Saturday night fight with another clubmate, who has put his Varangrr aside for the time being to give his Herd another shot.
BLOODFIRE GAME 4: HERD
Salamanders 2000
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Greater Fire Elemental
Greater Fire Elemental
Herald on Raptor
Herald on Raptor
Mage-Priest – Heal, Surge, Banner of the Griffin
Clan Lord on Fire Drake – Healing Brew
Same list as last time!
Herd 2000
Spirit Walker Horde – Helm of the Ram
Spirit Walker Horde – Brew of Haste
Stampede Horde – Blood of the Old King
Lycan Horde – Brew of Strength
Tribal Chariot Regiment
Beast Pack Troop
Harpy Troop
Chimera – Wings
Shaman – Heal
Shaman – Heal
Lycan Alpha – Healing Brew
Solid troops with smart items, especially BOTOK (which was made for Stampedes) and Helm of the Ram (which feels particularly nice on beastmans). Chuffed to see chariots on the table, and impressed by the stats on Tribal Chariots in particular.
We chose to play Scour (5), as we’ll be playing it at the Unplugged GT at the end of April, and I’ve never played it. Herd won the initiative and took it. (Apologies for so many blurry shots – I was impatient and didn’t let my phone accommodate for the lower light.)
BATTLE
The Herd rolls out! L2R = Alpha, Lycans, Spirit Walkers (+1Sp) + Beast Pack, Stampede, Spirit Walkers (+1TC) + Harpies, Chariots, Chimera
The thick red line bows forward! And the Harpies die to Ember Sprite + CLOFD breath, for first blood.
Lycans and their Alpha get the party started properly by slamming into the leftmost Fire Elemental horde, which holds despite 13 wounds. Meanwhile the Beast Pack disorders some Sprites and the Tribal Chariots plink a wound off the rightmost Fire horde.
Fiery blood things go aggro, with the left Fire horde + flank-surged GFE charging the Lycan, Beast Pack being mobbed by a Fire horde + Sprites, and Stampede getting suicide-charged by yet more Fire Elementals (through a pond no less :P). Red dudes on the right prepare to receive Chariots + Chimera, and CLOFD + Sprite screen position to vomit on Spirit Walkers.
The Lycan are burnt to cinders, the Stampede gently tickled (5 wounds?) but at least disordered, and the right Spirit Walkers take breath wounds but can’t be wavered anyway. Oh, Beast Pack is turned into mist.
Terrible overview shot is terrible. TL;DR: Lots of charging, including Chariots + Chimera into right Fire horde (fire dudes hold, spoiler).
The sacrificial Fire horde receives its comeuppance. Also those TC(2) Spirit Walkers are healed some.
GFE face-tanks the other Spirit Walkers (who are bane-chanted), as the wounded Fire horde prepares to be ended by the Alpha.
Yep: GFE holds with negligible damage, while the Fire horde poofs.
HOWEVER the overextended Fire horde takes 31 wounds (!) and sticks on snake eyes (!!) 
Vengeance! Haste Spirit Walkers are flanked by a Fire horde, Lycan Alpha is surge-charged by reforming GFE, Ram Spirit Walkers are counter-charged by the miraculously still burning Fire horde in the center + flank-charged by a GFE, and the Tribal Chariots are counter-charged by the right Fire horde.
Combats are a mixed bag after dice happen. The Ram Walkers and Tribal Chariots die in a literal fire, moments after the Stampede receive some sweet breath loving from Sprites + CLOFD. On the other hand, the Haste Walkers soak up 10 wounds from the flanking Fire horde (of 15 anticipated) and dont care, and the GFE thumps the Alpha up to 7 wounds but it doesn’t care either. Butts.
The Herd retaliates: Stampede into their rapidly dissipating Fire horde, Chimera into gently battered right Fire horde, and Haste Walkers into Mage-Priest on the way into rearing the GFE. I lament being stupid and putting her in harms way, as she had no business wandering into that spot
Also the Alpha shoots out to be a pain in the rear / flank next turn, regening or healing back to 1 or 2 wounds.
Boom! The Stampede gets their Fire horde up to 43 wounds, exploding them back to the Blood Fire Land Place from whence they came.
The Mage-Priest doesn’t manage to hold the Haste Walkers, who carry on into the GFE
…
…
and tear him down too. Sad times. (Also: the Chimera managed 3 more wounds on the right Fire horde, but 9 wounds wasn’t enough to rout them.)
Fire hordes go into the Haste Walkers (wounds happen (up to 15) but not enough to rout that -/23) and the Chimera (it gets beat up (up to 9?) and is wavered). The Stampede is bathed in 34 breath attaks, most of them with vicious, and is also wavered!
Turn 5 arrives! The left Fire horde gets sandwiched between mountains of attaks, and is dispersed handily as their Herald Chompy watches in dismay. The Haste Walkers are healed down to 12 as well.
Also the Chimera backs up, simply to pull its Fire Elementals away from markers.
The last of the Fire Elementals power back into the Chimera, as various red things make sure they’re within 3 of markers and prepare to unleash hot breath attak action upon goat / pig / wolf dudes. And Chompy blocks the Haste Walkers in case they survive the incoming torrent.
Lol, nope D: The Haste Walkers evaporate under the CLOFD + impressive rout dice, the Stampede becomes delicious pork roast thanks to Ember Sprites + GFE breath, and the Chimera likewise is fricasseed courtesy the Fire horde. And the left Shaman took an unexpected number of wounds from the leftmost Sprites.
Turn 6 desperation! The smoldering Shaman wavers some Ember Sprites! The other Shaman disorders some other Sprites! The Lycan Alpha tackles the Clan Lord for a few wounds!
Clash of the Titans! The Clan Lord goes ham and tears the head off the Alpha (or maybe it just wavered him, I cant remember – regardless legit pile of wounds from the CLOFD). Chompy tackles the left Shaman and whiffs, and the other Shaman may or may not have vanished under 12 breath attaks. Regardless, no Turn 7 and Salamanders sit on a lot of markers.
BLOODFIRE VICTORY
BLOODFIRE 