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: #141 Herd vs Brothermark in Plunder

Intro and Lists

Trevor had a surprise free evening, and had reached out for a game. Further adding to my delight was that we were playing quick, and able to fit in a second weeknight game, something I don’t think we have accomplished before. Trevor was hosting, and fielded another iteration on the Brothermark:

It’s very similar to his previous list. Momentarily gone are the Penitents, replaced this time by stickier Veteran Spearmen, who still have the Villein keyword, and thus can benefit from Rally and the Fury aura he had been utilizing. Providing some oomph are Paladin Monster Slayers with two-handers and the Healing Brew, and two hordes of Ogre Palace Guards. Supporting all this are three normal Phoenixes in order to retain Nimble for scenario play, along with two Ogre Palace Guard Captains. High Chaplain Augustus was around to do a little bit of everything, there was a Exemplar Chaplain to buff, a flying Dictator to interdict, and this time the neat War Wizard has Celestial Restoration, to hopefully keep all the units around and fighting longer.

I brought the Herd, finally going with what I think is a slightly more sensible approach to early lists running triple Brutes. I enjoyed my Keith Conroy throwback lists, so am taking that core and essentially just swapping out Lycans for the Brutes. See, sensible! It's only my third attempt at a triple Guardian Brute build. Up to evaluate is everything:

• Spirit Walkers with Blood of the Old King. With Speed 6 Brutes, I feel like I need something to instigate and grab my opponent’s attention so that the Brutes can actually get in. Keith Conroy really brought these to everyone’s attention, and I think they could work well here. They are Fearless and Height 2, so should hopefully be able to start some fights for me. Keith really liked the Brew of Haste on his, but without Lycans, I don’t think I need the speed boost, and will just try to get one good fight in with them.
• Harpies. These are great chaff units, and good picks for the Herd. 
• Guardian Brutes. The thinking is that with Brutal and Fury, these should be ok brawlers. 
• Beast of Nature. These are powerful monsters if used well... which I have struggled to do. I’ve demonstrated a few times now that these really need flank charges and multi-charges to break stuff, so that’ll be the goal here. 
• Mounted Druid with BC and Barkskin. I like Druids in all forms, but with Hero slots at a premium for the Herd in these lists, I think they need to do more than just Bane Chant, and I’m overdue for playing around with Magic in all my armies. We don’t quite have the super-low defense to abuse the spell, but Barkskin looks ok for absorbing some damage, so we’ll try it out. 
• Gladewalker Druid with Lute and Veil. You can only take Knowledgeable once, but I wanted to try out some more spell support, so have a Gladewalker Druid. They are the highest caster we can get at 2, and unfortunately are geared more towards Elemental support, but this still lets us try out Veil on a foot character, alongside Barkskin. Their spell selection is also weird, and while it feels slapdash, I think the Lute is probably a good idea, just to give them some extra utility. 
• Moonfang. I like Lycan Alphas, but don’t think I can afford to run multiples, so we’re taking just the legendary one. He seems like a strong pick, and we’ll continue to take him and try and instigate with him.
• Avatar of the Father. I like my model, so am stubbornly trying to fit him into some of these builds. Fliers are stronger the more of them you take, so we’ll see what he and the two Beasts can get up to here.

Table and Terrain

Trevor was hosting us, and we used his Kings of War App to quickly generate another map. 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 ponds s as some Height 0 difficult terrain. The map was again a little unusual, but interesting, with both buildings on one side of the map, and both ponds on the other.

We got Plunder as the scenario this time, which is good, as I need to play more token-based scenarios especially with the Herd. For Plunder, there are 5 Loot Tokens spread across the centerline of the battlefield, each worth 1 point. We each nominate one token to be upgraded to 2-Points, and we score whatever our units are holding at the end of the game. I won the roll for sides, and was lazy, and then nominated the the middle token on the right, and my opponent then picked the one on the very far left, hoping to spread me out. 

Overview of the table.

The white tokens are worth 1 Point, and the purples worth 2 Points. The Brothermark nominated the left-most token, while the Herd picked the one on the far-right. 

The Brothermark won the roll for sides this time, and he stayed put.

The Brothermark line.

For deployment the Brothermark went wide, with two Spear regiments on the far left with an Ogre Captain betwixt, the Rallying Chaplain in the pond, and then two more Spear Regiments. Augustus was next, with a Phoenix, the flying Dictator, and the Paladin horde taking us to the center, with the second Ogre Captain and both Phoenixes finishing the front line. Both Ogre units were in reserve, in the center of the battlefield. 

The Brothermark went pretty wide, trying to leverage their greater unit strength into plenty of options to contest things, but Herd wanted to play hard for the narrow win. With a narrow corridor and a building on my left, I wrote off the 2-Pointer out on the left.

The Herd center, with the Harpies on the left just out of frame.

Left to right we have a unit of Harpies lurking, ready to block and delay. We have a Beast on the line to project threat, with the Barkskin Druid in support. The central hills were troublesome, but I have Brutes and Spirit Walkers just to either side, so they can at least see part the hill. The Veil of Shadows Druid and Moonfang finished up the center. 

The Herd right.

I didn’t think I had the space to cleanly fight for the center, so the rest of the Herd was on the right. We have Harpies on the line with the Avatar behind, and then two units of angled Brutes and an angled Beast, all ready to run up the field as fast as they could.

We had no Scout moves between us, and there was much rejoicing (for my opponent) when the Brothermark won the roll and secured the first turn.

Top of Round 1: Brothermark

The Brothermark moved up aggressively. On the left, the Spears moved at the double, and the Ogre Captain kept pace with a curt pivot at the end. The Brothermark are all over their 2-Pointer.

Very confident Brothermark moving out!

The rallying Chaplain was slowed by the terrain, but inched out towards the center, while the remaining Spear units approached the woods. 

With nothing injured yet, the Celestial Resto Wizard inched towards the hill, hoping to use it as the game progressed to get line of sight to Brothermark units in need to aid. 

From reserve, the Ogre units advanced, with one angling to meet the Herd soon to be pressuring from the right.

A big advance from the layered Brothermark center.

Centrally, the Paladins and an Ogre escort move the full 10” up, but I eventually point out my Wild Charge on the Spirit Walkers, and they ease up slightly, denying me any possible charge. Hmmm. Maybe Keith is really onto something with the Brew of Haste!

    

Concerning shooting from the Phoenixes.

The Phoenixes should all just be in range to shoot, and are tall enough to ignore the hills, and will land 9 damage into the Spirit Walkers.

Bottom of Round 1: Herd

On the right, the Herd moves as fast as they can, trying to match the aggression of the Brothermark opposing them. Had I gotten first turn, this positioning would be ok, but I did not, and with the Brothermark moving up so aggressively, I am worried. It will still probably be two more turns before the Brutes out here can join any fights.

The angled Brutes move as swiftly as they can, but it’s still not great positioning. Harpies flit up, trying to spy things between the building and the Brutes.

The Herd advances, with the fliers already in positions to flank the Brothermark.

With Pathfinder, the Avatar of the Father is able to zip up and hide in the woods, grimly evaluating the Brothermark line. Will his streak of finding an insanely courageous unit continue? The Beast likewise hopes up the full 20”, spying the center of the board.

The Herd take the hill.

In the center, I am flummoxed. The Spirit Walkers really need to get some value here, but are already pretty injured, and unlikely to survive another volley. I opt to inch up, giving a possible charge to the Ogre Captain, but not the Paladins. I am on the hill, but not majority on it with both the Spirit Walkers and the Brutes, but am threatening charges next turn. 

The Druids try to support things, and one casts Veil, covering the units in the center, while the other lands a Barkskin 3 into the Spirit Walkers. The Spirit Walkers are still hurt, but this should complicate things for my opponent next turn.

Harpies get into position to help the center. Not much they can do against four regiments of Spearmen...

The nearby flying Beast pivots, looking to threaten stuff and look for flanks next turn, and the Harpies on the left flap up, safe from charges and looking to make some delaying charges next turn.

Top of Round 2: Brothermark

The advance of the Brothermark continues. 

Having gained a lot of ground, the Spears from the left all move and pivot, making their way towards the center. The Spears offer a lot of Unit Strength here, but are prioritizing movement, grabbing only the single 1-Pointer a unit lands on. The 2-Pointer can easily be grabbed next turn. The Phoenixes opt to ignore Veil of Shadows.

The Spears push towards the center, though one is already carrying a token.

One Phoenix shoots into Harpies, and lands 4 damage, but the fierce flying ladies hold. Another charges the Guardian Brutes partially on the hill to tie them up for a turn. The final Phoenix sprays into the nearest Brutes on the right, landing 2 damage.

Other delaying charges are made, with the Dictator flying out to ground the flying Beast on the left. He’ll catch a Bane Chant from Augustus, and smack the Beast for 4 damage.

Delaying charges and repositioning.

The reserve Ogres gain some ground and pivot more to face the Herd on the right, while the Paladins grab the center token, worth 1-Point and do the same.

The Brothermark turn to face the oncoming Herd.

An Ogre Captain charges the Spirit Walkers, and lands a hot 4 damage… but Barkskin negates 3, and on 10 damage, the Walkers hold. 

Bottom of Round 2: Herd

On the right, the far Brutes reach my 2-Pointer with a move and a pivot, but I do not pick it up. With only Speed 6, I was wary of picking up the token and further slowing myself down… but I think this is an error, and I probably should have picked it up since I landed on it. I could always drop it later if I need to do so in order to charge.

The Herd on the right moves up, trying to contribute.

The Harpies out here reposition, ready to pick up the 2-Pointer for me next turn. The delaying charges seemed weird to me at the time, but realistically, the Brothermark are already effectively controlling 4 points worth of tokens (the hold two 1-Pointers, and will easily pick up the 2-Pointer on the left next round), which is a win. If they can delay the Herd or endure some charges, it will be a win for the Brothermark.

The injured Brutes move up around the building, threatening the Paladins but stay safe themselves.

In the backfield, Moonfang goes in to disorder the Phoenix. He scares me with his hit rolls, but does land 2 damage to get the disorder. 

The Herd push back into the Brothermark.

Moonfang can’t quite reach, but the Beast and Avatar have charges into stuff, and opt to charge the Ogres, as they are uninspired, and given the angles, my opponent will not be able to help the unit. They deal 8, which feels underwhelming, but is about right for averages. The Nerve check is unfortunately now, and the Ogres Iron-Resolve down to 7 damage, and are ready to brawl.

The Spirit Walkers catch a Bane Chant and will land 8 against the Ogre Captain, best him, and reform. I cast with the Barkskin Druid, and regret it. Only one Phoenix is free to shoot next turn, and I think Barkskin would have been a better spell than Veil. Alas, I have nothing also to Bane Chant, and do get Veil of Shadows off.

Reforms for the Herd.

The Brutes counter-charge the Phoenix, with Harpies in the flank, and through weight of attacks, the Phoenix is devastated and routed. The Harpies reform, as-do the Brutes, who are able to get out of arc of the Paladins in the center.

The Beast claws 5 damage into the Dictator, but he Iron-Resolves down to 4.

Top of Round 3: Brothermark

On the left, the Spears move slightly, and grab the 2-Pointer out here, and officially put the Brothermark in the lead with 4 points worth of tokens being carried currently. The other unit nearby saunters into the woods. The Ogre Captain doesn’t have the inches to help in combats yet, but gets around the woods, and ends touching the obstacle. 

Movement and charges on the left for the Brothermark.

Two Spear units make hindered charges into the Harpies, and will easily pick them up. 

The Dictator does into Beast again, landing 2 damage this time, but keeping the bird grounded.

Augustus can spot the Brutes partially on the hill, and after some other charges are made, will charge in to tie them up again. The Brutes are scary, but less so if you can keep them disordered.

Other charges for the Brothermark.

The War Wizard was hoping to get on the hill, but with fighting here, distances become rough. He cannot get far enough away to heal the Ogres in the backfield, and little else has taken damage. I think the only option is a Phoenix, though I don't recall or note the outcome of the spell.

The Phoenix wants to disengage, and pivots and moves to avoid Moonfang. The Phoenix was tall and protecting my wolf, but now line of sight is clear, and Ogres charge off the hill, landing 10 damage. We remember Brutal, but Moonfang holds, wavering. Perhaps my disordering charge was not the smartest.

The other Ogres countercharge the flying Beast, as it has a lower Nerve. They spike their dice, landing 12 damage, and will rout the Beast.

The untouched Phoenix will fly up and get in front of the nearest Brutes coming from the right. With a titanic base and Height 6, I can’t see past the fiery bird.

Aftermath of the round.

Centrally, the Paladins are holding a 1-Point token, and will charge the Spirit Walkers. There is nothing to support them, but the Paladins underperform, landing another 10 damage, and on 20 damage, the Spirit Walkers are found to be insanely courageous.

Bottom of Round 3: Herd

On the right, I need to leave my 2-Pointer behind. I need to get these Brutes into the fight! They move ahead, careful to stay safe from the Ogre units.

Rather than grab my 2-Pointer, I think I need to press on and fight, and the Harpies fly up to block for Moonfang as the shaken heroic unit disengages and backs up. The Harpies are able to hop ahead of him, and with the angles involved, he is safe from the Ogres next turn. Moonfang also spikes his regeneration roll, going from 10 damage down to 1. I can see why people like him!

Charges from the Herd.

The Brutes can’t see past the Phoenix, so just charge him. Through sheer weight of attacks, the Brutes land 13 damage, and will pick the bird up. They are safe next turn, and slightly reform, in order to pick up a 1-Pointer nearby.

In the back, the Avatar has a clean charge into the uninspired Ogres again. They are on 7 damage, but I don’t trust my dice. The Avatar flies over them, and then nimbly pivots twice to spy the rears of Brothermark units. With both Ogre units limited to charging the Harpies next turn, I am fine with this.

Reforms from the Herd.

The Brutes catch the a Bane Chant, and counter-charge Augustus. The hope is to break him, and then any overrun will get me into the flank of the Paladins. I only land 7 damage (10 expected), and Augustus is found to be insane. 

The insane Spirit Walkers catch the other Bane Chant, and I roll this fight after the Brutes and Augustus, as the hope was to get the Brutes into the flank here. The Spirits slash 12 damage into the Paladins, who Iron Resolve down to 11. The insane hold has really turned the tables on the Brothermark, who were hoping to block, grab tokens, and back away. With everything delayed by a turn, the Herd is regaining momentum now.

The Beast continues against the Dictator, and does claw a few more damage against him, taking him up to 9 damage, and I am able to rout him this turn. Reforms are tough, so I do nothing. I believe a sidestep would bring the Spears into range; pivoting to face the Ogre Captain doesn’t seem great, with other Spear units able to get a flank. I think I should have backed up or overrun, but ultimately do nothing.

Top of Round 4: Brothermark

With the tide beginning to turn, the Spears on the left start hauling their 2-Pointer away. Two other units of Spears continue making their way towards the center to fight, with two unfortunately unable to get into fights this turn.

The Brothermark look to leave with their loot.

The Ogre Captain does make a hindered flank-charge into the Beast, landing 5 damage and brining the monster up to 8, though it holds. If memory serves, the Beast is found to be insane here.

Charges for the Brothermark.

Insane Augustus counter-charges the weak Brutes, with a unit of Spearmen joining in. With the starting positions of all the units, this is the best the Brothermark can do, leaving two Spear regiments sitting in reserve. Together, the Brothermark brings the Brutes up to 11 damage… and then the Brutes are found to be Insane, which is another big setback for the Brothermark. They are delaying, but the Herd units have been rudely overstaying their welcome in these comats.

The War Wizard is able to see things this turn, and casts Celestial Restoration on the Paladins… for just 2, and the Paladins end the turn on 9 damage. The Spirit Walkers are not found insane a second time however, and are picked up this turn, with the Paladins now stuck turning to face some oncoming Brutes.

Reforms for the Brothermark.

In the back, the Phoenix booped by Moonfang wheels about, getting on the hill to block line of sight from the Avatar into the Paladins. 

The Brutes multi-charge the Harpies, and we fast forward the fight, and they are not Insane. Both Overrun 3 inches, starting down Moonfang.

Bottom of Round 4: Herd

I unfortunately don't take good pictures here. Moonfang has a nice flank into one Ogre horde, but cannot fit. So he and some Brutes go into the injured horde, and will devastate and rout them. Moonfang reforms to spin around, looking to run back and grab my 2-Pointer, and the fresh Brutes face the center of the field looking for their next fight.

The Avatar of the Father can’t see the Paladins, but can see both Ogres. He rear-charges the other unit, and lands what turns out to be the expected 15 damage. The second uninspired Ogre horde is broken.

The Brutes that bested the Phoenix and grabbed a token are able to fit between the building and Ogres to charge the wounded Paladins. It’s a clean charge, and with the meager Celestial Restoration, the Brutes are able to bring the Paladins up to 20 damage, and break this horde as well, stealing their 1-Pointer in victory, and are now holding 2 1-Point tokens for the Herd. They will reform to get the Ogre Captain in front-arc.

The other horde of Guardian Brutes, who are insane, catch another Bane Chant, and then a Barkskin for 3, and will countercharge Augustus. They land just another 7 damage, but this still brings him to 13, we rout him, and then an overrun of anything takes the Brutes into the assisting Spear regiment, who will take 12 damage, and break as well. The Brutes will steal the 1-Pointer from the Spears. 

Aftermath of a VERY big turn for the Herd.

Disordered by the Ogre Captain in the flank, but with an open front, the grounded flying Beast also presses on, lurching forward and charging out into the flank of the Spears, landing 9 damage, and then getting the rout as the Chaplain is not a source of Inspiring.

It’s a back-breaking turn, with the Brothermark loosing some 16 Unit Strength all at once. The Herd now holds all three of the 1-Point tokens, with Moonfang eager to secure the 2-Pointer on the far right in round 5.

Top of Round 5: Brothermark

It was a devastating turn of events for the Brothermark. My opponent surveys the field, and eventually concedes after we are talking things through.

The Brothermark safely hold their nominated 2-pointer, but things are dire. The Herd hold three 1-Point tokens. We measure, and with the woods, Moonfang and his Pathfinding skills will be able to double-back to reach my 2-Pointer before the Phoenix can grab it. 

Positioning that the Brothermark inherit.

Even the remaining fights are dire. The flying Beast is wounded, but is in the way, preventing the Spears from charging past and into the Brutes with a token. The Ogre Captain has a front charge into the unit, but needs to actually damage the unit to force a Nerve check, and with Barkskin 3 on the Brutes currently, a check is not even guaranteed, and either the Brutes and/or the Avatar should be able to avenge things. In short, things are dire, and the Brothermark concede again.

Game Conclusions

I had high hopes and a good feeling about this list, and am elated I was able to take the win here, though it needs to be stressed how much Insane Courage helped the Herd here. Insane last-stand Spirit Walkers helped me maim and then claim the Paladins to get some real momentum going, and insane last-stand Brutes help close out the came conclusively. Round 4 was going to be tough for the Brothermark, but the dice were one-sided and let me get away with an absolutely massive turn. So, the list worked, but I was also pretty lucky here.

Testing Conclusions

• Spirit Walkers with Blood of the Old King. …On the drive home I remembered that I never popped the Blood in their combats. I’ll need a token or something for the future. I want to try them with the Blood again, because I think it will help me get the most out of the unit before it breaks, but I think this game did showcase why Keith liked them with the Brew, as I would have absolutely yolo'ed these into the Paladins to see what would have happened. Overall, these seem like a great instigating unit for the Brutes. I haven't tried it yet, but if I am clever, I can probably park Brute behind them for tricky multi-charges. We'll explore that another time, but off to a good start with the horde of phantasms here.  
• Harpies. I was lucky to have the one hold after getting shot, but both were used well to block and delay here, and were exactly what I needed to gain momentum over on the right by blocking up both Ogre hordes..
• Guardian Brutes. Against the odds, all my Brutes survived this second game too. This is still obviously a fluke, and again I lucked out with an insane unit holding to help me decisively close the game out here too. Even angled, Speed 6 and not getting first turn proved to be a liability, though my opponent had similar problems with his Spears. I think this is an argument in favor of running an outriding unit of Lycans or something instead of the third horde, but conversely, I would not have wanted Lycans way out on a flank just holding a token. I have a handful of triple Brute lists to explore yet before I start fine-tuning, so we'll see how the future games go. 
• Beast of Nature. We tried deterrence and one multi-charge with them, though without a flank  charge they did not break that unit. They only had decent games, with one grounded and one routing, but my opponent wasn't able to capitalize on the grounding, and survivor lucked out at the end for a bit of a rampage to close things out. 
• Mounted Druid with BC and Barkskin. Mounted Druids are fun and useful, but I've felt like the Herd hero slots are limited, and the caster need to be doing a little more. Barkskin could be really helpful here. It wasn't the best test or showing, but looks promising, especially with Spirit Walkers around. One other big spell to look at is Scorched Earth, as it could really drive home the Herd's terrain advantages.
• Gladewalker Druid with Lute and Veil. Last Game my opponent introduced me to the idea of Veil with the Sacred Horn item. While it is awkward, I still think she needs the Lute, as that spell really does help the Herd out a lot. It's weird, but yeah, overall I liked the Gladewalker here.
• Moonfang. The disordering charge into the Phoenix was reckless - I kinda forgot that the Phoenix could just ... move and clear the way to charge him. Moonfang lucked out this time and with that luck, really delivered for me. If I can rein in the recklessness and start leveraging that 4+ Regen, he could indeed be really powerful, and I am understanding more and more why he rates so highly among Herd players. A good showing for him!
• Avatar of the Father. The Avatar finally failed to uncover an insanely courageous unit! I think I finally used him mostly well? The big decision was whether or not to solo-charge and continue against those Ogres. Statistically I think I should bring them to 12 damage and have good chances to pick them up, but I did not trust my dice. Since I was able to limit their charges, avoiding them for the turn seemed sensible. To then get a rear charge and a rout on something the following turn was really gratifying, and it felt like the Avatar finally had a good game and a good showing. 

Getting in a weekday game has been rarer this year, and I don't think we have ever snuck in two over an evening, so this was a real treat. A huge thank you to Trevor for hosting our games! If you are not already a regular visitor, be sure to check out his insightful Data & Dice blog for some great Kings of War analytics.