Isolation Battle 1

Greetings to all you Kings of War enthusiasts!  Having fun under lockdown?  Well, the mrs and I had another battle, trying out new things.  I am not into making battle maps, but I have pics of the battle and an OOB, so lets get started:-

Welcome to Isolation in the Abyss

 

Here is my OOB:-

Tracy's OOB:-

My plan was to hold the right flank with tarpit units while I attacked on my left flank and roll down the line.  As I had way more units that Tracy, I put a few inconsequential units on the table, leaving my heavy hitters off until she had placed all of her units.  This allowed me to have a strong left flank. 

Turn One

Opening round.  I rolled low and Tracy got me to move first:-

I advanced my Gargoyles and Tortured Souls up on my left with Imps in front of my Lower Abyssals.  The right flank was holding with me advancing my Gargoyles as far as possible.

Turn Two 

Tracy's Naiads had moved forward along with most of her line. She moved her Centaurs to shoot my Gargoyles and despatch them with accurate shooting and poor nerve. 

Turn Three 

 Having troop of Abyssal Ghouls getting to close in my turn, her Naiads easily brushed the troop aside, then pivoted to flank my Lower Abyssals.  My Efreet still did not get a clear shot on any of her units.  She had split my center and things were not looking good.  She had also moved up her Hydra.  Not much was happening on my right flank, so at least that was going according to plan. Tracy's Centaurs shot my poor second unit of Gargoyles to pieces, so I withdrew them back.

Turn Four

I pivoted my Lower Abyssals back to face the advancing Naiads.  I also despatched her Salamanders with my Molochs, giving me room to deploy.  My Lower Abyssals were attacked by her Naiads but my Lower Abyssals held.  After shooting my other Gargoyle unit, she had moved her Hydra to attack.  I hit it with 30 Firebolts from my Efreet, managing to waver it, giving me time to move in my Molochs into a charge position. I also advanced my right flank units to stop her from using them against my left flank units.   My turn in melee with her Naiads resulted in the being killed.  Tracy caused 11 casualties on my Succubi Lavre from her Hunters of the Wild .  Fortunately they remained in combat.

Turn Five 

My attack on her Hydra with my Molochs resulted in killing it.    I also used my Well of Souls to recover 11 points of damage on my Succubi Lavre so they could stay in battle.  It moved onto the flank of her Hunters of the Wild to help in the counter attack by my Succubi Lavre, removing them battle.  My Molochs and Lower Abyssals then charged her Rock Golems from both the front and flank and despatched them as well.  Her Centaurs also killed one of my Efreet that was in the open.

Turn Six

Things were pretty bleak for Tracy at this stage.  With only a Unicorn Hero and a Forest Warden, Wyrm Rider Centurion, Hunters of the Wild and Centaurs left, I moved in to attack anything I could within angle and range.  I attacked all of them, but did not kill or waver any of them.  Tracy moved her Centaurs into contact with the Gargoyle Troop to try and kill them.  She rolled to continue the melee, but did not score enough damage to remove anymore of my units.

Game Over.  Tracy rolled very well in the game and it see-sawed though out the game. I did my best to stay out of contact with her Hydra, shooting it where possible, making it wavered, so I could hit it with my heavy hitters.  I found that having a Well of Souls allowed me to remove damage from my units and was good in attacking because of the Life Leech(3), I could recover points enough to stay in the battle.  It was very good to have it remove all damage from a unit at this point in the game.

I also found having a tar pit of Succubi Lavre with 'Hammer of Measured Force', allowing the to melee on 4+ was worth the extra 20 points.

Tracy was disappointed at losing to me again, but she is learning, like I am, though I have years of experience in wargaming, so I have a better background in it. I believe that she will get the better of me in the end as she is persistent and is learning all the tactics I am trying with her.

Stay safe, isolate, paint your armies as we may get to do battle one day.

Being munched again

Another battle using my 2000 point army that I defeated Tracy with was used again against an Undead Army of Kevin from our club.

Now I only have one picture of the event(only ran 4 turns, I conceded as he had to leave), so I will best explain what happened:-

We did not play a scenario so I spread my forces, setting up first and moving first, by holding the left flank(my side being on the right of the picture), with a Tortured Soul Horde beside a Tower (unseen in pic).  Moving up the line my Imp Horde, Lower Abyssal horde, Lower Abyssal Horde (+2H), a Moloch horde and Gargoyle troop supporting and another Tortured Souls Horde in the far woods supported by the other Gargoyle troop.

Kevin had several Zombie hordes, a Zombie Legion, several Liche Kings, A Wraith regiment, a Wight horde, a Skeleton Archers horde, a Skeleton Swordsmen horde and Revenant Cavalry on the far left(my) flank(out of sight in pic, other side of the tower).  Most of his units Shambled and his Liche Kings provided a lot of Surge.

Opening round making me go first, I tried to close quickly on him, hoping he could not surge everyone, allowing me to get into a favourable attack position.  My strategy was to hold my left while cleaning up the Zombie units on my right flank and roll the flank up.

His Wraiths hit my Tortured Souls, killing them with a lot of hits(even he was amazed at how many hits he rolled every time).  His Zombie Legion hit my Imps, cleaning them up in one hit, leaving my left flank wiped out in one turn.
On the far side, I hit one Zombie horde with both Gargoyles and Tortured Soul horde, rolled for the nerve kill and rolled snake eyes.  Second time that night.  He counter attacked and killed the Gargoyles.  I tried hitting his Skeleton archers with my two Efreet, but after two rounds, with him healing, sixty dice still had not brought him down as I rolled a low never dice twice and his Wights flew in as my Efreet got to close with the Archers and they were not only hit and the first one killed, he then used the break through and killed the second one.

Throughout the battle, my dice rolling was abysmal, as I rolled another pair of snake eyes yet again.  It was a disaster as more than half my army gone for a loss of a Zombie horde and Zombie regiment.  We called it quits at Turn 4 and I conceded as he had to get up for work early and his heavy hitters had done their jobs and I had yet to receive a charge from his Revenant Cavalry.  All I had left effectively was a Moloch Horde, a Warlock and Matu-bu-su, a Lower Abyssal horde and a Tortured Soul horde.

On several occasions, all I needed was a roll of 5 or more to kill a unit and I could not even roll that.
Well done to Kevin, I don't think I played that badly, but the dice gods favoured him way more than me. I have to rethink what units to take to fight an Undead army in the future as this army option was ineffective against the Undead, considering how bad I rolled through the game.

The Abyssals strike back!

Another battle between my wife's Forces of Nature and my Forces of Abyss.  I tried a different build while my wife changed her Fire Element for a Tree Herder instead, but pretty much had the same build.

Here is what I have:-

I fielded a different army this time using my Tortured Souls.  It turned out that in our setup, I totally missed my Imp Horde and went into battle without them!

Turn 1:-

 

Left flank:  I fielded a Lower Abyssal horde, backed up by a Tortured Soul Horde and a troop of Gargoyles.  I was facing the Wyrm Riders  and Heart Piercers again!   Next were another Lower Abyssal Horde with 2 Efreet and a Warlock between my mighty Moloch Horde.  In the rear was another Tortured Soul horde with another troop of Gargoyles on the flank.

Facing me were a horde of Earth Elements, a horde of Forest Shamblers, then a Naids horde and on the extreme right, a Salamander Horde.  Tracy moved first.

Turn 2:-

Tracy's Wyrm Riders moved forward along with most of her army. I charged her Wyrm Riders with my Lower Abyssals(2H weapons), inflicted lots of hit and casualties then rolling high twice to remove them from the game.  I charged her Heart Piercers and killed them off, turning he Lower Abyssal horde around to fight the Tree Herder.  All the time her Green Lady kept casting Cloak of Death on everyone within 6 inches, so I decided to get my Hero Matu-bu-su to take her out.

On the right, the Salamanders and Niads who had scouted forward, moved forward to flank me.  I turned a horde of Tortured Souls to face the onslaught.

Turn 3:-

I had moved the Molochs forward to take out another Regiment of Heart Piecers leaving my flank guarded by a Tortured Soul horde.  The Salamanders moved up behind her Niads so they could move around on my flank.  A second horde of Tortured Souls meanwhile tackled the Tree Herder to try and bring it down.

Turn 4:-

This is where it fell apart for Tracy.  After taking out my Tortured Souls horde, I explained to her the options available for the Tree Herder, because no matter which way she went, she would be flank or rear attacked.  She didn't fully comprehend the damage a rear attack would do.  After she choose what she thought was the best option of moving forward(only 3 inches), I rear charged her with Lower Abyssal horde with Crushing +1.  With 75 dice, the result was obvious in killing off the Tree Herder.  Also, she tried to kill off my Efreet with the Heart Piercers, which in turn were flank charged by the Molochs.    I also had rear charged her Earth Elements with a troop of Gargoyles.  She also forgot to move her Salamanders(even I missed that) and the results were obvious.

Turn 5:- 

I finally pinned her Green Lady down on 3 sides and the forth side with my hero Matu-bu-su.  The other 3 heroes got little or no damage, but Matu with her 'Duel' and Crushing +1, rolled enough hits, then wounds. Tracy had to roll, she failed, rolled again, but luck was not smiling on her that day.  The Niads and Hear Piercers also fell, leaving her with just the Salamander horde and one other hero left for turn 6.

Turn 6:-

I hit the Salamanders on three sides and killed it in one hit.  All that was left of her army was one hero, who beat a hasty retreat.  I had lost one Efreet and a Tortured Soul horde.

Luckily there was no 7th turn.

For us, its still a learning game, but Tracy learnt the value of protecting your flanks, never letting a unit(Hero Tree Herder) go into battle by itself with little or no support and to also make sure you move every unit before firing(I would pay that penalty in my next game).
In all, we both learnt how to move and attack and how to look up rules that were not clear.  Shambling and Surge were things we didn't understand, but YouTube tutorial on it cleared it all up.  I have a healthy respect for the Forces of Nature and would never underestimate them if you were to fight them.  We have found a 'Hydra' for her which can be a real apin, not to mention 'ScorchWings' as they move and shoot.  We are trying to find suitable figures for them.

I hope that you have found this battle interesting.  Feel free to leave any comments or recommendations.

First battle against my wife

Greetings,

Well, we came to blows finally.  My Forces of the Abyss and my wifes Forces of Nature(2000 points).

My Army List:-

Our friend Alan came over to help Tracy as she is not very experienced in wargaming, so he was umpire and advisor to both of us.

As our table is smaller depth wise, instead of 12 inches in, we had 8 inches in the deployment zones to set up in.  She set up first and I won the roll to see who went first and made her start.  Just note:  I only took pics from my side.  I dont have her digital list to put up.  The pics are put up at the end of a complete turn.
Turn 1:-

From left to right, I had my Gargoyle Troops on the left behind my Hellhound and a regiment of Succubi.  Next on the other side of the house was Lower Abyssals with 2h weapons, a Warlock and then another Succubi regiment.  Behind them were my Molochs and Abyssal Fiend.  On the right was another horde of Lower Abyssals, Imp horde and on the extreme flank a Hellhound troop and a Warlock.

Turn 2:-

Tracy's Wyrm Rider drove in and killed my Hellhound in one hit!  Her HeartPiercers shot my succubi causing several casualties.
In the center, her Earth Elements attacked my Lower Abyssals and locked them in combat.  The Naids attacked through the forest and hit my second Succubi regiment locking it into melee.  On the right, her Greater Fire Element moved in to attack my Hellhounds.

Turn 3:-

My Succubi regiment moved on ignoring her Wyrm Riders, leaving it to the Gargoyle troops to hold them by moving to the flank and behind them, with my Efreet attacking in front to hold them in place.The battle was in full swing in the middle while the Imps eyed off the Salamander Horde.

Turn 4:-

The battle between the Succubi and the HeartPiercers rages on.  They just won't break as they regenerate and have a Green Lady healing them as well.  My Lower Abyssals break the Earth Elements and prepare to hit the Niads on the flank.  However, her Heartpiercers moved forward to shoot at my rear Gargoyles but I attacker them with my Lower Abyssal 2H horde and killed them in one hit.  Meanwhile,  I had sent in both the warlock and the Abyssal Fiend to try to take those Niads down, but they were both eliminated before help arrived.  On the right, the Hellhounds and Imps combined to try to bring down the Salamanders, but both died in the following melees.  A Warlock played with the Greater Fire Element, keeping it occupied.

Turn 5:-

I had them on toast, the Wyrm Riders where still stuck with my Gargoyles, and I finally killed those pesky Niads and both Heart Piercers were taken out.  My Molochs crushed the Salamanders, because of the damage they took from the Imps and Hellhounds.

Turn 6:-

I dont have any pics, sorry.  However, I was going in for the kill against Tracy's Forest Shamblers, broke them and was robbed by the horrible double ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We rolled for a seventh turn, but didn't happen, so we counted the points of all the troops on each side.  I had 760 points of troops and Tracy had 950 points left.  Well done to Tracy beating me.

Nobody was interested in them, so they got a rework!

Greetings,
Well, after finding out that I had way to many Succubi, I tried to sell 3 extra troops on Facebook at Australian Wargamers Buy and Sell and also at Wargamers Buy/Swap and Sell for a mere $50.

Here are the pictures of them:-

Ok, these were part of my foray into painting mythical figures.  I didn't even know what a Succubi was until I started playing KoW and honestly, I just thought that painting female demons should be done in pink.  Looking back on them after not selling, I understood, ewww and redid them more in line with the theme of my Forces of the Abyss painting style I have developed.

As you can see, a major change.  I think they look better in red, as my wife does as well.  She said they looked horrible in pink and they had moustaches!  I also had to rebase, so I put more figures on the bases, making two regiments and as an extra, two troops.  Before I had seven troops with seven figures per base.  Now I have 16 figures per Regiment base and eight figures per the two troop bases, which I can sabot into another Regiment if needed. 

Looking forward to trying them out!

PS, they are now off the market.....

Lower Abyssals - Bread and Butter frontline chaff

The Lower Abyssals are your bread and butter front line ground pounders.  In Troops size, they cost only 75 points, have a movement of 5, a melee of 4+ and defense of 4+ with an attack of 10 dice and they get 'Regeneration' and also 'Fury'.  With a Ne of 9/11 you can't expect a troop to last more than one turn, so putting it on a flank in front of your attacking units makes these chaff cheap and nasty to use.  For bigger road blocks, I would not recommend the Regiment as you only get 2 more dice and cost 40 more points, with an increase of Ne of only 4 points respectively, it would be better to instead, pay the points and buy a horde.

The horde does make a good roadblock for around 2 turns, as lower Abyssals get 'Regeneration' and also 'Fury' and combined with 25 attack dice and the Ne increased to 20/22, these guys can hold a piece of ground and hit back at their assailants with a 50/50 chance of hitting and 50/50 chance of causing wounds each turn they survive.

Another option is to drop the shield in favour of two handed weapons for 10 points(for a horde), giving them a defence of 3+ but gaining 'Crushing Strength (1)' .  Throw in 'Bane Chant' for an extra  Crushing Strength (1) and they should be able to be a hard hitter tackling the bigger units of your opponent, providing they survive the first strike.

Not withstanding heroes who inspire any breaking unit, the Lower Abyssals by themselves are really cannon fodder that will be shot at and attacked early in the game.  Do not expect a unit to last more than 3 rounds, but if it is supported by a Well of Souls, it could well last 4 or even 5 rounds unless flanked or mugged by several units at once.

Lastly, the Lower Abyssal Flamebearers come as a build choice from Mantic from the Lower Abyssal weapons choices.  A single troop of these, placed strategically, can harass the enemy with 8 dice worth of 'FireBolts' shooting at 18 inches.   Again they cost 115 points and a Regiment costing  40 points more, but giving only 2 more dice, and a Ne increase of only 4/4 points, it is not really worth the expense of paying for a Regiment.  Having Steady Aim and Piercing (1) make for a good addition to move to good shooting angles without the movement penalty.

I have used these units in several or my army build and found that though they don't do much damage(my unlucky dice?), they tend to be ignored by my opponents, so later in the game, they can become emergency roadblocks, sometimes at an important time in a battle.