Greetings!
In the game 4 and the first battle of the second day I played against a really nice looking Undead army commanded by Andrew.
Andrew was one of the players from Direct Misfire team! It was great to meet a new player from Melbourne!
Undead seemed to be quite a popular faction during Clash of Kings but I have not played against them so far and it's been a while since I played against this army as well. I was thus very curious what Andrew decided to choose for his force and here are the details:
Undead seemed to be quite a popular faction during Clash of Kings but I have not played against them so far and it's been a while since I played against this army as well. I was thus very curious what Andrew decided to choose for his force and here are the details:
Soul Reaver Cavalry Regiment (SRC), Cavalry, Sir Jesse's Boots of Striding - 265
Revenant Cavalry Regiment (RC), Cavalry - 165
Soul Reaver Infantry Regiment (SRI), Infantry - 250
Revenant Regiment (R1), Infantry - 125
Revenant Regiment (R1), Infantry - 125
Wight Horde* (W1), Large Infantry, 260
Wraith Troop* (W2), Infantry - 120
Wraith Troop* (W2), Infantry - 120
Revenant King on Undead Great Flying Wyrm (RK), Hero (Titan) - 250
Mhorgoth the Faceless (M), Hero (Infantry) - 230
Necromancer (N), Hero (Infantry), Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant (2) - 90
It looked to me as an elite version of Undead army, with fewer units but much better protected (pretty much entire army had defence 5+ or 6+). Some of them, such as Soul Reaver cavalry and infantry, can hit really hard and can easily rout any unit of my own in a single round of melee.
It is a fast army too, with four elements that can fly and two cavalry regiments. Fortunately, only the Kings can fly at speed 10, so I thought I may have a bit of advantage in speed. It also has 11 units and 9 scoring elements, so I hoped to place 1 or 2 units in a better spot during the deployment.
In fact, such elite army may face a challenge to cover entire width of the battle field and either end up being spread too much or need to focus only on some areas. It was my second possible advantage to exploit.
I obviously needed some good positioning to be able to execute multiple charges. Any round where I fail to defeat the enemy in one go, I faced retaliation and most likely, I would lose a unit to counter-charge.
Here is my army list for comparison.
It looked to me as an elite version of Undead army, with fewer units but much better protected (pretty much entire army had defence 5+ or 6+). Some of them, such as Soul Reaver cavalry and infantry, can hit really hard and can easily rout any unit of my own in a single round of melee.
It is a fast army too, with four elements that can fly and two cavalry regiments. Fortunately, only the Kings can fly at speed 10, so I thought I may have a bit of advantage in speed. It also has 11 units and 9 scoring elements, so I hoped to place 1 or 2 units in a better spot during the deployment.
In fact, such elite army may face a challenge to cover entire width of the battle field and either end up being spread too much or need to focus only on some areas. It was my second possible advantage to exploit.
I obviously needed some good positioning to be able to execute multiple charges. Any round where I fail to defeat the enemy in one go, I faced retaliation and most likely, I would lose a unit to counter-charge.
Here is my army list for comparison.
Outcasts (Elves) - Army List
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment (S), Cavalry - 215
Palace Guard Regiment (PG1), Infantry - 160
Palace Guard Regiment (PG2), Infantry - 160
Kindred Archers Regiment (A), Infantry - 120
Drakon Rider Regiment* (DR1), Large Cavalry - 165
Drakon Rider Regiment* (DR2), Large Cavalry - 165
Forest Shamblers Regiment* (FS1), Large Infantry - 120
Forest Shamblers Regiment* (FS2), Large Infantry - 120
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop* (SB1), Cavalry - 130
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop* (SB1), Cavalry - 130
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop* (SB1), Cavalry - 130
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop* (SB1), Cavalry - 130
Lord on Drakon (DL1), Hero (Large Cavalry) - 170
Lord on Drakon (DL2), Hero (Large Cavalry) - 170
Elven Archmage (M), Hero (Infantry), Inspiring Talisman, Lighting Bolt (5) - 115
Army Standard Bearer (AS), Hero (Infantry) - 60
Terrain
Deployment and Scenario
In this game we played Plunder as the scenario. I wanted to avoid having both tokens worth 2 points being next to each other and fortunately that was what happened. In this way I could use the fact I had a few more units to attempt to grab and control three out of five tokens, with at least one worth 2 points.
I wanted to use the fact that I had some shooting while Andrew's army did not have long range attacks to the advantage. Because of that I deployed all the shooters in the centre that was more open. Andrew deployed his army in two groups on both flanks. So my shooters could manoeuvre with a bit more freedom and perhaps collect the middle token too.
I decided to focus on the left flank and delay the right one. I expected some tough fights on the left but if I could move Shamblers to block the enemy from getting the tokens there and then use my speed and higher number of units to inflict some casualties, perhaps that would allow me to control the desired number of tokens by the end of the game.
Outcasts - Turn 1
Elves advanced across the battle field, with units on the left moving a bit faster towards the treasures. Those in the middle of the formation opened fire at Revenants in the open, inflicting some damage.
Undead - Turn 1
Wights and Wraiths charged Forest Shamblers but this attack was surprisingly unsuccessful. At the same time, the Undead forces led by the King himself advanced on the opposing flank.
Outcasts - Turn 2
Elven forced on the left flank used the opportunity and eliminated the biggest threat there, the horde of Wights. It was possible thanks to combined attack of Drakon Lord, Shamblers and Palace Guard. At this stage, Drakon Riders and Stormwind performed covering attacks to engage Revenent cavalry and Wraiths. For the same reason, second group of Shamblers advanced towards Soul Reavers to block them from joining the fight.
On the opposite flank Drakon Riders took a gamble and flew over enemy forces to land behind their lines. Would Necromancer be able to summon enough of his dark magics to animate nearby Revenants and intercept daring Drakon Riders?
Undead - Turn 2
Undead units followed the orders of their masters and attacked again. While Revenant Cavalry, Wraiths and Soul Reavers charged their adversaries, Morgoth drained life out from the Forest Shamblers.
His apprentice on the other side of the battle field was not as successful as he did not surge Revenants far enough to catch the Drakon Riders.
Outcasts - Turn 3
Elven units attacked their enemies on the left again. Drakon Riders were still locked in combat with enemy cavalry, also thanks to the support of Morgoth, who kept resurrecting the fallen warriors.
Wraiths were finally defeated, while Forest Schamblers and Palace Guard occupied Soul Reavers. unfortunately for Elves, despite the damage inflicted, they were not yet able to rout the enemy.
In the meantime, Silverbreeze cavalry and the Archmage managed to finish off the Revenants and save Drakon Riders from the immediate danger.
Undead - Turn 3
Once again, Morgoth used his unholy powers to destroy second group of Forest Shamblers and at the same time fix the damage done to Revenenats by the Drakon Riders. Soul Reavers used that opportunity and defeated Palace Guard too.
The King decided it is time to attack and charged Silverbreeze cavalry covering the Archers who have just collected one of the treasures. Fortunately for Elves, the King failed to defeat the light cavalry and was now in grave danger himself!
Outcasts - Turn 4
In order to help Drakon Riders on the left, Palace Guard charged Morgoth. Although they inflict some damage, they were not able to capture the evil necromancer.
Fortunately, Stormwind cavalry managed to rout Soul Reavers while combined attack of Drakon Riders and Lord was powerful enough to defeat the King himself!
Undead - Turn 4
Losing two powerful units was a blow but undead warriors felt nothing and cared nothing. They kept responding to the orders of the necromancers as if never happened. This time, they were ordered to assume defensive positions and protect some of the treasures.
Outcasts - Turn 5
Elves knew that in order to carry the day they need to continue the attack. Drakon Riders on the left still were not able to defeat the enemy cavalry but Palace Guard was coming to help.
The second regiment of Drakon Riders attacked Soul Reaver cavalry to allow other units to prepare second wave of the attacks. Unfortunately, the shooting was still not efficient enough to harm the Revenants.
Undead - Turn 5
Until now Elves were in possession of majority of the treasures but then Morgoth cast his evil spells again. First, he drained life from many of Palace Guard warriors and their companions who survived were wavering. He then fixed damage done to to Revenants again and this time the cavalry defeated the Drakon Riders. Suddenly, Elves were in a very vulnerable position there.
Outcasts - Turn 6
Elves did not have much time to try and recover from the unexpected turn of events. It seemed that their best bet was to try and wrestle the treasures from the other enemies. To this end, Stormwind attacked Soul Reavers to eliminate this target, while Silverbreeze kept shooting at the enemy. But while Elven Knights defeated their foes, Revenants were still standing and Wraiths did not yield either.
Undead - Turn 6
Unfortunately for Elves, Palace Guard was not able to hold the ground against the attack of Revenant cavalry and it was now the Undead army that was in the possession of the treasure.
What is more, the regiment of Revenants attacked Silverbreeze cavalry and avoided Elven Knights too!
Outcasts - Turn 7
In order to have last chance to win this battle, Elves had to defeat Wraiths and Revenants. While Wraiths fell down to the attacks of Drakon Riders, Revenants stood their ground against desperate attack of Silverbreeze.
It was clear Undead army was victorious, it was now the question about margin of the victory.
Undead - Turn 7
In the final act of a bloody battle, Revenant Cavalry charged through the forest and attacked Elven Archers. They managed to hold their ground however. Despite that, Undead gained strategic victory and carried away majority of the magical artefacts Elves hoped to recover.
Summary
After-battle
Many thanks to Andrew for a great game and congratulations for well deserved victory! Although I managed to collect majority of the treasures first and kept them for the most of the battle, he kept his eyes on the prize and snatched it away by the end of the game! Well done indeed!
I am still very happy with the result of this game and even more so with how it flowed, despite some obvious mistakes on my part. It was good to see that once again, my units, if co-operate well, can defeat powerful enemies. And while it came at a cost, the victory was within my grasp!
I was very impressed by Morgoth and his ability to inflict damage while helping the army. It was thanks to him that Revenant cavalry kept fighting on and eventually defeated the Drakon Riders. Timing was also perfect because the Palace Guard nearby was wavered and unable to attack either.
I took some risks this game and this time they paid off. In particular with Forest Shamblers and Drakon Riders. Although with the latter I did forget about Surge for that one moment! Luckily, Revenants were not surged far enough and I could use that to the advantage.
Looking back and considering the options, I think it was a mistake to move Palace Guard to fight with Revenant cavalry. Simply because main role was to protect the treasure. I should have moved them away from the forest and ignore Morgoth. In this way this regiment would be too far from Revenants for Drain Life to help them. Or would force Morgoth to use it on Drakons instead.
Alternatively, I could drop the token in turn 4, pull back Drakons and charge Revenants with Palace Guard. With more attacks and fresh unit with higher nerve, I could keep the enemy in the fight for longer. While Archers would be there in time to pick the treasure.
Another mistake was in reforming Stormwind after defeating Soul Reavers. I did not pivot them correctly and Revenants escaped by attacking Silverbreeze. This meant I was not able to use the Knights to defeat the infantry holding the token.
Or perhaps I should have attacked Revenants with Stormwind directly in turn 6 and block Soul Reavers instead?
In any case it was a fantastic game against a fantastic opponent! I really hope we can have another chance to play against each other in the future.
Please, let me know what do you think about the armies, deployments and the battle itself. Is there anything you would like me to improve in the battle report itself?
I hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for reading!
Terrain
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| Terrain Details |
Deployment and Scenario
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| Elves vs Undead |
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| Deployment of the Armies and Plunder tokens. |
In this game we played Plunder as the scenario. I wanted to avoid having both tokens worth 2 points being next to each other and fortunately that was what happened. In this way I could use the fact I had a few more units to attempt to grab and control three out of five tokens, with at least one worth 2 points.
I wanted to use the fact that I had some shooting while Andrew's army did not have long range attacks to the advantage. Because of that I deployed all the shooters in the centre that was more open. Andrew deployed his army in two groups on both flanks. So my shooters could manoeuvre with a bit more freedom and perhaps collect the middle token too.
I decided to focus on the left flank and delay the right one. I expected some tough fights on the left but if I could move Shamblers to block the enemy from getting the tokens there and then use my speed and higher number of units to inflict some casualties, perhaps that would allow me to control the desired number of tokens by the end of the game.
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| Deployment after Scout moves. |
Outcasts - Turn 1
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| Moving forward. |
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| Elves occupy the forest on the left to lure enemy in. |
Elves advanced across the battle field, with units on the left moving a bit faster towards the treasures. Those in the middle of the formation opened fire at Revenants in the open, inflicting some damage.
Undead - Turn 1
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| Early charges! |
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| Attack on the left flank. |
Wights and Wraiths charged Forest Shamblers but this attack was surprisingly unsuccessful. At the same time, the Undead forces led by the King himself advanced on the opposing flank.
Outcasts - Turn 2
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| Drakon Riders gamble! |
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| Elven counter attack. |
Elven forced on the left flank used the opportunity and eliminated the biggest threat there, the horde of Wights. It was possible thanks to combined attack of Drakon Lord, Shamblers and Palace Guard. At this stage, Drakon Riders and Stormwind performed covering attacks to engage Revenent cavalry and Wraiths. For the same reason, second group of Shamblers advanced towards Soul Reavers to block them from joining the fight.
On the opposite flank Drakon Riders took a gamble and flew over enemy forces to land behind their lines. Would Necromancer be able to summon enough of his dark magics to animate nearby Revenants and intercept daring Drakon Riders?
Undead - Turn 2
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| Slow march on the right flank |
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| Morgoth helps on the left. |
Undead units followed the orders of their masters and attacked again. While Revenant Cavalry, Wraiths and Soul Reavers charged their adversaries, Morgoth drained life out from the Forest Shamblers.
His apprentice on the other side of the battle field was not as successful as he did not surge Revenants far enough to catch the Drakon Riders.
Outcasts - Turn 3
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| Silverbreeze finally shoot down enemy unit. |
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| More fights on the left. |
Elven units attacked their enemies on the left again. Drakon Riders were still locked in combat with enemy cavalry, also thanks to the support of Morgoth, who kept resurrecting the fallen warriors.
Wraiths were finally defeated, while Forest Schamblers and Palace Guard occupied Soul Reavers. unfortunately for Elves, despite the damage inflicted, they were not yet able to rout the enemy.
In the meantime, Silverbreeze cavalry and the Archmage managed to finish off the Revenants and save Drakon Riders from the immediate danger.
Undead - Turn 3
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| The King joins the fight! |
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| More losses on the left. |
Once again, Morgoth used his unholy powers to destroy second group of Forest Shamblers and at the same time fix the damage done to Revenenats by the Drakon Riders. Soul Reavers used that opportunity and defeated Palace Guard too.
The King decided it is time to attack and charged Silverbreeze cavalry covering the Archers who have just collected one of the treasures. Fortunately for Elves, the King failed to defeat the light cavalry and was now in grave danger himself!
Outcasts - Turn 4
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| The King is dead! |
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| Elves note some significant successes! |
In order to help Drakon Riders on the left, Palace Guard charged Morgoth. Although they inflict some damage, they were not able to capture the evil necromancer.
Fortunately, Stormwind cavalry managed to rout Soul Reavers while combined attack of Drakon Riders and Lord was powerful enough to defeat the King himself!
Undead - Turn 4
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| Undead reform |
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| Soul Reavers prepare to attack. |
Losing two powerful units was a blow but undead warriors felt nothing and cared nothing. They kept responding to the orders of the necromancers as if never happened. This time, they were ordered to assume defensive positions and protect some of the treasures.
Outcasts - Turn 5
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| Elves press forward. |
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| Elves keep attacking. |
Elves knew that in order to carry the day they need to continue the attack. Drakon Riders on the left still were not able to defeat the enemy cavalry but Palace Guard was coming to help.
The second regiment of Drakon Riders attacked Soul Reaver cavalry to allow other units to prepare second wave of the attacks. Unfortunately, the shooting was still not efficient enough to harm the Revenants.
Undead - Turn 5
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| Morgoth strikes again! |
Until now Elves were in possession of majority of the treasures but then Morgoth cast his evil spells again. First, he drained life from many of Palace Guard warriors and their companions who survived were wavering. He then fixed damage done to to Revenants again and this time the cavalry defeated the Drakon Riders. Suddenly, Elves were in a very vulnerable position there.
Outcasts - Turn 6
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| Elves attack! |
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| Elves try to capture some more tokens. |
Elves did not have much time to try and recover from the unexpected turn of events. It seemed that their best bet was to try and wrestle the treasures from the other enemies. To this end, Stormwind attacked Soul Reavers to eliminate this target, while Silverbreeze kept shooting at the enemy. But while Elven Knights defeated their foes, Revenants were still standing and Wraiths did not yield either.
Undead - Turn 6
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| Undead re-claim the treasure! |
Unfortunately for Elves, Palace Guard was not able to hold the ground against the attack of Revenant cavalry and it was now the Undead army that was in the possession of the treasure.
What is more, the regiment of Revenants attacked Silverbreeze cavalry and avoided Elven Knights too!
Outcasts - Turn 7
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| Last chance |
In order to have last chance to win this battle, Elves had to defeat Wraiths and Revenants. While Wraiths fell down to the attacks of Drakon Riders, Revenants stood their ground against desperate attack of Silverbreeze.
It was clear Undead army was victorious, it was now the question about margin of the victory.
Undead - Turn 7
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| Archers hold! |
In the final act of a bloody battle, Revenant Cavalry charged through the forest and attacked Elven Archers. They managed to hold their ground however. Despite that, Undead gained strategic victory and carried away majority of the magical artefacts Elves hoped to recover.
Summary
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| Turn-by-turn animation summary |
After-battle
Many thanks to Andrew for a great game and congratulations for well deserved victory! Although I managed to collect majority of the treasures first and kept them for the most of the battle, he kept his eyes on the prize and snatched it away by the end of the game! Well done indeed!
I am still very happy with the result of this game and even more so with how it flowed, despite some obvious mistakes on my part. It was good to see that once again, my units, if co-operate well, can defeat powerful enemies. And while it came at a cost, the victory was within my grasp!
I was very impressed by Morgoth and his ability to inflict damage while helping the army. It was thanks to him that Revenant cavalry kept fighting on and eventually defeated the Drakon Riders. Timing was also perfect because the Palace Guard nearby was wavered and unable to attack either.
I took some risks this game and this time they paid off. In particular with Forest Shamblers and Drakon Riders. Although with the latter I did forget about Surge for that one moment! Luckily, Revenants were not surged far enough and I could use that to the advantage.
Looking back and considering the options, I think it was a mistake to move Palace Guard to fight with Revenant cavalry. Simply because main role was to protect the treasure. I should have moved them away from the forest and ignore Morgoth. In this way this regiment would be too far from Revenants for Drain Life to help them. Or would force Morgoth to use it on Drakons instead.
Alternatively, I could drop the token in turn 4, pull back Drakons and charge Revenants with Palace Guard. With more attacks and fresh unit with higher nerve, I could keep the enemy in the fight for longer. While Archers would be there in time to pick the treasure.
Another mistake was in reforming Stormwind after defeating Soul Reavers. I did not pivot them correctly and Revenants escaped by attacking Silverbreeze. This meant I was not able to use the Knights to defeat the infantry holding the token.
Or perhaps I should have attacked Revenants with Stormwind directly in turn 6 and block Soul Reavers instead?
In any case it was a fantastic game against a fantastic opponent! I really hope we can have another chance to play against each other in the future.
Please, let me know what do you think about the armies, deployments and the battle itself. Is there anything you would like me to improve in the battle report itself?
I hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for reading!
So close! Well played in any case.
ReplyDeleteMy prediction of "could go either way" turned out to be more right than I thought!
Thanks! And yes, you were right on the spot with your prediction, well done!
DeleteHello, you have very nice battle reports, thanks for it. Maybe a little wish from my side: Can you try to keep the directions of the units as close as possible to the reality? When I'm looking you pictures I try to think what I would do in this moment. And when I'm looking into the next picute, many of your units go into flank or rear of the enemy, but looking at the pictures they had definitely go into the front or have no front arc and so on. I know it makes it more difficult for you, but it would be a quality increase of your reports.
ReplyDeleteHi Paul,
DeleteThank you very much for your comment, I always appreciate the feedback on how to make the reports better.
You are right, the maps I generated are not perfect and are approximations. I hoped that comparing them with the photos would help to limit the impact and unwanted side effect of the imperfections.
I will see what I can do in the future to create maps that are closer to real situation in battle. To help me in addressing the issue, could you specify which maps in this report were the most problematic?
I also wonder what I can do during the battle, especially when time is limited, to have photo material that helps with this issue later. Usually, I take one photo after each turn to have an overview. It is often take at an angle to have the full view and as a result, does not show many details.
I will see if I can come up with an idea to take photos which are more accurate and show more detail too.
Thanks!
Hi, here I'm again.
ReplyDeleteTake as an example Outcast Turn 2. Your Drakon Lord seems clearly in the front of Unit W1 (picture above) but is charging the flank.
Please just take this as a hint. I will read your battle reports anyway :-)
For Photos maybe a camera on a static mounting. Then you just have to push the button to take the photo :-)
Hi Paul,
DeleteThanks a lot for your feedback. Indeed, I missed the fact that the units on the map were not at a shallow angle and as a result, it looked like the Lord was in the front arc. I apologise for the inaccuracy, I will do my best to do better next time.
I do appreciate such feedback so please don't worry!
During casual games it may be easier to take more photos to better show the relative positioning of the units. During the tournament, however, it may be more challenging but perhaps I will be able to do it anyway in my opponents turn.
Tripod is a good idea for casual games. It would allow for some cool pictures for sure. I will see what I can do! :)
Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed the series of the reports from this tournament. I should be posting some summary of the event soon!