4th Edition: Battle #049 Abyssals vs Abyssal Dwarfs in Raze

Intro and Lists

It had been a crazy-tough week for me both with work stuff and with home stuff, and I was running on fumes at best. Kings of War Wisconsin semi-recently set up a little Discord, and someone had posted, looking for practice games to help with a tournament coming up, and I blindly agreed, looking forward to a little respite thanks to gaming. Had I used a solitary brain cell, I could have remembered who this was, but they were in short supply this week. I thought I was gearing up for a beating from Rob, but as we got to planning the details in the days immediately prior, it was Will was attending the same tournament, and was the one looking for games. He had his Abyssal Dwarfs with the following:

I really like Golekh's vector for play - the exploding prisoners with jobs just seem super-cool, and I'm glad he's pursuing this! We have the splendidly painted Golekh on his chariot, two Iron Casters (without Surge) to heal and support things, a Horde of Blacksouls with CS1 weapon-swap, and the Brew of Sharpness to hit harder, two regiments of Lesser Obsidian Golems to take hits, two Gargoyles to interdict, and then Ratkin Death Engine and Tunnel Runners to round things out as other hammer-like units. Neither of us really liked the assortment of tiny items on the Ratkin or the Gargoyles, but the list was already submitted, so we can't really tweak it, and it's an awkward amounts of points left to paly with. 

For the first game, I brought the Abyssals, as I am eager to start exploring the buffed, returning Abyssal Guard more myself, as they were a pet unit of mine for quite some time. I think Rob’s approach with CS2 Hordes is really strong, but my aim for each collection of mine is to explore the army roster as fully as I can, so I gotta do my own thing, especially early on. We're using what we have painted, and going with a MMU approach with lots of regiments. Up to discuss here is everything.

• Abyssal Warlord. That's right, we’re giving the Warlord a try! The (slightly) longer Commands are ok, but we’re taking him mostly to unlock some different Core units, namely the Abyssal Guard. Stat-wise, he seems similar to the Herd’s Chieftain – with good stats and abilities, but too few attacks to matter much in a fight. Individual combat heroes have often been hard to justify, and we’ll see if that general assessment holds.
• Warlock, Veil and Sacred Horn. I really liked this used against me, and with Trevor’s NA also using lots of shooting via Javelins, this doesn’t feel explicitly tailored, so I wanted to try it out. It’s a bit of a miss this time, but that’s totally fine, and we’ll see if and how this Warlock can still be useful.
• Warlock, Dark Pit. I quite like the Dark Pit (when it goes off - the 4+ can be a little fickle). I explored it previously with Flame Bearers, but I don’t think the Abyssals quite have the volume of fire to make this work at range. I think it will work better supporting a melee push or grind, and so that will be the aim here – overwhelm with units, and then drop this for Cloak of Death and Dread to swing the fights my way.
• Lower Abyssals. With very expensive Guard regiments, we still need some blockers and token-holders, so here we go, as regiments to be more expendable.
• Abyssal Guard. And then there are the stars of the show and build, the returning Abyssal Guard. I went with a split between the Def5 and CS2 ones, as I couldn’t quickly find a tray to use, and this assortment are the full single-based regiments I have hobbied up right now. We’ll see how they all do and get a benchmark going for our understanding.
• Gargoyles. I have four troops of Gargoyles hobbied up, and I don’t think they’ve all hit the table together before, so we’re taking the lot of them! We’ll see what havoc they can cause.
• Berserkers. We had some spare points, so trying to really embrace the MMU idea, we’ll take some troops of Fearless Berserkers to prowl the battlefield.

Table and Terrain

Will and his wife were kind enough to host the practice session, and we made use of his table, very thematic matt, and home terrain, with the help of an extra hill from the terrain box in my car. We had nifty basalt rock Forests with Height 10, a ruined statue head and a skull monument for blocking terrain at Height 7, Hills with Height 3, two neoprene mats for Height 1 difficult terrain, and the Obstacles as Height 2. 

Overview of the table.

We got Raze for the scenario, which we have played recently. There is an immutable Objective token in the center of the board, and then we each place three tokens into deployment zones. Oddly, you can place in either zone, but only Raze tokens not in your deployment zone. If you control a token not in your deployment zone, you can "Raze" it for 1 point, and ideally, you whittle things down to fight over the center, as you get nothing for just contesting stuff in your own deployment zone.

View of the left.

Left-to-right for the Abyssal Dwarfs, we have Golekh and the Tunner Runner regiment, pesky terrain, both Golems flanking the Scorched Earth Iron Caster with perpendicular Gargoyles hiding behind them, as well as the Death Engine. On the right, we have Ratkin hordes screening for the Blacksouls, and the second Iron Caster.

View of the right.

I had won the roll for sides and for first token placement. I wanted to go wide, and to try and use my Gargoyle advantage to slow things down, and then nab some tokens once the lines closed.

View from the right.

Left-to-right for me we have two units of Gargoyles and some Berserkers, then Garboyles and the Dark Pit Warlock, then CS2 Guard, Lower Abyssals, the Warlord, the Def5 Guard, more Def5 Guard, the Veil of Shadows Warlock, Berserkers, and more Gargoyles. 

Overview of the table. 

I have a decent spread of Gargoyles, and while the Def5 Guard are both right next to each other, but I can play either side of the blocking ruined head. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the deployment, though it is hard to effectively fill the board at this points level. 

Will wins the roll for turn order, and happily kicks us off. 

Top of Round 1: Abyssal Dwarfs

Will is one of the most decisive players I know, with blisteringly quick turns, and this one was no exception! Keeping a tight line has been a trademark of his, and so each battle group moves with purpose.

The Abyssal Dwarfs inch out.

On the left, Golekh and the Tunnel Runners move up, but only slightly, wary of getting bonked / pinned by the the Gargoyles, and then smashed by the Berserkers. 

The center units inch ahead as well, slowed by Shambling or the terrain.

Centrally, the Golems trudge forward in concert, still flanking the Iron Caster, and pulling the Death Engine behind them. The Gargoyles each peel off to zone out my tokens, as the line moves up. The terrain slows the Ratkin hordes, up, which in turn slows down the Blacksouls, but all the hordes make some forward progress this turn.

Bottom of Round 1: Abyssals

On the right, the Gargoyles zip up, betting behind the skull shrine, and out of sight. I really want them to grab this token out here. 

The Berserkers peel out towards the right. I'm too far back to technically threaten anything yet, but if the Ratkin move at all, I should have a charge next turn.

The Abyssals start setting up a concave line, of sorts.

The Lower Abyssals are tentative, moving up, but not at the double, and staying on the hill. I should have another inch or two left to work with, and could have been a bit more assertive with them, but it's not a big deal. The Warlock hangs back, safe, and tosses at the inner Ratkin with Firebolts, but into cover, lands no hits. Regarding the ruined dwarf statue head, the Guard move up, staying out of range of the Ratkin, but looking to try and plug the gap between the ruins next turn.

A cautious advance from the Abyssal center as well.

Panning towards center the Def5 Guard hand back, with the Lower Abyssals taking the lead, and the Warlord staying protected between the infantry units.

The CS2 Guard and the Dark Pit Warlock inch up, with the Warlock landing a Dark Pit ahead of the Golems, hitting them and the Iron Caster. Gargoyles stand ready in reserve.

An assortment of troops on the left.

On the left, the Berserkers stay just out of 16 inches, just trying to deter the advance of the Abyssal Dwarfs. Using a laser line, I can get one unit of Gargoyles hiding behind the woods, and the other near the table edge, safe, and not in the woods, and threatening a delaying charge. 

We're not really using units efficiently out here, but we're just hoping to make my opponent think twice before running ahead, so this is probably fine.

Top of Round 2: Abyssal Dwarfs

On the left, the intent is to protect Golekh, who pivots and moves to effectively side-step. The Tunnel Runners do the same, with Golekh ending slightly behind the Tunnel Runners, safe from the Gargoyles. Technically, that's not how angles work, and the Tunnel Runners should be pivoted slightly towards the center, but whatever. I don't mind nor catch this at the time.

The eeeeevil chariots basically sidestep.

Centrally, the Golems inch ahead again, staying off the hill and out of charge range of the Abyssal infantry. I believe the Iron Caster heals the Golems from their experience with the Pit, putting them back down to 0 damage. In the back-field, the Gargoyles stay put, still zoning out my tokens.

The Golems inch up, again.

On the right, the Iron Caster gets clear of the woods, while the Blacksouls start their trod through the rocks. Departing the basalt forest are the Ratkin, who are awkwardly stacked up, due to the forest and the statue's noggin. 

The Ratkin swarm, in between the blocking terrain pieces.

He ultimately commits all three hordes to face the right, and try and push through the pass and towards that token. The Rats are slowed, but the leading unit is given the Last Breath Command, to explode if I hit them too hard. The Gargoyles actually had a charge into the flank of the leading Ratkin, but we'll catch that and adjust so that the fliers cannot fit. 

Bottom of Round 2: Abyssals

On the right, the Gargoyles sidestep, sliding behind the skull shrine, hiding. They can't see anything now, and the plan is to try and jump the line next turn? We'll see.

The Lower Abyssals offer themselves up.

The Berserkers force the angles, going wide and to the right, while the Lower Abyssals run ahead. We'll strive to keep both Ratkin hordes in front arc, which will only let one through the pass at a time. I consider the Ultimate Betrayal Command here, but the Ratkin are just as flimsy as the Lower Abyssals, so it's not really worth it.

More caution in the center.

We'll try and scorch the stalled Ratkin unit. The Warlock is Inspiring the Lowers, so he holds, and sticks a Fireball Command on the nearby Guard, getting 1 success for Fireball 3, which will result in 1 damage due to bad blasts. His Firebolts contribute a hot 4 damage. The Warlord gets 2 successes to help the other Guard Regiment on the other side of the ruined head, and their Fireball 4 results in 2 successes, gain due to low Blasts. The Ratkin end on 7 damage, and hold. With Def3, the Rats are a pretty ideal target, but the dice just weren't as cooperative as I could have liked.

Abyssal Fireballs are distributed across the line.

The Golems aren't a threat yet, and I don't want to move in and get charged, so the center of my line adjusts, but stays safe. The Dark Pit Warlock sticks it in front of the Iron Caster, damaging the Caster, Golems, and the Death Engine, and then gets two success gets the CS2 Guard a Fireball 4, which lands 0 into the Obsidian Golems.

More adjusting from the Abyssals on the right.

On the left, we're still awkwardly dancing, but we're doing a fine job of slowing things down, so I don't adjust too much. With the sidesteps made last turn, the Berserkers can safely adjust a bit, to face the center a bit more while avoid the terrain, and the Gargoyles behind the woods do the same, eyeing things in the center a bit more. The Gargoyles on the far left aren't threatened, so just stay put. 

Top of Round 3: Abyssal Dwarfs

On the left, the Tunnel Runners move up, and are granted a Mutated Mastiff from the Warlord, and the dogs manage to munch 4 damage against the gargoyles and get the waver against the fliers.

Mutated Mastiffs are flung.

The Death Engine spins up, putting its center point on the obstacle, and with a Mutated Mastiff from the Iron Caster, lands 3 damage onto the Berserkers, while baiting a charge from them as well.

The standoff in the center... continues.

The Golems continue some cautious play, shuffling around the hill. They are poised to take the hill in the late game, but don't commit just yet.

The Ratkin charge in, still gummed up.

On the right, the lead Ratkin unit charges, getting the Last Breath Command but staying alive for now, and claw 5 damage onto the Lower Abyssals. The second line of Ratkin adjust, and the Blacksouls trudge ahead, making progress through the basalt forest. The Iron Caster presses onward and tucks in behind the skull monument to land a Bane Chant to help the Rats, and both Gargoyles continue to hold in the backfield, still guarding some of my tokens.

Bottom of Round 3: Abyssals

It's been a slow game, but now is the time for me to start pushing just a bit. On the right, the Gargoyles can fly out from behind the skull monument, landing on and Razing the token at the end of the turn.

Charges.

I consider Withdrawing the Lesser Abyssals, but backing up doesn't really help me. They get a Fleshknit Command, and Regenerate 2 to get down to three damage against the Rats. The Berserkers come in with the flank charge, slamming 14 damage, and the Lower Abyssals contribute 2, and we will pop the Rats here, with both the Berserkers and the Lower Abyssals taking 7 damage for the trouble.

The Abyssal Guard have a charge into the second-line of Ratkin. These do not have Last Breath, and I decide to take it, carving 7 new damage onto the horde and taking them up to 14 damage, but it holds. I believe the Warlord tried the Blessing of the Dark Gods here, but failed. This surprise assault failed, but both the Fireball dice and the Guard's attacks were a little low for me, unfortunately.

The defeated Ratkin explode, landing 14 damage!

The Center is still a standoff, which I am ok with. My regiments are more numerous, so if that math doesn't change, I should be able to bully the center in the late game. 

The Abyssal Gargoyles here back up and pivot, just looking to see other things, and try to prevent my opponent's Gargoyles from snagging tokens freely in the late game.

More standoffs in the center. I am not eager to let the Golems hit me first.

The Dark Pit manifests for a third time, out to the left of the Golems. I waffle with Commands, but ty Fleshknight for the Berserkers instead of the Blessing of the Dark Gods. I stick the Command, but get no Regen successes. I don't want to just get charged by the Death Engine, so send in the Berserkers, with a hindered charge. They manage just 2 damage, and even with Cloak of Death and the Dread from the Dark Pit, the Death Engine isn't going anywhere.

The Gargoyles do what they can on the left, with one claiming another token.

Out on the left, the Wavering Gargoyles change facing, and Regenerate a strong 3, getting down to just 1 damage. The move makes sure that aggressors will be in the woods. Meanwhile the other unit of Gargoyles flies out from behind the forest, and is able to claim a second token for me this round, putting the Abyssals ahead, 2:0 for the scenario score. As I start claiming tokens this round, my opponent is realizing that his slow approach is not in his favor.

Top of Round 4: Abyssal Dwarfs

Both Golekh Skinflayer and the Tunnel Runners charge the Gargoyles on the far left, looking to finish them off. I angled a bit poorly, so that Golekh isn't hindered, due to the large footprint of the unit of chariots. The Runners (wisely) do not pop their Boots here, and indeed, the duo is able to land 10 damage combined, and break the unit. Reforms are a little messy, with the Tunnel Runners parallel with the long edge of the table facing the center, and Golekh spinning about, hoping to race back around the forest.

Chariots crash in against the Gargoyles.

In the backfield, there wasn't a way to better position my Gargoyles, so they take a hindered flank charge from the opposing Gargoyles, who land a strong 6 damage, and scatter my uninspired troop. 

Several victories for the Abyssal Dwarfs over lowly Gargoyles.

The Death Engine whirs to life, and grinds 6 more damage onto the Berserkers, who do mange to hold, thanks to a low Nerve check. 

The Golems take the hill.

The Golems take the hill, still flanking the Iron Caster. The intent is to be locked in and flush with the spellcaster, but that is a little hard to do with a rounded hill and metal models.

More Ratkin explode, and the Blacksouls make it into combat.

Also in the backfield, more Gargoyles fight in the back right corner, with the Abyssal Dwarf troop clawing 3 damage onto the Abyssal troop, and the latter holds.

Out on the right, the injured Ratkin are exploded, with the Abyssal Guard taking 5 damage from the Last Breath of the horde. With the Rats gone, the Blacksouls then make a hindered charge into the Guard, getting a Bane Chant to help out, and the melee will land 9 damage, taking the Guard up to 14, and they will break. The Blacksouls run ahead, getting a strong overrun to bump into the Lower Abyssals. Ouch! Had we been a little luckier last turn, the Guard might have survived and prevented this breakthrough.

Bottom of Round 4: Abyssals

On the right, the Abyssal Gargoyles regenerate down to 1 damage while clawing 3 onto the opposing Gargoyles, though the latter are Inspired and don't budge. Good thing I brought some extra Gargoyles, as I am not winning any fights against them!

The fighting continues!

The Lower Abyssals get another Fleshknight, and regenerate down to 4 damage, and charge the Blacksouls, landing just 2 damage, and taking the Abyssal Dwarfs them up to 3 damage total. The Berserkers shuffle ahead, getting into the flank of the enemy horde. Charging is an option for the Berserkers, but since we're tying to just delay things here, I think this is fine. Getting this flank charge is probably ultimately unlikely, but will occupy the attention of the Blacksouls and hopefully keep them off the tokens.

Fights against the Gargoyles.

The Warlock moves up 6", and lands another Dark Pit behind the Iron Caster on the hill. I can't really get good coverage trying to get the Death Engine, so just focus on the hill. And on said hill, we try to tidy things up with stairs, with some marginal success. 

The individual Abyssal Warlord can see and charge the Iron Caster. Lower Abyssals charge in to delay Golems on the left, and the Betrayal Order fails from the Warlock. Both Abyssal Guard variants chage the Golems out on the right. Gargoyles fly up and pivot, tying to cove the center, and see what can be done.

A brawl on the hill.

The Warlord lands 3, and with several Dark Pits over the turns, we're able to fell the spellcaster, and remove Inspiring from the center here. The two-handing Guard land 4 damage onto the Golems, with the Def5 versions contributing nothing, with my low rolls continuing. The Lower Abyssals manage a single damage onto their regiment, and both units of the Lesser Obsidian Golems hold.

The fight against the Death Engine continues.

The Berserkers got a Fleshknit from the Warlord, but are just out of range of being Inspired by the Warlock. I did not do Commands well this Round, and should have had the 3-dice Warlord attempt the harder Betrayal order. Oh well. The Berserkers regenerate just 3 of their 9 damage, and slam 6 damage onto the Death Engine, taking it to 12 damage. The contraption is uninspired, but a darn 3 on the Nerve check will have it sticking around.

The left is lost, but there are no tokens out here, and Golekh and the Tunnel Runners are stymied by the rocky woods. We'll hope it is enough.

Top of Round 5: Abyssal Dwarfs

Golekh swings around the woods for the most part, and the Tunnel Runners pop their boots to jump from one piece of terrain to the other, and they are just barely able to end and raze this token, putting the Abyssal Dwarfs on the score board.

The Tunnel Runners claim a token.

In the backfield, the Death Engine spins up again, and with Gargoyles in the flank of the Berserkers, the crazed unit of Abyssals is brought down. 

The Abyssals on the hill hold.

The Golems evidently don't need Betraying. The Brew of Strength is overkill, and they only thump 4 damage onto the Lesser Abyssals, who hold firm. The other regiment slams 5 onto the Def4 Abyssal Guard, and Brutal is involved, though the elite Abyssal unit holds.

The Abyssal Dwarf Gargoyles claw good damage onto the Abyssal Gargoyles, and will win that scrum, and reform to face the rear of the Abyssal Bersekers. The Iron Caster goes in, but can't land a damage against the injured unit.

The Blacksouls claim another unit.

The Blacksouls can't get Bane Chanted, but still slice 9 fresh damage onto the Lower Abyssals, who break. Maybe Betrayal would have been a better Command for the Lower Abyssals last turn. The Blacksouls overrun, trying to make plays for the tokens still.

Bottom of Round 5: Abyssals

The Iron Caster is Yielding, so the Berserkers can just ignore him, and take the flank into the Blacksouls. The Warlock tries to give them the Blessing of the Dark Gods, but fails, though the Berserkers hit hard anyways. With 10 damage expected, they deal 12, which is great, but not uite enough to break the inspired horde.

The Berserkers hit the Blacksouls in the flank.

The Warlock ties to tuck up to get nearer to the Berserkers. I did not measure, but the intent was to deny the Gargoyles a place to land. The fliers can't reach a token next round, so we'll see what I can do as the game concludes.

Gargoyles move in to delay.

On the hill, the Warlord hits the Golems the Guard regiments are fighting in the flank. The attackers will roll well to add 11 more damage onto the Golems, and will break the uninspired unit. The Warlord spins around, and the regiments turn to face the center of the board, and the oncoming Abyssal Dwarf units coming from the left.

The Lesser Abyssals regenerate down to 1 damage, and I think got a Fleshknit from the Warlock to accomplish this. 

We toss the Warlock out into the opposing Gargoyles. It is a bit of a desperate play, with the thinking being that shooting / Pit isn't going to do much here. The Warlock lands 2 damage, and we fail to break the unit. 

The Gargoyles can't delay too much now, but move up to block up the Tunnel Runners.

Top of Round 6: Abyssal Dwarfs

The Gargoyles fight back against the Warlock, with Golekh hitting him in the flank, the the Abyssal spellcaster will be easily broken.

Clever charges from the Abyssal Dwarfs.

The Tunnel Runners make their hindered charge into the Gargoyles, who get flanked by the Death Engine. I was not checking flanks, and this is a clever move to get the Death Engine more central. The Gargoyles are absolutely obliterated.

The Golems claim the Lower Abyssals.

The Golems on the hill slam an unexpected 9 damage onto the Lower Abyssals, and will break them. I was a bit complacent here, but the Golems are still fine at bashing through weaker units like this. They will spin around with their victorious reform.

The Blacksouls thump the Berserkers down and overrun.

The Blacksouls won't bother to reform as it would pull them away from the tokens, and will just throw all their attacks into the flanking Berserkers. They Dwarfs catch a Heal, getting down to 13, and land 15 new damage against the Berserkers, who are truly devastated, and will break. They overrun a few inches and are stopped by the Warlock. 

The Gargoyles fly over on 1 damage, but can't claim a token this turn. 

Bottom of Round 6: Abyssals

On the right, we're still trying to delay. The Warlock pivots to toss at the Gargoyles, and lands just 1 damage from the Firebolts, and they hold firmly on 2 damage. It's not a bad idea, but I was unlucky, and positioned  poorly, I think. I wanted to keep the Blacksouls in front arc, but they can just pivot through me, and I should be nearer to their mid-point. 

The Warlock attempts to delay.

Centrally, I have some options. The Warlord could run up and raze my last token, but that seems a bit risky if there is a Round 7 as he is way out of position. I am currently winning, and decide to just play for the center. 

The Warlord charges the Golems to tie them up, and add his US to the center. The Def5 Guard move up alongside, but do not charge, as their role here is to prevent the Death Engine from shooting the gap and Razing a token back here.

Charges from the Abyssals.

The 2H Guard charge the Tunnel Runners, who have their frontage out of the terrain, allowing for a clean charge. The Warlord misses a Blessing onto them, and the Guard only manage 7 damage, but the Runners are Uninspired, and we do get a lucky break against them, and are able to victoriously turn.

The CS2 Guard gift a surprise victory!

The Abyssal Dwarfs have Razed 1 token for 1 VP, while the Abyssals have Razed 2, and control the center objective currently, for 3 VP. At the end of the Round, the Abyssals are still holding onto their lead, and we do not roll up a Round 7.

A victory to the Abyssals!

Game Conclusions

It was a tough match-up, but I had a good plan going into the game, and was able to execute it pretty well, and without too many hiccups. 

We agreed that my opponent just misplayed strategically, hanging way too far back with everything for far too long. By the time he really started moving out and up, there was not not much too be done as the tokens and such were a bit too far away to reach in the late game.

Testing Conclusions

• Abyssal Warlord. Yep, he is a decent combat individual, with all of the "just okay" feelings that come along with that type of unit. Fighting alongside the Abyssal Guard regiments, he seemed fine, and did contribute. I don't know if the slot swaps are good outside of silly MMU play, but it is a nice avenue to explore, and the longer Commands can be helpful, to get off the harder-to-issue Orders, though I didn't utilize that well here.
• Warlock, Veil and Sacred Horn. He did ok, despite having the dud spell. The Firebolts are nice, but were not very impactful. The 'bolts do still have nice synergy with the Fireball Command though, so yeah, he's still got his uses and the Warlock is a nice Champion to have around.
• Warlock, Dark Pit. All the other Warlock comments apply here, and the Dark Pit is still a great spell when it goes off, and a lot of fun! The Dark Pit did pretty well this game, forcing heals, weakening the Iron Caster a bit over a few turns, and eventually helping me break through some units too, thanks to Dread.
• Lower Abyssals. They did ok - mostly just around taking up space. They play nicely with the Orders, even though I wasn't very successful with said Orders. I still miss their 4+ attacks, and reasons to give them CS1, but begrudgingly, the weaker versions of these units are working nicely with the new Commands and army as a whole. 
• Abyssal Guard Regiments. They all did ok, but not particularly great. As regiments, they are very much generalists trusting in their stats. We struggled against the Def6 Golems, and with our own staying power. We were asking a lot of them to be our line units as well, and while it worked out here, as regiments probably need to be supporting hordes of Lower Abyssals, and/or regiments of Molochs, letting them help out, but not needing to take the weight of doing everything.
• Gargoyles. Having four troops to play with did give me a lot of options. They didn't win any of the opposing Gargoyle fights, but did snag most of my objectives for me like I had hoped for, thus setting me up for the scenario win. I can't really complain about that.
• Berserkers. The troops were ok, and had a decent showing, but like the Abyssal Guard, we were asking an awful lot of them in this game. Like the Guard, these troops should ideally be supporting larger or scarier things, so they can fly under the radar a bit. 
• Commands. We got use out of most of them this game, though I didn't do a great job at giving myself good chances to stick the most-important 5+ Commands like Betrayal or Blessing. Those really seem to requires a Warlord or something with the Banner to be able to issue them more reliably. We'll try to take put general knowledge to use in future builds across all armies.

The game was a pleasure, and I felt right at home in the nerdy abode. It was really fun to see it all play out on such a thematic battle mat too! The Abyssal Dwarf army was making sense to me overall, it just needed to be a bit more aggressive, I think. We'll see if we can coax them towards a little more violence in the rematch!

4th Edition: Battle #045 Free Dwarfs vs Abyssals in Compass Points

Intro and Lists

We were having our July Meetup for Kings of War Wisconsin. I was ready to tap out for the day, but folks wanted a second game, and I was needed to even the numbers, and acquiesced, readying-up to face off against Rob, who was back from his US Masters sojourn, and was unexpectedly fielding the new Abyssals, albeit as a proxy force:

Rob likes his Kingdoms of Men, and though he had a string of bad luck at US Masters, the last has largely been working as intended. However, we both think that the Cannon-centric shooting is likely due for a nerf in some form, and he's looking to diversify ahead of time, as he still really doesn't like the Halflings these days. The shiny new Abyssals and their tricks caught his eye though... and with the exception of the Nagarri and Moloch troop, it looks super-scary. We have two Hordes of fearless Abyssal Guard with two-handers, triple Imps and Gargoyles to interdict and chaff, two regiments and a horde of Lower Abyssals to take up space, and then Bas'su'su, and Warlocks with assorted powerful spells to support.

I had brought the Dwarfs to the meetup, looking to get some more experience with them. I wanted to avoid Warlords and focus more on units and Champions, with troops of Ironclad being the quirky take this time, instead of fancier support-slot slots. This was essentially the same list as the previous game, with one swap, so apologies in advance for repeating myself, but up to discuss is everything:

• Stone Priest. I still think Stone Priests are good casters for the Dwarfs, particularly if you need Surge, or have a fancy spell you want to cast alongside the Bane Chant. I still don't know what that fancy spell might be for the Dwarfs, so we're trying out Bloodboil alongside all the shooting.
• Flame Priests. I am bullish on the Flame Priests. While they can't really drop Fireball, this does synergize nicely with any shooting units, as well as the Throwing Mastiffs from the Command Orders. I think these are a decent buy, and we'll see how just one performs, compared to the duo in the other game.
• Warsmiths. These are really useful if you have any shooting units, as the Elite Aura can be very beneficial to boosting their damage output. We have a fair amount of shooting units, so we're taking two Warsmiths, and seeing what we can accomplish.
• Ironclad Troops. The quirky pick for this build! I few opponents have used similar units against me, so we're trying to borrow those ideas and apply them here. The hope is that they can cheaply play scenarios, or be troublesome screens for something like the Shieldbreakers. I have four troops, so we're really committing to the idea and taking them all. 
• Ironwatch Rifle Horde. They've done fine previously, and I want a healthy shooting component right now, so we'll keep trying them out. I tend to stick they very centrally, which has not been great, so we'll try to avoid that this time.
• Ironwatch Crossbowmen Regiment. I had an odd 125 points left, and instead of more Ironclad, opted for some Crossbows. The Ironwatch have 4+ for Melee and Defense, so they are surprisingly sticky.
• Shieldbreaker Regiments. I've had to eat some crow, and the regiments have done quite for me as a second-line. We'll take a few of them again, and see if I can have any success behind the Ironclad troops.
• Shieldbreaker Horde, Stone. We're taking a horde, and hoping to get the charge! We're trusting in the Ironclad troops, so will try to devote two troops to protecting the horde. With some extra points, we'll give them the Staying Stone, and see if they can't brawl just a little bit longer for me.
• Ranger Regiments. These have had some tough games previously, but have still done what I needed them to do, and performed well overall. While they haven't had any breakout performances yet, I am still bullish on them, and so we're taking them to supplement the Ironwatch picks. 
• Berserker Brock Riders. I wanted a little bit of speed to project threat, so we're taking the Brock Riders and the Boots, as one does with cavalry regiments these days. Fearless has been amazing, and they can do good work. However, they are an obvious threat, and usually need to be traded away for something. Still, these guys have really been a good distraction for the rest of the list in other games, so we'll see how they do here.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Lost Trove in New Berlin, a nerdy collectables shop. They snatched up a lot of the banquet-style folding tables and even a bunch of terrain from Gamers Realm when they closed, and have been very welcoming to us. Thanks John! Check them out if you are in the area. 

Not sure of the store's terrain situation, I had brought my own mats and terrain, which we utilized somewhat, though probably can pare a bit in the future.  We had Forests with Height 10, the blocking Buildings at Height 7, Hills with Height 3, and the battlefield as Height 1 and and shallow pond as Height 0, and Obstacles as Height 2. I will note that we should probably experiment more with higher terrain, and I'll try to do that in the future, maybe with the graveyards for my spooky board.

Overview of the table. Not my mat. 

We got Compass Points for the scenario, which can be neat, as it can he hard to break the stalemate, and a good challenge can be fun. It is an objective scenario with two outer objectives, a home objective, and an away objective. At the end of the game, the outer objectives are worth 1 VP, the home objective worth 2, and the away objective worth 3. 

View on the left, with probably too many Dwarfs.

The Abyssals deployed rather centrally, with a token resistance on the left, and slightly more on the right. Left-to-right for the Abyssals, we have a horde of Lower Abyssals, Ba'su'su hiding behind the tower, Lower Abyssals screening for Gargoyles, Imps with Guard behind, and Nagarri behind them, the Warlock with Veil of Shadows, then more Imps with more Guard and Gargoyles behind them, then the Warlock with the Dark Pit, and Imps, a Lower Abyssal Regiment, and the Moloch troop out on the right.

View in the center, with a concerning amount of Abyssals.

For the Dwarfs, we have Ironclad, both Rangers, with a Warsmith supporting, Ironclad screening for Shieldbreakers, the Shieldbreaker horde behind the hill, the other Warsmith, the Ironwatch Crossbow Regiment, the Ironwatch crossbow horde partiall in the woods, the Stone Priest, the Berserker Brocks, Ironclad, the Flame Priest with Shieldbreaker support, and the last Ironclad troop out on the right as some token resistance.

The left, with still a lot of Abyssals in-frame

While I had literally just played a game with them, my brain was done, I was largely at a loss for what to do here. Given the scenario, I figured the center would be important, and then it could be wise to grab one side. We largely did that, and even have some token pressure on the weaker side, but everything is just a bit of a mess here.

Scout moves!

I do remember my Scout moves, and the Rangers hop up to surmount the obstacle, and get some early shots downrange.

Top of Round 1: Free Dwarfs

On the left, the Ironclad run up. They might eventually camp this, but gaining ground early is important.

The Rangers hold, and it is about this time that we are discussing terrain. Even if the pond is flat, it is intervening terrain, and the Lower Abyssals should be getting cover. The Dwarfs are some of our first attempts at a shooting heavy list. This makes sense, but I’ve not positioned the Rangers really poorly. They shoot, landing a combined 5 damage into the Lower Abyssal horde, who obviously hold.

Dwarfs, moving out from the left. 

The Ironclad troop and Shieldbreaker regiment move at the double, jostling around on the hill. The Shieldbreaker horde gets up there as well. I am a little light on blocking units for them though, and so the Ironwatch Crossbowmen move at the double, to get up and take a forward position. The Ironwatch Rifles enter the woods, and the Stone Priest camps out here too. With Reload, there are not shots in the center.

Crossbows gain some early ground at the expense of shooting.

The Brocks move up, projecting threat around the hill and into the center. I have a few extra inches, and could just clear the woods, or I could be pivoting or drifting. Seeing everything in front of me though, I am already feeling the pressure. I am probably only going to get one fight with these, and am resigned to using the boots.

A tentative move up from the Dwarfs on the right.

The right is a bit of a mess. The Ironclad inch up, to maybe help the Brocks. The other troop is Inspired on the other side of the building, and just wants to prevent any outflanking from the Abyssals. The Flame Priest hangs tight, and the Shieldbreakers wait patiently as well, to see what rob has in store.

Bottom of Round 1: Abyssals

I am flabbergasted, but the Abyssals go hard. There is nothing in the middle to remotely slow them down and the whole line lunges forward with ill-intent.

On the right, the Molochs moves as far as they can, stopped by some terrain, while Lower Abyssals wheel around the woods, and plucky Imps move at the double and stay in front of things. They’ll get a Betrayal order later on from the Warlock with the Dark Pit, who is hiding in the woods, wary of shooting. Instead of the Pit, Barkskin is cast on the Imps as well, with three successes.

The Abyssals full-send.

With no terrain to slow them down, the stacked center of the Abyssals scream forward at the double, with the Imps leading the way and kinking slightly to prevent the Brocks from charging passed them. They’ll each get a Betrayal Command as well, making the Imp front line very uninviting to charge.

Oh, bless Rob and his laminated markers. There is a lot to track.

The Warlock with the Veil of Shadows cast it successfully, and the Sacred Horn extends the aura’s bubble to the entire scary center.

The Lower Abyssals realize they probably can’t really contest the left, even as a horde, and back up, trying to regenerate, and they’ll get one success, going down to 4 damage.

Top of Round 2: Free Dwarfs

On the left, the Ironclad will advance again, joined by the Rangers, who make use of Pathfinder to hop off the obstacle.

Shooting with cover penalties into a regenerating unit is not wise. We gotta move!

The other Ironclad troop out here will also move at the double, and pivot. With the Shieldbreaker regiment doing the same. The Shieldbreaker horde hangs back. I can’t really target the Gargoyles, and don’t want to move too far up, bonked, and stuck. The aim is to use the far building to anchor and push, to threaten my opponent’s home objective, while hopefully keeping mine with my Rifles.

The Brocks go in, sacrificing themselves for tempo and positioning.

The Brocks are unfortunately trapped. I am too far forward to get away from the Imps, but don’t really want to charge the Imps either. Since I did not pivot, I actually have the Lower Abyssals on the far left in arc, and in range. I pop the Boots, and gallop out, as fast as the Brocks can go. We slam in, deal 11 damage, and will break the regiment. Reforms are rough, and we’ll pivot hard. This gets the Guard in front arc, but also exposes a flank to Gargoyles, should my opponent want to just tie them up for a turn.

We don’t want to charge the Imps, but can hopefully waver them and slow things down? The Ironwatch Crossbowmen just barely do not have cover penalties, and they shoot into the nearest unit, along with the Ironwatch Rifles. …Unfortunately, Veil of Shadows is in play, and I’m still fishing for 6’s. We have Elite, and even convert one or two, and we manage 4 damage in total, and luck out on the Nerve checks for a waver.

Shooting manages to scare a few units of Imps.

On the right, the Stone Priest tries granting the Ironclad troop a Throwing Mastiff, but fails, but the Flame Priest does manage to grant one to the other troop, who inches back to be safe from the Molochs. The Flame Priest holds, and lobs a Fireball into the Imps, rolling well and landing 4 damage. The Dogs contribute just 1, but we luck out here with a waver as well.

It ain’t much, but I guess we technically drew first blood by routing the Lower Abyssals? Though I’m not sure trading the Brocks for them would be considered wise…

Bottom of Round 2: Abyssals

Wavering the Imps definitely helps, but the pressure is still on.

On the right, the Molochs inch up, I believe staying out of range of the Ironclad troop. The wavering Imps back up, under their protection, and the Lower Abyssals march forward to block as well, getting the Betrayal order. The Warlock stays central, but very well protected, and will land another Barkskin 3 on the Imps, as they charge Ironclad troop guarding the Flame Priest.

Imps move up, eager to give the Dwarfs a switcheroo with the Ultimate Betrayal.

The center is a mess, with Ba’su’su taking the hill and the Abyssal Guard screening for him. The Wavering Imps back up, letting the other Abyssal Guard horde hit the Brocks better. The Brocks will take 13 damage, and break, which is very close to the expected 14 damage. The new Abyssal Guard hordes are not playing around!

Gargoyles fly in to disrupt the Rifles.

Gargoyles hiding behind the obstacle charge the Ironwatch Rifles to silence them, and will claw 2 damage onto them.

The Lower Abyssals inch back, wary of the numerous Dwarfs heading their way.

Veil of Shadows manifests again, covering most of the line. The Warlock commands them to regenerate better, and they will, getting 2 back, and ending on just 2 damage. They inch ahead, using the building to anchor the line, and hopefully protect the backfield for the Abyssals.

Top of Round 3: Free Dwarfs

On the left, the Ironclad move up again, getting in between the pieces of terrain. The silver-helmed Rangers wade into the pond, and the loose into the Lower Abyssals. The gold-helmed Rangers move at the double again, looking to get in to help the brewing fights in the center.

The Dwarfs keep advancing on the left.

An Ironclad regiment runs up to block for the Shieldbreaker regiment and the horde, who adjust slightly.

The Crossbowmen hold, and fire into the Imps. Veil of Shadows is still up, and we land just one damage. We attempt to Bloodboil them too, but with Veil, and a cover penalty, land no hits. My dice are still hot for checks though, and we get another waver out of them.

The dwarfs fight in the center.

The Ironwatch Rifles have the Fire Oil, and thump good damage into the Gargoyles, win, and then reform slightly.

The Stone Priest grants a Fury of the Ancients to the Ironclad. My opponent claims this don’t work, and only magic can change stuff after the stat-change, but reading the rule now… I’m forced to use the Abyssal unit’s Melee and CS. Magic items, like the Brew of Strength or Sharpness still apply. The stats are changed, but a Bane Chant would be a further modifier, and I think still apply, and I think Fury of the Ancients should apply here too, as it is another modifier outside the unit’s stats. Oh well.

The Dwarfs ready themselves for the next wave of assaults.

The Ironclad troop hold, letting the Shieldbreakers join in against them Imps while staying out to protect the Rifles. I let the Ironclad be betrayed by the Imps, but they don’t seem to notice. The land 3 damage into the unit, and then the Shieldbreakers are able to hit normally, landing 7 damage, but we do fail to rout the unit.

The Dwarfs fail to best the Imps in melee though.

The Flame Priest holds, and lobs with cover over the Imps and into the Gargoyles. I roll hot, hitting with all 5, blasting into 9, and then ending up with 7 damage. The Priest tries to get Dogs over to the unengaged Ironclad unit to help, but the command fails. The Gargoyles waver, but are not devastated, so are not picked up.

Bottom of Round 3: Abyssals

On the right, the Molochs make a hindered charge into the Ironclad, landing 3 damage, but the checks are hot and the Dwarf troop breaks with some unfortunately hot checks.

The Abyssal assault begins in earnest.

The wavering Gargoyles are yelled at, and they regenerate 4, getting down to 3 damage, as they back up and make way for other units, like the Lower Abyssals, who are gearing up for the next assault into the Dwarven lines.

Some Dwarf units hold, but not the one's you'd expect.

The Abyssal Guard charge the Shieldbreakers … and seriously underperform with just 8 damage. We roll, they live, and then we catch that the Imps should have a) allocated their attacks before any checks are done, and b) would definitely want to throw into the Shieldbreakers. I allow it. No damage is done, and we keep the hold result from earlier. The Imps also get a Barkskin 4 from the Warlock.

The lines prepare to clash.

The wavering Imps slow down the Nagarri and the other Abyssal Guard horde. The former sulks on the hill, while the latter tries to use the building to protect itself. Ba’su’su still sits o the hill, surveying things while handing out 3-dice orders.

Veil of Shadows goes off again, but with the line stretching out, doesn’t cover as many units as it once was.

On the other side of the building, the Lower Abyssals are on 1 damage, and holding the line.

Top of Round 4: Free Dwarfs

On the left, the Ironclad move at the double, boxing the Lower Abyssals in. The Rangers in the pond hold and loose, with the other Rangers moving and shooting, landing a total of 8 damage, and the Lowers Abyssals hold.

The Ironclad arrive to blunt the Abyssal push.

Ironclad move up to instigate, and block for the Shieldbreakers, and the breaker regiment is granted a Mastiff to throw at some Imps, landing 4 damage. The Crossbows are impacted by the Veil and land nothing, while the Rifles manage 2. Slightly on the hill, we can see them with the Stone Priest, and are just within range to hit them with a Bloodboil. We held, but are tossing into Stealthy with a cover penalty. We contribute 4 with the spell, and are able to pick up the unit, though that was nearly 500 points of shooting…

The Dwarfs fight back on the right.

The Shieldbreakers opt to throw into the Abyssal Guard. The Guard has regeneration, but fighting the Imps seems like a waste. We attempt a Fury of the Ancients but fail with both champions. Still, we’ll land a solid 8 damage.

Oh, we manage to kill some Imps!

Surprisingly, the Ironclad, while betrayed by the Imps, still manage 5 damage into them. That is some very hot dice rolling! Barkskin will mitigate 4, but the one additional damage will trigger a test, and we’ll pick them up this time, and turn to face the Molochs. The Flame Priest had snuck back to Fireball the Molochs, and we’ll land 2 damage against them.

Bottom of Round 4: Abyssals

The Molochs book it to help push the middle, and the Imps shuffle about, trying to stay safe from Fireball while eyeing up the objective on the right.

The Abyssals push hard on the right.

Lower Abyssals charge the Ironclad, but can land no damage against the dwarven armor.

From the hill, Ba’su’su descends upon the Flame Priest, hitting me in the flank. This could be bad, but the demon is an individual as well, and only 2 damage lands.

The Dark Pit appears in the middle of the Dwarf lines.

The Abyssal Guard fight the Shieldbreakers again, and will easily pick them up on the second try. A command order for better regeneration fails, but they’ll still regenerate half their damage this turn, going from 8 down to just 4.

The Warlock on the right summons a Dark Pit, hitting 6 of my units. Nicely done! The Pit supports a strong push from the Abyssals too. The Nagarri charge the Ironwatch Rifles, and hindered, land 9 damage with very hot dice.

Gargoyles get the Betrayal order, and gum things up, and the Abussal Guard make a hindered charge into the Ironclad, though you wouldn’t know it from their output of 13 fresh damage. The Ironclad troop is devastated … but Insanely Courageous!

The Lower Abyssals take their charge into the Ironclad rather than be shot up again, and they’ll claw the troop up to 3 damage. I’m uninspired, but hold.

Top of Round 5: Free Dwarfs

It’s Round 5, and in think the insane result puts me in a spot to actually tie this?

The Ironclad fight on against the lower Abyssals, with both units of Rangers hitting them in the flank. One is hindered, but the flankers land 19 damage on their own, and the unit is broken.

Charges from the Dwarfs!

The Ironclad pivot, to line up to get around the building. The gold-helmed Rangers opt to overrun, hopping to roll big, get past the building this turn, and then be able to pivot and run towards my opponent’s home objective… but we roll a 1. Turning to face the Guard might have been better, but I don’t think the Ironclad troop can do it on their own unless there is a Round 7.

A few reforms. The Crossbowmen are slipping away though... darn table edge.

The Gargoyles are trickly, but I have enough space to turn and flank charge the Abyssal Guard instead. The devastated Ironclad land 1, the Shieldbreakers land 6, and the flanking Crossbowmen contribute 5, taking the Guard up to 12 damage. This simultaneously feels great and terrible. The damage is expected – and the Guard easily holds, it’s going to cost us a lot, but we might be able to best the horde here, and I’m wishing the Rangers we facing this way now...

The Nagarri fall!

With the Crossbowmen avoiding the Gargoyles, the Shieldbreakers are able to make a clean flank charge into the Nagari, picking them up and saving the Rifles, who had a Radiance of Life to get down to 9 damage. The Rifles swivel their left corner forward, and then the Shieldbreakers swivel their left backward.

The Stone Priest and Flame Priest try to grant Fury of the Ancients onto the Ironclad fighting the Lower Abyssals, who for once are not Betraying anyone. We’ll land a hot 5 damage, but do not break them.

The Flame Priest opts to stay engaged, hoping to keep Ba’su’su from doing anything else the rest of the game.

Bottom of Round 5: Abyssals

On the far right, the Imps are able to move back and claim the objective. Ba’su’su the Warlord continues, swinging against the Flame Priest, landing 2 more damage, while a Betrayal order on the Lower Abyssals fails, though they regenerate 1, getting down to 4 damage, and claw 1 into the dwarf troop.

Charges from the Abyssals.

A Warlock tries to summon the Dark Pit again, but fails.

Molochs regenerate both their damages while they make a hindered charge into the Ironwatch Rifles, and will land 3 damage, taking them up to 12, but my horde will hold.

Aftermath of Round 5. The Ironwatch damage is just out of frame.

The Abyssal Guards regenerate 3, getting down to 1 damage as they come to the aid of the other horde. I offer to speed this combat, Rob accepts… but the Crossbowmen are found to be insanely courageous! Instead of rolling the attacks, I just dump a pile of dice near them. I will treat them as devastated, and beyond saving.

Gargoyles from the center hop the line, and pivot to face the objective on the left.

The other horde of Abyssal Guard splits its attacks, looking to fight their way out of things. Four attacks are allocated to the devastated Ironclad, two strikes hit, but no damage makes it through. The other 21 attacks result in 12 damage to the Shieldbreakers, and they will break.

Top of Round 6: Free Dwarfs

On the left, the Rangers make use of Pathfinder to go grab the objective on the left. The Ironclad troop get as far as they can, but yeah, absolutely cannot contest my opponent’s home objective this round.

The Rangers use Pathfinder to grab an objective.

Realizing the error of my ways, the other Ranger unit turns to face the bogged down Abyssal Guard. Moving, and with cover, they’ll shoot over and into the Warlock for kicks, landing 2 damage.

The devastated Ironguard and devastated Crossbowmen fight on against the Abyssal Guard, halving their attacks, and landing 3 damage still. Not bad!

The Warsmiths look to deal with the Gargoyles, and their pistols clip the fliers for 3 damage, and we do get the waver against them.

The Warsmiths deal with the Gargoyles.

The tables are a little uneven. With the reforms after the Shieldbreakers came to the aid of the Rifles, I was trying to give myself some options, but things are sliding around for me, and I can really get the Shieldbreaker horde in anywhere. With both Abyssal Guard hordes locked in, I decide I am fine playing for the tie, and them doing nothing.

Had I been going for the win, I think the Crossbows withdraw, fail, and the Shieldbreakers take the flank, to likely pick up the Guard, allowing the devastated Ironclad to overrun towards thee objective, while the shieldwall scramble to 

The Dwarfs brawl.

In their fight against the Molochs, the Rifles get a Fury of the Ancients, which is an illegal Command, as they have the wrong keyword. However, I also land a Bane Chant, and they have Fire-Oil, so it all works out. They get a nice Radiance of Life for 1, and swing hard for 10 damage onto the Molochs, will break them, and reform.

The Crossbowmen do very well!

Again, I am just playing for the tie here. Playing for the Win, I think they pivot less, and make sure we can see the Imps. I am already out of arc of the nearby Abyssal Guard. It's a long shot, but a Round 7 and some luck could pick up the Imps.

The Ironclad get a Fury of the Ancients from the Flame Priest (Holdfast, a legal target!) and land 3 more damage onto the Lower Abyssals, taking them up to 7 damage, but we do not get the break.

The Flame Priest swings on Ba’su’su, and fails to wound again, though is doing fine by keeping him occupied.

Bottom of Round 6: Abyssals

I completely forget about Yielding. The Flame Priest is Yielding, meaning she can just be ignored, and Ba’su’su does just that, changing facing as an individual, and charges something else, this being the Ironwatch Rifles. This was a very sneaky play lulling me into this, but for the life of me, I just don’t know why they kept individuals in the game. Rebasing is half the band-aid pull, but Individuals are just frustratingly complex now. (Also, apparently there is a new FAQ out as of July 1st, and for what it is worth, Individuals can pick up a loot token again, their speed just becomes zero. Fine, I guess? But again, so needlessly complex…)

Ba'su'su is tricky! I love it.

The warlord charges the Ironwatch Rifles in the flank, looking to remove my unit strength on my own home objective… he lands a silly 5 damage, taking the horde up to 14, but the horde holds.

Neither the devastated Ironclad nor the devastated Crossbowmen are not found to be insane again, and the Guard simply pick them up and reform. The Guard fighting on my home objective regenerates the last bit of damage, and ending fresh. The other Guard go from 10 down to just 2 damage with hot Regen, and they reform, ready to fight.

The Warlock regenerates 1, and lands 2 damage with their Firebolts onto my outflanking Ironclad troop behind the building, taking them to 5 and getting the waver, saving and securing my opponent’s home objective in a potential Round 7.

We do not roll up a Round 7. We each hold our home objective, and then split the objectives on the wings, for a tie game. I was playing for a tie, and will gladly take it!

Game Conclusions

I had inklings on how to play the scenario, but I basically did not deploy well, and totally missed that there was no terrain that would slow the Abyssals down in that important central corridor. Being able to scout up to the obstacle became a goal that the rest of my deployment had to adjust for, but that position was foiled with our Cover discussion, which happened after deployment... It happens. I should have put the Rangers on the hill instead, and had a few more units a little more centrally. My brain was mush and I was winging a newer army against a brand new army.

Ever-competitive, Rob was wondering if there was a misplay of his anywhere, and honestly, not that I could See. I’m not a fan of Moloch troops nor Nagarri, but two Insane Courage results on doomed units is what kept him from winning this. Luck kept me alive this game, and I am happy to acknowledge that.

Testing Conclusions

• Stone Priest. I still think he’s a good purchase if you need Surge or a fancy spell, but Bloodboil is probably not the best fancy spell for him. Without a mount, the range is just too short for easy use. Blizzard is obviously up there for both power and utility, but I am purposefully trying to avoid it. I think Veil of Shadows might be fun for some defense if shooting picks up more, and Scorched Earth also looks nice, and would be fluffy.
• Flame Priest. The Flame Priest was again an ok general supporting spellcaster. The Fireball is alright, and having access to Bane Chant is still nice.
• Warsmiths. The Warsmiths are more limited, but still great at supporting Ironcraft units like the Rangers or the Ironwatch shooters. They even got some good uses out of their Pistols this game! If taking any shooting units, consider taking them to help out.
• Ironclad Troops. They were not used particularly well, and I think they should have been more centrally deployed. Still, they found uses, and I enjoyed running them.
• Ironwatch Rifle Horde. I committed the sin of deploying shooters centrally, and they struggled a bit. They ultimately held, but were not used particularly well.
• Ironwatch Crossbowmen Regiment. The regiment was ok? I liked being able to move and shoot (sorta, 6’s are needed at best), and they obviously struggled against Veil of Shadows as well. I don’t mind them though, as with their 4’s in Melee and for Defense they are ok generalists for their points.
• Shieldbreaker Regiments. They did fine. I think two hordes would be a bit too unwieldy for me right now, so I’m digging the current split while trying to improve and learn.
• Shieldbreaker Horde, Stone. Bumping up the Nerve with the Stone is fine if the points are there, and while the horde wasn’t used particularly well, there is protentional there. I like it, and seem like d good way for me to anchor a line and future lists. Focusing on and figuring out where this horde goes, and then dropping some supporting pieces to assist and protect would probably help me with future deployments.
• Ranger Regiments. They had a tough time with cover, but Pathfinder was a lot of fun. I was able to use Pathfinder for positional gain and scenario play well, and I do think that is how to think about using the ability these days.
• Berserker Brock Regiment. The aggression caught me off-guard, but was wise. I couldn’t back them up or save them, and the actual trade wasn’t great, but it did start gumming up that side of the board. If I only have one speedy unit (Berserker Lord on Brock, etc), I think it needs to primarily be used as deterrence – they can do work, but you don’t want to send them in alone, if you can help it. I’ll try to be more cautious in the future… or alternatively, run more speedy things!

We’ll continue blabbering. Since I had recently played the Abyssals myself, this was a very interesting match-up, and really got my inter-disciplinary brain thinking along a lot of odd paths, and I think there are a lot neat comparisons to be made between the Herd Guardian Brutes, Abyssal Guard, and Molochs. I knew the returning Abyssal Guard were going to be strong, but yowza! It kinda sucks to have your pet unit inexplicably buffed and suddenly on everyone’s radar.

Trying to keep this somewhat on rails though, for me, we’ll wrap things up a little more generally. For my games with the new Abyssals, I was pulling from my existing collection and trying to evaluate how some units had changed and see how they might be used, and for Rob, he was zeroing in a new list and style great for tournaments.

Rob was generally happy with the list, and the core of Imps, Gargoyles, Lower Abyssals, Abyssal Guard and Warlocks is definitely there, and very strong. He said this felt like playing his old 3E Halflings, which is odd, but after writing all this up, I’d actually agree.

The Halflings were a nightmare for an opponent to evaluate and effectively engage. There were multiple auras to weigh and consider, and 19” Striding Jugger Cavalry, Stealthy Poachers, and pesky Grenadier fliers to account for. These Abyssals were definitely playing in that same vein with different tools (Regeneration, Gargoyles, and stuff like the Ultimate Betrayal and Barkskin) – overloading the opponent with variables to consider and just waiting for me to make a mistake they could really capitalize on. I’m going to have my work cut out for me in the coming months! My brain was mush but  there was a lot to think about after all this. Thanks for the game Rob!