KoW Batrep Game 4 - Undead vs Twilight Kin

It's that time again for another batrep of that game which all the cool kids are playing - Kings of War.

My Undead once again go up against my noob partner in crime, Lindsay, as we duke it out on a Kill! scenario.

Here are the army lists for this game - 

Lindsay's Twilight Kin Warhost

Dark Lord on Battle Dragon

Ensorcelled Armour +35

345 pts

Assassin

110 pts

Spearmen

Regiment

140 pts

Spearmen

Regiment

140 pts

Crossbowmen

Troop

+5 Fire Oil

120 pts

Crossbowmen

Troop

115 pts

Bladedancers

Regiment

200 pts

Reaper Guard

Regiment

150 pts

Dark Knights

Regiment

205 pts

Dark Knights

Regiment

205 pts

Twilight Bolt Thrower

90 pts

Twilight Bolt Thrower

90 pts

Twilight Bolt Thrower

90 pts

Thoughts on the list

I like this list a lot. It's got a fine balance of everything - from units with good manoeuvrability, to shooting, then of course combat - which is what you want from your list to compete in all facets of the game. The amount of shooting could possibly take my fast units out of the game if I don't deploy carefully - not in terms of routing, but being able to use them as they were intended to do, and that's to support and outflank his army.

Eric's Undead Legion

Skeleton Warriors

Horde

Undead Dogs +10

160

Mummies

Regiment

Gem of Zallak +30

200

Mummies

Regiment

170

Zombies

Legion

190

Revenants

Regiment

2H Weapons

130

Revenants

Regiment

2H Weapons

130

Werewolves

Horde

Potion of the Caterpillar +20

265

Balefire Catapult

100

Soul Reaver Cavalry

Regiment

Brew of Haste +15

315

Necromancer

Grimoire of Unspeakable Darkness +30

115

Liche King

Lightning Bolt +35

Heal +20

Fenulian Amulet +25

225

Thoughts on my army list

I'm pretty much set on the core of my army list. A block of Zombies, 2 regiments of Mummies, Werewolves and a Skeleton unit. I'm mucking around with the idea of Revenants as a unit to "finish off" other enemy units, so to speak. I like the idea of having a second line of offense, or a surprise unit to use Surge with on enemy Cavalry, should they find a way to outflank my main battle line.

It's time I have a little play with the different characters, other than a Revenant King on Undead Wyrm and Vampire Lord. I like the look of the Liche King for the Surge (12) ability, and combined with the Necromancer - who also has Surge (12), thanks to Unspeakable Darkness - I should be able to get whatever I need to Surge at the right places.

Deployment, was again, pretty much standard. Blocks towards the middle of the table, plus a second line of offense in the form of 2 Revenant Units and a Mummy block. The Soul Reaver Cavalry were deployed in the far right, looking to outflank the Twilight Kin. I'm definitely more comfortable with them as a Regiment over a Troop unit whilst they roam the flanks.

I may have put out Gem of Zallak too early in this battle. For anyone not familiar with that item, it forces your opponent to deploy D3+1 units at the same time, as opposed to one unit. Great item that should definitely feature in an army that has a low deployment count. Perhaps I should've waited until I got to my 3rd or 4th deployment, or perhaps when Lindsay got up to his hard hitting Dark Knight bus units.

The Assassin vanguarded straight towards the Balefire Catapult, which I deployed on the bottom left hand corner. Looks like I may only have one shot with it.

As we rolled off to see who would decide who to go first, I got the higher roll and allowed Lindsay to take honours.

Lindsay showed his intentions early, by flying up his Lord on Dragon. His aim was to Lightning Bolt the Liche King early, but felt just short of it's target.

His defensive formation meant that very little was done in the movement phase. Shooting was fairly average, putting a few wounds on the Zombie legion, a couple on the Werewolves and on the Soul Reaver Cavalry.

I pushed the Zombie Legion forward as I miscalculated the width of the gap between the building on the right and the small shack on the left (which we named the port-a-loo). Both the Zombie legion and the Skeleton block couldn't fit, so I had to make a quick decision as to which of these two would act as pin cushion and fodder for the Blade Dancers.

As you can see below, I went with the Zombies. I cast Surge on the unit twice to get them where I wanted them. I was also hoping that Lindsay would take the bait and crash the Dragon on the flank of the Zombies, but to no avail.

The Balefire Catapult had one shot at the Knights, but missed pretty badly. I placed the Werewolves just before the set of forests on the left flank.

A minor brain cramp occurred when I moved the Mummies at the double and up the right side of the building in the middle of the table - Shambling units can never move at the double, unfortunately. Soul Reavers, however, don't Shamble. So with the Brew of Haste that gave them +1 Speed, I pumped them as far forward as I could.

On turn for the Twilight Kin, the Lord on Dragon flew as far forward as it's wings could take them, moving itself in a peculiar position. Sure I couldn't Surge the Werewolves into it's flanks, but this was the very reason why I have Mummies and Revenant infantry hanging out on the edge of my main battle line.

The Assassin charged the Catapult, ready to tear it down.

Shooting wasn't spectacular, but it added some wounds on the Zombie legion once again. The Revenant unit on the right side took some hits from a Twilight Bolt Thrower, but luckily, there were no Wavering units for the Undead this turn.

The Twilight Kin took out first blood (or bone) by routing the Catapult with ease.

So with Lindsay seemingly forgetting about Surge, I've moved the Werewolves into the forest, while the Mummies pivoted and moved towards the flank of the Lord on Dragon.

The Zombie block pretty much stayed where they were since I was out of reach of the Twilight Bolt Thrower. My Skeleton warriors, along with the Revenants shambled slowly forward.

Meanwhile on the far right flank, I've charged the Soul Reaver Cavalry into a phalanx of Elven Spearmen. Sure, no Thunderous Charge, but I liked my chances here.

Onto shooting, the Necromancer cast Surge and the roll was more than enough to charge the Mummies into the flank of the Dragon. I may not be able to Rout it, but if I could do some decent damage to it, then I could walk away happy.

The Lich King put a wound on the Assassin with it's Lightning Bolt. Would've preferred a couple more wounds, but it would pass it's Nerve check with ease regardless.

Start of my combat phase, I managed to wound the Dragon 5 times, looked for the big roll on the Nerve check, but it wasn't meant to be. The disordered Lord on dragon was going to seek some revenge.

On the right, the Soul Reavers routed the Spearmen, not as easy as I thought it would, but finished them off regardless. They reformed and turned their attention towards the next Spearmen regiment, who were readying themselves for a good fight.

So at the start of Twilight Kin turn 3, this is how the table is shaping up.

The Twilight Kin shifted their defensive lines with the Dark Knights positioning themselves ready for any sort of counter charge on the left flank. After some time, The Dark Lord on Dragon finally yanked the harness on his Dragon and counter charged the Mummies on their flank.

The Assassin, which was now behind enemy lines, started threatening my Liche King. I was probably going to get one last chance to Zap the annoyingly cloacked elf, before it charged into combat.

Shooting added a few more wounds into the Zombies, whilst the Bolt thrower on the right flank added two wounds on the Soul Reaver Cavalry. The Spearmen readied their spears and shields for the inevitable charge.

In Combat, the Dark Lord on Dragon pumped a few wounds on the Mummies, but enough for them to rout.

On my turn, I counter charged the Mummies onto the Dark Lord again, however, not being in the flank would only grant me 12 attacks. I didn't like my chances, but the prospect of adding extra wounds was something I couldn't simply pass up.

I continued to use my Zombie legion as a road block and set up my other Mummy unit for any sort of flank charge in the Blade dancers should they commit and move further up the battle field.

The Werewolves came out of the woods and charged the Twilight Bolt Thrower. They easily routed the Bolt Thrower, but I felt as though I charged them into combat one turn too early and too aggressively.

On the right, the Soul Reavers charged into combat with the Spearmen, looking to rout them this turn and run rampant on the flanks.

I pivoted the Revenants nearest to the Assassin and attempted to Surge them into combat. This was a mistake I made, which I will mention later on.

This was probably the poorest rolling I've ever done in any sort of game for awhile. I believe in the law of averages and that a poor roll to hit will eventually make up for it when it comes to rolling to wound. Unfortunately, lady luck wasn't with me on this turn.

The Mummies did a fair amount of hits on the Dark Lord, but failed to wound on any dice. Ouch! Couldn't even Disorder the big guy, and that left me in trouble.

The Soul Reavers were average in terms of causing damage, but rolled less than average for the Nerve test for the Spearmen, wavering them when I needed a 7 to Rout. From my point of view, not being able to Rout the Spearmen was HUGE. It meant that I had to spend another turn trying to rout the Spearmen, as opposed to moving a further D6" and being able to lend support to my units should it encounter the Blade Dancers.

This was definitely not a good turn for me and the Twilight Kin would surely capitalise on that.

With the Mummies failing to wound and disorder the Lord on Dragon, his options were expansive. He could charge the Mummies and finish them off. Fly over the Mummies and just be content with zapping my Liche King with Lightning Bolt. Or he could capitalise on my mental breakdown and charge the Revenant unit which was begging to be charged in the flank.

The Dark Lord opted for the juicy flank charge on the Revenants. Meanwhile, the Dark Knights charged the Mummies, which had been in combat against the Dark Lord previously. The Blade Dancers came out of hiding and were eager to put the finishing touches on the Zombie legion.

The Assassin couldn't resist taking down my expensive Liche King, so in he went as well.

Shooting was uneventful as the Twilight Kin were focused on their combat fights.

The Dark Knights finished off the Mummies easily enough.

The Zombie legion didn't stand a chance against the Blade Dancers.

The Assassin only managed to do one wound on my Liche King, but Disordered result was what he was after as it meant that I couldn't cast spells with him.

So off to the Dark Lord and it's Dragon mount, where they were doubling their attacks. Sure enough, 15 wounds were laid onto the Revenants. It was time for Lindsay to roll the Nerve test, so I calmly said "Anything but snake eyes..."

SNAKE EYES!!!

After what seemed to be about 30 minutes of hilarious laughter, I finally calmed down and actually had to think about what moves to make on my turn.

The pic below represents the situation I had before me. Do I counter the Revenants onto the Dragon? Or do I pivot the Skeleton block, attempt to Surge them in the flank, whilst I charge the Revenants into the Dark Knights?

We determined that because the port-a-loo was in the way, it would be impossible for me to line up the Skeletons in the flank if the Revenants were in the front, so I went ahead and charged the Dark Knights with the Revenants.

The other Revenant unit charged the Blade Dancers, hoping to do as much wounds as I possibly could for the Mummies to finish them off in the latter stages of the game. The Soul Reaver Cav charged into the Spearmen unit for a second time, hoping to break them this turn.

                           

The Skeletons Surged into the flank of the Dark Lord's dragon. My Liche King wasn't able to do anything as he was disordered.

We proceeded with Combat, starting with the Revenants on the Blade Dancers. I did an average amount of wounds, Disordered them and braced for the counter charge. 

The Soul Reavers were finally able to Rout the Spearmen and moved forward 3 or 4 inches. 

Now, onto the combat that mattered most.

The Skeleton did a fair amount of wounds after rolling so well to wound the Dark Lord. A big roll on the Nerve test was what I needed.

WOOSHKA! I managed to Rout the Dark Lord and it's Dragon on a fairly above average roll. I knew he was a big chunk of points and wavering, or in this case, routing him was a big deal. I had to find a way to get out of this hole I was in, and this was a great start to achieving that goal.

The Revenants did average as well, but couldn't waver the Dark Knights. Surely, the Revenants couldn't survive another round of combat. Unless Lindsay rolled snake eyes again. Hmmm...

I've been forgetting to mention the overly aggressive Werewolves on the left flank, which had advanced to his deployment zone. 

So they were able to wipe out the Twilight Bolt Thrower pretty easily, but that left them in a very odd position. I was concerned that they would get combo charged by the Reaper Guard and Dark Knights if I charged into a Crossbowmen unit. So I didn't charge them and claim the points. Turns out they would inevitably be charged. Bad mistake on my part as a) I played them too aggressively and b) get the points while I can.

I reminded Lindsay that there is no sequence when it comes to charges, normal moves, etc. So he's moved the Crossbowmen away from the path of the Blade Dancers and into the Werewolves - along with the Dark Knights. Needless to say, but the Werewolves were decimated. No snake eyes for the Nerve test this time.

The Blade Dancers counter charged the Revenants and were no match for the amount of attacks they dished out. After routing them, the Blade Dancers pivoted and faced the Mummy unit.

The Dark Knights charged what remained of the other Revenant unit. No snake eyes were rolled this time, as the Revenants were turned into dust. No overrun was made, so instead, they faced the Skeleton unit to seek vengeance for their fallen Dark Lord.

The Asassin once again charged into the Liche King, but failed to do much, Disordering him to stop him casting any spells.

So I made the obvious charge on my Turn 5 by sending the Skeletons into the Dark Knights. I may caused a couple of wounds on the Dark Knights, but they failed to waver. I knew I had to last the next round of combat to at least gain a draw in this game. I had this turn and the next to try and rout the Dark Knights.

I charged the Mummies into the Blade Dancers, which was a no brainer too.

The Soul Reavers had a clear charge to the Bolt Thrower near Lindsay's table edge, but I was thinking ahead - what if the Mummies fluff their attacks and do very little against the Blade Dancers? I was going to need some sort of back up plan for my Turn 6. I would've charged the Bolt Thrower near the building, however, I was an inch and a bit too short.

So I pivoted them and faced them towards the Blade Dancers and the other Bolt Thrower. This opened up some options for me on the last turn - help the Mummies or claim the points for the Bolt Thrower since I couldn't do it this turn.

The Mummies caused some damage on the Blade Dancers and even managed to Waver them! Awesome! But that would have to wait as Blade Dancers are Head strong - meaning on a 4+, they could charge me on his turn despite being Wavered.

Turn 6 and it started off with the Blade Dancers failing their Head strong test! Phew!

The Assassin went for one last charge against the Liche King, again, failing to waver or rout, but did disorder him.

The Reaper Guard and the other block of Knights were too far away to make any charges this turn, so they were out of the game. The Crossbowmen units both moved, but had no targets to shoot.

The Dark Knights vs the Skeleton warriors was going to be huge. The Knights charged in and caused a fair amount of damage, but the Nerve test saved me and allowed me one last shot at routing the Knights.

So Turn 6. Where games are won. You could feel the tension in the air!

The Mummies charged the Blade Dancers once again. I felt really tempted to flank the Blade Dancers with the Soul Reaver Cav, but had plenty of faith in the Mummies. I decided to charge the Twilight Bolt Thrower instead, routing them and claiming the points.

The Mummies did enough to Rout the Blade Dancers. Was quite happy with that result!

I charged the Skeleton Warriors into the Dark Knights, hoping to give me sweet, glorious victory. There was enough tension in the air, that I needed to break it with some moments of hilarity. I charged the Necromancer in the Knights' flank. And after being smacked around by the Assassin the last few turns, I charged the Liche King into it!

Well, with one attack, I wasn't expecting much - and he didn't disappoint, failing to rout the Assassin.

The Skeletons had a hard time getting through the armour of the Dark Knights, but I was still able to deal some damage. The Necromancer failed to do anything with his awesome 1 attack.

All in all, I needed an 8 to Rout the unit.

I rolled a 7. That damn averaged number again. Ughh!

But what a game!

The final result was Twilight Kin 1015, Undead 1005. Another tightly fought battle which ended in a draw.

Final thoughts

I'm really starting to miss my Vampire Lord. That being said, I've been having so much fun with trying different builds, character choices and mucking around with how aggressive/defensive my troops should be.

I love the magical artefact that gives one my units Pathfinder, in this case the Werewolves. But I played them way too aggressively, to the point where they found themselves between a rock and a hard place.

Oh and the Gem of Zallak, which forces the opponent to deploy D3+1 units - that item is awesome. Why wouldn't you take it in every army that you play? I'll definitely be taking it with my Ogre army since my deployment count is so low. No player gets a bonus to their dice roll to see who goes first in Kings of War, but knowing where your opponent is deploying their units is such a big deal.

So that's another game of Kings of War for you. Hopefully I can blog about some painting progress as opposed to games itself. I've been back to work for the last week, so games and battle reports will be slowing down.

I do tend to throw more pics of painting progress through my Instagram account. Click here to take you there.

So until next time, keep rolling those dice!