Pilgrimage reports are coming, I promise 😅 In the meantime, here’s another practice game double-header to tide you over. While I couldn’t make the Unplugged GT this year, I was happy to oblige my clubmates with some smashy practice. This was all the excuse I needed to bust out the Bloodfire redux I’ve been poking at …

GAME 47: RATKIN

SALAMANDERS 1995
Fire Elementals Horde
Fire Elementals Horde
Fire Elementals Horde
Fire Elementals Regiment
Fire Elementals Regiment
Ember Sprites Regiment
Ember Sprites Regiment
Ember Sprites Regiment
Ghekkotah Slasher – tox bolts
Ghekkotah Slasher – tox bolts
Mage Priest – Crown of the Wizard King; Surge (8), Host Shadowbeast (3)
Clan Lord on Raptor
Clan Lord on Raptor

The recent buffs to the Slasher have me very excited, especially since I was already going to include them before they got US2 😉 Tox bolts is a ridiculous upgrade solidly in my wheelhouse, and you’ve already seen me messing with host firebeast and Raptor Lords. My list building habits have changed a bit since I started Bloodfire in 2E, along with the meta I reckon, as thick chaff have become a popular and rewarding way to play the game. This first game sees me trying out 2x Fire regiments for the first time. Minor spoilers, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them! Woefully slow, not particularly tough, and not particularly fighty unless they can grab a flank. But five regiments to get in the way and/or play scenario is a better feel than yet another fire horde.

RATKIN 1995
Shock Troops Horde – Plague Pots, Heavy Halberds
Shock Troops Horde – Plague Pots
Nightmares Horde
Warriors Horde
Tunnel Runners Regiment – Brew of Sharpness
Clawshots Troop
Clawshots Troop
Vermintide Regiment
Mutant Rat-Fiend
The Tangle [1] – Bane Chant (1+), Fireball (10+), Mind Fog (1+), Weakness (1+)
Brood Mother – Blight Staff, Drain Life (5)
War Chief – Aura (Vicious (Melee) – Infantry Only)

I’m not 100% that Cory had sharpness on the Tunnel Runners but that’s how I’d run them and the points work out. He may have had Strider Boots and 20 points of something on the heroes. Regardless, Cory took rats to Unplugged and had been grinding through different iterations of the list. This is actually not what he ended up taking – he went with the more typical Scud and Cryza and double Nightmares and less infantry overall, as he was struggling to get all the infantry hordes to be relevant. Spoilers again.

We rolled up Salt the Earth, which was good practice as Bloodfire isn’t good at Pillage games and I’m personally bad at burning tokens. Rats go first because Clawshots?

BATTLE

Battlelines! Ratkin Warriors are the horde to the left (with the stalagmites) and the Shock Troops on the right have phalanx. I scout up my Ember Sprites, staying within inspiring range.

Turn 1: The rats skitter forward, with Clawshots punching 3 damage into the right Slasher. The wall of sentient flame oozes closer in response, before Ember Sprites singe the Vermintide for 2 damage. Then I hot hand tox bolts on 6+ to hit into some Clawshots, removing one unit 😉

Turn 2: Ratkin wrap the left flank in, sending the Vermintide into Ember Sprites to be annoying before they burn to death. They do 4 damage to their fellow swarm. The surviving Clawshots punch another damage into the looming right Slasher, and Nightmares blast off the leftmost Ember Sprites.

In response, a Fire Elemental regiment flanks and immolates the Vermintide (surge may have been involved), but not until another round of 6+ to hit tox bolts slams the other Clawshots for 5 damage, wavering them 😀 I am loving these things, but Cory doesn’t necessarily share my joy.

Turn 3: The ratty center backs up as the flank swings in further, with the Warrior horde nuzzling up against a wall. Nightmares shoot 3 damage into the left Fire Elemental reg.

With rats still in charge range, I figured now is as good a time as ever to get stuck in. I triple charge the right Shock Troops horde with a Fire horde, a Fire reg and Ember Sprites, and use surge to block up the other Shock Troops with the remaining Ember Sprites (who also burn 3 damage into the horde before being magically scooted forward). The triple charge results in a decent 12 damage. I also send the left Fire reg into the Nightmares for some amount of damage (and a disorder), with a Raptor Lord into their Brood Mom for 2 damage (and a disorder).

Turn 4: Ratty retaliation is swift and deadly. The Warrior horde (hindered) flanks the Raptor Lord, driving him off despite 6+ to hit (Brood Mom only helped so much), shortly before the Nightmares clubbed the Fire Elemental reg to goo. On the hill, the unengaged Shock Troops splattered some Ember Sprites with the War Chief’s help, and the right Shock Troops chunk 10 damage into the Fire horde thanks to bane chant from the Tangle. Finally, the Tunnel Runners toe onto the lower left hill, although I’m not certain their leader point was on or not? Also the Clawshots tag another 2 damage on the right Slasher (6 total).

Bloodfire, smash! The mangled Fire horde finishes off the heavily damaged Shock Troop horde, turning to face the other Shock Troops as the Fire reg blocks the Mutant Rat-Fiend. Meanwhile a fresh Fire horde plows into those Shock Troops, punching them to 11 damage with the help of some friendly Ember Sprites and scoring a waver! Which won’t mean much because Tangle but still! The third Fire horde slams into the Nightmares but only manages a statistically expected 7 damage. Last but not least, the tox bolt party kicks up again as one Slasher tags 1 damage into the Tunnel Runners and the other blasts the second Clawshots troop off the table. Nice.

Ratkin 5: We are well and truly in it now! The Nightmares counter their Fire horde while that damn Warrior horde (hindered) flanks in for great victory, exploding the elementals despite the odds. The Shock Troop horde counter-charges its Fire horde thanks to the Tangle’s fury aura, and delivers 8 damage (bane chant might have failed?) You’ll notice that the Shock Troops didn’t center up – the War Chief waited for the horde to engage, before shooting off into the damaged right Fire horde and dunking it himself. The MRF, meanwhile, smashed into the blocking Fire reg and did a shocking 2 damage total, shortly after the Brood Mom on the left drained the last of the Ember Sprites off the table and healed the Shock Troops to 7 damage. The Tunnel Runners continue to loom.

Salamanders 5: I am feeling decidedly light on the table 😬 On the right, a Slasher flanks the Mutant Rat-Fiend and tears it apart (the War Chief was just out for the reroll) with the help of the Fire reg. The surviving Raptor Lord takes precisely 2 bites out of the War Chief (even with host shadowbeast +4 O_O), before the Fire horde on the hill burns the Shock Troops down. They face the Nightmares, heavily damaged or no. I debate for a long time and end up bombing the other Slasher into the Tunnel Runners. He’s a big punchy boy and if he can hold, he can probably grind the chariots out and score that point. He lands 7 damage out of 10 attaks, which is a brilliant start.

Ratkin 6: As tempting as that Slasher flank is, the Ratkin Warrior horde mobs the Mage-Priest instead, somehow dragging her down (on 5+/5+ from these enslaved kings). This gives the Tunnel Runners a single shot to rout their Slasher, but despite 7 damage they don’t land the 11 to break. The Nightmares and Brood Mum buzz the last Fire horde down, the Tangle fireballs the right Slasher to a waver (7 damage but shattering!), and the War Chief does a stellar 3 damage to the Raptor Lord.

Salamanders 6: In what I’m hoping is the last turn, the left Slasher shatters the Tunnel Runners and turns to face the heroic Warriors and the Raptor Lord eats the Ratkin War Chief. With 2 tokens apiece and no Turn 7, this is a …

DRAW

Part of me loves coming back to the warm red embrace of Bloodfire, and part of me doesn’t. The army’s problems haven’t really gotten better with 3E, although I do have access to some new toys that make life easier thanks to being faster, shootier, and better at hitting 😛

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GAME 48: OGRES

I used the same list as above for the next throwdown against Drew’s Gnollgres, except I swapped one Fire Elemental reg out for a Scorchwing reg for science, putting the extra points towards knowledgeable on the Mage-Priest. After this game I swapped the other Fire reg out for Scorch too, the birds are just too useful and Fire regs are just too meh. Of all the elemental regs, they don’t seem to offer much apart from being cheaper than their horde version. Anyway, onward!

OGRES 1995
Siege Breakers Horde – Helm of the Drunken Ram
Siege Breakers Horde – Chalice of Wrath
Hunters Horde
Warrior Chariots Regiment – Boots of Striding
Berserker Braves Regiment
Berserker Braves Regiment
Red Goblin Scouts Troop
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

To sum up, it’s Good Stuff Ogres but without Boomers 😛 No item on the Hunters is surprising but he’s trying to relive the 2E glory of CS2 + TC1 Siege Breakers I guess. For when you really need to one round a fool.

We played Plunder, because it’s great. During the game it looks like they’re pillage markers but I assure you that they’re loot tokens, neither of us wanted to pick them up for speed / surge reasons. The Gnollgres go first because I’m slow and he’s fast.

BATTLE

Scouting Phase! Ember Sprites creep up but stay within inspiring and retaliatory Fire Elemental range. Hunters are hard to the left with the Bully, Braves are stacked in the pond with Siege Breakers to either side.

Turn 1: The Gnollgres thunder forward, sending the Scouts up to be a menace before the Warlock coven unleashes hell into the Ember Sprites. Drew rolls out of his mind with lightning and removes the center Sprites, with 5 damage dealt to the left regiment. And a couple more to my already low confidence in this match up.

Bloodfire oozes forward in the center in response and doesn’t move at all on the left, while mobilizing chaff on the right. A Raptor Lord charges the right Scouts, delivering 3 damage even with +5 Shadowbeast 😐 Ember Sprite and Scorchwing shooting tags 6 damage on one of the Brave regs but their Nv is always higher than I remember and I realize I should probably have assassinated a Warlock. That won’t come back to haunt me. Oh, and tox bolts punch 3 damage into the Chariot reg.

Ogres 2: Scouts charge off the hill into a waiting Slasher as their fellows counter-charge the Raptor Lord on the right. The smoldering Braves charge the central Ember Sprites, and the rest of the Ogre line tiptoes around very slightly. I deploy more coffee.

Braves eat the Ember Sprites and Scouts deal 4 damage to the Slasher and 1 to the Raptor Lord. The Warlock’s lightning storm zaps 3 damage onto the right Fire horde.

Salamanders 2: I feel like forcing Drew’s hand a bit before he can force mine or lightning one of my hammers away, so I shove two Fire hordes (including the damaged one) into the forward Braves. Ember Sprites get in the way to their right – and do a stellar 3 damage to the Warlock I should have shot earlier! – while the right Raptor Lord takes another bite out of the Scouts. Speaking of mounted heroes, the other Raptor Lord rips into the Chariot regiment to keep them occupied as my Fire reg flanks the Scouts harassing the Slasher (who also counter-charges). The other Slasher decides to look forward to keep its options open, including making a dash for the 1 point token in front of it.* However the coolest play of the turn sees the Ht 4 Scorchwings zip into the flank of the fury Siege Breakers. For reasons.

The Red Goblin Scouts die (RIP), as do the Braves. The Siege Breakers take 5 damage from angry birds, and the Chariots go up to 7 damage from the hosted Raptor Lord and waver. Result!

*This was a mistake that I realized after passing the turn. The left Slasher can currently see the Hunters’ flank if they engage the Fire reg, and potentially if they kill them as well … but what if it’s a combo-charge with the Bully right next to them? And what if they overrun?

Ogres 3: The Hunters and Bully immediately combo-charge the Fire reg, knowing they’ll disappear from the left Slasher’s arc and face the titans piecemeal. Speaking of fighting things piecemeal, the fury Siege Breakers charge the undamaged Fire horde in the center, the second Braves charge the damaged Fire horde, and the TC Siege Breakers charge the right Raptor Lord. Warlocks scoot around for spell-slinging purposes.

Noms heals the fury Siege Breakers down to 2 damage (giving them vicious in the process) and various drain lifes or lightnings put 1 damage on the Scorchwings, but Drew hot rolls a waver. In combat, the Fire reg and right Raptor Lord are obliterated, however both Fire hordes are somehow alive on 8 and 5 damage respectively. I may have never survived a Siege Breaker charge before and am ecstatic.

Salamanders 3: The Raptor Lord re-charges the Chariots while centrally I send the Fire hordes back into their dancing partners. Yes, I should be double-charging the Siege Breakers but we are precisely aligned and identical frontages, so my right horde is actually in the Breakers’ flank, yet cannot contact it apart from the 0mm corner. So counters it is. In the lower left, I take a moment to lament my life choices before having the Slasher fight the Hunters. Ensnare means I’ll do less damage than against the Bully but the flank next turn will be potentially less bad from the Bully and really I’m setting my other Slasher up as best I can next turn. Slasher #2 walks on the hill and prepares to watch his brother die next turn, but does tox bolt the Bully for 3 damage 😀 Meanwhile, the Scorchwings turn to be a real pain in Turn 4 and Ember Sprites continue to be a pain. They squirt a damage onto a Warlock.

In combat, the Braves are nuked and I don’t reform the victorious Fire horde (I should maybe have backed up?), shortly before the fury Siege Breakers are slammed to double digits (12 maybe?) but fail to rout. Butts. Elsewhere, the Hunters take a decent 5 damage from the Slasher, but the real winner here is the Raptor Lord, who dunks the Chariot regiment with the help of host shadowbeast! I really love these plucky lizard dudes riding, um, other less-dudely lizards.

Ogres 4: The slugfest continues unabated. Hunters counter their Slasher with the Bully in the flank. Helm Siege Breakers trip over a wall and into the last of the Ember Sprites. Fury Siege Breakers hit their Fire horde again, with a combination of heal and drain life returning them to 5 damage. Thanks, I hate it. All those drains push the Scorchwings up to 5 damage in the process, but they hold.

A hot, wet squelching sound can be heard as the Gnollgres kill all their targets in combat. The fury Siege Breakers get frankly really lucky on their side step (3″ of 3″ needed), blocking the other forward Fire horde from flanking them.

Salamanders 4: Denied a flank, I take the fury Siege Breakers in the front and the back with Scorchwings! The third Fire horde I’ve had as backup goes into the helm Siege Breakers, sadly hindered. In the lower left, the Slasher charges off the hill into the waiting Hunters, and the triumphant Raptor Lord plows into the Berserker Bully (who’s on 3 damage).

Shockingly, that Raptor Lord eats the Bully’s lunch, with +5 host playing no small part. Shortly after, the Slasher slams the Hunters up to 9 damage, the fury Siege Breakers are finally burnt to cinders, and the helm Siege Breakers take an unknown amount of damage (math says 3 but I think I did better). Also! We can see that the (now central) Fire horde picked up a 2 point token. In fact, they did this back in turn 2 😅

Turn 5: Damn, the Ogres have a lot of tools left … A combination of drains, lightnings and/or heals from the Warlocks sees the Scorchwings dead, the token Fire horde on 9 damage and the helm Siege Breakers certainly on less damage than before. Those Breakers smash 7 damage into their Fire horde (I AM ALIVE WOW) while the Hunters stab 6 into the surviving Slasher.

In return, both Fire hordes crash into the Siege Breakers, turning them into warm liquid goo. The Hunters are likewise dismembered by the Slasher and Raptor Lord combo, with shadowbeast for spice.

Turn 6: Even with just Noms and two Warlocks left, I’m on such high damage and the 2 point tokens are so close together that this isn’t a foregone conclusion. Drew ends up pushing the odds and playing for a win rather than a draw: Noms charges the 9 damage Fire horde with a 2 point token, who bump up to 11 damage from a Warlock’s drain. Sadly Noms doesn’t stick a wound so no test is rolled. At the same time, the other Warlock drains the 7 damage Fire horde up to 9 damage, but flubs the 8 (rerolled) needed to rout.

I immediately grab a 1 pointer with the Slasher and position the Raptor Lord to move block the central 1 pointer, as the 9 damage Fire horde scoops up a 2 pointer. This leaves the 11 damage Fire horde to bop Noms for 3 damage and hold onto their 2 pointer with rapidly dissolving mittens. With no Turn 7, this is a …

BLOODFIRE VICTORY

Wow, what a game! On the whole I feel like I skated by a couple tough spots with the luck of the (read: Drew’s) dice, but it’s a good feel that we were both in it until the end. Overall, I really enjoyed playing Bloodfire again and reviewing these games makes me want to get the 1995 version back on its elemental feet / stumpy bodies. It’s a lot of Mantic resin but I figure that’s a major plus as well.

Thanks for hanging in there readers, hoping to finally clean my Herd tournament reports out sooner than later! I had a heck of a year with the Hallow and have one more GT before I pack them away for a bit. Stay tuned as ever.