2019 Summary - Part 2 - Kings of War

Greetings!

In this year I decided to write a summary a bit before the end. Simply because I managed to finish all my battle reports and have a bit more spare time to reflect on my Kings of War experiences in 2019.

I started with checking my previous blog post from 2018 so if you would like to see what I hoped to achieve in 2019 by the end of the previous year, here is the link:

2018 Summary - Kings of War

2019 marks more than 4 years of Kings of War experience for me and I can again say I really enjoyed playing this game. In fact, just before the release of the 3rd edition, I think I got to the point where I thought I have finally found the army list I want to play with, without any further tweaks. But more on that later :)

As it is often the case, there were a few things I managed to achieve, some that I didn't and a few more that were simply unexpected. However, that is probably the pattern every year in many if not all aspects of life so let's see in details what happened before I get too philosophical!

2019 Summary - Part 1 - Mortem et Gloriam

Hello!

Although 2019 is not over yet, I managed to finish all my battle reports and I wanted to use the opportunity that the break offers to reflect on the passing year in the context of Mortem et Gloriam.

I wrote a brief article about my experiences with MeG in 2018 (2018 Summary - Mortem et Gloriam). I hoped that 2019 would be even more eventful and I am happy to tell you that it was indeed!

I would like to share my experiences with other wargamers in all aspects that were related to this system. I will write a bit about my games, of course, but not only. After all, this hobby involves a lot more and I think that is also worth sharing and discussing. There are probably as many approaches to it as there are people enjoying this hobby. For me, sharing these experiences is one of the most important aspects. 

I hope you will find this article interesting. I also aim to pave a way to progress my hobby in a new year 2020. I already have a few ideas I would like to make happen!

Game 129 - Elves - 2019/12/14

Greetings!

This is the battle report from my very first game using 3rd edition of the Kings of War rules. I was very intrigued how it would go, both in terms of impressions on the new edition and on the new army list.

I decided to try out the army that was as close to the one I used under 2nd edition. If you are interested in some of my thoughts about the adaptation process, here is the link to the blog post I wrote shortly after the release of 3rd edition:

MSU Elves in 3rd Edition - First Impressions

This game was meant to be an experiment to see how would I do with the similar army in new environment. 

Interestingly, Michael, my opponent for this game, decided to bring Elves as well. It was good because his army composition is different to mine. Thanks to that we could see how different units from the same faction can operate. Here are the details of his army list:

Elves - Army List

40 Palace Guard, Horde, Infantry, Unit Strength (4), Crushing Strength (1), Elite (Melee)

- 6 Drakon Riders*, Horde, Large Cavalry, Unit Strength (3), Thunderous Charge (1), Crushing Strength (1), Fly, Elite (Melee), Potion of Caterpillar

- 10 Silver Breeze*, Regiment, Cavalry, Unit Strength (2), Nimble, Shortbows: 18", Elite (Ranged), Steady Aim

- Tree Herder, Hero, Monster, Unit Strength (1), Crushing Strength (3), Inspiring, Pathfinder, Radiance of Life, Scout, Strider, Surge (8)

20 Shield Watch, Regiment, Infantry, Unit Strength (3), Crushing Strength (1), Elite (Melee)

- Dragon Kindred Lord, Hero, Titan, Unit Strength (1), Crushing Strength (3), Elite (Melee), Fly, Inspiring, Nimble, Dragon’s Breath: 12”, Steady Aim

20 Shield Watch, Regiment, Infantry, Unit Strength (3), Crushing Strength (1), Elite (Melee)

- Archmage, Hero, Infantry, Individual, Lighting Bolt (5), The Boomstick

10 Stormwind Cavalry, Regiment, Cavalry, Unit Strength (3), Elite (Melee), Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 54 - 2019/12/13

Hello!

In my last, sixth game of Mortem et Gloriam tournament during MOAB 2019 event I played against one of my most regular opponents, Stephen. Many battle reports were created after our games and most recently, Stephen's Romans were proving superior to my Seleucids.

However, for this competition Stephen brought another favourite army of his, Mamluks! I must admit that among all the armies present at MOAB, I considered this one the most challenging to play against. I have already witnessed first hand how deadly their shooting can be in one of our previous games. The army is highly mobile so catching it is very difficult. But unlike many horse archers based armies of antiquity, this force fights very well in melee and has a good break point of 5 too!

Here are the details of the army Stephen brought to the tournament:

Mamluk Egyptian - Army List

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 53 - 2019/12/11

Hello!

First game of the third and last day of Mortem and Gloriam tournament during MOAB 2019 was against both, a new opponent and a completely new army. This time I had a great pleasure to play against Pat and his beautifully looking Muromachi Samurai. 

Pat's army is almost finished but looks great already! I like his way of distinguishing between units under particular command. He has magnetised standard bearer with a different colour of a banner that he attaches to the front rank of each unit. In this way he can switch between commanders accordingly and it makes the units even more visually awesome! I wish I was able to take proper photos of his fantastic army.

I have seen a few Samurai armies but I have never played against one before. It was interesting to notice it is another army with as low breaking point of 4 as mine. It had fewer units too but mainly because all but one, superior cavalry of skilled Bushi, had 9 bases each. However, they also had mixed elements, with the first rank formed by superior Samurai and the rest of the unit comprised of Ashigaru.

Here are the details of Pat's army:

Muromachi Samurai - Army List

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 52 - 2019/12/09

Hello!

Second game of day two of Mortem et Gloriam tournament during MOAB 2019 event and I faced another Longbow heavy army, this time of English flavor. My opponent, Stephen, against whom I had a pleasure to play against before, brought the army from Edward IV English army list.

However, while Andrew's Welsh were very numerous but unprotected army, Stephen's English had more elite feel. Especially when you added these nice, little single bases of heavy armoured Men-at-Arms in Longbowmen units.

Here are the details of the army:

Edward IV English - Army List

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 51 - 2019/12/07

Hello!

In the third game of the Mortem et Gloriam tournament during MOAB 2019 event I played against one of my regular opponents, Paul. He was also very kind to offer me a lift to and from the event, which I am extremely grateful for! 

Paul brought a completely different army this time, the one I have never played against before - Josean Korean. I must say I did not really know what to expect. 

However, Mortem et Gloriam as a system allows even inexperienced player to assess basic roles of each units, regardless of the army and period. Hence, I decided to keep it simple and think about Paul's army in the generic terms. Based on that he had a very well balanced army with the shooting infantry that also had a front rank of polearm wielding warriors. He also added some more units equipped for ranged attacks alone. But he had a strong contingent of cavalry as well, with three TuG's of Charging Lancers and two TuG's of skilled bow armed horsemen. Here are the details of his army list:

Josean Korean - Army List

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 50 - 2019/12/06

Hello!

In the second game of MOAB 2019, I was about to play against Andrew and his Medieval Walsh. We have attended many events before but we have never had a chance to play against each other for some strange reason. Fortunately, this time we finally got the opportunity!

I would also like to add that Andrew is one of the heroes of the Australian Mortem et Gloriam community, as he is often the person organising the events. playing a role of umpire during those, keeping track of the results and making sure people know their opponents in time. For that I would like to thank Andrew and I am sure many players would do the same!

In addition, I would also like to thank Alvaro Erize from The Wargame Spot FB Group who donated a fantastic Arid Land Battle Matt produced by Cigar Box Battle Store. All my subsequent games during MOAB were played on this fantastic gaming matt!

For this tournament Andrew brought the army of Medieval Welsh. It is probably the most numerous army I have ever played against, with a break point of 9! Here are the details:

Medieval Welsh - Army List

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 49 - 2019/12/04

Hello!

In the middle of October I attended a gaming convention called MOAB (Mother of All Battles) where I played 6 games of Mortem et Gloriam. MOAB is a well known event for Australian players but for me, it was the very first time I attended it.

There were many other games and systems played over the 3 days and it was quite a busy event. Mortem et Gloriam attracted total of 12 players which I am told is a huge improvement from the last year. 

This tournament was very special also because the author of the game, Simon Hall, was participating! And guess who was my first opponent in the very first game? Simon Hall himself! 

The author of a superb gaming system Mortem et Gloriam ready for his first game!

I was really happy I got lucky to be the first opponent for Simon, even more so that he brought his beautifully painted Classical Indian army. Thanks to that we had quite a historic match up, Classical Indian vs Early Seleucids.

Although it was not my first encounter with this particular faction, this army looked different to what I had a chance to fight against in the past. The common element, however, that it also had a much larger number of units and significantly higher breaking point. Here are the details of the army list Simon brought to MOAB.

Classical Indian - Army List

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 48 - 2019/12/02

Hello!

As you have probably noticed by far, I seem to have one game against an opponent, then one against Stephen and then we repeat the sequence! 

Indeed, it is another one against Stephen as per my request, he agreed to bring his Early Imperial Romans again. Can I find a way to open that can of heavily armoured Legionaries this time?

I really like these games where the armies are relatively well matched historically. Hence I was happy that I was about to fight against Romans again, even if it is not an easy army to defeat. No doubt Stephen would do all he can to engineer favourable fights and not let my Phalangites to have only one-on-one melees with his Legionaries.

Here is the army Stephen had in this game:

Early Imperial Roman - Army List

Game 128 - Forces of Basilea - 2019/12/01

Greetings!

In the last round of the first Australian Universal Battle tournament I played against Jeff who commanded Forces of Basilea.

We played against each other long time ago when Jeff was trying out Universal Battle for the first time. It was thus great to have an opportunity to play again.

What is more, that was my last game of 2nd edition and it looked like it would be the same for Jeff. So we wanted to make it a really epic battle to farewell 2nd edition of Kings of War in style!

When I checked Jeff's list I noticed that he has quite a number of ranged attacks. In particular in the form of a few highly mobile Phoenixes as well as War-Wizards. Add to that Crossbowmen, Arbalest and Spells from Ur-Elohi and you can see this army is really good at dealing damage before the melee even begins. Here are the details of that army:

Forces of Basilea - Army List

40 Crossbowmen (C), Horde, Infantry, Iron Resolve, Piercing (1), Reload!, Jar of the Four Winds

- Phoenix (P1), Monster, Breath Attack (10), Crushing strength (1), Fly, Heal (6), Inspiring, Iron Resolve, Regeneration (4+)

- Heavy Arbalest (HA), War Engine, Blast (D3+2), Iron Resolve, Piercing (3), Reload!

- War-Wizard (W1), Hero (Cavalry), Fireball (8), Individual, Iron Resolve

40 Penitent Mobs (PM1), Horde, Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Headstrong, Iron Resolve

- Phoenix (P1), Monster, Breath Attack (10), Crushing strength (1), Fly, Heal (6), Inspiring, Iron Resolve, Regeneration (4+)

- War-Wizard (W2), Hero (Cavalry), Fireball (8), Individual, Iron Resolve

40 Penitent Mobs (PM2), Horde, Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Headstrong, Iron Resolve

- Phoenix (P1), Monster, Breath Attack (10), Crushing strength (1), Fly, Heal (6), Inspiring, Iron Resolve, Regeneration (4+)

- War-Wizard (W1), Hero (Cavalry), Fireball (8), Individual, Iron Resolve

10 Paladin Knights (PK1), Regiment, Cavalry, Headstrong, Iron Resolve, Thunderous Charge (2), Brew of Haste

- Ur-Elohi (UE1), Hero (Large Infantry), Blizzard (2), Crushing strength (2), Fly, Heal (3), Inspiring, Iron Resolve, Thunderous Charge (1)

10 Paladin Knights (PK1), Regiment, Cavalry, Headstrong, Iron Resolve, Thunderous Charge (2),  Macwar's Potion of Catterpillar

- Ur-Elohi (UE1), Hero (Large Infantry), Blizzard (2), Crushing strength (2), Fly, Heal (3), Inspiring, Iron Resolve, Thunderous Charge (1)

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 47 - 2019/11/30

Hello!

In my next Mortem at Gloriam game I played against Leigh who is known for bringing a new army to play with almost every time we meet! 

It was not different this time either but Leigh brought the force I did not expect at all. The army of Angkor Empire with multitudes of Elephants!

Now I can tell you, that was a sight to inspire and intimidate at the same time! Truly impressive army as you are going to see on the pictures, even though they do not give proper justice to the magnificent looking army Leigh had. Before we go there, however, here are the details as I remember them. I cannot recall at this stage what level of generals Leigh had but he had 3 commanders total.

Angkor Empire - Army List

Game 127 - Night Stalkers - 2019/11/30

Greetings!

In the third round I was about to play against Jeff. After our last game I was even less optimistic about my chances, especially that Jeff brought his Night Stalkers army. I consider this force one of his most dangerous and tough to win against armies. 

However, games against Jeff are always great and allow me to learn something new!

The army of Night Stalkers Jeff created is indeed a tough nut to crack. Very resilient and highly dependable, thanks to the core of the army composed of Phantoms and Shadow Hulks. Fast and mobile Fiends and in particularly Dread-Fiends create all sorts of problems are are very difficult to stop or even block. 

In general, although the army does not really have any ranged attacks, it has a lot of units that are not easy to eliminate, especially by the regiments I have, that need combined attacks to do so. 

Here are the details of the army Jeff used:

Night Stalkers - Army List

6 Fiends (F1), Large Cavalry, Horde, Crushing Strength (1), Mindthirst, Stealthy, Vicious, Staying Stone

- Shadow-Hulk (SH1), Monster, Base Size (75 x 75 mm), Crushing Strength (3), Mindthirst, Strider

- Dread-Fiend (DF1), Hero (Large Cavalry), Crushing Strength (2), Mindthirst, Nimble, Stealthy, Sure (3)

6 Fiends (F1), Large Cavalry, Horde, Crushing Strength (1), Mindthirst, Stealthy, Vicious, Dwarven Ale

- Shadow-Hulk (SH2), Monster, Base Size (75 x 75 mm), Crushing Strength (3), Mindthirst, Strider

- Dread-Fiend (DF2), Hero (Large Cavalry), Crushing Strength (2), Mindthirst, Nimble, Stealthy, Sure (3)

20 Phantoms (P1), Infantry, Regiment, Crushing strength (1), Fly, Mindthirst, Shambling, Stealthy

- Shadow-Hulk (SH3), Monster, Base Size (75 x 75 mm), Crushing Strength (3), Mindthirst, Strider

- Dread-Fiend (DF3), Hero (Large Cavalry), Crushing Strength (2), Mindthirst, Nimble, Stealthy, Sure (3)

20 Phantoms (P2), Infantry, Regiment, Crushing strength (1), Fly, Mindthirst, Shambling, Stealthy

 - Butcher Fleshripper (BF1), Hero (Large Infantry), Crushing Strength (2), Mindthirts, Nimble, Stealthy, Sure (3)

20 Phantoms (P3), Infantry, Regiment, Crushing strength (1), Fly, Mindthirst, Shambling, Stealthy

 - Butcher Fleshripper (BF1), Hero (Large Infantry), Crushing Strength (2), Mindthirts, Nimble, Stealthy, Sure (3)

20 Phantoms (P4), Infantry, Regiment, Crushing strength (1), Fly, Mindthirst, Shambling, Stealthy

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 46 - 2019/11/27

Hello,

In my next game I played against Steve again but this time he decided to come back to his Early Arab Conquest army. I have played against this force before but it is still the army I find it difficult to fight.

The challenge lies in the fact that Steve, who is a great player in his own right, is in particular well versed in the use of this faction. The great thing about such challenges, however, is that it is a guarantee I can learn something new and valuable.

Steve's army did not change much since the last time I played against this faction and here are the details:

Early Arab Conquest - Army List

Game 126 - Goblins - 2019/11/24

Greetings!

I remember talking to Jeff about the tournament and army lists chosen by the players. He asked me which army list I consider the most challenging to play against. In general, I often find it challenging to play against many armies but often due to different reasons. 

However, this time, apart from Jeff's nightmarish army of Night Stalkers I knew I would always find difficult to win against, I thought Tony's Goblins were at least equally difficult to defeat.

I am often envious that Goblins seem to have it all. Massive amount of units, good shooting, variety of troops, plenty of heroes of various types etc.

Tony's army was not an exception and here are the details of the force he brought to the tournament:

Goblins - Army List

40 Groger's Goons [1] (GsG), Horde, Infantry, Regeneration (5+)

- War-Trombone (WT1), War Engine, Breath Attack (10), Piercing (1), Yellow-Bellied

- King on Chariot (KoC), Hero, Large Cavalry, Bows, Inspiring, Nimble, Thunderous Charge (2), Yellow-Bellied

- Giant (G1), Monster, Brutal, Crushing Strength (3), Fury, Strider

6 Trolls (T1), Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2)

- War-Trombone (WT1), War Engine, Breath Attack (10), Piercing (1), Yellow-Bellied

- Biggit (B1), Hero, Cavalry, Bows, Individual, Inspiring, Yellow-Bellied

- Giant (G2), Monster, Brutal, Crushing Strength (3), Fury, Strider

6 Trolls (T2), Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2), Dwarven Ale

- War-Trombone (WT1), War Engine, Breath Attack (10), Piercing (1), Yellow-Bellied

- Biggit (B2), Hero, Cavalry, Bows, Individual, Inspiring, Yellow-Bellied, Banner of Griffin

6 Trolls (T3), Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2)

- Biggit (B3), Hero, Cavalry, Bows, Individual, Inspiring, Yellow-Bellied

20 Rabble (R1), Regiment, Infantry, Yellow-bellied

- Wiz (W1), Hero, Infnatry, Bane Chant (2), Individual, Lightning Bolt (3), Yellow Bellied, Inspiring Talisman

20 Rabble (R2), Regiment, Infantry, Yellow-bellied

- Wiz (W2), Hero, Infnatry, Bane Chant (2), Individual, Lightning Bolt (3), Yellow Bellied, Scarletmaw’s Fenulian Amulet

20 Rabble (R3), Regiment, Infantry, Yellow-bellied

- Wiz (W3), Hero, Infnatry, Bane Chant (2), Individual, Lightning Bolt (3), Yellow Bellied, Blood Boil

20 Rabble (R4), Regiment, Infantry, Yellow-bellied

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 45 - 2019/11/23

Hello!

In the next game I played against another of my regular opponents, Paul. He decided to bring his Bosporan army with Sarmatian allies for a re-match. There were some interesting changes in his army list, even if it didn't change much visually in comparison to our last encounter.

In general, as before, Paul's army was mainly cavalry with a few units of infantry. However, this time Paul increased the number of bases per unit in some cases and took better quality troops in another. I was obviously curious how would that change the way I would need to respond to this, technically already known, threat.

Here are the details of the army Paul brought for this game:

Bosporan - Army List

Game 125 - Forces of Nature - 2019/11/17

Greetings!

Welcome to the first battle report from the very first Australian Universal Battle tournament and the last event I took part in that was played with 2nd Edition Kings of War rules! Talk about saying farewell to 2nd Edition with a bang! :)

Many thanks to Michael who organised this event for a few die hard UB and KoW enthusiasts! The tournament had 5 rounds and had initially 12 participants. 10 of us finished it. We used Black Jack scoring system and Michael was announcing the scenario for each round just after the previous one was finished.

If you would like to check the results already and/or are interested in the details of the army lists participants used, please follow the link to Michael's blog:

Australian UB Tournament - Season 1

We played at 2250 points which to me was the perfect size for the games. I was really happy to participate, especially that in 2019 I did not attend many tournaments.

In the first round I drew Yan who chose to use his Forces of Nature army. It was quite a different approach to the army list composition than Jeff's so it really felt like I was playing against a completely different force. Even if it was the same faction. Here are the details:

Forces of Nature - Army List

6 Forest Shamblers (FS1), Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Vanguard, Pathfinders, Brew of Haste
- Druid (D), Hero (Cavalry), Drain Lif (6), Heal (2), Individual, Inspiring, Pathfinders
- Beast of Nature (BoN), Monster, Crushing Strength (2), Fly, Lightning Bolt (6), Pathfinders, Vicious

3 Forest Shamblers (FS2), Regiment, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Vanguard, Pathfinders, Warden's Watch Formation
- Forest Warden (FW1), Hero (Large Infantry), Alchemist's Curse (10), Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Pathfinders, Surge (3), Vanguard, Warden's Watch Formation

3 Forest Shamblers (FS3), Regiment, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Vanguard, Pathfinders,
Warden's Watch Formation
- Forest Warden (FW2), Hero (Large Infantry), Blizzard (2), Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Pathfinders, Surge (3), Vanguard, Inspiring Talisman

10 Centaur Bray-Striders (CBS), Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinders, Thunderous Charge (1), Orcish Skullpole
- Pegasus (P), Hero (Large Cavalry), Fly, Pathfinders, Thunderous Charge (1), Blade of Slashing

10 Centaur Bray-Striders (CBS), Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinders, Thunderous Charge (1)
- Greater Air Elemental (GAE), Crushing Strength (2), Fly, Lightnin Bolt (3), Pathfinders, Shambling, Windblast (6)

10 Centaur Bray-Striders (CBS), Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinders, Thunderous Charge (1)
- Agnih-Bhanu (AB), Monster, Breath Attack (12), Crushing Strength 94), Pathfinder, Piercing (4), Strider, Vicious

20 Naiad Heartpiercers (NH), Regiment, Infantry, Ensnare, Harpoon-gun, Pathfinders, Piercing (1), Regeneration, Brew of Keen-eyeness

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 44 - 2019/11/16

Hello!

I am quite lucky that there is a dedicated group of Mortem et Gloriam players in Canberra so finding the opponent for a game is not a problem at all. If only I had more time to play! :)

We also knew that another event is coming in a couple of months, MOAB (Mother Of All Battles) so it was good to keep playing. Some tried new armies, I simply needed continuous practice with my trusty Seleucids.  

Stephen was toying with his Early Imperial Romans as his dreaded Mamluks were not yet ready. I was very happy with such match up because games where Phalanx is fighting Legion are always interesting.

Stephen decided to take the following:

Early Imperial Roman - Army List

Game 124 - Forces of Nature - 2019/11/09

Greetings!

Although everyone is building new army lists for the 3rd Edition of Kings of War, I decided to continue with my 2nd edition battle reports.

I decided to do so because of a few reasons. First, I would like to make sure to thank my opponents for great games and the best way I can do it is by writing the battle report! Second, the longer I wait to write the up, the more difficult it would be to recall the details and I simply want to finish them to focus on the new.

However, I also wanted to feature the battle reports from the very first Australian Universal Battle tournament too! This game was my last preparation before we started. I also think that it was a great way of saying farewell to a fantastic game of 2nd edition of Kings of War!

It is probably not a surprise that I played this game against Jeff, by far my most frequent opponent! If I can make something work against him, it simply means I am on the right track. 

For this game Jeff chose Forces of Nature army. Not the very first time when Jeff used this faction against me but one can always be sure that Jeff's army list is never exactly the same as last time. Here are the details of his army at 2250 points:

Forces of Nature - Army List

40 Salamanders, Horde, Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Banner of Griffin

- Beast of Nature, Monster, Crushing Strength (2), Lightning Bolt (6)

- Forest Warden, Hero (Large Infantry), Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Vanguard, Surge (3)

10 Centaur Bray-Striders, Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Thunderous Charge (1)

- Beast of Nature, Monster, Crushing Strength (2), Lightning Bolt (6)

- Forest Warden, Hero (Large Infantry), Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Vanguard, Surge (3)

10 Centaur Bray-Striders, Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Thunderous Charge (1)

- Beast of Nature, Monster, Crushing Strength (2), Lightning Bolt (6)

- Forest Warden, Hero (Large Infantry), Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Vanguard, Surge (3)

3 Forest Shamblers, Regiment, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Shambling, Vanguard

- Winged Unicorn, Fly, Heal (7), Inspiring, Thunderous Charge (2)

3 Fire Elementals, Regiment, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2), Shambling

- Winged Unicorn, Fly, Heal (7), Inspiring, Thunderous Charge (2)

3 Fire Elementals, Regiment, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2), Shambling

3 Earth Elementals, Regiment, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Shambling

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 43 - 2019/11/03

Hello,

In the last round of the Mortem et Gloriam tournament during WinterCon 2019, I had a great pleasure to play against Carl who this time commanded the army of Late Republican Romans.

I would also like to apologise the readers and Carl in particular for such a delay in preparing this battle report. It was never my intention to allow for this but unfortunately it happened. I hope I will be able to meet my own deadlines much better in the future. At the moment I am still catching up with quite a few battle reports. I do hope, however, they will be entertaining and worth reading, even if published later than planned.

I have played against Carl a few times already and it started to become a tradition that we meet each other in the last round of the events we attend. Fortunately for me, Carl usually brings a brand new army to each tournament. So I always have the opportunity to play against a different foe. This time was unique, because I was about to fight against Julius Caesar himself at the head of his dreaded Xth Legion!

Here are the details of the army Carl brought to the tournament.

Late Republican Roman - Army List

MSU Elves in 3rd Edition - First Impressions

Greetings!

Third Edition of Kings of War is here and everyone who has just received their copy of the book (be it hard copy or digital version) is now pre-occupied with studying this huge tome. 

I am, of course, not different at all! I must admit that it is a bit difficult to focus on writing a few battle reports from the past games I have not yet started. I will do it, if only to keep the full record, but I cannot stop thinking about the new rules, changes and how to adapt to the new reality.

Because of that I decided to write this short blog entry to share some first impressions and to help me decide on the direction of evolution of my current army.

I like the game of manoeuvre and the army where I can use various units together to overwhelm an opponent that would be more powerful in a direct fight in one-on-one melee. That is why when embarking on the journey with the new system a few years ago, 2nd Edition of Kings of War, I decided to adapt my favourite MSU (Multiple Small Units) concept. And that is why I decided to do it again with 3rd Edition.

At this stage I am not going to go into details with the MSU concept, how I understand it and how I realise it in my games. This short blog entry is going to focus on the army I used in 2nd edition and how to adapt it to the 3rd edition of Kings of War.

I hope it will be just the first such blog post where I can discuss the way I like composing and playing with this particular style and with this particular faction.

Game 123 - Dwarfs - 2019/10/26

Greetings!

In the last game of the Return of the King tournament I played against Peter and his Dwarfs. Classic match up in any fantasy system! 

It was also quite an interesting situation in the tournament standings as thanks to my two big victories I found myself fighting for a podium. Very exciting! 

I have never played against Peter before so the fact I had an opportunity to play against him at last was even more important! Peter brought quite compact Dwarf army with a formation that I soon learned to respect a lot :)

Dwarfs - Army List

20 Rangers, Regiment, Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinder, Vanguard, Elite and Stealthy due to Herneas' Hunting Party formation

- 10 Ironguard, Troop, Infantry

- 10 Ironguard, Troop, Infantry

- Golloch's Fury, Hero (Monster), Base Size (50x100mm), Crushing Strength ((3), Headstrong, Iron Resolve, Piercing (2), Strider, Very Inspiring

20 Rangers, Regiment, Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinder, Vanguard, Elite and Stealthy due to Herneas' Hunting Party formation

- Herneas the Hunter, Hero (Infantry), Individual, Inspiring (Rangers Only), Crushing Strength (1), Vanguard, Pathfinder, Elite and Stealthy due to Herneas' Hunting Party formation

10 Berserker Brock Riders, Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1)

- Berserker Lord, Hero (Cavalry), Individual, Inspiring (Berserkers Only), Crushing Strength (1), 

6 Earth Elementals, Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinder, Shambling

- Stone Priest, Hero (Infantry), Inspiring (Earth Elementals only), Individual, Surge (8)

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 42 - 2019/10/12

Hello!

During the second day of the WinterCon 2019 and third round of the Mortem at Gloriam tournament, I played against the army of Early Sassanid Persians commanded by Steve.

I have played against Steve many times already and I know him as a formidable opponent. I often learn hard lessons in our battles too! 

It was, however, the very first time when I played against Sassanid Persians. This army intrigues me a lot, mainly due to my interest in the period of history that put them as main enemies to Byzantine Empire. 

I was thus very curious how an army of such an opponent would look like and fight. Here are the details of the army composition Steve brought to the tournament:

Early Sassanid Persians - Army List

Game 122 - Goblins - 2019/10/10

Greetings!

In the third round of the Return of the King tournament I played against Matthew and his Goblins. I have never played against Matthew before so I was happy to have an opportunity to meet a new player!

I was also curious how would I do against Goblins. I spotted Matthew's army in the meantime and it did look quite intimidating, with quite a number of units and a few hordes too. 

When I play against Goblins I have to assume they will outnumber my army and that they will have higher unit strength. So it is always a challenge to play against this faction as one can put a lot of effort in order to rout some units while there is still more to come.

Here are the details of the army Matthew brought for the event:

Goblins - Army List

6 Trolls (T1), Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2), Regeneration (5+), Dwarven Ale

- War-Trombone (WT1), War Engine, Breath Attack (10), Piercing (1), Yellow-bellied

- King on Chariot (KoC), Hero (Large Cavalry), Base Size (50x100mm), Bows, Inspiring, Nimble, Thunderous Charge (2), Yellow-bellied

6 Trolls (T2), Horde, Large Infantry, Crushing Strength (2), Regeneration (5+), Chalice of Wrath

- War-Trombone (WT2), War Engine, Breath Attack (10), Piercing (1), Yellow-bellied

- Wiz (W), Hero (Infantry), Bane Chant (2), Blizzard (2)L, Individual, Lightning Bolt (3), Yellow Bellied, Inspiring Talisman

40 Spitters* (S), Horde, Infantry, Bows, Yellow-Bellied, Heart-seeking chant

10 Mawbeast Pack* (MP1), Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Height (1), Nimble, Vicious, Yellow-bellied

10 Mawbeast Pack* (MP2), Regiment, Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Height (1), Nimble, Vicious, Yellow-bellied

3 Mincer Mob* (MM), Regiment, Large Cavalry, Base Size (50x100mm), Big Shields, Brutal, Crushing Strength (1), Thunderous Charge (1), Potion of the Caterpillar

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs (FRS), Regiment, Cavalry, Bows, Nimble, Yellow-bellied

- 5 Fleabag Rider Sniffs (FRS), Troops, Cavalry, Bows, Nimble, Yellow-bellied

- Wiz (W), Hero (Cavalry), Mounted on Fleabag, Alchemist Curse (10)L, Individual, Lightning Bolt (3), Yellow Bellied

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs (FRS), Regiment, Cavalry, Bows, Nimble, Yellow-bellied

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 41 - 2019/09/30

Hello!

In the second round of the tournament during WinterCon 2019 I played against Phil. Last time we played against each other (a few months ago during Ascending Valhalla event) he played with Alexandrian Macedonian. This time, however, Phil decided to bring Early Imperial Romans with some Armenian allies. Excellent!

For some reason I consider Romans as the primary enemy for my Seleucids. I thus find it always exciting to play against any flavor of the Roman force. Even in the frame of this faction, there are a lot of options and variations so there is a guarantee there will be no two armies alike. Phil's force was definitely a good example, especially with allied contingent of Armenian cavalry.

Here are the details:

Early Imperial Romans - Army List

Game 121 - Night Stalkers - 2019/09/22

Greetings!

In the next round of Return of the King tournament I played against Jules and his beautifully painted Night Stalker's army. As my pictures to not give justice to his fantastic looking force, I highly recommend that you check his topic with more photos of the units he has collected and painted so far:

Night Stalkers by Jules

For this tournament Jules decided to bring an army in which various units were represented. Here are the details of his army 1850 points:

Night Stalkers - Army List

60 Blood Worms, Legion, Infantry, Lifeleech (2)

- Void Lurker, Hero, Monster, Fly, Crushing Strength (2), Thunderous Charge (1), Regeneration (5+)

- 5 Shadowhounds*, Troop, Cavalry, Height 1, Nimble, Regeneration (5+), Thunderous Charge (1)

- Terror, Monster, Base size (75 x 75 mm), Crushing Strength (1), Ensnare, Regeneration (4+), Shambling

6 Fiends, Horde, Large Cavalry, Crushing Strength (1), Vicious

- Dread-Fiend, Hero, Large Cavalry, Crushing Strength (2), Vicious, Nimble

20 Phantoms, Regiment, Infantry, Fly, Shambling, Crushing Strength (1), Base size (25 x 25 mm)

- Horror, Hero, Infantry, Individual, Surge (8), Bane Chant (2)

20 Scarecrows, Regiment, Infantry, Shambling

- Shade, Hero, Infantry, Individual, Fly, Crushing Strength (1)

20 Scarecrows, Regiment, Infantry, Shambling

Mortem et Gloriam - Game 40 - 2019/09/15

Hello!

Welcome to the first battle report from the series of four that I played during the tournament WinterCon 2019. It took place in Canberra on 20-21 July. I apologise for the delay in posting about these games. I do hope, however, that I can make up for it with tales of great games against fantastic opponents! 

Before I continue, I would like to dedicate the tournament reports to the player I will always consider as my Mortem et Gloriam mentor - Geoff. He helped me a lot when I was learning the game for the very first time and I was fortunate to play against him a few time since. Unfortunately, Geoff was forced to change the plans in the last possible moment and was not participating in the event. I do hope we will have another chance to play, especially that he initially planned to bring an army of Lysimachus. That would have made for a great thematic game against my Seleucids for sure. Next time!

The tournament was organised for two days with four games to be played. We were not restricted to any particular period of history. The initial match ups were made to pair armies from as close periods as possible. Other than that, we only had a limit of points for the army that was set at 10,000 points.

In the first game I was to play against Leigh, against whom I have already played on many occasions. Leigh is always happy to use different armies from different periods. This time his choice was a force of Magna Graecia. Excellent! A new faction against a great opponent, perfect way to start the tournament!

Here are the details of the composition Leigh brought to the event:

Magna Graecia - Army List

Game 120 - League of Rhordia - 2019/08/31

Greetings!

After a few months break, the best Tournament Organiser I have ever met, Matt "The Apron Boy" was back with a new event! It was named "Return of the King" and rightly so! No wonder then that players responded to the call enthusiastically. Significant number of them drove from interstates, only to be able to participate in what was guaranteed to be a great day of gaming and Kings of War. 

To accommodate popular wish, there were four games to be played and the armies were limited to 1850 points. Black Jack scoring system was used as well. If you are interested in the results of the tournament, here is the link to the final score (you can check the results after each turn as well):

Return of the King - Results

When I learned that my most regular opponent on Universal Battle, Jeff, is going to attend I decided to challenge him to the battle in the first round! I simply wanted to make sure we can finally have a game with real models and do not rely on the respective scores during the event to make it happen.

Jeff usually wins in our games and wins decisively too. However, I hoped that perhaps this time I will be able to come up with a good plan and execute it well to prevail. He also told me that in the most recent interview with the hosts of the Direct Misfire podcast, he was asked to bring League of Rhordia to the tournament. So he did!

Here is the army list he brought to the event:

League of Rhordia - Army List

40 Halfling Archers (HA1), Horde, Infantry, Bows, Stealthy

- Duke on Ancient Winged Alarez (DoA), Hero (Monster), Crushing Strength (2), Fly, Heal (4), Iron Resolve, Thunderous Charge (1), Very Inspiring

40 Halfling Archers (HA2), Horde, Infantry, Bows, Stealthy

- Duke on Ancient Winged Alarez (DoA), Hero (Monster), Crushing Strength (2), Fly, Heal (4), Iron Resolve, Thunderous Charge (1), Very Inspiring

20 Halfling Braves (HS1), Regiment, Stealthy

- Wizard on Alarez (WoA), Hero (Large Cavalry), Fireball (6), Fly, Thunderous Charge (1)

20 Halfling Braves (HS2), Regiment, Stealthy

- Wizard on Alarez (WoA), Hero (Large Cavalry), Fireball (6), Fly, Thunderous Charge (1)

20 Halfling Braves (HS3), Regiment, Stealthy

- Battle Shrine[1] (BS), Hero (Large Cavalry), Lightning Bolt (5), Rallying (2)

20 Halfling Braves (HS4), Regiment, Stealthy

20 Halfling Braves (HS5), Regiment, Stealthy

Night Stalkers - Allies

20 Phantoms (P), Regiment, Crushing Strength (1), Shambling

- Dread Fiend (DF), Hero (Large Cavalry), Crushing Strength (2), Nimble, Vicious