THE HALLOW 20: ABYSSALS

On January 25, 2023 By SalvageIn THE HALLOWLeave a comment

One last practice game for the Dead of Winter GT this weekend, and I’m up against Bill, our local Abyssals player. He threatened to bring his lightning hell, max Flamebearers list but decided to try out a less skewed army …

Forces of the Abyss 2150

Molochs Horde – Despoiler Champ; Blessing of the Gods
Molochs Horde – Despoiler Champ; Boots of Striding
Tortured Souls Horde
Tortured Souls Regiment
Tortured Souls Regiment
Flamebearers Regiment
Flamebearers Regiment
Gargoyles Troop
Chroneas
Abyssal Fiend
Seductress – Gnome-Glass Shield
Abyssal Warlock – Veil of Shadows (3)
Zaz’u’szu the Betrayer [1] – Bane Chant (2-6), Lightning Bolt (4-8)
13 (22)

Bill has found himself in the same place I did when messing with Abyssals: Where the hammers at? He’s not an Abyssal Horsemen fan (Nv too low), and while he usually runs triple Molochs, 2150 points was too tight for all three of his hordes. Hence the Tortured Souls horde is here to see what it can do. There are 5-10 missing points in this list (depending on if it’s Veil 2 or 3), and I kind of think the TS horde might have had something? But it never came up, much like the Veil 😉

Herd 2150

Lycan Horde – Brew of Strength
Guardian Brute Horde
Guardian Brute Horde
Minotaur Chariot Regiment – The Stampede [1]
Tribal Warrior Horde – Brew of Sharpness
Tribal Warrior Regiment
Tribal Warrior Regiment
Centaur Bray Striders Troop
Centaur Bray Striders Troop
Lycan Alpha
Great Chieftain – Horn of the Great Migration [1]
Centaur Chieftain
Druid – Bane Chant (2), Heal (2)
13 (24)

This game I was testing out one more tweak, dropping the Druid’s reroll staff (which hasn’t worked in ages) and the Centaur Chief’s reroll sword for the horn of dread and WC (+1) on the Great Chieftain. The dread has some skornergy with the Brutes’ brutal, but I look forward to having it and the +1″ when facing other Sp 6 combat units. 19″ charges with the Lycans seems legit too. I’ve never run dread before either so that’s a cool thing to check off.

We played Push, using the tournament tweak that you can’t put more than two tokens in one unit. I made the Abyssals go first because 18″ shooting wants only one thing and it’s disgusting.

BATTLE

Abyssals 1: The flanks of the demonic castle roll forward, with the Abyssal firebase holding firm. I swear, I fight two Flamebearer regiments with a Warlock sandwiched between them standing in cover every time I face the Abyss 😛

Zaz’u’s lightning does a single damage to the right Centaurs but wavers them! This is actually kind of terrible for me, well played Bill. (Zaz’u always chooses the Gargoyles as his betrayal target, and they’re always regening as a result. I probably won’t mention this again.)

Herd 1: The Hallow more or less surges forward. Lycan and Centaur Chief prepare a trap on the left, should the Abyss engage early, while the Stampede and Lycan Alpha get within max range of the Tortured Souls horde, protecting their Tribal Warriors carting two tokens. In the center, I actually wanted to shove into the woods to flood the Abyssal shooting bunker with targets, but the Tortured Souls on the right are threatening flanks on the Tribal Warriors horde and right Brutes, so I had to be unfortunately conservative. The Brutes prepared to be lit up. (Also the Druid cleans up the damage on the Centaurs.)

Abyssals 2: The only movement from the Abyss is the Tortured Souls horde disappearing behind the hill and the regiment sidestepping for reasons. Cue the firestorm.

Blessedly, the Brutes take a mere 6 damage and hold firm. Wheeeeew.

Herd 2: The first wave of green vengeance crashes into the Abyssal lines! Tribal Warriors and Centaurs charge the left Tortured Souls regiment, with Great Chieftain’s dread bubble in support, and the smoldering Brutes on the right charge the other Tortured Souls regiment. I figure they’re as good as dead so may as well pressurize those hammers hiding behind the hill. I punch up the center with the next wave of heavy hitters, luxuriating in the woods (and grabbing the center token with the Tribal Warriors horde), while the Lycan and Centaur Chief buddy nimble around the house to be a problem in coming turns. On the right, the Stampede moves within the Moloch’s charge range, assuming that they won’t be able to engage out of fear of the Brutes or not without the Tortured Souls horde moving somewhere it can’t do anything or doesn’t want to be.

Both Tortured Souls regiments are cast back to the pit from whence they came. The Brutes turn to face the Abyssal hammers, disrespecting the hindered Flamebearers entirely … and not seeing the Gargoyle flank, tho I would have dismissed that as well, such is my hubris.

Abyssals 3: The Abyss strikes back across the board. Molochs charge the Centaurs on the left and the Stampede on the right, the latter possible because the Tortured Souls horde indeed backs up and sits this turn out too. Canny play, Bill. The Chroneas and Abyssal Fiend plow into the Tribal Warriors horde in the forest, hindering the Fiend but not the striding Chroneas. The damaged Brutes are indeed flanked by the Gargoyles (with Zaz’u in the front), shortly before the Seductress flies over to menace the Druid next turn. The Abyssal fire base targets the poor Centaurs out in the open.

Those Centaur Striders who were wavered first turn and vaporized this turn. RIP. In combat, the Molochs decimate the Centaurs on the left, and waver the Stampede on the right (on a rock solid 10 damage). The Brutes are surprisingly driven off by the Gargoyles, with no help from Zaz’u who contributed no damage. Finally, the Abyssal titans stomp 7 damage into the Tribal Warriors horde but they’re fine.

Shot from the left showing the Lycan horde and handler lurking around the house.

Herd 3: Gentle readers, you know I’m down to grind, and so we do. Tribal Warriors and Brutes tackle the left Molochs, but not before the Tribal Warriors horde counters the Chroneas (limiting their slide). The Great Chieftain flanks the Chroneas as well. On the right, the Stampede fury counters the other Molochs, with flanking support from the Lycan Alpha. We discuss whether the Tribal Warriors can fight the Molochs too, but I decide that you can’t multi-charge if one of the chargers can’t actually Charge (in the Stampede’s case). Outside of charging, the Lycan and Centaur Chief move into position to assault the Flamebearers, and the Druid prepares to bane chant one last time before the Seductress does unspeakably sexy things to her.

Thankfully the BC goes off! And the Chroneas is blended, as are the left Molochs. The Stampede and Lycan Alpha likewise tag team the other Molochs to death. Bill is surprised at how easily the Molochs fall – I’m not 😤

Abyssals 4: The Forces of the Abyss are feeling a little light on the ground but there’s a lot of firepower and speed left. The Abyssal Fiend charges (hindered) the Tribal Warrior horde again, as the Seductress trips over some roots and (hindered) charges the Druid tending to them. The Abyssal fire base mobilizes, lining up some shots before the Hallow mobs them all. In a surprise move, the hero Gargoyles charge the two token Tribal Warrior regiment, giving me a concern! And Zaz’u and the Tortured Souls horde declare their relevance.

Firebolts and lightning put the Brutes on 7 damage, the Lycan Alpha on 3, and the Stampede on 13, wavering 😦 In combat, the Abyssal Fiend rolls around on the Tribal Warriors horde, putting them to 10 damage, the Seductress bad touches the Druid for 6 damage (she wavers), and the Gargoyles do 2 to the Tribal Warriors regiment.

Herd 4: Time to seal some deals and pack this game away, because I have some concerns about the right with the Stampede so mangled. The Lycan make contact at least, flanking some Flamebearers over a wall with Tribal Warrior friends. The Brutes flank the Abyssal Fiend for maximum carnage, with Tribal Warriors horde in the front. On the right, the Tribal Warrior regiment counters the Gargoyles and the Lycan Alpha chooses to shut down Zaz’u’s lightning. She had a lot of options: flanking the Abyssal Warlock in the center, shutting down the Flamebearers, grounding the Tortured Souls. Honestly she should have gone with the last option, but that’s a bit of hindsight speaking. I figured Zaz’u’s lightning could reach out and mess with my damaged token carriers worse.

*murder sounds* Many demons are smote, and Zaz’u takes 3 damage. (The Stampede turned in place between shots.)

Abyssals 5: It’s feeling like last gasps but Bill is playing for some serious points on the right. The Warlock charges the Brutes to hold them and/or kill them (7 damage so far), and the Seductress hits the Druid again to end her. Zaz’u counters the Lycan Alpha because, but the real move is the Tortured Souls horde jumping into the token-bearing Tribal Warriors.

Flamebearers toss firebolts into the Stampede but luckily can’t land a wound on 5+ / 4+ dice. In combat, the Druid submits under the Seductress’ heavy petting and the Tortured Souls mangle the Tribal Warriors, taking their tokens. Zaz’u and the Warlock do nothing but sure are in the way.

Herd 5: Blenders can be heard revving up as the Warlock is Bruted and the Flamebearers have 79 quality attaks leveled at their frail red bodies. The Stampede plows into the Tortured Souls horde and the Lycan Alpha shrugs and hits Zaz’u again (who has regened down to 1 damage). The Great Chieftain aims to sit the Seductress down, if not kill her.

The center of the board is almost entirely cleared of Abyssal taint. Zaz’u goes to 4 damage but sticks around. The Stampede does a solid 7 damage to the Tortured Souls but it’s not enough. And the Great Chieftain finds -1 to hit and De 6+ far too hard to crack, leaving the Seductress mobile and her Gnome-Glass Shield intact.

Abyssals 6: If Zaz’u isn’t wavered, he counters the Lycan Alpha? And the Seductress counters the Great Chieftain. The only actual business however is the Tortured Souls ending the Stampede.

Which they do, turning to face whatever the Hallow has for them. The Great Chieftain cops some damage too.

Herd 6: Try as I might, the Lycan horde can’t fit on the Tortured Souls, so it rear charges Zaz’u for murdery reasons, with the Lycan Alpha in the front. The Brutes join the Great Chieftain in trying to rid the world of the Seductress.

Zaz’u is detonated, and I think the Seductress may have been dragged down? The ensnare is killing me 😅 But with no Turn 7 and 5 tokens to the Abyssal’s 2, this is a convincing …

HALLOW VICTORY

I think it’s funny that the unit both Bill and I were bagging on all game, the Tortured Souls horde, was the power player that kept the Abyssals in the game, even securing them serious points – we’re using Blackjack at the GT, so 2 of 7 tokens is pretty meaningful for a minor loss. I do think they need any item, and my suggestion was the discounted Wine of Elvenkind. Their mobility is one of their few upsides, so what if even more mobile? With Helm of TC +1 as a back up.

While the Horn of the Great Migration wasn’t mindblowing, I ended up keeping it for my tournament list as a tech choice. Speaking of the GT, I’ll be back in the next week or so with the full rundown, so stay tuned. They’ve already announced our first round matchups, and I’m happy to announce my first game sees the return of a familiar face and his green horde …

THE HALLOW 19: OGRES

On January 24, 2023January 24, 2023 By SalvageIn THE HALLOWLeave a comment

The tournament prep continued with a match versus Ogres, this time my club mate Drew’s really excellent Gnoll Ogres (Gnollgres). 3D prints from a variety of sources lovingly covered in hyena spots for ultimate sanity destruction. The dude has earned all the painting awards he wins with this army 🫡

Ogres 2150

Siege Breakers Horde – Helm of the Drunken Ram
Siege Breakers Horde – Chalice of Wrath
Hunters Horde – Brew of Haste
Boomers Horde – Fire-Oil
Warrior Chariots Regiment – Boots of Striding
Berserker Braves Regiment
Berserker Braves Regiment
Red Goblin Scouts Troop
Nomagarok [1] – Bane Chant (2+), Heal (4+), Lightning Bolt (4+)
Ogre Warlock – Lightning Bolt (3+), Drain Life (5+)
Ogre Warlock – Lightning Bolt (3+), Drain Life (5+)
Berserker Bully
12 (23)

I swear, you’d have no idea Ogres were nerfed looking at this list. Loads of hammers with perfect items, the thickest of chaff, amazing mobile-scoring-inspiring shooting. The Helm is a fun throw back to when Siege Breakers had CS2 + TC1 naturally. I guess the double drain life is a more unique twist? But one I’m in favor of, Siege Breakers can and will grind out a loss to a win, so keeping them alive is never a bad idea. He dropped two other troops of Scouts to go from 2300 to 2150, picking up some upgrades in the process.

Herd 2150

Lycan Horde – Brew of Strength
Guardian Brute Horde
Guardian Brute Horde
Minotaur Chariot Regiment – The Stampede [1]
Tribal Warrior Horde – Brew of Sharpness
Tribal Warrior Regiment
Tribal Warrior Regiment
Centaur Bray Striders Troop
Centaur Bray Striders Troop
Lycan Alpha
Centaur Chief – Blade of Slashing
Druid – Conjurer’s Staff; Bane Chant (2), Heal (2)
Great Chieftain
13 (24)

Same list as when I dunked the Empire of Dust last game! Not feeling super hot about my chances but I do need to pressure test into Ogres so here goes.

We decided to play Raze, with the Ogres going first for one reason or another.

BATTLE

Ogres 1: Roll out! Noms and his Warlocks call down a bunch of lightning as well, with mixed results.

Herd 1: I go deep into my metaphorical clock already, in large part because I don’t want to broach the center wood but can’t see much of anything thanks to its large size. The Hunters and the Chariots both have some serious range on me, with their 16″ outstripping my Brutes and Tribal Warriors horde but not necessarily my Stampede’s 17″ threat or Lycan Alpha’s 18″ nimble square. Ultimately, I pull back Centaurs on the left, pushing up the more central ones as bait or to cause a problem next turn, with Lycans in wait and Tribal Warrior reg as another layer of chaff. Centrally I vacate the woods and pressure just a bit with the Stampedes on the Chariots, with Alpha ready to go center or right.

On the right, I shove Tribal Warriors up to bait the thunderous Siege Breakers, which the Brutes very much would like to murder in response. The Druid heals up the Tribal Warrior horde and that’s that.

Ogres 2: The Gnolls play it extremely cagey, with only the left flank chaff venturing out, and the rest of the line holding or tip toeing forward, staying clear of that central forest. Lightning zaps the chaffing Centaurs for 2 damage and the right most Tribal Warriors for 1. The Red Goblin Scouts burn a token, taking the score to 1-0.

Herd 2: With the central Centaurs blessedly alive, I immediately throw them into the flank of the Ogre Chariots, powering the Stampede into their front as well. The other Centaurs join the Tribal Warriors fighting the Berserker Braves, as the Lycan horde crosses over into the Red Goblin Scouts. Finally, Lycan Alpha charges the central Braves to hold them up while the Tribal Warriors on the right hit the Siege Breakers, keen to do anything while their Brutes move into position. The central Brutes end up sitting 12″ away from the fury Siege Breakers, content to see if they want to take a hindered shot next turn, even with the Tribal Warrior horde waiting to piece trade.

*Stampede and Centaurs open up this pit!*

The Druid’s bane chant fails despite the reroll 😐 but things work out ok anyway. The Lycans blend the Scouts, the Centaurs and Tribal Warriors do 7 damage to their Braves and stall out, the central Centaurs and Stampede shatter the Ogre Chariots, the Lycan Alpha claws 3 damage into her Braves, and the right Tribal Warriors do precisely 1 damage to the TC Siege Breakers. When it comes to reforms, it’s worth noting that once the Stampede backed up D3″, the Centaurs were able to pivot enough to block the Hunters from fighting Brutes or the Stampede next turn.

Ogres 3: (I missed a before shot for this turn!) The Gnolls strike back with authority this turn, thanks in part to some very good Nv rolls. From left to right, the Braves counter and kill their Centaurs, the Bully charges and pops the wounded left Tribal Warriors, the Hunters finish off the central Centaurs, and the thunderous Siege Breakers decimate the right Tribal Warriors. The Lycan Alpha takes 4 damage from her Braves and wavers, the Stampede cops 4 damage from the Boomers for no effect, and the real indignity is the left Brutes taking 2 lightning damage and wavering. This royally impedes my momentum in the center, as the Stampede can only do so much. Oh! This will become important shortly, but the right Warlock drain lifes the Tribal Warriors smooshed by the thunderous Siege Breakers, and uses the heal on the Alpha’s Braves rather than the Siege Breakers.

Herd 3: With a little finagling, I discover that I can engage the Tribal Warrior horde if I take a deep breath and back the wavered Brutes up a full 3″. My heart hurts a little bit as I do so, but it does mean the Tribal Warriors can charge the (ensnaring) Hunters, offset enough that the fury Siege Breakers are in their front next turn. Before this charge happens, the Stampede thunders into the Boomers, for vengeance. Speaking of carnage, the Lycans on the left charge the 7 damage Braves and the Brutes on the right complete their mission and charge the 1 damage Siege Breakers. The Lycan Alpha refuses to regen but keeps standing in front of her Braves. Also, the Centaur Chief on the right zips in before the right Brutes and chomps on the right Warlock. Annnd the Great Chieftain wants to be useful, so charges the flank of the fury Siege Breakers over that wall.

The Druid’s rather critical bane chant on the Tribal Warriors fails despite the reroll 😐 but they manage to do 7 damage to the Hunters despite. The Stampede delivers 9 damage into the Boomers, however I show Drew what Brutes can do by more or less one rounding the thunderous Siege Breakers. More or less because I broke them twice precisely thanks to brutal and the single damage the Tribal Warriors did and the Warlock didn’t heal. Perfection. The Lycans gut the Braves on the left as they do. Note that the Berserker Bully is facing directly ahead, unable to see the Lycan or the Tribal Warriors. The right Warlock does take damage from the Centaur Chief, disordering. (And the Great Chieftain does no damage to the fury Siege Breakers.)

Ogres 4: The Gnolls should be dwindling away but Drew has so many tools left that this is far from over. Fury Siege Breakers and Hunters go into the Tribal Warriors horde, while the Boomers counter the Stampede and the surviving Braves hit the Alpha again. In square base town, the Bully tries to stand in the way of the Lycan horde (but is effectively blocking its LOS), while Warlocks wander around or counter charge the Centaur Chief over on the right.

Drew’s dice are all over the place when it comes to delivering the hurt. The central Brutes take a single pip of lightning damage from Noms and the Great Chieftain suffers 2 drain life damage from the central Warlock (used to heal the Hunters), shortly after which the Tribal Warriors take a mere 8 damage from hindered Siege Breakers and fully functional Hunters. The Boomers, however, shove the Stampede up to 10 damage, to no effect, and the Lycan Alpha is clubbed to 8 damage, likewise holding. The Centaur Chief takes 1 damage from the Warlock’s counter-charge.

Herd 4: At long last, the central Brutes make contact with the furious Siege Breakers, with the Tribal Warriors assisting and showing the Hunters the utmost disrespect. The Stampede, meanwhile, counters the Boomers and the Alpha regens down to 5 damage and gets to slap some Braves. The derpy Great Chieftain trips back over the wall and charges Noms, with dreams of disordering him. Not pictured are the Lycans juking the Bully in favor of burning a token and becoming A Problem next turn, and the Brutes on the right doing everything they can to make contact with the right Warlock but giving up because the Centaur Chief and the tower are well and truly in the way. The Centaur Chief counters its Warlock but doesn’t love it.

The Druid sticks the bane chant on the Tribal Warriors! And the Siege Breakers evaporate. I turn the central Brutes to face the left, which might put too much face in the Tribal Warriors but does make the Ogre heroes over there skedaddle. The Stampede nukes the Boomer and the Braves return to 3 damage. The right Warlock is also kicked to 5 damage by the Centaur Chief, wavering. And the Lycans do burn a token, evening the score at 1-1. The Great Chieftain fails to damage Noms 😦

Ogres 5: The Hunters aim to finish off the Tribal Warriors horde (on 8 damage) and the Braves head back into the Lycan Alpha yet again. The Bully zips away into the Herd backfield, but Noms faces the Brutes and prepares to magic itself to death or glory (with the nearby Warlock’s help).

Nomagarok’s lightning and the Warlock’s drain life only push the Brutes to 5 damage, and they hold. The Hunters however shred the Tribal Warriors (!), and the Lycan Alpha is again wavered, on 7 damage.

Herd 5: The Hallow descends once more. Repeatedly scorched Brutes slam into Noms, the Lycans plow through a wall into a Warlock, the Stampede flanks the Braves wailing on the Lycan Alpha, and the right Brutes crash into the flank of the other Warlock. The Great Chieftain charges the Hunters, knowing that even if his hindered, ensnared ass can’t wound them, at least he’ll be in the way thanks to mighty.

Bane chant happens, everybody dies. The Great Chieftain does 3 damage to the Hunters despite -2 to hit and only CS1. (Before combat, the Lycan Alpha remembered she’s really fast and can still be useful, so backs out 5.5″ to make a play for the right raze token late game.)

Ogres 6: The Hunters counter the Great Chieftain, tearing apart the poor mushroom man but flubbing the 4″ overrun into the Lycans on the wall. The Berserker Bully burns another token, bringing the score to 2-1.

Herd 6: At this point I realize that the game is very close. If the hindered Lycans can kill the ensnaring Hunters by themselves, with the Stampede sitting on the center objective, then I win, as the Lycan can burn another token. If they don’t rout the Hunters, I only draw, as I can’t get another scoring unit on the middle … even if I now realize the Lycan Alpha could have doubled back and just claimed the center. I didn’t see that, as I moved her first to make a Turn 7 play for my right token. The left Brutes, regardless of all this, charge the Bully for murderous purposes.

As is usually the case, this is all a moot point as the Lycan ream the Hunters, burning the token and taking the game to 3-2 in my favor. The Brutes also brute the Bully.

Herd 7: Annnnd then the Lycan Alpha burns the right token (as shown above), bringing us to 4-2 and a very solid …

HALLOW VICTORY

What a smashfest! It really opened up with that double charge on the Chariots after the Centaurs took next to no damage, giving me the momentum, even if I almost lost if Turn 2 with those wavers. I think the Bully’s facing issues were a more significant misplay than it seemed, as he could have chaffed up the green tide that was crashing onto the Ogres at that point. All the same, an encouraging test game for the Herd going into this weekend’s tournament.

I’ve got one more report to go before the tournament, will try to punch it out this week!

THE HALLOW 18: EMPIRE OF DUST

On January 13, 2023January 24, 2023 By SalvageIn THE HALLOWLeave a comment

Happy new year! Got my first game of 2023 in this week against Mike, a newer local player I’d never met until that night. He rocked up with EOD, a faction I haven’t faced in quite a while, and possibly never with Herd?

*Mantic Shobik looking regal af, with Monolith and Soul Snare / Well attending.*

Empire of Dust 2150

Skeleton Spearmen Horde
Mummies Regiment
Mummies Regiment
Revenant Chariots Regiment
Revenant Chariots Regiment
Scavengers Regiment
Scavengers Regiment
Skeleton Archer Cavalry Troop
Bone Giant
Soul Snare [1] – Drain Life (9)
Monolith [1] – Surge (8)
Idol of Shobik [1] – Heal (5)
Ahmunite Pharaoh – Eternal Guard, Knowledgeable [1], Surge (8), Host Shadowbeast (2)
Cursed High Priest – Surge (8)
14 (20)

Apparently Mike usually runs a more monster mash style EOD list, but he dropped the various wyrms to give chariots and a different hero mix a shot. We talked after the game about how to crank the list down a bit while still keeping the chariots in but bring back some of the punch he might be missing in this list – Mummy troops instead of Scavanger regs, for example. Minor spoiler there.

Herd 2150

Lycan Horde – Brew of Strength
Guardian Brute Horde
Guardian Brute Horde
Minotaur Chariot Regiment – The Stampede [1]
Tribal Warrior Horde – Brew of Sharpness
Tribal Warrior Regiment
Tribal Warrior Regiment
Centaur Bray Striders Troop
Centaur Bray Striders Troop
Lycan Alpha
Centaur Chief – Blade of Slashing
Druid – Conjurer’s Staff; Bane Chant (2), Heal (2)
Great Chieftain
13 (24)

Savvy readers will note that I’ve brought back the Centaur troops as dedicated chaff. I’m not really in love with the Sp 6 or the De 2+ of the Woodland Critters, on top of not really posing much of a threat to anybody, especially compared to the Centaurs’ Sp 8, De 4+ and punchy handful of Me 3+ attaks. The cost was losing some extraneous items and downgrading a Centaur Chief into a Great Chieftain, which is a fairly even trade all told. Less speed but a little more fight and the same mighty annoyance.

We decided to play Plunder for this game, one of my favorites as well as one of the missions for our upcoming 2150 tournament at the end of the month. Mike won the roll for first and had me take it away.

BATTLE

Battlines! The EOD are (left to right): Spearmen with Scavengers and Cursed Priest; Chariots with Bone Giant to the left, Shobik to the right, Horsemen to the front and Monolith behind; Soul Snare with Scavengers; Mummies to either side of the wood with the Pharaoh straddling them; Chariots hard right. The Herd are (left to right): Centaurs (off shot to left), Stampede, Warriors, Chieftain, Brutes, Alpha, Warriors, Brutes, Druid, Warrior horde, Centaurs, Centaur Chief, Lycan hard right.

Herd 1: I think for a moment, having not gone first in a long time, and then punch it forward. Tribal Warriors grab the center three tokens, with Brutes mounting the hill in support and hammers otherwise lurking. We don’t crest the right hill to see what the Chariots are up to, tho the Lycan blender has LOS and range around the side of the little hillock.

Empire of Dust 1: Scavengers swoop down on both loot-bearing Tribal Warriors, and otherwise the dry undead shamble forward. I realize about now that he has Surge (16) into almost any unit he wants, with the exception of the right Chariots, who are outside the Monolith’s 24″. Speaking of surge …

… it scoots the Spearmen, the central Mummies and the right Chariots 4″ forward each. Mike had just bought a new dice block and it was rolling aggressively average. The Soul Snare rips 4 damage into the central Brutes, the Archer Cav tag a wound onto the Lycan Alpha that she will never regenerate, and in combat the Scavengers do 1 damage to the left Tribal Warriors and 2 to the central ones.

*This is a really long battlefield still, so here’s the left side (the green tokens are worth 2 points) …*

*… and here’s the right, moments before the blending begins.*

Herd 2: It’s all claws on deck as everybody charges who isn’t a square-based individual! The Stampede crashes into the Spearmen’s waiting embrace (losing TC2 and taking a -1 to hit that I shouldn’t have but forgot about chariots not counting for phalanx), with the Alpha pouncing on their flank. The left Centaurs flank the Scavengers harrying the left Tribal Warriors, while in the center the left Brutes help the other Tribal Warriors out with their carrion problem. The central Brutes juke past the Scavengers and Mummies in the middle and power into the central Chariots, and the Tribal Warrior horde tests their mettle against the central Mummies. Mummy regiments are the business, but with the power of bane chant and sharpness behind them maybe I can cook the dice that hard? On the right, the Lycan, the Centaurs and the Centaur Chief pile on the Chariots.

A storm of dice later and so many undead have been returned to the dust from whence they came, though arguably his anvils and real hammers are still kicking so it’s not necessarily as bad as it looks. But about those anvils, the Spearmen take 11 damage, 8-9 of which is from the Alpha going absolutely bonkers, and the Mummies are pushed all the way to 13 damage by the Tribal Warriors. I can’t seal the deal sadly, so I fully expect them to heal back down to nothing in short order.

Empire of Dust 2: The Empire of Dust are looking a little downtrodden but there’s still work to do. Shobik lines up an easy surge flank on the Tribal Warrior horde with the Mummies countering in the front, while the right Mummies try their hand at the Centaurs, on the theory that if they can break them, they can turn and grind out the Lycan horde. 12 attaks on hindered 5+ is a tall ask but very slowly trying to slink away is a worse feel. On the left, the Spearmen counter the Stampede and the Archer Cav I think were supposed to shoot-n-surge into the damaged Brutes but he left them behind the tower, blocking their surge but at least meaning their shooting suffered no negatives.

Easy surge is easy! The Soul Snare whips the winged Brutes up to 7 damage, wavering them (the Archer Cav I think failed to wound after all that). Shobik lays into the horde, delivering a solid beating and pushing them up to 15 damage. The Tribal Warriors manage to waver, which is awkward but real bad for Shobik’s idol.

Meanwhile the flanks are uneventful. The right Mummies don’t even wound the Centaurs, elite or no, and the Spearmen do a single wound to the Stampede, striping their TC2 again.

Herd 3: Listen, I came here to roll dice and chew bubble gum, and I was all out of bubble gum at this point (fittingly because I was chewing it during this game 😅) The Stampede hits the Spearmen again, with Alpha flanking support. The wavered Brutes rotate in place enough to allow the other Brutes to flank Shobik. The Lycan flank the right Mummies, with Centaurs in the front. And the Great Chieftain solos the Archer Cav troop like a boss. Far on the left, the other Centaurs go grab a 2 point token.

*a chorus of blenders can be heard in the distance* The Empire takes another round of heavy hits as Spearmen, Mummies and indeed Shobik all fall. Plus the Great Chieftain one rounds the Archer Cav with a perfect 5 of 5 damage. At this point both Mike and I are wondering the same things: Is the Soul Snare that good? Will the Mummies out tough the whole Herd army? Can the Bone Giant recapture his former glory days as the EOD hammer? Or most importantly, when will this face melting end??

Empire of Dust 3: Despite running low on tools, the EOD have some moves left. The Bone Giant strides into the Lycan Alpha as the better of two options, with the Cursed Priest charging in along side because it’s that kind of game and he’s only got surge anyway so YOLO! The central Mummies charge the Tribal Warrior horde to finish them off, while the Pharaoh chooses discretion and slinks off toward the EOD backfield.

The Tribal Warriors are shattered by the Mummies, who take their 2 point token and lifeleech off their last damage, healing to full. Woof. Shortly before this, the Soul Snare punches the winged Brutes up to 11 damage but flubs the Nv roll. Speaking of flubs, the Bone Giant bops the Lycan Alpha up to 5 damage, for no result.

Herd 4: There are still EOD on the table, so I just keep that pedal to the floor. The Stampede hits the Cursed Priest, with an easy overrun into the Bone Giant’s flank, currently being counter-charged by the Lycan Alpha. The Great Chieftain continues his journey through the EOD DZ, charging into the Soul Snare. However the real carnage is the middle, where the Mummies cop Brutes and Tribal Warriors in the front, both off the hill, and Lycan in the rear, possibly also off a hill but I didn’t remember at the time, plus they were bane chanted anyway.

The Stampede pulverizes the Cursed Priest then delivers ~20 damage into the Bone Giant. The Lycan Alpha blows on him and he crumbles away. The Mummies similarly are devastated down to the molecular level before routing. The Soul Snare takes a hearty hit from the Great Chieftain but holds together, albeit disordered.

And with that, Mike graciously concedes, which combined with holding all the tokens makes for a …

HALLOW VICTORY

Pun and all 😐 We talked for a while after the game, and Mike’s feel was that he was too spread out and his army couldn’t support itself like he’s used to – the Pharaoh being pulled away from the Mummy regiments, for example, and having to choose one. I did deploy quite broadly, except my stuff is fast and can reinforce itself as needed, plus isn’t trying to win through combined arms. I do feel like the EOD suffered in list building, not quite having the hammers to dig themselves out, as well as probably misused the Scavengers, who could have helped get the Chariots some charges where they could have done some work. I quite like the EOD Chariots after the bows were made optional, -/16 De 4+ isn’t terrible and I had assumed they hit on 5+ like other skellies (in fact Me 4+). Sounds like Mummy troops are inbound, which I hear are great and punchier than I think.

I keep wondering how this game snowballed so hard, and giving me first was probably the first mistake. Yea, I got to grab early objectives so scenario-wise it was a misplay, but really I was able to crest the center hill immediately plus mobilize my chaff up, staggering them with hammer support as is my general plan. I can see why Mike let me go first – indecision as a new player and desire to be reactionary as a Dust player – however it did feel quite decisive quite quickly.

As for my list, the Hallow continues to feel strong, or at least fun. Brutes are terrifying with me behind the dice, the Lycan blender is a menace (and should be at 300 points) and I really dig the ‘cheap’ item-less Stampede. Funny to think of it as one of my anvils but at 16/18 and De 5+ it kind of is!

I’ll catch you next week with another report, I should be getting another game (or two?!) in this weekend as we continue tournament prep. Until then, merry gaming in the new year!

BLOODFIRE

Month: January 2023

THE HALLOW 20: ABYSSALS

THE HALLOW 19: OGRES

THE HALLOW 18: EMPIRE OF DUST