Hope y’all had a great holiday season, all pandemics considered. Popping in to toss some shots of my last game of 2020 up (from August!), the report for which got lost in the shuffle, partially because my dice made it a particularly one-sided affair. Also wanted to warn y’all that I’ll probably let my WordPress pay account lapse in 2021 – which mostly means the URL will default to something less cool. Still hoping to log games up here, when they happen again 😞 But anyway, here’s a fast report of a game I barely remember:
Trident Realm 2300 Water Elementals Horde Water Elementals Horde Gigas Horde – Chalice of Wrath Gigas Horde – Staying Stone Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment Kraken Kraken Naiad Centurion – Blade of the Beast Slayer Naiad Envoy – Bastion (2), Tome of Darkness Naiad Envoy – Lute of Insatiable Darkness
This is essentially the final form of the crabs – and will hopefully be painted soon, really putting off painting my last big Mierce crustacean. Water Elementals are really quite good, Kraken work best in pairs, the shooting is real and it’s been cool to realize that individuals have a place in this game.
I’m guessing on some of the upgrades here, but this seems more or less correct. The Molochs might not have champs, which would leave points for the other Lowers to have CS(1) and the Horsemen to get a movement upgrade, both of which seem likely.
Looks like we were playing Plunder, judging by the tokens.
BATTLE
Battlelines!The Abyss descends upon the crab line, albeit with some restraint. Lightning plays across the central Gigas (i.e. one of two units that can’t regen).Scuttlers scuttle in response. Bastion goes on the left Kraken and Heartpiercers left and right begin ventilating the Succubi and the Horsemen, despite the negatives to hit.Turn 2 means charges! Some Gargoyles successfully disorder some Heartpiercers, but unfortunately the Horsemen hard fail against the wounded Gigas. A catastrophic Kraken flank is saved however when the Abyssal Champ’s 2 lightning damage results in a box car waver on the titan! The left Water Elementals also cop a couple damage.The crab’s respond by going aggro with the left Kraken (into Molochs) and Water Elementals (into Lower Abyssals), and otherwise counter-charging the middle and letting the Abyssals decide on the flanks. Heartpiercers chunk some damage on the unengaged Molochs and Lower Abyssals.While there’s a lot of damage spread across the Abyssal line, the Gigas go wild and tear the Horsemen to pieces! Something like 11 damage from 12 attaks <chefkiss.gif>Turn 3: The next wave of Abyssals hits home, as 5+ regen kicks in. The Bastion/Lute Envoy takes some damage from the Flamebearers before the carnage begins …The Scuttlin’ center crunches like so much seafood, but the rest of the shellfish hold the line – including the Heartpiercers on the far left (9 damage taken!)The crabs respond with the coldhearted violence of their genus: Gigas flank the Succubi on the left, the grind continues in the upper-left, Ba’el’s Kraken jumps on the central Molochs while the Centurion and some stalwart Heartpiercers sandwich the fallen demon lord. The sound of regening can be heard across the board.Once again, Gigas one-round a unit (hindering be damned), taking out the Succubi. The central Heartpiercers likewise one-shot the Gargoyles who killed their mates last turn. Everywhere else the grind continues, with special mention for the Centurion and Heartpiercers dealing heavy damage to Ba’el.The Abyssals continue to pile damage on in Turn 4 – check out all those double dice! – but the Nv checks aren’t there. The white chits show that the Scuttlin’ center has been wavered tho (Bastion Envoy, Heartpiercers and central Kraken).Amongst all the regening (actually it looks pretty weak for 4/5+), the triumphant Gigas plow into the left Molochs as everyone else counter-charges …Yes, gentle readers, all that happened. The left collapses thanks to that combo-charge, three turns of Water Elemental affection (eventually 54 attaks CS(1) attaks pays out) and a brutal single round of Heartpiercer fire into the Flamebearers. The right vanishes when those heavily damaged Water Elementals rolled like 17 hits and erased the horde 😅 Also Ba’el was torn down by the Centurion, which is pretty damn epic and exactly what he’s there to do. (The above shot is actually from Abyssal 5 but shows the combat results.)With the heart and most of the limbs torn off the Abyssal army, Turn 5 is a little lackluster. The Seductress dunks the Bastion Envoy and prepares to get Gigas’d, the central Molochs get their Kraken up to double dice but can only pull the waver, while the Abyssal Champ can’t pop the mangled right Water Elementals.A Kraken careens from one hill into the flank of the Molochs’ on the other, along with a brutal flank from those hero Heartpiercers. Also the Gigas chitter into the Seductress and the right Water Elementals prepare to chomp down on the Champion.The Molochs disintegrate, but the individuals hold. Heartpiercers begin barraging the Abyssal Warlock with harpoons.Turn 6 last gasps from the Abyssals. The Warlock tries to firebolt the wounded central Kraken, for no dice.The Gigas see through the Seductress’ wiles and snip her in half, shortly after a wall of Heartpiercer fire impales the Warlock. The Abyssal Champion is the only demon left on the board, as the crabs quickly regen almost all the damage done to them. Oh, and snap up every loot token.
SCUTTLIN’ VICTORY
A commanding win for the crabs, thanks in large part to terrible Nv dice for the Abyssals. At the time it felt like this game was really run by the dice, to the point that reporting it felt a little weird, but watching it play out here I’m pretty happy with choices I actively made. Going ham on the left with the Kraken and Water Elementals took me a long time to decide on – this kind of decision almost always bites me – but really paid out, as it held up units that were going to struggle without hot dice and let me grind them down.
Anyway, that’s all the KOW for 2020! Really excited to get back on the table next year, and trying to stay focused and keep working on KOW hobby stuff until then, as opposed to wandering around the grim darkness of GW stuff and getting really nothing done.
BLOODFIRE 