Hobby Update: Pathfinding Armies

Our club had some big changes in 2025. Our main meetup store shifted to the wonderful and newly relocated Gamer's Realm in New Berlin, WI. More importantly though, "Milwaukee Brian", the blogger behind the upbeat Nerd's Tale, the runner our our events, our local Mantic Pathfinder, and overall big heart, brain, and overall organizing force behind the club, moved far far away, way out to the Southwest.

A few of us are juggling FB posts and meetup duties; Joe spearheaded the successful and recent Northwoods Melee 1-day event, and back in very late August I decided to take on the mantle of a Mantic Pathfinder for Kings of War and try to grow our little club in the coming year. The Pathfinder Program sounded neat, but within days of signing, I was swiftly hit with two successive whammies.

Whammy the first was that while I do have a handful of armies and a heck of a lot of points for each of them... Pathfinding armies need to be all Mantic miniatures. Honestly, this makes sense, but unfortunately meant that my Abyssals and Undead needed some heroic additions at least, and my Kingdoms of Men, Herd, and Varangur lists were all going to be essentially useless for this little proselytizing endeavor. Furthermore, my "Stormcast Ogre" collection and their multi system movement trays were also going to be completely out of bounds, which was a bummer, as I thought they might be a good intro army generally and effective mental onramp for newer players as well, since they easily showed how you could port existing models over to try out the system. Oh well. 

While I was figuring out my heroic additions in September, the second whammy hit, which was the announcement of 4th Edition, along with affiliated rumors and spoilers. Given the launch of  the Champions game, I figured individuals were in for a revamp in 4th, so I had started skewing my heroic additions towards the larger options with Unit Strength where ever I could. 

Undead

My Undead army actually has a good number of Mantic models, with a mix of Skeletons, Zombies, and even Zombie Trolls now. Going into this, I could already cobble together a decent 100% Mantic list, with the exception of heroes. 

The Undead, to start.

Heroes moving to larger bases was revealed pretty far along into my efforts, and this type of hero is more difficult for the Undead to field, and I did not want to buy a proper Vampire on Pegasus for this project. Thankfully, I recalled Lady Ilona from a long-ago purchase, and was able to rebase here without difficulty. And then for additions, Trevor provided me with a Necromancer and a Goreblight from the Mantic Vault to help fill things out for this army for now. I also have Zombies to pull from, as well as a Mantic ASB from extra Skeletons, so while I don't have the full army roster yet, I think we should have enough to throw something mostly sensible together for the Undead.

Abyssals

My Abyssals were also in a pretty good spot, due to having a lot of Flamebearers from previous years and many purchases of the box. I also had a lot of Lower Abyssals, from more recent efforts. I decided to donate my Abyssal Ghoul conversions to the Pathfinding cause as Lower Abyssals.

Abyssals

For heroes, I was also in a bit of a bind, but I uncovered and then hobbied up Mau’ti-ba’su from another very old purchase, and finally dipped into some of the Imps from the Lower Abyssal sprues, to give the army some chaff. Trevor again provided me with some goodies from the Vault, including a proper Despoiler Champion, and a Warlock. 

As the spoilers rolled on, it seemed like the heroic picks would impact lists in 4th, allowing certain units to be fielded, so the eventual aim for all this is to have a few set lists for each army, and let the prospective player pick whatever hero looks appealing. The Abyssal collection is a bit hero-heavy right now, but I'm still stalling a bit for the official, detailed army lists. I can give them more Flamebearers, or Berserker regiments as-needed, but the Abyssals also have a good starting point here.

Northern Alliance!

Having played a lot with the Varangur, I discovered I didn’t like the Night Raiders with Axes much. I had two regiments mostly built from Mantic’s kit, which yes, could be Tribesmen as well for the Varangur, but I figured another demo army would be a better use of those minis. No work or touchups have been done on them yet.

My new Northern Alliance.

But I needed some more units. I dipped into the Snow Foxes from the Tribesmen kit, to build up some chaff for the army as well.

I picked up a few ebay bundles of Mantic Dwarfs over the years, with the idle intent of building a demo army, and/or starting an infantry-focused Free Dwarf army. We dipped into that pile for a small lot of heavily-abused Ironclad, which got slight conversions with fur around the weird neck and shoulder armor bits of the models, and per the fluff, more "Northerly," rounded shields, sourced from various human kits. These were my first Dwarves painted. They had a bad priming job, but I just wanted them done, and overall, they turned out well.

In September I also caved, and seeing two, mostly complete NA Ambush boxes for less than the price of one, picked them up on ebay as well, and used a sprue from it to build up a unit of Elf Berserkers. It turns out I do not really like these models! They are dynamic, but the cloaks are very cumbersome, and they have a lot of overhang, making them a bit difficult to multi-base. This troop is done though, and we can add more berserkers or elvish shooters as-needed.

Rounding out the heroes for the new Northern Alliance, Trevor again came to my rescue, with a Thegn on Frostfang, and a Snow Troll Prime, both printed off the Vault. They did not have the best joins, but a little green stuff fur smoothed it all out, and despite some imperfections, on the table, these all look fine.

Imperial Dwarfs!

I wanted at least 4 demo armies around. It seemed like a good number. 

As-mentioned, over the years I picked up a few bundles of used Mantic Dwarfs from ebay. Taking an inventory of them all in the spring, I discovered that I had nearly 200 basic bodies (Ironwatch, Ironclad, Shieldbreakers)! I would still like to hobby up some Free Dwarfs (more on this topic in the coming months), but wanted them to be painted up well. Mantic minis tend to be a little goofy with consistency and details and how things are supposed to “read”, so with Pathfinding coming up, I diverted a bit of each pile in order to make a 4th demo army of Imperial Dwarfs. 

Imperial Dwarfs.

I would like my Free Dwarfs to have more complicated basing, so here I carved away the stands, to see how all that works. Overall, not well. I bought a Dremel tool for this, but I don't know if it's not powerful enough, or I was using it wrong, but it couldn't make a dent here, so I resorted to clippers and then hobby knives to trim off all the stands. Basing was just messing around with stuff. I had some plastic card stock and cut out some rocks, and then added some basic grass. I don't really like the basing here. Despite efforts to texture it, the card rocks look pretty bad. I may rip those out and start again at some point, but no desire to build up Imperial Dwarves much more, we will 

We have two regiments of basic Ironclad, one of Ironwatch with Rifles, and one Shieldbreaker regiment as well. Organ Guns have been a very attractive unit to me, but I have never run them in 3rd, so I hobbied one up here, and then grabbed a metal Warsmith from the Pile to lead the contingent for now. One of the bundles had nearly a dozen conversions, so we should be able to grab anything else we might need to help lead the force, like a Ranger, or a King, should we want those options once we get more of the rules released.

All of these armies were all built and hobbied up in advance of the reveal of the new Core-requirements for list building. Blindly building for a new edition, I think I did pretty well though, and each list has at least two of what should be a Core unit, with a handful of others units around to enlist to spice things up, and I should be able to figure out a few lists for each army... eventually. Pathfinders were supposed to get a version of the rules in early November, but those have yet to materialize. We're now just shy of two weeks past on the revised delivery date with no news. I'll organize these into some actual lists once I actually see some rosters and points... 

Terrain

Supporting all of these armies is a new demo table, since I need/want to be self-sufficient for my demo days. I picked up a 3’x3’ wintery mat and then threw together some more of my homemade terrain over the last few months. I didn’t go overboard since we didn’t need to populate a full, standard table, but we have a few small forests with removable trees, a few obstacles, a hill, and one piece of difficult terrain with some battlefield debris. Overall, this should should be a decent stage for any skirmish game, and give us a little variety for setting up. The mat is a bit small, but I figured we could shrink the deployment zones and have some nice, quick games.

Mat, and terrain for the Pathfinder games.

The last steps are tossing together a demo bag with rules, dice, measuring tapes, and such, and then figuring out how to transport all this! I am set on the former, but the latter is complicating things a bit. I would like to get some small lockable tower bins for all these, with something like a bin for each army, one for rules and game aids, and one for terrain, but haven't found anything worthwhile yet.

Thankfully, all of the units pictured today fits in one of my standard travel / storage bins. The mat rolls up, and rules / terrain can all easily fit into a smaller bin. I'm all set for now, and can upgrade whenever I see something that fits my needs exactly.

While to-date I have reported on every game I have ever played, good-or-bad, errors-or-no, I will likely break that streak here in 4th Edition. The experience of the new player needs to be prioritized, and I think a report is too much to ask of me in the moment, and despite new rules and tactics, the smaller games might also not be as interesting. Hopefully more demos off-screen will lead to more games to properly report on in 2026!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #124 Varangur vs Dwarfs in Kill

Intro and Lists

The holiday weekend was busy, but my only big commitment on Sunday was a dinner, and thus I was able to miraculously squeeze in three more league games over the afternoon. As a bonus, folks were coming to Madison, making the commute negligible. We were out at Pegasus Games, one of my old Warhammer Fantasy haunts, and where we were playing when the End Times occurred. We had run a big, rather messy campaign for the Times, and our old cork board (now quite devoid of troop movement pins and such) was hung up as art, which was neat to see. 

A nice map from back in the day.

The first game of the day was against Joe, who had brought his Imperial Dwarfs back to the table for a few games, since he had already gotten in a number of league games in for May:

Yowza. Those are some Dwarfs that mean serious business! Joe took 2nd in Adepticon's Ambush event, so he seems to be viewing these smaller games more ruthlessly. We have a few new players in the league, so I'm glad I'm catching this heat and not them. Three Def6 Ironguard regiments, a Def6 Dwarf Lord unit, and two supporting casters is a lot to deal with at this points-level, and with a lot of terrain on such a small board it's hard to get around the dwarf units for positional advantages.

After not materializing a second game last weekend, I brought the Varangur back out, looking to get in my second league game of the month and thus get in a game with my Varangur May 1b(ows) list and be able to more directly compare and contrast the axe and bow options some more. As-before, my approach with these Ambush games is to run some friendly things, which is why we are focusing on Varangur shooting. Up to test is:

• Draugr. They unlock, are cheap and slow, but can move at the double, and have Fearless and Iron Resolve so they can endure a bit more than one would think. I really want to try out hordes of them and take the Varangur in a trashier, more unusual direction, but we’re in Ambush, so we’re stuck at the regimental size. We already know regiments are great though, and they are wonderful at holding tokens or taking a charge, so we’ll see what they can get up to here.
• Night Raiders with Bows. As mentioned previously, Bows seem like the better default option, since you can contribute from further away and have easier decisions once things get close. We've already tried the axes, so we'll see how Bows do.
• Human Tribesmen. I like the Tribesmen. Their CS2 option is still attractive, and something I want to explore, but since I have a lot of shooting, we're still rolling with the sturdier loadout. The Def5/CS1 version has been a solid performer at this points level, able to hold its own despite no heals or support. 
• Horse Raiders with Bows. I've gotten a good feel with the Night Raider loadout, but am less sure about the Horse Raiders. Axes are ok, but that feels like a unit that is just trying to aggressively trade, and forcing the issue by getting in the way. There are cheaper chaff options, so I think Bows might be the way to go here, again, but I need to try it out before I form an opinion.
• Magus Conclave. It's a very unique war machine, but not really competitive as a singleton. Even so, I want more experience with using the unit before running it in larger games again, so here we are! I've liked it so far, even though it's output has been erratic, as that is to be expected as a singleton war machine.
• Snow Troll Prime. He's my only source of Inspiring, so I need to be a little careful, but even after just a few games, he's really proven to be a defensive powerhouse. He's been run against me plenty over the years, and I'm enjoying him so far myself.

Table and Terrain

Pegasus Games has table extenders and such, but is more inclined towards card games and smaller games, so while we used their extenders, we brought our own mats and terrain. Being an Ambush game, we had a pretty crowded table for terrain, as usual. This mat was 6x4 feet deep, so we halved the length, and then have a 6" dead zone, a 6" deployment zone, and then the 24" no man's land between the lines, in order to get the 3'x3' space. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the cabin and tower and bone bits as a ton of Height 9 blocking terrain, the single forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, and Hills as Height 3, and the neoprene pond as Height 0. The fences marked the edge of the play area, not actual obstacles. 

The board. 

It was going to be crowded indeed! While I really like the bone terrain aesthetically, and like it as blocking terrain since you can't really balance stuff on it, it always feels weird on the table. This would have been a great time to make it Height 3 blocking or something more interesting. Alas, we did not do this. I'll need to keep this idea in mind for the future. As much as I like having the standardized Epic Dwarf maps, it would be fun to experiment more with terrain, running big hills, building on hills, changing heights of stuff and so on. 

We rolled for scenario, and got Kill. List-wise, we have competing build philosophies at play, and I with bow shooting vs Def6, I know am already in for a very tough game. The scenario exacerbates this even further, but we'll give it the old college try.

My opponent won the roll for sides, and actually swapped with me. This put the shop windows and overhead light behind me, so we'll struggle in a few pictures, but we should be able to get the gist across.

With the cabin blocking things up, the Dwarfs deployed centrally. On the left was a unit of Ironguard with Lord angled out to the left. The other two Ironguard units continued the line, with the Flame Priest between the units, and the Stone Priest behind the inner one.

We already have some big shadows and fuzziness. Deployment.

We're fighting over several lanes. Seeing the Lord come down angled and facing the left, I placed the Horse Raiders out here, along with the Draugr. The hope is to just occupy the Lord, and prevent him from getting behind my line on such a small table. The nearby building split my line, but continuing on, we have the Tribesmen, Prime, Night Raiders peeking around the hill, Magus Conclave sitting behind the hill for now, and angled Night Raiders out on the right. The overall plan is to shoot as long as possible since it is one of my only advantages, and try to use the lanes to prevent the Dwarfs from multi-charging.

I won the roll for turn order, and took it.

Top of Round 1: Varangur

On the left, the Horse Raiders took the hill. I really want to make sure I have this, as charging off of hills is fun, but I also need all the help I can get given the high defense of the Dwarfs. They loose into the Ironguard on the left, and do slip 1 damage in. The Draugr come up behind. The Dwarfs don't need Bane Chant to do a number on the low-defense Draugr, so I want to keep them out of fights unless necessary.

Opening moves for the Varangur.

Centrally, the Tribesmen and Prime inch up, trying to cover the lanes.

The Night Raiders need to move to get into shooting range this turn, so take a penalty. I don't move them far because I want to shoot as long as possible. Combined, they deal 1 damage with their Bows, but the Conclave does land 2 more, taking the Ironguard unit on the right up to 3 damage.

Bottom of Round 1: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs move up, at the double, but no dogs can be thrown. Radiance of Life aids the Ironguard out on the right, and they go from 3 down to 2 damage.

Aggressive moves from the Dwarfs.

I was not expecting the Dwarfs to zip up this quickly. My opponent deployed wisely and was able to march things right up the field. Thankfully, my own advance was minimal, so they have no entered the 10" charge range just yet, and I get at least one more round of shooting.

Top of Round 2: Varangur

I look to have missed a picture, but not much happens.

On the left, the Horse Raiders inch back slightly, getting out of range of the Dwarf Lord, and their bows again slip 1 into the same Ironguard unit again, brining them to 2 damage.

The rest of the Varangur line holds. Nothing is in range for infantry charges, and I don't want to have the Prime charge out all on his own.

All of the shooting does into the Ironguard on the right, but nothing hits.

Bottom of Round 2: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs move up again, getting into charge range now. The Ironguard on the left are just barely out of range for throwing their dog, so they hold onto it for now. The Lord reins it in, using the nearby unit and skull terrain to prevent me from charging him with anything substantial, though in retrospect the Prime could still get in.

The Dwarfs move up, and throw some dogs.

The Stone Priest aids the Ironguard on the right again, bringing them from 2 down to just 1 damage. Both units toss into the Snow Troll Prime, landing a merciful 4 damage only, and the Fireball contributes just 2 more. Further going my way, the Nerve check finds the Troll to be quite insane.

Top of Round 3: Varangur

With the Dwarfs in charge range now, I feel the pressure to do something. Up against Def6 and Radiance of Life, my shooting isn't working all that well, but I don't want to lose out it,so on the right, I shoot, and the Prime gets in the way. As it turns out, I don't have the inches to prevent a charge into the Raiders on the right, but if they are charged and do hold, the Prime will be in the flank, so I am ok with this.

The bows of the Raiders do nothing, but the Conclave lands 2 damage to bring them back to 3 damage... where they were back in Round 1.

Moves for the Varangur.

Since the Lord can't see much, the Tribesmen to in against the central Ironguard unit, alone. Only 2 damage gets carved into the dwarfs during the melee though. 

On the left, the Horse Raiders leave the hill, but don't charge. Hindered into the Ironguard would be bad, and I can't align and get into the Lord. I want to block both units up, but don't think I can. My opponent points out that the horses are nimble, and if I use the second pivot to swing my right towards the Lord, I can pull this off, so that's what I do. Thanks Joe! The horses aren't moving at the double, so I am able to shoot into the Ironguard again, but no damage lands this time, which tracks. I got lucky the last two turns out here.

Bottom of Round 3: Dwarfs

On the left, the Ironguard and Lord charge the Horse Raiders. The Ironguard are hindered, but will land a strong 6, and the Lord will contribute 4 damage. It's a troop, and the Horse Raiders scatter. The Lord will overrun 5 inches smacking right into the building, and the Ironguard regiment will reposition just slightly, in order to zone out the hill.

Reforms for the Dwarfs.

The Ironguard countercharge the Tribesmen, and with a Bane Chant, will land 3 damage in. Radiance of Life takes them from 2 down to 1 damage, and I am already losing the race here.

The Flame Priest hurls a fireball into the Prime, but lands just 1 damage, taking him to 4, and the Prime hangs around, unbothered.

The Ironguard on the right do make a charge into the Night Raiders, and will roll well and 6 damage, just slightly above expected damage. With the Prime around though, this is kept to just a waver when we go to test their mettle.

Top of Round 4: Varangur

Given the skull terrain, I cannot shuffle the Tribesmen down to let the Prime help out here, so the humans soldier on by themselves. This is relatively fine though, as no other dwarf unit can assist, and it turns out is the humans' turn to roll hot, and they will land 6 damage and bring the implacable dwarf unit up to 7 damage.

Charges from the Varangur.

The wavering Raiders do nothing, but the other raiders and the Prime will hit the Ironguard in the flank, with the Raiders coming off the hill. I take them up to 15 damage, and do get the rout. Since the wavering unit didn't get a charge order, they don't get a reform, and hold fast, just tending to their wounds. The flanking Night Raiders spin around 180 to cover my backfield, and the Prime pivots 90 degrees "north" to spy the flank of the central Ironguard unit.

One Ironguard regiment down.

The Magus Conclave gets out of arc of the Dwarf Lord, and flings down into the Ironguard on the left, I believe with cover penalties from the Dwarf Lord, and one damage does slip in.

Bottom of Round 4: Dwarfs

The Flame Priest on the hill tosses a Fireball into the untouched Night Raiders, and the third Ironguard unit is just able to get in range to throw a mastiff too. A combined 6 damage lands here, but the unit is still just wavering after the barrage.

The dwarfs issues rebuttals across the battlefield.

The Lord doesn't have a charge this turn, so nimbly gets around the building to threaten the Night Raiders.

Bane Chant lands again, and Radiance of Life brings the central Ironguard down to 6 damage. The rolls are poor though, and the Tribesmen end on the turn on 6 damage as well.

Top of Round 5: Varangur

The Draugr take the hill, spying the flank of the Ironguard on the left. The zombies are definitely not a fighting unit, but if they can come off the hill, and get support from any other unit, and are still in the flank, I might be able to pick the unit up as the game concludes. That's a lot of "ifs" but against such a tough list I need everything helping out.

Charges for the Varangur.

The Tribesmen continue on, with the Snow Troll Prime assisting with another flank charge. The Ironguard are brought to 12 damage, and routed. The Tribesmen are safe from the Lord, and will change facing to spy the final unit of Ironguard. The Prime pivots to the "south" now, to spy the Dwarf Lord.

The unwavering Night Raiders charge into the Flame Priest, but land just 4 damage and will fail to pick him up. Thankfully they are out of arc of the Dwarf Lord.

Reforms for the Varangur.

The Magus Conclave can't get away. It keeps 10" away from the unengaged Ironguard on the left. It flings with a cover penalty into them, slipping 1 in and bringing them up to 4 damage. Since it cannot evade the Lord, it inches forward to give the Lord some choices next turn, and hopefully the Prime can punish whatever the Lord chooses to do.

Bottom of Round 5: Dwarfs

The remaining Ironguard charge the Tribesmen. Bane Chant fails, but they land 2 damage and bring them humans up to 8 damage total. The Stone Priest gets central to keep things Inspired, and Radiance of Life helps the Flame Priest get down to just 3 damage. He takes a swing at the Night Raiders, but misses.

Charges for the Dwarfs.

The Lord chooses to charge the maimed Night Raiders, and lands 3 damage to take them to 9 total. The unit is inspired though, and with the reroll is able to hold on, wavering.

Top of Round 6: Varangur

The wavering Night Raiders hold, with the Snow Troll Prime assaulting the Dwarf Lord in the flank, landing 6 damage on him.

The Night Raiders fighting the Flame Priest will land 4  damage and pick the spellcaster up this time, and will reform. In a potential Round 7, I can either be coming off the hill into the Lord or the Ironguard, either of which seems nice.

Fighting from the Varangur.

The Draugr have the inches into the rear of the remaining Ironguard, but actually can't align, due to the building. I will note that if I had positioned the Tribesmen differently last turn, I would be fine. I didn't foresee a spacing issues, so this is unfortunately an error from me. The zombies move up a bit, staying on the hill to be as threatening as possible for a Round 7.

The Tribesmen land 3 onto the Ironguard. They are just at 7, and the unit sticks around.

Bottom of Round 6: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs kick it into gear. The Ironguard countercharge the Tribesman, hitting with all their attacks. Bane Chant lands, and the Tribesmen are brought up to 15 damage and bested. More concerned with the Night Raiders on the hill over the Draugr on the hill behind them, they overrun towards the Raiders, but only get 1 inch.

Reforms for the Imperial Dwarfs.

The Dwarf Lord connects with all his attacks as well, and the Raiders are routed, with the Lord wheeling about to face down the Prime, who has regenerated down to 2 damage by this point.

Angles, at the end of Round 6.

I think I've fought my way to a good positioning for a Round 7, but we do not roll one up. Tallying things up for Kill, the Dwarfs have bested 405 points worth of stuff, while the Varangur have picked up 415! The differential is unfortunately not enough for an actual win, but given the match-up, scenario, and map, I will gladly take the tie!

Game Conclusions

For Ambush, it was a difficult scenario for an already difficult list match-up, and I think I did well! 

Testing Conclusions

• Draugr. I didn't have anything speedy to punish "stuck" units, so I think I used these well enough, keeping them back and playing conservatively. Not getting the rear-charge was a bummer, but it happens.
• Night Raiders with Bows. The decisions were in-game were definitely easier, but the bows definitely had a very tough job here. Keeping them Inspired proved to be the best decision of the game, letting them stick around wavering, so other units could do stuff.
• Human Tribesmen. Again, playing a little conservatively and only committing to a 1v1 combat did wonders for their effectiveness, and they were a good generalist unit here.
• Horse Raiders with Bows. The bows here had a tough job too. I still think bows are the better default option for them too, since you can be more cagey with them, but need more testing is needed, and I need to get onto larger tables where I can make better use of their mobility before I have a firm opinion.
• Magus Conclave. As a singleton, it did fine, though it too struggled to land damage through the armor and radiant heals. Still, it survived to the end, and given the scenario, that's a big plus.
• Snow Troll Prime. It was a risk, but not a play play for my opponent to try and focus down the Prime. Sure, he has Regeneration, but it was my only source of Inspiring, and if he got lucky there, it would have made the rest of the game easier for him. But dice were on my side a bit, he survived the barrage, regenerated, and then found some nice flank charges to keep me in the game, and again and again the Prime proves his worth.

A tough game, but a good one to kick off the meetup. Thanks Joe!

Kings of War 3rd Edition: #103 Undead vs Dwarfs in Loot

Intro and Lists

The holiday season is upon us! We've received our first big snowfall of the year last week, which has stuck around long enough to make it a snowy, picturesque Christmas. The snowfall did mess with a quick wargaming get-together, but we were able to reschedule that to the following day, and I was able to throw down with Joe and his Dwarfs. Joe ran the following:

While he has quite liked all of his previous very high defense lists, he has been exploring "Ironclad Spam" more recently, running the cheaper Def5 infantry units, trying to clog up the board, and get CS from the Vengeance Command Order on the counter-charge. The bulk of the list is simple and straightforward, with Ironclad regiments and Mastiff regiments, all with Throwing Mastiffs. The rest of the army though is still Def6 nastiness, with Faber, the upgraded Steel Behemoth, and now three Lords on Large Beast, and most of those with items or upgrades. My notes say he purchased a red and a blue... but the copy of the list say a whopping 70 points was spend on Command Dice, with 2 Blues and 1 Red. Looking at the successes I tracked, I think he may have shortchanged himself on what he was rolling.

Joe provided the dwarf hammer and mallet bits for most of the newest skeleton regiments (hobby post here), and it seemed fitting to have their debut be against him. Up to test for me were:

• Skeleton Warriors with two-handers. Since I am running so many irregular units, these are actually serving as all of my unlocks! My little theory is that with so few Monster and War Machines, the Undead don't actually need the hordes one usually sees from them. Yes, you do get a discount for running a horde, but the idea is that these are similar to Brothermark Penitents, but with Fearless and better Nerve. They are not going to hold the line for long, but can stick around and cause problems, and my hope this game is that the flying units can really take advantage of anything held up to get in some Surging flank charges. We are putting these to the test and committing hard to taking 5 units, so we'll see how they do.
• Wraith Regiments. I think troops are probably better and more cost effective (you don't get much for the bump up to the regimental size) but as part of the idea behind the list, I really want to try out the “By the Master’s Will” Command Order to lose Shambling for a turn, and felt the Regiments would be a better test of that. The goal is to get at least one of these deployed out on a flank, and see what It can do as the game progresses.
• Wights. I have two similar hordes, and an initial horde from way back from 2nd Edition when these were pioneered as the flying, legendary Barrow Wights, a unique twist on the normal grounded Wights, who were previously just large, ogre-sized skeletons, similar to the Zombie Trolls nowadays. Given the modeling differences, I wanted to take an item, and haven’t played with the Boots in a while. We’ll see if they can secure a forest or something for me.
• Liche King. I liked the concept of a Celestial Restoration healer, but it was a lot of points tied up in a big, Inspiring caster with just one spell that was hard to use. I think Resto is going to be best on a cheaper Level 2 caster that you can just upgrade leave back. Here, I tried to take some advice and make the Liche more robust. I think there is a tension here in that if you overinvest into the Liche, just caving and taking Mhorgoth becomes more attractive. I think a normal Heal spell will be more effective, but points were slim, so we’re taking a baby step here, with Surge for the early game, and Drain Life to help in the late game once the Liche can get close. We'll see how this array of spells does.
• Undead ASBs and stuff. We’re taking the ASBs again, with items and some additional Red Command Dice. The aura doesn’t interact with as much in this list, but does work with the main warriors units, as well as the Flying Wyrm, so we’ll see if that feels like enough targets.
• Zuinok Iceblood. I think he has potential, and he could play nicely with the Skeleton Warriors, so we are continuing to try him out. We’ll see what he gets up to this game.
• Flying Revenant Wyrm. I like to explore things, and wanted to step away from the Undead Revenant Wyrms for a game. I like the flying tomb model I have going, and with so many other flying units, I figured this was the time to test it out again! This version does not have Strider, and has fewer attacks, so I think most of the game will be spent jockeying for positions and making threats until multiple Undead fliers can hit a units. The Trickster’s Wand could be a great take for this Height 6 Titan, but points were tight, so he got the last 5 Points with a Blade of Slashing... which I forgot about all game.
• Command Orders. I think the Undead have some neat Command Orders, but they are more situational, as Drain Life requires you to be very close, and Ignoring Shambling requires a lot of finesse to keep things Inspired, since it’s just one unit getting the buff. We’ll see how the Orders fare this game for the Undead.
• Command Dice. Of all my armies, the Abyssals and the Undead look to have the most interesting Orders, so I’ve been trying to buy up some additional Dice for them. Since I can’t double up on an Order, 20 Points seems about right to try and make sure I have a handful of successes each round, but we’ll see how lucky I am with the results this game.

Table and Terrain

We were out at Planet Chaos again, a nice shop full of character and a wide variety of nerdy goodies in Fort Atkinson, WI. Their wargaming is primarily 40k, so we were making so with a 6 ft long table, and a 4 foot by 4 foot table extender for the center. The corners will be a little precarious! I brought the terrain, as we knew we'd need some and I wanted to inventory my offerings. 

I brought my desert table. We were using our typical terrain rules, running the tower as Height 9 blocking terrain, the three forests as Height 6 Difficult Terrain, fences as Height 2 Obstacles, and Hills as Height 3, and the pond as Height 0. This table is a little sparse, and it looks like I could do with another building!

Table and tokens.

We wanted to keep it relatively simple, and rolled for a scenario from the Big Red Book, getting the humble Loot. There are other, more involved versions of it around these days, but the original will be just fine for us today! We have three tokens to pick up and fight over, all starting on starting on the center line.

Joe won the rolls for token placement (placing the one on the left), and for sides, picking the one without a building, and then kicking us off with the deployment phase. He had the Scrying Gem, and kept the Behemoth and three Lords on Large Beast for his last drops, out-dropping me.

The Dwarfs deployed in several distinct battle groups. On the left, we have angled Mastiffs, the Behemoth upgraded to Golloch's Fury, Ironclad, Mastiffs screening Ironclad. The center had a very weird box, with Mastiffs, and three Ironclad regiments all creating a nest for Faber. And the right had two Mastiff packs, all three Lords, and an angled Ironclad regiment. The left Lord should have the Blessing, the central Lord nothing, and the right Lord should have Brew of Sharpness.

Overview of the table, after deployment.

The variable Scrying Gem was just one additional unit, but I was still going to be out-dropped. With all the tokens pretty centrally located, and this being a new list on a pretty new army, I tried to keep things pretty simple, with the faster Wraiths on the flanks to try and use the command, and skeletons centrally to gum things up.

Left-to-right for the Undead we have Wraiths, the flying Revenant King, Wights with the Boots, Skeletons, and the Liche, behind some Skeleton Warriors. Centrally we have four regiments of Warriors spaced out, with Zuinok, the Healing ASB, then the Surging ASB. Way out on the right, we have an unsupported Wraith Regiment.

View of the tokens.

It's a new army, and a new approach. It would probably be better to place the Wights on the line, but given the amount of Mastiffs opposite me, this awkward checkerboard still works ok, and overall, I am feeling ok with my deployment.

There are no Scout moves, and winning the roll for turn order, opt to go first.

Top of Round 1: Undead

I roll up 4 Swords for my Command Dice. 

I have a lot out on the left, and with the Flying Revenant King out here, the general game-plan is to push hard on the left, pressure the center, and delay as long as possible on the right.

A strong, flying push, using the new Command Orders.

I use all 4 Swords to use "By the Master's Will" on the Wraiths, moving them 12" up, and then pivoting with Nimble. The Wights have Shambling, and move their 7" and pivot, and flying Revenant King moves similarly, splitting the difference. The Skeletons and the Liche move up to provide some addition unit strength and blocking power in the coming turns. 

The Undead threaten the tokens.

In the center, the Skeleton Warriors shift around, looking for good positions. On the left, the regiment moves up, filling the gap between the building and the forest. Zuinok gets central, but I forget to cast Veil of Shadows. Near him, the other regiments and both Wight hordes adjust, advancing while trying to get places to see around the hill.

Several long, threatening charges to hopefully slow down the dwarven advance.

Prior to all the Lords all coming down here, the Wraiths on the right were going to be the prime target for "By the Master's Will." With the Lords out here, I just want to delay now. The max speed out here is 7, so I just want to be threatening from multiple angles. 

I will note that the Wraiths out here made a pivot, and in retrospect, I did not like this. Yes, I am facing these scary things, but the pivot hampers my abilities to most effectively utilize "By the Master's Will" on the coming turns. Since I pivoted here, I'll need to use my future nimble pivot to align and zip down the board edge, instead of zipping up and using the pivot to threaten flanks, which would have been more effective.

Bottom of Round 1: Dwarfs

My opponent rolls up 4 Swords for his Command Dice. I do not know what he uses them on.

On the right, the Wraiths are proving to be a good distraction. The Dogs and Ironclad move up to screen, but stay out of charge range. The Lords all post up, moving and pivoting around.

The Dwarves cautiously move out.

Centrally, the Dwarfs trudge forward. Faber takes a shot into some Skeletons, landing 2 damage.

The Dwarves scramble, trying to react to the fliers.

On the left, Mastiffs move up, and the Dwarfs try to react to the Undead's fliers. The upgraded Behemoth ops to stay put and keep things in front arc. The contraption fires into the Wraiths dealing 3 damage, and some Mastiffs throw throwing Mastiffs, landing a hot 4 damage, and take the Wraiths to a very concerning 7 damage. I finally try out a little Def6 of my own, and this is what I get. Yikes!

Top of Round 2: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my Command Dice.

Out on the left, I need to be charging, and I want to avoid charging Mastiffs. I send the Wraiths into Golloch's Fury, landing 1 damage. It's a bummer, but I am just trying to tie the contraption up momentarily, so feel ok about that. I spend 2 on Endurance to bring them down to 6, and Lifeleech brings them down to 5. I'm hoping the larger regiment will be able to hold out for a turn or two.

Some charges.

I don't have the frontage to charge with everything, so the Wights go into the Ironclad. I want to use 4 Swords on a Lifeleech from them, but my opponent calls me out, since I am in combat. I thought Host Shadowbeast and Drain Life were exceptions to the "cannot cast a spell while engaged" rule, but when we check, only Host Shadowbeast has the language, and checking on the forum afterwards, yeah, Drain Life can't do this, only Host Shadowbeast. Beans. I think I try a reroll on something, but most of the Command Dice will go to waste this turn since my plan was illegal.

In combat, the Wights will land the expected 8 damage and will waver the Dwarfs. I was hoping to break them, but I did not know the math. The Ironclad are still tough, and we'll see what happens.

The flying Revenant King chooses to fly up and over the Dwarf lines, staring down the flank of all the basic Dwarf units. My mantra with fliers is to always be threatening something, so this seemed like a good use of it since not everything could fit in to make charges this turn.

The center. 

The Skeleton Warriors inch up. I want to be in a position to threaten the tokens, but I don't want to take them myself, since the skeletons don't have great staying power. With the ASB's around, I can manipulate things to charge 12" and we'll see what we can do. 

Zuinok pops the Veil of Shadows this time, and the nearby ASB will Heal 1 onto the Skeletons. The Wights bide their time.

Holding but still threatening out on the right.

Out on the right, the Dwarfs avoided my threat range, so I have no charges, but that is ok. I opt to sidestep with the Wraiths, getting into the woods, but keeping my leader point out so I can see.

Bottom of Round 2: Dwarfs

My opponent rolls up 6 Swords for his Command Dice.

On the right, the Mastiffs hop up to take a token, giving a flank to the Wraiths, and the three Lords and Ironclad stand ready to retaliate.

Mastiffs do their job and start instigating.

Centrally, more Mastiffs hop up to grab another token, with more Ironclad at the ready here too.

Lots of throwing Mastiffs go out. All the Undead units stick around. We're finishing up the phase when we realize that Piercing 1 was not factored into any of my opponent's rolling. We're not on any time limit and only one unit had damage going into the round, so it's easy to check the pictures and wipe the slate clean and give the doggos another chance. When all is said and done on the redo, the regiment in front of the Healing ASB (green, center) takes 6 and stays, the one blocking for Zuinok gets up to double digits with 4 mastiffs thrown, and is routed, leaving my special spellcaster exposed.

Dwarven countercharges on the left.

Out on the left, some Mastiffs screen, others run forward. More throwing Mastiffs go into this unit, and they take 6 and hold. On the hill, the wavering Ironclad fail their Headstrong check, and just hold.

Faber shoots and the yellow Ironclad throw a dog into the towering, flying Revanant King, but only 2 damage gets through.

The wavering Ironclad fail their headstrong check, and opt to do nothing.

Golloch's Fury belches steam, but only lands 5 damage onto the Wraiths, and at 10 damage, they hold, thanks to the Inspiring, flying tomb nearby.

Top of Round 3: Undead

I roll up 6 for my Command Dice.

There is no token on the left, so I am just trying to gum up and delay Golloch's Fury for as long as I can. The Wraiths go back in against the contraption.

On the hill, my Wights can see over the wavering dwarfs and into the Ironclad that threw into the Revenant King. They join the flying tomb in a charge, popping their boots. Taking their place against the wavering dwarfs is a damaged regiment of Skeleton Warriors, and another Skeleton regiment charges the Mastiffs. 

Charges on the left.

Combats go ok. The Wraiths deal a few and Lifeleech 1 back. The Skeleton Warriors thump on the wavering Dwarfs, landing another 2 damage and getting another waver. 

My notes say the Liche uses Command Points for a Drain Life into the Mastiffs, which would be an error since I have a better Drain Life on the caster already! Oops. I deal 2 to the Mastiffs, healing the injured Skeletons, who also Lifeleech down to 3 damage against the wavering Dwarfs. The Skeletons fighting the Mastiffs deal 4 damage to bring them to 7, but the dogs are unbothered. The Mastiff Pack has some great Nerve for their cost.

The Wights and Revenant King bring their Ironclad unit up to 13 damage, and to get the rout. The Wights overrun, and the King changes facing, to prevent giving Faber any accidental flank charges.

Reforms from the Undead.

Centrally, my maimed Skeletons have a flank into the central Mastiffs with the Wights joining in the front to pick the unit up. I give the token to the uninjured Wights.

Charges in the center.

The other Wights have the inches to move up and hop past the Lords. The Surging ASB will move them up a few inches, and Zuinok will do the rest to Surge them into the flank of the Mastiffs here. The dogs will be easily bested, and the Wights will reform to spy the purple Ironclad.

Over on the right, the blue Ironclad inched up, and all three Lord waiting I the wings. Instead of charging out, I sidestep into the woods, getting out of range of the Ironclad and everything else, while still being able to see around the terrain.

Bottom of Round 3: Dwarfs

My opponent rolls up 6 Swords for his Command Dice. 

On the right, the Ironclad continue to inch forward and try to bait out a charge from the Wraiths. They throw a Mastiff at the Wraiths, but nothing connects. Two Lords wait in the wings now. The third Lord (I believe this has the Blessing of the Gods) goes in to help the Mastiffs. He does 4, the Mastiffs do 3, and at 7, the Skeletons hold. An Inspired, Fearless 15 unit is still decently hard to take off in one go, and I am happy with the performance of the regiments so far.

Skeleton regiments survive a charge.

Centrally, some purple Ironclad change facing to get stuff into front arc. I don't think they had any charges.

The Undead start pushing through the center.

Some orange Ironclad charge the Wights with the token, and do land 1 damage. The Nerve Check is a hot boxcar... but the Fearless Wights are completely unbothered. 

Faber hops into the drying pond to shoot, with his leader point in the terrain. This would impart a cover penalty, so talking through his intentions, we make sure Faber's leader point is out of the terrain for clear shots. He shoots at the Skeletons on the hill and lands a hot 5 damage, bringing them up to 8 damage, but they do hold.

The wavering Ironclad fail their Headstrong roll again, and backed up to let Faber shoot. Until this game, I don't think Joe's Dwarfs have ever failed a Headstrong roll against me, so I am counting my blessings that the streak is over. 

Aftermath on the left.

Some Green Ironclad join the counter-charging Mastiffs, and bring the Skeletons with the token to 4, but they hold. 

Golloch's Fury kicks into into gear, rolling up some extra attacks and landing 7 more damage into the Wraiths, and will best them and then overrun this turn, getting right up to the Skeletons.

Top of Round 4: Undead

I roll up 4 Swords for my Command Dice, it looks like it will be a big turn for the Undead!

Golloch's Fury is free, but rather far out there and on the flank. The Skeletons again charge the wavering Ironclad regiment, again land 2 damage, but at 14 damage, the inspired dwarfs finally succumb, and the Skeletons will overrun 5", getting out of arc of the dwarven tank.

Chages from the Undead.

The Liche hops up to prevent too big a slide, and the Skeleton Warriors will counter-charge the Mastiffs. In retrospect, this is too fancy. If the unit fails, the Dwarfs are still in the flank, and the full slide would have been ok. Maybe I put him here to try and keep the regiment on the hill Inspired though.

These Mastiffs started at 7 damage and are uninspired. The Skeletons add a few more damage, rout the dogs, and then change facing, and will be out of arc from the tank.

I now realize my error with Drain Life and the Liche and the Command Orders. He casts his normal Drain Life into the Mastiffs near the building, landing just 1 damage to heal the Skeletons. Zuinok throws a Fireball into them, landing 5 damage. The Mastiffs are at 6 damage, and uninspired, and with Shattering from the Fireball, I am able to pick the second unit of dogs up as well.

Aftermath on the left.

Burying the lede a bit, the Undead make 3 different rear charges in the midfield this turn.

Faber tried to hide from the Revenant King using my Wights that had had the boots. Those Wights make a rear charge into some purple Ironclad, joined by some Skeletons in the front. I realize my errors with the Drain Life and the Liche this turn, and so this ASB attempts a Drain Life into the Ironclad landing 1 damage to help heal up these Skeletons, and the Undead will devastate and rout the unit.

All three glorious rear charges.

Wights from the right will rear-charge Faber. They are hindered, but roll great, landing 19 damage which is enough to devastate and rout him too. Looks like expected damage is 13ish, so despite the good damage rolls here, this would still be bad new for the legendary lord most of the time.

The other unit of Wights counter-charge the Ironclad in front of them, with the Revenant King coming in behind, and we'll devastate and rout this unit as well.

Reforms from the carnage in the midfield.

The Wights fighting Faber reform, to threaten Golloch's Fury and protect this token. The Revenant King changes facing to do the same. The Wights in that fight pivot to look at the right, and the other Wights and Skeletons also end the turn facing that way.

More delaying on the right.

On the right, the Ironclad are a millimeter in against the Wraiths now, still slowly trying to convince me to charge. I sidestep the Wraiths again, getting their leader point into the woods so they can see out of the terrain feature, and this puts a few inches between me and the Ironclad to deny them a charge.

The Skeleton Warriors fight the Mastiffs landing 5 to get them to 7 damage. Inspired, they waver, but stick around. 

Bottom of Round 4: Dwarfs

The Dwarfs get 6 Swords for their Command Dice. 

On the right, the Mastiffs and their token withdraw, and then back up. All three Lords make charges into the Skeleton Warriors. With just the flank attacks, the unit is completely trampled. One changes facing, one backs up an inch, and the third overruns strongly, hoping to trap the Wraiths. Joining the Lord on this endeavor are the blue Ironclad.

The Lords turn every which way to try and cover all the angles.

The dwarfs in the center are gone, so on the left, the Ironclad fight on against the Skeletons and a token. The dwarfs bring them to 7 damage, and while the Skeletons are Inspired, the Dwarfs are able to get the rout on the unit, and claim the token.

The Tank shoots off one regiment, and the Ironclad ready to pick up another.

Golloch's Fury wheels around, blasting into the maimed Skeletons trying to run away. The Skeletons will be shot off by the contraptions guns.

Top of Round 5: Undead

I roll up 6 Swords for my Command Dice.

On the left, the Wights and the Revenant King will charge the Ironclad, beat them up, and take their token. I give it to the Revenant King. The victorious Wights are wider than they are deep, and so can change facing to get Golloch's Fury into front arc. The token-holding flying tomb faces similarly.

The Undead brace for impact.

I use three Command Dice to let the token-toting Wights ignore Shambling this turn, and even slowed, they are able to make great progress towards the right. They are joined by other Wights, who have their leader-point in the forest, and can thus see out.

The Healing ASB hops up, the the Skeletons charge a Lord, landing a damage and stripping Thunderous Charge from him. The other ASB hides behind the woods, safe and out of sight.

The Wraiths finally commit, to the dismay of my opponent.

In a bit of an upset, the Wraiths now pounce. They can see the Mastiffs, and have flying, so will zip out and connect. I have the space to slide, but my opponent says it was his intent to try and block, so I just end up on the far side of the blocking Lord, thanks to Fly. The Mastiffs started at 7 damage. I only land 2, but thankfully still pick the unit up and then overrun.

Bottom of Round 5: Dwarfs

My opponent rolls up 7 Swords for his Command Dice, but it is looking pretty grim.

On the right, the blue Ironclad look for some revenge and move into the woods to threaten the ASB, and two Lords change facing. 

Reforms for the Dwarfs.

The third gets a heal from Endurance, and counter-charges the Skeletons. He's disordered, but goes 7/7 thanks to Blessing of the Gods helping with 3 conversions, which we discover next round, that he doesn't have the item, and the Lords got mixed up. Victorious, he ... holds. 

We didn't catch it at the time, but writing the report here, there are two ways he could have positioned these better. First, the Lords are Nimble. So, instead of just changing facing, he could have gone forward 1" to get flush with the fighting lord, and then pivoted twice to still face the departing Wraiths. Second, the victorious Lord could have sidestepped to their right. He needs and inch to block, and it looks like the third Lord might be complicating a charge aligning on the other side.

Golloch's fury smashes through.

On the right, Golloch's Fury is finally tuned up, and it smashes into the blocking Wights, landing 10 damage, and will beat the odds to best the unit and then overrun. 

Top of Round 6: Undead

I roll up 3 for my Command Dice. 

I wrack my brain, but can't figure out a way to get out of arc. Since I am carrying the token I lose Fly and Nimble and have my speed reduced, so just don't have the inches to flee.

I consider dropping the token, regaining my fly and setting up a trap.. but even with a rear charge, I don't think I can break it with any sneaky play here, and would just be giving up the token for free. Going back a turn, perhaps instead of facing the tank I should have turned to the left or the right and prepared to run? 

The Undead struggle to get through the armor of the tank.

I try an Empowered Drain Life from the Liche, as the Revenant King charges in. It's flashy, but this is a dumb move. The Golloch's Fury is a chariot, with a very long base. I probably should have spent the dice on Tactical Retreat to move the flying Revenant King backward. The Liche isn't Mighty, but the contraption is not Nimble and has a long base, so there should be a way to cheekily prevent a direct charge and require a long overrun.

Very little damage hits Golloch's. I don't think Drain Life 7 accomplished anything at all, and the 4's from the King were swingy enough to trend low as well, and it is in no danger of fleeing.

Charges from the Wights. It's hard to align against those tusks, but I am in.

On the right, I am more than 4 inches away, so if I had one more Sword on the Command Dice, By the Master's Will could let me escape with a non-shambling 10" move, and get away from the threat range of the nearest Lord. I can't do that, and carrying the token I no longer Nimble, so I think I need to turn and face.

Some Wights make a flank charge to that threatening Lord, dealing a warm 15 and picking the unit up.

Two Lords (and their beasts) fall.

Other Wights, carrying a token, make a front-charge into the other Lord, also rolling hot to land 8 damage, and secure a waver on the Inspired check, until I remember I have Brutal, which is enough to best a second Lord this round.

The Surging ASB just scoots around the threatening Dwarf infantry, denying them another charge. 

Bottom of Round 6: Dwarfs

My opponent rolls up 6 Swords for his Command Dice, and the Dwarfs give it their all.

The remaining Lord has some overhang, and we were using a spare base for it. It is not in the woods, so makes a clean and scary charge into the Wights and the token. We realize here that the Blessing of the Gods had jumped between a few units, and just 4 damage is done as the dust settles, and the unit holds. I was expecting a hold here. The unit is definitely scary, but needs support and can only do so much with 7 attacks.

Final charge for the Dwarf Lord.

The combat I am worried about is on the left. This tank has just ridiculous stats and we weren't even playing the Iron Resolve Aura correctly. Steam belches forth, and the tank rolls up its maximum possible attacks, landing 13 damage onto the Revenant King. The flying Tomb is Inspiring and Fearless, and both save me, with the second check being just shy, and the Undead retaining control of all three tokens.

We don't roll up a Round 7, so it's a 3-0 win for the Undead!

Game Conclusions

My opponent had a very critical eye for himself, as he was considering taking the Dwarfs in this state to the upcoming, inaugural Northwoods GT. We chatted a lot about the game afterwards, as well as en-route to a meetup several days later when I had gotten through a bit of the report and had a few more insights to offer. 

• He was relying on Command Orders to get CS for countercharge, so it seemed to me like he should be more aggressive with the infantry. You can screen with Mastiffs, etc. but if you are relying on a counter-charge, you need to be charged.
• I did not like the deployment of the three Lords, as the middle Lord cannot see anything, and their longer charge range is all concentrated in one area, which felt like a waste. I suggested spreading them out if he wanted to use them as counter-punching and dissuading pieces, and spreading them out against flying lists in particular to contest more landing zones.
• We played a few things wrong. Golloch's Fury has an Aura, and even though it has a Keyword, the unit should get the benefit as well. And it looked to me like he bought that second blue dice but wasn't rolling it. 

Overall, I did like the concept of the Dwarf list though. We considered dropping the Throwing Mastiffs on the Mastiff Packs and such, so that one is more likely to use them as aggressive chaff, and so we'll see what the future holds for this style!

From my side, the Undead's list concept worked out alright, but I mostly just capitalized on some big tempo and positioning mistakes to give me a huge Round 4 with all those rear charges. If I don't get those rear charges, it's a very different game, because as we saw with Golloch's Fury, the Dwarf list still had a lot of fight in it despite the heavy losses.

Testing Conclusions

• Skeleton Warriors with two Handers. They did alright, and were still doing ok going into the midgame with positioning and such. I'm liking the unit overall.
• Wraith Regiments. I liked the Wraiths, and while I think the cheaper Troops will be more cost-effective generally, a regiment was definitely needed to hold back the dwarf tank.
• Wights. Any hammer that gets a rear charge is going to have a great game. These all did well, but again I think this is more me capitalizing on mistakes from my opponent rather then an inherent strength of the unit itself. My Undead need hammers, and these seemed very nice, as they can see over the Skeletons to chew up infantry, but Soul Reavers have been fun as well. 
• Liche King with Surge and DL. I seem to struggle with individuals in list-building and in-game, and this was no exception. Using Command Order DL when I bought it was an error as well, and I think if one is using the Command Order, buying DL is less attractive. We'll try a Heal next time.
• Undead ASBs. I still really like these. Even without the Burrowing Wyrms here, they still change the math in infantry fights, letting my chaffy skeletons get the drop on other Speed 5 stuff, or Speed 4 Dwarfs in this case! Good picks, though I am not using Surge on the ASB very often.
• Zuinok Iceblood. He's quirky with a neat assortment of spells and stats and abilities. I want to like him, but I'm not sure he's a great pick.
• Flying Revenant Wyrm. I love the model, and the unit did very well here! Having a budget dragon around was lot of fun. I like the cheaper Burrowing version more as I like Strider, but this was still a fun pick.
• Command Orders. I appreciate the pushback from my opponent on Drain Life, and we played that right in-game. Since you need a spare unit, the Drain Life Order is a little less attractive, but overall, I still like the Orders for the Undead.
• Command Dice. I think 20 points is fine if you want to lean into orders. I think 30-40 is pushing it though, since they cannot be repeated. We'll continue to tweak and explore, but I think purchasing 2-3 Reds will be my go-to for the foreseeable future.

It's always a great and fluffy time trying to break Dwarven lines, and I am very glad were were able to fit this in despite the snowstorm! Thanks for the game!