Battle Report #10
2300pts vs Abyssals
Narrative Intro:
Elves
Aeneas swept his spear to the left blocking the incoming blow from King Eataine. Swiftly he drew back bring his spear point to face Eataine once again keeping his liege at bay. The soft silk scarf tied around his eyes caused little issue to the King’s Champion having long ago mastered his other senses to guide his movements.
Horns blew in the distance, the time for practice at an end Aeneas withdrew his blindfold, Eataine was already making for the command tent eager to hear the news from the returning scouts. Aeneas passed his ancient spear to an aide marvelling at the long lost craftsmanship from another age that had gone into forging his symbol of office.
Gladdened that he would at last be at the side of his King in battle after years marshalling the defences of the capital Theren, Aeneas strode towards the command tent just as eager as his lord to hear the scouts’ reports, hoping to hear signs of the Abyssals they’d been tracing.
Ben has written an Abyssals Intro too:
Ba’el’s bad morning
Ba’el woke up with a splitting headache! What had he done last night? And what was that smell? Looking around the seventh pit off hell he saw the remnants of the previous evenings festivities. There were torn limbs everywhere, upturned tortured devices, barrels of blood spilled everywhere and then there was the ‘mess’! It’d started out like most other nights, he’d invited his pals over for a Cheese and Wine party involving some of the most deserving of the damned, but it had pretty soon got out of hand. Chroneas had brought the dip, Fiendy brought the bbq and the Knights had for some reason brought their horses! It was all the fault of that Warlock with his magic brew, what had he put in it?
He’d woken to find everyone strewn around snoozing off the effects of the intoxication but he couldn’t get back to sleep, what was that smell, kind of like clean linen combined with lavender! Those damn elves again had opened up a magic portal and their foul stench was invading his realm. Well he wouldn’t have it! Bellowing so loudly he woke the denizens of hell (well his mates)! He screamed “they’ve done this for the last time, awaken my friends, to arms, we will wipe the scent of these pesky elves from the world forever!” Maybe that would help ease his headache!
Game Intro and Lists:
With the shockwaves of the Clash of Kings 2022 update sweeping through the KoW community and the lengthy gap since my last report it seemed the perfect time for my tenth report. I challenged my regular opponent Ben to a game with our new toys. We decided on a larger 2300 points level than usual to allow us to try even more of the new options. I’d be taking my Elves as usual whilst Ben would be taking his Forces of the Abyss so it’s a match up you’re used to reading by now.
Elf List:
Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts
King (King Eataine): Horse, Rampage (d3): 150pts
King’ Champion (Aeneas): 145pts
Spearmen Horde: Brew of Strength: 270pts
Spearmen Horde: Healing Brew: 235pts
Drakon Horde: Staying Stone: 280pts
Glade Stalker Regiment: Fire oil: 180pts
Glade Stalker Regiment: 175pts
Quicksilver Lancers: Pathfinder: 260pts
Forest Guard Troop: 105pts
Forest Guard Troop: Nimble: 115pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 130pts
With so many changes available to choose from in Clash of Kings I couldn’t include them all so decided to go for 2 bigger ones and then add in a few smaller ones as best I could. My first choice was to bring in what is in someways the “hidden formation“ in the new book, two Spearmen Hordes and a King’s Champion to give them fury. I love the idea of spears but in gaming found due to using damage boosting items on them you forgo waver protection which can be a big issue, the King’s champion resolves this with his fury aura. Brew of Strength went on one unit and I rather undermine my argument by having no items on the other unit but this is due to wanting as many new items elsewhere as possible rather than a purely competitive choice.
The 2nd big inclusion are two regiments of Gladestalkers these were heavily upgraded in CoK and could potentially benefit from the King’s Champion Aura as well if required. The plan was to combine the shooting from the Gladestalkers with the usual lightning bolt mages to bring a more devastating shooting attack than elves have previously been able to bring. I dropped the boomstick not because it isn’t still powerful but the slight nerf does make a conjurers staff a similar value option and it frees up extra points for another spell in this instance a second bane chant to support the spear hordes. A troop of Silverbreeze supplement the shooting further whilst also providing some fast chaff.
To round out the list I added the exciting new Quicksilver Cavalry that are bound to be a mainstay in elf lists for a while as an alternative to the Drakon Hordes. I’ve paired this with a Drakon Horde and a Mounted King with the new rampage item to give him a little more bite versus chaff. Hopefully this should be a strong combination able to outmanoeuvre and overwhelm a section of the board for me whilst the shooting and infantry advance.
The final additions were two Forest Guard troops I mainly wanted to see how the nimble banner would work I’ve long thought most infantry troops should get nimble as they tend to represent light skirmished type units. With lots of path finder in the list already I thought I may well be engaging in terrain a lot so added a second troop to maximise this and provide extra chaff support. I’ve only ended up with 4 main combat units vs the 5 I’d usually have at 2300pts but the extra shooting and combat abilities from the Gladestalkers mean I’ve got a lot more support available for the bigger units.
Forces of the Abyss List:
Ben has graciously written up his thoughts on writing his new list following CoK 22 for us
I’ve been playing FOA for some time now and the new additions to their list from the new COKs are nearly all great, that’s combined with new spells and magic items left me with a major headache of things to include.
We’d decided to play 2300, I’ve already got a 2000 point list which I know well so I decided to use that as the staring point. There are already 3 units of tortured souls in there which will benefit from the extra TC so now I just needed to decide how to spend my extra 300 points. The additional inclusions I looked at were:
Firstly I went with more Abyssal Horsemen, they’re devastating and in pairs they’re even better. I though I’d include them this time as I know how they’ll work
Secondly I gave the warlock scorched earth (the hindering spell), I think this will be very useful in most games, I did also look at the celestial restoration (the healing spell) which I think is another great addition but I didn’t want to overload with spells even though we can now take an item that allows you to cast twice in one turn
Finally I decided to upgrade a Fiend to a Chroneas, the improved hitting power combined with his healing make him my new favourite inclusion, let’s see how he does!
I also thought about including the Well of souls, always great but the points drop and extra healing are very tempting. I decided not to this time as I feel my list isn’t built for it’s inclusion
I didn’t upgrade the Molochs with a despoiler champion even though giving them brutal and vicious is well frankly amazing, they’re one of the best hitters in the game anyway and now they’ll go through bone like butter. I didn’t upgrade purely down to points constraints but I’ll will be trying it out in other games soon.
So my army is:
-2 regiments of flamebearers, amazing shooters and unlocks too!
-3 regiments of Tourtured souls, i liked them before but they got better for free! They act as blockers, hitters and with US 2 they can do well in scenario scoring too.
- 2 regiments of Abyssal Horsemen, one with Jesses boots, very hard hitting and their regeneration really helps, they are a little vulnerable to shooting though
-1 horde of Mollochs, again great hitters and if I come up against phalanx then these boys will be engaging rather than the knights
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1 Abyssal Field, I normally play with 2 so let’s see if I’ll miss him
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Chroneas, I like having two monsters in the list and I’m interested to see if he is as good as the Fiend
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Seductress with mace, great for getting to back line and taking on mages, she can even take on a regiment of bows
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Abyssal Warlock, so good for the points and now with the hindering spell even more versatile
-Ba’el, again won’t leave home without him, he does so much and but I mainly use him to get behind and threaten
So the list I’ve built is pretty balanced with some of the new stuff to try out, I know Paul’s list is pretty shooty so if I can avoid getting shot off in turn 1 I might stand a chance!
Deployment and Scenario
We chose the scenario Raze to fit in with Ben’s story. My little brain can’t quite cope with a new scenario and new units all at once but we’ll try out some of the new scenarios from Cok 22 in the future.
Ben chose sides taking south (I’d have taken north anyway as I wanted the hill on the right nearer me so I could have open ground to place two tokens on the right). We both had 13 units so we’d finish deploying at nearly the same time. I began with my spears and kings champion on the left to create a defensive perimeter over his two tokens. Ben massed most of his troops on this side whilst I put my faster stuff on the right. With only 4 main units I ended up with a refused centre with only some forest Guard to stop giving Ba’el a free reign to fly between the two battle groups. My shooting was set up to aggressively go after the Warlock with the terrifying Shattered Earth spell. This included scouting a Gladestalkers unit so it could get on the hill. A mage and Gladestalker also went on the far left to support the Spears.
Elf Turn 1
On the left I wasn’t too keen to face the Flamebearer units with my infantry lines so as the the Raze markers were safe for another turn I kept out of range with my spears and other infantry. Meanwhile my mage Eldroth and the Gladestalkers snuck into range of the Tortured Souls without exposing themselves to the Flamebearers nearby.
On the right I advanced on to the hill with my Gladestalkers to get a clean shot on the Warlock as the deep deployment of the Horsemen and Tortured Souls left me safe from counter charges other than the Seductress which I was fine with. The other units advanced cautiously not wanting to get pinned by the Seductress early on.
Shooting saw the newly added Gladestalkers unleash on their targets supported by the mages who were delighted to finally have some back up in the shooting phase. Slightly above average damage and solid nerve rolls meant I managed to pick up both the Tortured Souls on the far left and the Abyssal Warlock on the right!
Abyss Turn 1
The Abyssals advanced cautiously, wary of the long charge ranges possessed by the fleet of foot elves. The Seductress chose to charge the Silverbreeze rather than the a Gladestalkers no doubt deterred by the pair of finely crafted long daggers each Stalker wore at their belt.
Shooting saw Ba’el squint at the woods where he thought he could see some Elven Cavalry sadly his headache made it hard for him to concentrate and he failed to do any damage to the arrogant elven knights. In combat the Seductress lashed out with her whip left and right injuring two horses but the disciplined Elven Scouts stayed resolute in the face of such painful yet alluring punishment.
Elf Turn 2
Satisfied with their previous turn’s shooting the Elves felt little pressure to push too far forward. On the left the Spears advanced to protect the precious raze tokens whilst the other units stayed back ready to support. On the left the Drakons couldn’t resist the Seductress’s slender profile and charged. Begrudgingly the Silverbreeze backed up, their fear of being trampled by Drakons over eager exceeding their lust. The Gladestalkers, King and Mage moved to take up more aggressive positions.
Shooting began with the Fiend towering over the intervening hill sufferering as lightning seared it’s flesh and arrows piercing it’s hide. On the left, however, distracted by the whipping noises Alenui and the Gladestalkers only managed a little damage on the Tortured Souls.
The allure of the Seductress proved her undoing as the over eager Drakons crushed her as they landed. Confused the Drakons backed up only to see her crushed remains beneath their claws. The Gladestalkers destroyed a raze token as they touched the amulet Eldroth had given them to the evil power source destroying both items forever.
Abyss Turn 2
The Abyssals were now in a position to strike back with fire and fury. To that end they advanced into range on the left eager to burn the foul elven intruders in their realm. Ba’el spotting a gap flew into the middle of the elven lines. The Tortured Souls units seeing green cloaks nowhere near any protective woods charged the Forest Guard and Gladestalkers.
Shooting saw fire rain down on Spearmen and Gladestalkers alike. The assorted twigs on the Gladestalkers cloaks exacerbated the fire causing more damage whilst the Spear’s metal armour reflected rather than conducted most of the heat. Neither unit was phased, however, aware that a price must be paid to end the Abyssal scourge.
The Tortured Souls tore into the lightly armoured Gladestalkers who were momentarily shaken. In the centre the Forest Guard blocked most of the blows with their axes and held firm.
Elf Turn 3
Ba’el jumping into the middle of my lines whilst threatening for future turns had also opened up the centre of Ben’s line. My Quicksilvers used their nimble to take full advantage and claim a Raze token whilst also threatening the Mollochs and Abyssal Horsemen next turn. To take advantage of this the Drakons charged the Tortured Souls and the Silverbreeze and King Eataine charged the Horsemen and Mollochs respectively you block them up.
In the centre both the Forest Guard Troops charged the Tortured Souls (one in the flank) keen to avenge their fallen kin. The left most unit of spears and Aeneas (King’s Champion) charged the wounded Abyssal Fiend. The remaining units moved to improve their positions for the following turns.
Shooting saw Eldroth bane chant the Spears facing the Fiend whilst the Gkadestalkers and Alenui put some damage on Chroneas to soften him up for later in the battle.
Combat saw the enchanted blades of the Spears driven into the mighty Fiend’s Chest, as the beast sought to defend itself from the front Aeneas leapt up from it’s unprotected side plunging his Spear through the vile creature’s neck bringing its reign of misery to an end. In the centre the Forest Guard’d heavy axes easily cleaved through the chains binding the Souls to their Torture freeing them.
On the right the Drakons overwhelmed the Tortured Souls whilst King Eataine skew a Molloch and the Silverbreeze were easily fended off by the Horsemen.
Abyss Turn 3
With Ba’el‘a headache getting worse rather than better he decided to keep flying away leaving his equally hungover drinking companions to their fate. (Ben conceded at this point).
Narrative ending:
Abyssals scattered as the ferocious Elven troops ripped into them. Spears and lances were plunged into demonic flesh and harrowing screams echoed through the night. King Eataine sat aside his mighty steed his heart gladdened to see the Abyssals so throughly vanquished. The one disappointment was Ba’el’s escape, he’d no doubt come to darken Eataine’s door once more.
Conclusions and Jubilations: (Paul)
Well that was some serious vengeance for the Elves after the beatings I’ve received vs Ben’s Abyssals. I rolled fairly well throughout and didn’t have any bad luck at all which definitely made things an uphill task for Ben. I think him forgetting my Knights were nimble was the last straw for him as they were able to get in a nasty position. Barring crazy bad luck the game was pretty much over at that point.
So what do I think of the new elves? I think they’re really very strong, I don’t want to read too much into a single game but all the upgrades seem to work at the top end of my expectations. Gladestalkers combined with Lightning bolt really elevates the shooting potential of the list and having a fast nimble combat block really boosts the manoeuvrability threat of the list. It feels very much like 2nd edition elves “We’re going to out shoot you and then out charge you”.
Apparently other races have also improved a lot so we will have to see how the new meta plays out but I’d be surprised if Elves aren’t now at the top table when it comes to KoW power rankings.
List Changes
I was very happy with the way the list operated but I want to try an optimise it to see how powerful elves can really get. The main change is to swap out the Spearmen and Kings Champion for Seaguard Hordes and a foot king to really maximise the advance and shoot nature of the list.
I’m going to give the mounted King the Torc of Dissidence to help versus some of the new spells such as Veil of Shadows and Shattered Earth that could derail my plans at key moments.
New List:
Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Bane Chant: 125pts
King (King Eataine): Horse, Torc of Dissidence: 145pts
King (Pauldren): 100pts
Seaguard Horde: Chant of Hate: 290pts
Seaguard Horde: Fire Oil: 235pts
Drakon Horde: Staying Stone: 280pts
Glade Stalker Regiment: 175pts
Glade Stalker Regiment: 175pts
Quicksilver Lancers: Pathfinder: 260pts
Forest Guard Troop: 105pts
Forest Guard Troop: Nimble: 115pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 130pts
I’m hoping to play some Nightstalkers soon to create a tough match up for this list.