The Cavern Dweller moves up, threatening a charge next turn, with Kruufnir supporting.

The Tundra Wolves also move ahead to threaten charges from the woods, meaning all my important units (Wolves, Dweller and Fallen) are threatening multiple charges next turn. That fees good for pressure.

The Draugr hold, playing the scenario and holding this zone.

Bottom of Round 2: Kingdoms of Men

The Chariots continue to flee / reposition, getting past the building and out of line of sight of the pursuing Thegn. The Wizard flaps around the building, and shooting is exceptionally hot this turn, with . Alchemist Curse landing 6 damage onto the Thegn, and the rest going into the Cavern Dweller, taking him up to 16 damage, and routing the monster.

The Cavern Dweller is gunned down.

The Hero on Pegasus is able to fly over, and get out of arc of the Tundra Wolves. I had honestly mixed up the fliers, thinking the Wizard was on the left. They are clearly modeled, I just goofed. With just 3 attacks from him, this isn't the biggest deal, but it is good positioning and pressure from him.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

I'm starting to crumble a little bit. I was hoping for more from the Cavern Dweller. The Snow Foxes will charge the Ballista and barely pick it up, landing the expected 6 damage but getting a good Nerve check.

The Thegn will hide behind the building now, wounded, but continuing to threaten things. The Fallen use the building to block. The Chariots should be in the flank, but not be able to align. Kruufnir repositions to tank. 

Positioning for the Kingdoms of Men.

The other Troll enters the woods. He's threatening the Wizard, and continuing to try and support as best he can.

The Wolves have charges, but nothing great. Their best charge is into the far Riflemen, but the Giant is there. Currently the Giant has no charges, so I opt to just reposition slightly. No reason to bring the Giant into the mix just yet.

The Draugr pivot, still using the trees to block.

Bottom of Round 3: Kingdoms of Men

The reposition of the Wolves is not great, as I put a majority of their base outside the woods. One of the hordes of Rifles hits them for 6 damage, but they do hold. The other Horde has been shooting through the weird but charming gap in the obstacles, but has no shots this turn.

The Hero on Pegasus flaps to interdict, and the Wizard on Pegasus flaps behind my lines to cast Alchemist Curse on the Snow Troll Prime hiding in the woods, dealing 1 damage.

Positioning for the Kingdoms of men.

The Chariots charge Kruufnir. I don't remember if my opponent uses the Boots. I would. With so many units surrounding them, this is probably going to be their only instigating charge. They'll deal 4 damage, and the legendary Troll will hold.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

The Snow Foxes go and hide behind the building, while the Thegn is able to get out of arc of the Giant to pressure things.

Overkill into the Chariots.

Kruufnir will counter-charge the chariots, joined with a hindered charge from the Snow Troll Prime, and a clean charge in the flank by the Pathfinding Fallen.

In a snap decision, we discuss, and the Wolves should be able to Nimble charge around the Hero, pivoting one to get around, moving a big ahead, and then pivoting again so they can hit the other flank of the Chariots. 

In retrospect, I do not like this decision - it is overkill, and the Chariots are devastated before I can roll for the Wolves. I would have been better off charging the Hero and trying to bully him a bit. He's uninspired, and looking at expected damage, I should be able to waver him at least.

Reforms from the Varangur.

The Giant is not Nimble, so will be a little gummed up next turn. The Snow Troll overruns, and the Fallen and Wolves change Facing. Kruufnir holds, as I want to baby him a bit, and hope that he can regenerate something next turn, as he did nothing this turn.

In my backfield, the Draugr change facing to spy the Wizard, though they cannot reach him. It just seems sensible to not give him an open flank. 

Bottom of Round 4: Kingdoms of Men

The Kingdoms of Men charge out! The Giant hits the Snow Troll Prime while some Riflemen make a hindered charge into the Fallen. Looking at the arrangements, I believe I had the proxy Troll slightly ahead, so the Riflemen are crammed over, allowing the Giant to sneak in his charge. I could have been a jerk, or adjusted things slightly better to prevent this, but the pressure is on with the time contraint, and fights are fun. Bring it on!

Positioning from the Kingdoms of Men.

The Riflemen shoot into the Tundra Wolves again, landing a hot 10 damage, and will pick them up. The Wizard will land 3 more damage onto Kruufnir with Alchemist Curse, and the Troll barely holds, and is surprisingly unbothered.

The Wolves break, but everything else holds firm.

The Giant rolls poorly overall, hitting the Snow Troll Prime for just 4 damage, and the Troll holds firm.

The Riflemen are hindered, and deal no damage to the Fallen.

Top of Round 5: Varangur

We got Riflemen to charge, so I feel like we're doing ok! The Fallen counter-charge the Riflemen, landing 9 damage, but they are a horde of dudes, and hold on.

Positioning for the Varangur.

The Thegn makes his way up a bit, threatening rear charges into the Giant and a flank charge into the Riflemen. Kruufnir hops ahead, regenerating a few damage to end at 5, and is pressuring the Riflemen as well. I am playing quickly and just trying to pressure and make him do math

For the scenario, the Snow Foxes continue to cower behind the building, and the Draugr continue to hide in my deployment zone.

Bottom of Round 5: Kingdoms of Men

I miss a picture. The Riflemen counter-charge the Fallen, and will land 1 damage, which will be immediately Iron-Resolved back. I will admit, that does feel great, and it is nice to be on the other side of that for once!

The Giant thumps into the Snow Troll Prime again, taking him up to 7 damage, but the Prime holds on bravely.

The maximum pressure approach doesn't work on my opponent. Measuring, the Thegn is in range of the Hero, the Thegn is charged. Just 1 damage makes it through though, but the Thegn wavers.

The Rifles roll hot again into Kruufnir, and with Alchemist Curse adding a few as well, the legendary Troll will need Insane Courage to stay, and doesn't get it. 

Top of Round 6: Varangur

If memory serves, Rob learned after our initial practice game that the tournament doesn't actually roll for Round 7, so this is it.

The Fallen fight and best the Riflemen. I don't think they do anything, given this is the last turn.

Final positioning for the Varangur.

The Thegn does nothing, and not knowing we were only playing to Round 6, the Foxes have been a little too patient. The hope was to leave them here, and throw the Fallen into my opponent's left corner in a possible Round 7. Oh well.

The Snow Troll Prime bravely fights the Giant. We've taken far more than we've dealt, but are still holding on.

Bottom of Round 6: Kingdoms of Men

The Rifles move and shoot into the Fallen, but land no damage. I believe the Fallen were getting a cover benefit, making this really hard on the shooters.

Looking to save time on the clock, the Hero doesn't roll attacks against the Thegn.

Final positioning for the Kingdoms of Men.

The Giant does thump 4 more damage into the Snow Troll Prime to bring him to 10 damage, but again, the Snow Troll Prime is a glutton for punishment.

The Wizard flies over into my left corner to score it for the humans. The Riflemen, Hero, and Giant all score his left corner. Fallen and Foxes hold my opponent's right, and Draugr hold my right.

With a hard cap after Round 6, it is a tie game!

Game Conclusions

Against Rob, I am always happy with a tie. And heck, if the speed tournament only goes to Round 6, then the previous practice game for this would have also been a tie! Great news for me, especially considering all my misplays in both games, but less so for him. I still think his approach has merit though. It’s a small event, and the list is sure to catch someone off guard, and it doesn’t take much for all of that shooting to start doing work against an elite list.

This game was also quite helpful for me. Still coming away with a tie despite losing the Cavern Dweller before it could contribute anything felt great. I didn’t have much time to really reflect on my tactics in detail, but this game validated my list and general approach for the Northwoods Melee coming up the next day, and was a big confidence boost.

Testing Conclusions

• Draugr. They hid and simply played the scenario. I might have been able to eek a little more value out of them moving them up and zoning out and threatening the Wizard and such, but these already did great this game, doing just what I needed them to do.
• Fallen. They are relatively quick and relatively durable, and can apply some great pressure with smart positioning. They were used well enough this game, and were certainly a fun unit to have around! 
• Tundra Wolves. I should have been more mindful with them, and was pressuring when I should be cautious, and cautious when I should have been pressuring harder. They were definitely not used well here, but they were definitely fun to use! I can see squeezing them into more lists, as without shooting to scare them away they can really get into nasty positions thanks to Nimble and their good speed.
• Snow Foxes. Had I known we were stopping at 6 earlier, I maybe could have gotten a little more use out of them, but they killed a war machine and played the scenario and they had a very good game.
• Cavern Dweller. Like the Wolves, the Cavern Dweller was also not used particularly well, and the monster didn’t get to contribute at all to the violence, but the dice against them were pretty hot. My opponent took his chance to deal with the monster, and it worked out for him this time.
• Thegn on Frostfang. The extra speed was good and it was fun to see him zipping around the table being a menace. Strider didn’t come into play here, but it can be very strong. 
• Snow Troll Prime. The game was a nice showcase of the durability of the Snow Troll Prime. The Giant was getting his Slayer d6, but the results just weren’t there and the Nerve checks kept swinging low on the Inspired rerolls.
• Kruufnir. Not regenerating anything really damped what the legendary Troll could accomplish, btu he still took the charge from the Chariots like a champ, and enabled that strong (if overzealous) pushback into the center. He did fine.

I was really hoping to get one more practice game in for the speed tournament, trying the 15 minute timer and running yolo Abyssal Berserker spam, or Lycans or some kind of flying circus... just something more elite and in-line with exactly what Rob was expecting to see at the event, just to better gauge how his plan was, as well as tie these reports off neatly, having played at every time limit. Alas, this was it for the secret games for Rob.

I tidied up our first practice game and posted it last night once the tournament was officially underway. Tidying this second report up the morning after, I read that Bob not only won the speed event, but won it decisively, being the only one to go 3-0! The attack on the meta worked out. Congrats Rob!