Yeah you’re right, if I could have taken out the swarm turn 1 It would have helped a lot as I could have backed up turn 2 on the right and tried to buy more time.
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This was not a good day for the Forces of Nature. It is true that the dice weren’t kind to me, but I contributed to my own downfall, especially on the right, where I gave the Elves the chance to double charge the rear regiment of Hunters that I had pushed up too far in turn 2, not wanting them to be too slowed down by the wavered troop. I should have just shown patience. My game plan was to try to rush the right side of the battlefield, but instead I had to spend the rest of the game dealing with the nimble Stormwind regiment and Drakon Lord. Elsewhere, Paul played it well and forced me into bad exchanges (Beast of Nature for a troop of Silverbreeze, for example). I look forward to the rematch!
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Battle Report 21
2300pts vs Trident Realms: Salt the Earth
Narrative Intro:
Alenui and Aeneas stood silently, eyes closed. The large gem before them glowed a bright green. Unseen to those without the gift of magic, swirling threads of power were being drawn into the gem. Crafted by the Elven smiths and loremasters the gem would become a powerful ward, calming the tempestuous sea along the coastline. It would take years to bring the ward to full power as Elven magic required all the patience of the long-lived ones. Many wards would be needed to calm the mighty Alaitoc sea but Elven craftsmen and mages of the required skill were few in number and the task would take decades to fully complete.
Suddenly the mages’ focus was interrupted by war horns blowing. As feared the Trident King had dispatched more troops to prevent the Elves from re-establishing their wards. Fortunately King Paweldran had wisely brought a force in anticipation of such a move. The two young mages moved swiftly to join the army knowing their skills would be required to destroy rather than create this day.
- Game Intro and Lists:*
With one win each and two thrillingly close games, Ben and I decided we really needed a decider. So this will be the finale of our trilogy of games using the same map and scenario (Battle Reports 18 & 19 being parts 1 & 2). I hope you’ll enjoy the tactical progression through these report and that it makes up for the repetition.
Elf List
Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Aeneas): Lightning Bolt, Conjurers Staff, Host of the Shadow Beast (3): 150pts
King (King Paweldran): Horse, Shardblade, Blade of the Beast Slayer: 170pts
Drakon Lord (Amarynth): 160pts
Chariot Noble (Feanor): 100pts
Spearmen Horde: Brew of Strength: 270pts
Palace Guard Horde: Staying Stone: 270pts
Quicksilver Regiment: Jesse’s Boots: 250pts
Stormwind Regiment: Brutal: 220pts
Seaguard Regiment: 150pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts
Forest Guard: Skirmisher Boots: 115pts
Bolt Thrower: 80pts
2300pts
As discussed at the end of the last report I’ve tweaked the list by dropping Mace of Crushing from the Drakon Lord to buy an extra level of Host of the Shadow Beast as when it fails to cast it can be a huge issue.
Trident Realms List:
Eckter: 165pts
Naiad Centurion: Trident, Scout: 170pts
Thull Mythican: Torc of Dissonance: 90pts
Thull Mythican: Gnome Glass Shield: 90pts
Naiad Wyrmriders: Brew of Haste: 275pts
Giga Horde: Staying Stone: 210pts
Giga Horde: Fury: 220pts
Knucker: 150pts
Knucker: 150pts
Coral Giant: 215pts
Coral Giant: 215pts
Tidal Swarm: 70pts
Hidden Ones Formation (Pathfinder):
Thull Mythican: TC 1 Aura, 9 inch Aura: 105pts
Thull Regiment: Healing Brew: 175pts
Thull Regiment: 170pts
2300pts
Ben‘s list was unchanged from last time (Battle Report 19).
Deployment and Scenario
The map should hopefully be familiar to you by now. In the previous games I’d found that taking the south side had given a significant advantage because the route to the central token (that can’t be destroyed in Salt the Earth) was open ground from the south but heavily covered by terrain from the north. To try and even the playing field in case I didn’t get the south side I deployed all my tokens on the left flank which had more open ground to the north and a building limiting whoever got the south. This resulted in 4 tokens on the left side of the large wood which dominated the board and 3 to the right.
Ben won the roll for sides and chose to take the south side. Although probably not the best outcome for me I was happy to have a chance to redeem myself from the last game where I’d lost the game deploying from the north side.
I endeavoured to learn from my mistakes in the previous game. Both my cavalry regiments went on the right flank where they could fit through the gaps in terrain which my Infantry hordes couldn’t. The Infantry hordes ended up directly behind each other this was in part because Ben had placed the Wyrmriders on the extreme left flank and I wanted my Spearmen to match up against them but had already deployed my Palace Guard to be able to push up towards that flank if needed. My plan had always been that they would overlap somewhat initially to allow me to move into the open ground outside my deployment zone.
My plan was to delay/threaten/frustrate Ben on the right with my faster units whilst my infantry would hopefully dominate the left. However, Ben decided to also concentrate his forces more on the left which would be interesting as he was hampered by the building but he had several smaller units that could overwhelm me. It did mean that the right flank was more or less up for grabs as we were reasonably evenly matched on that side. Ben won the roll for first turn and took it which put me in an unfamiliar position (I tend to be lucky on the first turn roll and Ben often chooses to go second if he does win the roll).
- Trident Realms Turn 1*
Ben decided to seize the initiative, both of his Knuckers pushed up, one very aggressively focused on the token just out of reach of my deployment zone. This immediately put me under pressure, there were quite a few spaces Ben could exploit next turn if I left the front Knucker alone or he could pin back my forces whilst bringing a large chunk of his army into charge range the next turn.
Most of the rest of the units moved up getting in position to react to any of my moves and hoping to pin me back limiting my movement options. If there was any doubt about Ben’s aggressive intentions he put them to rest destroying no fewer than four of the seven objective markers!
Elves Turn 1
After losing the last game by being aggressive and getting into combat before softening Ben up with shooting I was rather dismayed that Ben had not only got the first turn but used it to aggressively put me under immediate pressure. On the left I looked around in vain for a way to buy some time before engaging but the foremost Knucker was simply too close for me not to deal with it this turn.
The first thing I had to do was sacrifice the Silverbreeze by charging the second Knucker to block up Ben’s path past the building. I Then needed an unhindered Palace Guard charge on the Knucker so the Seaguard Regiment also went in to keep the horde out of the wood. This meant the Palace Guard’s flank was vulnerable to the Coral Giant and Wyrmriders so I had to move my Drakon Lord (Amarynth) to block this. The Spearmen advanced to threaten the left side units if Ben killed the Lord Amarynth.
I was under a lot less pressure on the right, the only unit nearby was the Swarm so I moved to focus my shooting on it whilst repositioning my units to limit Ben’s options to advance.
Shooting saw the swarm easily cleared off despite most shooters being limited to aiming through cover. Alenui was also able to cast Bane Chant on the Palace Guard as I didn’t want to risk the Knucker surviving if I could help it.
Combat was successful with the Silverbreeze somehow managing to land 4 vicious blows on one Knucker in addition to the Palace Guard easily dispatching the second. The Palace Guard reformed to face the left side stopping the other Knucker from charging them next turn plus now giving the Spearmen a clear path through to charge past next turn.
Trident Realms Turn 2
My combat reform with the Palace Guard was immediately revealed as folly. The Knucker was able to free himself from the attentions of the Silverbreeze and the Thulls regiment now had a charge in the exposed flank of the Palace Guard! (I’d thought I was safe from the Thulls as if they pivoted at the start of their move they couldn’t draw a straight line to the Palace Guard but if they advanced a bit first they could!).
Ben decided not to accompany the the Thulls with the Mythican who instead charged the Seaguard to hold them up as his other units got into position. Meanwhile the other Mythican managed to roll a 3 for his Wild charge letting him block the Stormwind who otherwise threatened Ben’s centre. On the left the Giant charged in on my Drakon alone as I’d positioned so that Ben couldn’t fit both the Giant and Wyrmriders in. Finally the blocking Silverbreeze were charged in the flank by the second Thull regiment.
Shooting was unfortunately (for the Elves) rather eventful as Eckter’s windblast somehow routed the Silverbreeze in the wood on the right (I’d left them without inspire). The Mythican also used its Torc to cause Aeneas to temporarily forget he knew how to cast Host of the Shadow Beast. Combat saw the Drakon Lord defeated by the mighty Coral Giant and the second Silverbreeze unit failed to stand up to the flanking Thulls. Both Mythicans disordered their opponents ensure they could block the elves as required.
All eyes turned to the key combat as the flanking Thulls tore into the Palace Guard. With the extended range of the Thunderous charge Aura from the Mythican it would be 50/50 if the Thulls could punch a potentially decisive hole in the Elven lines. Fortunately for the Elves Ben rolled a little low on damage and didn’t even waver the elite Elven Warriors!
Elves Turn 2
The Palace Guard surviving and not even being wavered was a huge boon. They immediately countercharged the Thulls as I needed to inflict as much damage as I could with them before Ben finished them off. The Spearmen charged the Knucker which had exposed its flank whilst creating room for the Thulls to charge the Palace Guard.
On the right the Quicksilver Cavalry were now free so I decided to turn back to the centre as this placed more pressure on the Gigas forcing Ben to be more defensive. King Paweldran could charge the flank of one of the Gigas units and it would be risky for Ben to counter this move as my Quicksilvers were ready to retaliate. Lord Feanor meanwhile moved his Chariot to prevent the Mythican from charging the Quicksilvers.
Behind the wood in the centre the Forest Guard pivoted towards the right to give more support against the Gigas. Shooting was uneventful with a couple of wounds each on the Thull Regiment on the hill and the Giant on the right.
Unleashing their rage at being caught in the flank the Palace Guard’s double handed swords carved into the Thulls leaving only severed tentacles where the beasts once stood. Levelling their spears the other Elven horde were equally ferocious in dispatching the Knucker it’s scaled flank easily punctured by the finely crafted Elven weapons. The Seaguard were less successful failing to even damage the Mythican they faced.
King Paweldran’s ancestral blade Yahdra easily cut through the shell of a Giga but the unit remained unmoved. Lastly the Stormwind Knights drew their swords and landed several blows on the Mythican they faced but fell short of wavering their foe.
Trident Realms Turn 3
On the left the Giant charged the Spearmen whilst the Wyrmriders held back a turn as Ben was unwilling to risk them facing a thus far unharmed horde next turn. The Palace Guard had exposed their flank once more to a Thull a Regiment and Ben expecting better luck this time charged. The Gigas in the centre turned towards the right as Ben grew concerned at the threat of the Elven knights.
On the left the wounded Mythican left the Stormwind charging the Bolt Thrower, he was replaced by the Mythican protected by the Gnome Glass Shield. The Gigas engaged with the King decided to counter charge fearful of what he would do left to run free. In order to protect the Gigas from the knights Eckter and the Giant moved to create blockages stopping the Quicksilvers from charging past them.
The Bolt Thrower crew were no match for the frenzied attacks of the Mythican and abandoned their machine. The Gigas landed a severe wound on Paweldran but the King fought on. The Stormwind and Seaguard were both disordered by the Mythican’s they faced whilst the Giant’s cleaver smashed into the ranks of Elven spears. Once more the Thull caused havoc in the flank of the Palace Guard but despite being devastated there was no give in the proud warriors (double 1).
Elves Turn 3
The Palace Guard were once again able to avenge their casualties so charged the Thull Regiment in their flank. The Spears counter charged the Giant hoping for a bit of luck to waver or rout it before the Wyrmriders charged in.
In the centre King Paweldran charged the Mythican who had killed the bolt thrower whilst the Forest Guard charged the flank of the Mythican engaged with the Stormwind. Lord Feanor on his Chariot charged into the Gigas who were moving round to support. The Quicksilver Cavalry who were looking increasingly crucial for the Elven hopes rode past the rock back into the Elven deployment zone hoping to make a crucial intervention on the left late game.
Shooting was limited as Alenui blessed the Spearmen’s weapons and Aeneas’ lightning struck the side of the already damaged Gigas. There were quite a few combats this turn. The Seaguard kicked things off with making up for their failures last turn by wavering the Mythican they faced. The devastated Palace Guard had no such luck and would need to survive yet another round of a Thull attacks. Spears also fell short of wavering the Giant so would be hard pressed next turn.
Looking to the centre the injured Mythican was easily slain by King Paweldran and Lord Feanor’s halberd inflicted a vicious wound on a Giga but most excitement was around the Mythican fighting the Forest Guard and Stormwind. The Forest Guard crashed into the Mythican’s side shattering the protective Gnome Glass and causing several deep wounds on the sea horror. The Stormwind so shocked by this vicious display failed utterly to take advantage of the situation and didn’t land a single blow on the creature. The Mythican held its nerve not even wavering for a moment.
Trident Realms Turn 4
With the Spearmen Horde already nursing some damage the Wyrmriders joined the Giant hoping to finish the Elves off. The Thull Regiment once again went into the Palace Guard hoping to finally defeat the stubborn unit once and for all.
In the centre the Mythican went back into the Stormwind whilst Eckter moved up to further block the unit if needed. The Gigas fighting Lord Feanor decided to attack the chariot rather than use their nimble to get into the flank of the Forest Guard. The Giant and remaining Gigas moved up to threaten the Stormwind.
Combat saw both infantry hordes succumb on the left with the Thulls releasing a huge sigh of relief that the Palace Guard were finally vanquished. The Mythican again disordered the Stormwind in the centre.
Elves Turn 4
Both sides were starting to take heavy casualties and the Elves would need to take out some units this turn to keep the scales in balance. The left was in trouble but the cavalry was quite literally coming as the Quicksilvers moved round on to the hill to face the Wyrmriders and Coral Giant. The Seaguard seeing hope was at hand charged the damaged Thull hoping to go enough to finish them off as between ensnare and hindered they’d be hitting on 6s!
The nimble Forest Guard could just get out of arc of the Gigas and far enough into the wood to threaten the Giant’s flank if it went forward at the double. King Paweldran charged the Gigas who’d taken a fair bit of damage hoping with some help from Aeneas he could finish them off or at least leave them vulnerable to a late game lightning bolt.
Lightning cascaded from Alenui’s sword striking the Mythican square in the chest but alas the creature could not be unnerved.
Aeneas calling on the animal spirits unleashed a ghostly bear to aid King Paweldran in his fight with the Gigas. Between the King’s precise strikes and the bear flinging the crab like creatures left and right nothing could hope to survive and only Paweldran remained as the dust settled and the ghostly bear returned to the ether.
The Seaguard’s spears were sufficient to rout the remaining Thulls despite the entangling tentacles and hindering terrain and the seamen turned to face the Giant and Wyrmriders. The Stormwind were at last able to kill the Mythican in front of them and if they could roll a 3 or more on their combat reform they could escape the clutches of the Coral Giant with the rock protecting them. It was not to be, however, and a large cleaver to their rear featured prominently in the brave Elven knight’s future.
Trident Realms Turn 5
Ben’s Wyrmriders were able to see the mage Alenui and the Seaguard, he decided to charge the mage hoping to overrun into the Seaguard who would then be without inspire. The Mythican charged the Quicksilver Cavalry but had to go in the flank so wouldn’t block a charge, the Giant also moved up to threaten the proud knights on the hill. The right flank saw the Giant charge the Stormwind in the rear and Eckter charged the King whilst the Gigas moved into the central forest.
Combat saw Ben get revenge for the Gigas as King Paweldran was easily routed by Eckter and the Giant smashed aside the Stormwind. The Mythican was also able to disordering the Quicksilver Cav. The key combat, however, saw the Wyrmriders charge only result in a waver on the mage leaving their flank exposed to the Elven Cavalry.
Elves Turn 5
The Knights charged down the hill into the flank of the Wyrmriders alongside the Seaguard who charged in the front. The Forest Guard meanwhile charged out of the wood into the flank of the Coral Giant. Aeneas keen to see off the last surviving troublesome Mythican urged his steed Raina forwards catching the Sea Creature from behind whilst calling forth on elemental spirits to aid him (Host of the Shadow Beast).
Augmented by magic and wielding the mythical sword Yandroth, Aeneas decapitated the Thull Mythican in a single fluid motion. The Coral Giant caught unawares was swiftly hamstrung before being finished off by the heavy two handed draichs of the Forest Guard. Finally the Elven Knights and Seaguard swiftly routed the Wyrmriders who had no interest in being caught between lance and spear.
Trident Realms Turn 6
The Gigas charged through the wood into the Seaguard whilst the remaining Coral Giant moved up to control the central token. The Gigas crushed several Seaguard in their claws but the grim faced elves were determined not to break.
Elves Turn 6
The Forest Guard and Quicksilver Cavalry moved to take control of the two uncontested tokens. The Seaguard and Aeneas combined to engage the Gigas whilst Alenui moved to block them from nimble charging the Knights if there was a turn 7. Aeneas cast Host of the Shadow Beast on himself and scored key wounds on the Giant crabs disordering them.
With that the battle ended in a 2-1 victory for the Elves.
Narrative ending:
Alenui and Aeneas surveyed the battlefield, the Trident Forces has been defeated but at great cost. Elven bodies were scattered among the multitude of vanquished sea creatures. Healers would be arriving shortly from Bel-Valdar and the remaining troops were aiding the injured. Few in Bel-Valdar would forget this day, not for the victory but for the loss of their kin.
Conclusions and Jubilations:
I was glad to get the victory in this game having struggled last time I deployed from the north. It was a bizarre game dice wise for both players. Anything in your favour seemed to fail but if the odds were against you success seemed assured even long shots. Still it gave us another close and exciting game to finish our trilogy.
I’m pretty happy with my deployment and token placement but there’s a couple of bits I’d like to improve on. One is putting objective markers within 3 inches of deployment zones as this denies opportunities for opponents to destroy tokens turn 1. The other is I would have liked to find a better way to deploy my infantry hordes although I’m not sure what the answer to this would be quite yet.
The overall plan with my deployment ended up roughly how I wanted it, but Ben surprised me by favouring the left flank instead of the right where he had in my opinion a more natural advantage. Having my faster and more flexible units on the right allowed me to react to this and swing round key units freed up by Ben’s deployment while he had to divert troops back to the right to counter this threat.
Neither of us had much left by the end so we did a similar job of killing each other’s troops but the Elves’ extra speed allowed them to carry the day on objectives. This has been one of the key advantages I’ve found when facing Trident Realms with Elves is there are times where you can exploit their lack of speed to put them in difficult positions to win the scenario.
A huge moment in the game was my mistake in turning my Palace Guard horde after killing the Knucker exposing its flanks. For some reason recently I’ve been overlooking units moving before pivoting to charge, until now I’ve caught myself in time but it nearly cost me dearly here. Fortunately Ben didn’t charge his Mythican into the Palace Guard along with the Thull regiment in the flank as an extra wound or two would have been crucial (on average damage the Thulls needed a 6 twice to rout the Palace Guard).
Another huge moment that turn was the Silverbreeze troop on the right getting killed by Eckter’s Windblast. As the right was fairly open the Silverbreeze would have had free reign to either provide a crucial blocking move letting the heavy cavalry get a charge or get round to the left and the objectives.
Anyway here ends the trilogy of Salt the Earth games on this map. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them as we’ve certainly enjoyed playing them.
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Thanks for the write up!
It was interesting to see how “the same game” could play out so differently.
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Battle Report 22
2300pts vs New Twilight Kin: Control
Intro and Lists:
With the new and improved Twilight Kin hitting the Mantic App my regular opponent Ben was keen to see if he could catch me out with the all the latest tricks. For my part I wanted to try out a tweak to my Dragon List so was happy to oblige. Ben has kindly offered to provide review of the new Twilight Kin Army list in addition to his thoughts on the game.
Twilight Kin Review & List:
I’ve posted the Mantic App output so you can see the attributes of the new units that Ben is using. Everything looked worryingly good value to my eyes (because you’re a biased old fashioned elf - Ben) but hopefully I was wrong.
Ben’s Thoughts on his list:
So as a change of pace we decided to try out the new twilight Kin. It’s always fun playing a different faction especially one that’s been branded as the new overpowered filth. I also find it a useful way of, as Sun Tsu said “knowing your enemy”. My initial thought was wow! That’s a lot of good stuff! But when I came to build the army the number of irregular units really hampered my attempts at creating the Uber list of my dreams.
Bloodhex is the army special rule which essentially gives a unit def 5 for a turn. Overall this is good and when combined with a plethora of weakness it really adds to units’ survivability. Additionally there is the new rule, Broadside which allows units to shoot from their flanks, to me this doesn’t look great on paper as it offers too many opportunities to be flanked but time will tell.
My initial plan was to build an MSU list, however my head was turned by all the big shiny things. I still think that could be a really effective style with the Twilight Kin as they’ve got some really good low 100 point units. The build I went for had a little shooting to draw units forward combined with some good anvils and hammers.
The first thing I looked at was the formation. For 30 points you get to give two troops fearless with a rallying aura, but on the down side you can’t upgrade them to have bloodhex To me it felt a little meh. I think we’ll see it mainly being left on the shelf.
Next I looked for some unlocks. I wanted to bring some hordes in, the options are Fleetwardens (spearmen), Corsair voidwalkers (me3 and ensnare options) and Impalers (slow, hard hitting, big shield and fearless). Overall they’re all good options but I think the upgraded Corsair voidwalkers and the Impalers edge it. I knew from previously using Nightstalkers I’d definitely be using some Phantoms as chaff but I also chose to include a troop of fleetwardens in the mix as the phalanx and de5 offered a tougher option.
Before we get onto the irregulars a brief mention for the units I turned down: Reapers, ‘the normal’ unit, I see a place for them as unlocks but in this list they feel basic even with the upgrade. Mutants: ‘the speed’, initially I wanted to put these in but their points feel a bit on the high side even though they’re a good alpha charge option, there is plenty to out pace them and they’re fragile. Skiffs: ‘the Swiss army knife’ these guys have a bit of everything and at 165 points fully kitted you’ll be seeing a lot of them. They didn’t make the cut mainly due to the unlock issues and my concern for the flanking risk opened by broadside shooting (made worse by being chariot bases). Wranglers: ‘Jack of all trades’ I’m just not sure what these are meant to do, the 6” shooting is a softener (it also disorders but I can’t see a situation where a charge from chaff or these guys being the hammer offers much use, they do have move 7 so against mv 6 units they could theoretically keep them at bay) they can take bloodhex to keep them alive, they then have elite and cs1 to hit back but overall it feels like they don’t offer enough compared to other things in the army to get brought off the bench much.
So onto the real fun, irregulars: Phantoms, Butchers, Voidweavers, Ravagers & Soul Flayers. I love the Phantom troops, 100 points is a bargain (fearless, flying, def 4) and the regiment isn’t bad at 155 either (I quite like using Hammer on them to make them a little punchy). I chose to take two troops as chaff. One of the overall weaknesses with the new list is a lack of speed so fly 10 really helps. Next Butchers: nothing wrong here, one of the few stealthy units with de 5, for me other units were more tempting but you’ll see them, especially as troops in MSU lists. Voidweavers, these are really the only ranged units of any substance. They can take Fireball as standard or upgrade to Lightning Bolt. Fireball feels like a much weaker option so I’d expect to mostly see Lightning Bolt. They aren’t great shooters but I wanted something to provide a shooting platform so took two. Additionally they provided a bit of unit strength so they can act as back line token anchors and still offer something to the army. Ravagers: these are very similar to Ogre Boomers except they’re irregular!! Still they are another unit that adds some good shooting so I decided to take a horde. They also have stealthy which is nice but I don’t expect to see armies full of them. The regiment has the option to upgrade to piercing 2 which is nice. In an MSU you’ll probably see a few of these. Lastly Soulflayers: a pretty good unit that has fly, mv8, cs1, tc1 and me3. The wind blast offers some nice synergy with the broadside risk and they’re not too expensive. In the end i couldn’t fit them in due to a shortage of unlocks.
Monsters: Mindscreech, Terror, Goredrake, Voidlurker (I know it’s a character but I’m including it here). The Twilight Kin are blessed with some great monsters, however, the limited unlocks once again come into play so I didn’t end up including any in my list (reluctantly as who doesn’t love a giant monster as a center piece?) A point to note is Twilight Kin aren’t blessed with much pathfinder/strider and two of these brutes have strider which helps.
Mindscreech: a classic monster, many Nightstalker lists have taken 3 of these and with the range of spells I’d expect to see these coming to a table top near you soon. I didn’t include them in my list because I wanted the extra unit strength of the Voidweavers. Still they’re cheaper and wind blast can be a game winner. Terror: possibly the ultimate tar pit, I’ve always been a fan and now they’ve got rampage 8 they’re even better, combine with a sprinkling of weakness and this buggers not going anywhere. Oh and did I say they’re now US2!! Overall a great unit, we’ll be seeing quite a few of these. I didn’t include this time as I was keen to try out other units but they’re defiantly going in a future list. Goredrake: not a bad unit but probably slightly behind the curve compared to other 190-210 flying beasts due to only having movement 8. Again benefits from that tasty US 2 . Voidlurker: this is one of my favourites, I really tried to get this into my list and next time I’ll try harder. This one comes in at 290 with an upgrade for extra nerve and inspiring. It’s a great unit and a fast big hitter which is Twilight Kin lists cab need. I think most people won’t leave home without one.
Characters: there are a multitude of good character in the Twilight Kin list, it’s here where I felt the unlock issue most keenly as I wanted to take six! There are some characters with cool auras that really support the army, I expect there are one or two that really stand out as being top tier (Crones anyone) but I think the trick will be using them to get the most out of the rest of the army. Assassin: I took one as I always like a mobile character to help control the table. Great disruptor, plus scout and movement 7 for a cheeky first turn charge option. Dread is lovely, the fell blade means any damage inflicted also causes weakness. I equipped mine with Torc of Dissidence but they’re great vanilla too at 120 points. Navigator: nice little support character, if there was room you could spam them to get loads of ice breath (5). This character also has the legacy of Oscan that gives the three aura options so you might see a few but you’ll probably not have room with all the Crones. Crone: ok so here’s the big one, the Weakness version is so good, it inspires, it weakens and it does damage (into combat too if you fancy) all for 90 points!! I took two and I’d have taken more if I could have fitted them in, very cheap, very good! If I had to describe the TK it would be an elite army backed up by Weakness casting Crones.
Captain: a very nice foot character that can upgrade to 7 attacks and fearless nerve 15 for 100 points plus its rallying 1 to corsairs. In any other army you’d expect to see a few but it just looks bridesmaid not bride in this list . Fleshripper: pretty standard 115 point movement 6 nimble character but he doesn’t inspire so I’d guess he won’t be getting much love. Soulbane on Nightmare: I took one to provide extra inspire and a bit of speed. They’ve got all the good stuff plus dread; very solid 155 points. Captain on Skiff: he’s ok I suppose, does a bit of everything but he feels expensive to me. He does add seven 18” shots from broard side which is nice. You can upgrade to vice admiral to give very inspiring and headstrong to twilight elves, which is ok to but it doesn’t feel like the best use of the points. Navigator on Skiff: cheaper version of the captain with the aura and only 110 points. At that price he feels like a much better option and in the right list I think he’s a goer. He can do a bit of everything and at those points you don’t mind losing him too much. Impaler Soul Bane: it feels like they missed off the big shield. 9 attacks with elite and cs2 on nimble is good but movement 5 means he won’t be charging ahead, good line protector and counter charger.
Special characters: La’theal: a pretty handy caster, I’d over looked her when I built the list (was probably starting at the Crone entry instead) but some really great skills and the stealthy aura is pretty nice. The main thing for me is that her eye of Valak skill essentially turns all targeting spells into elite and removes stealthy. As her spells cause damage at piercing 1 I think you’ll want to drop a Crone to fit her in. Mikayel: the big sword wielding character, he’s great for his points and with very inspiring and mv 8 in at 235 points next time I’ll drop the Soulbane on nightmare to get him in.
Overall I think the list has some very good bits but I don’t think it’s overpowered. I’d like to try some different combinations to really get a feel for the list. My selection is based on trying to get a balanced list with a shooting platform I’m sure it’ll need changing but I think it’s a good base to get a feel for the units. I’ve not really worked out the big trick moves yet but I suspect shooting will be where it lies!
Elf List
Mage (Alenui): Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt: 135pts
Mage (Eldroth): Lightning Bolt, Bane Chant Conjurers Staff: 125pts
King (King Eataine): Horse, Pipes of Terror: 145pts
Dragon Lord (Alahir): Blade of Slashing: 310pts
Seaguard Horde: Fire Oil: 265pts
Palace Guard Horde: Chalice of Wrath: 280pts
Quicksilver Regiment: Jesse’s Boots: 250pts
Stormwind Troop: Skirmishers Boots: 145pts
Stormwind Troop: 135pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts
Silverbreeze Troop: 115pts
Drakon Horde: Healing Brew: 280pts
2300pts
My previous version of this list had a Seaguard regiment and more items, by replacing the Seaguard with a cheaper troop of Silverbreese and dropping some items I was able to split my Stormwind Regiment into two troops. With the Skirmisher’s boots on one giving them nimble I really like these cav troops. They’re not as good value as the cheap quick monsters some other races have but they still perform a similar and valuable role.
Deployment and Scenario
We rolled up a random map and chose to play Control as we find it a simple & balanced scenario and that would help us evaluate the Twilight Kin in a fair light. I won the roll for sides and chose to take the North side. The map seemed fairly symmetrical so I didn’t see much advantage either way.
Ben had a few more drops than me so I focused on getting my larger units into the open ground on the right. Ben deployed fairly evenly. My final deployment was my Dragon which I placed on the far left so that Ben would have to choose whether to reinforce on the right leaving the Dragon space to threaten or to counter the dragon with his final units. He decided leaving a dragon unchecked wouldn’t be pleasant and my right flank breathed a sigh of relief. Ben won the first turn roll and keen to get the early advantage he took it.
- Twilight Kin Turn 1*
Ben’s Assassin having scout had caught me off guard but fortunately my mages had been deployed out of sight to protect them against shooting so Ben had to settle for charging my Seaguard to shut down their shooting. On the left one of Ben’s Corsair hordes and Soulbane pushed up aggressively.
The remainder of the evil forces advanced cautiously. Shooting saw most damage inflicted on the central Silverbreeze. In combat the Assassin evaded the spears of the Seaguard to bring down two of the brave seaelfs.
Elves Turn 1
The Silverbreeze on the right were just in range of the Phantoms so charged to provide a screen allowing the rest of the flank to advance. On the left the Dragon moved away from the flank hoping to leave Ben’s units out of position.
Shooting saw the Corsairs to the left get wavered by a lucky nerve roll. In combat the Seaguard, released from the Crone’s Weakness Curse by Alenui’s counter spell, killed the foul Assassin. Sadly the Silverbreeze failed to land a blow on the Phantoms leaving them free to fly off and the Impalers begins able to charge.
Twilight Kin Turn 2
On the right the Phantom troop was free to fly off and block the Palace Guard, this allowed the Impalers to charge the Stormwind troop. The Silverbreeze were then punished for their failure to land a wound on the Phantons by a flank charge from the Fleetwardens.
The remaining Twilight forces shuffled forwards with a Corsair horde using the Blood Hex to increase it’s defence by one. Shooting caused a few wounds whilst the Drakons and Quivksilvers were weakened. Combat saw the Stormwind Troop wavered and the flanked Silverbreeze destroyed on the right.
Elves Turn 2
The dragon continued its flight from the left flying behind the building in my deployment zone. The remaining Stormwind troop moved to block the line of sight of the phantoms.
The right flank saw a flurry of charges. The Quicksilver cavalry and King charged the Voidweavers in the wood, the Drakons charged the Fleetwardens and the Palace Guard flanked the blocking Phantoms.
Shooting focused on the already damaged Corsair horde building up a decent amount of damage. In combat the Drakons were caught out as I hadn’t noticed the Fleetwardens had phalanx, fortunately it didn’t cost me as some good rolls saw them routed. The Void Weavers and Phantoms were disposed of by the Cavalry with King and Palace Guard respectively on the right.
Twilight Kin Turn 3
On the right Ben’s Impalers went back into the Stormwind troop to finish it off and the Corsair Horde charged the Drakons. Things were more sedate on the left as Ben continued his slow advance and the Phantoms jumped over the Stormwind’s who’d been blocking their line of sight.
Shooting saw the Crones target the Palace Guard on the hill and Silverbreeze in the centre with Weakness, this wavered the Silverbreeze. The remaining Void Weavers targeted the Stormwind troop behind the wood but only caused minor damage. The Ravengers took aim at the Quicksilvers but the wood helped save the Elven knights from much of the damage.
In combat the Impalers easy finished off the Stormwind troop and turned ready to take the charge from the Palace Guard on the hill. The Corsairs landed some damage on the Drakons but fell well short of causing any issues.
Elves Turn 3
The Palace Guard charged down the hill into the Impalers the momentum from the slope countering the malaise that had infected them from the Crone’s Weakness curse. The King also went into the weaker flank of the Impalers hoping to make a crucial difference. The Seaguard took the expose flank of the Corsairs facing the Drakons although found themselves hindered by the fence they had to cross. The remaining units shuffled around for better positions.
Shooting began with the Dragon’s fiery breath engulfing a Ravenger. This was followed by the mages weaving powerful spells on the weapons of the Infantry Hordes. Combat went poorly for the Elves as the Impalers comfortably held and the Corsairs couldn’t even be wavered despite being engaged on two sides.
Twilight Kin Turn 4
With the elves failing in combat the Twilight Kin struck back with the Corsairs and Impalers going into the Drakons and Palace Guard. At the top of the board the Phantoms charged the wavered Silverbreeze to finish them off.
Shooting mainly focused on the Quicksilvers with weakness and 4 more damage was caused but the knights remained stoically committed to the cause. Combat saw some big loses for the Elves as the Drakons and Silverbreeze went down but the Palace Guard had plenty of nerve to absorb the Impaler’s attack.
Elves Turn 4
The loss of the Drakons was a blow, with the remaining cavalry also looking vulnerable I was running out of units to claim the board sections. I did, however, have the advantage of position as Ben’s remaining units weren’t able to threaten me in combat.
The Corsair Horde was already nursing heavy damage so I looked to focus my mages and dragon on them whilst they were still in the open. My Quicksilvers didn’t look like they’d last much longer so despite being hindered and weakened I threw them into the Ravengers hoping it would at least add some damage or perhaps a lucky waver.
The Stormwind on the left entered the forest stopping the Void Weavers from escaping the Dragon’s wrath next turn. The King charged the Crone in the wood to shut down the constant damage from his weakness spell. Finally the Seaguard and Palace Guard continued their fights on the right.
Shooting saw 7 more damage added to the Corsairs who were promptly wavered leaving them sitting ducks next turn. The Impalers and Corsairs were comfortably mopped up but best of all the Quicksilvers surprised everyone by routing the Ravengers! Finally the King landed a wound on the Crone.
Twilight Kin Turn 5
Ben’s focus was killing the Stormwind and Quicksilvers, Lightning and Weakness proved too much for the Quicksilvers in the shooting phase whilst even cowering behind a tree couldn’t save the Stormwind troop from the Soulbane.
Elves Turn 5
The two Elven infantry hordes advanced towards the centre keen to claim the more valuable sections of the board. The King continued to harass the Crone in the wood and the Dragon charged the Void Weavers hoping two turns would be enough to banish them back from where they came.
Shooting saw the Seaguard train their bows on the badly damaged Corsair horde breaking the spirits of the pirates once and for all. Both mages focused their lightning bolts on to the Phantoms but were only able to ruffle a few feathers. Combat saw the Crone and Void Weavers both wavered.
Twilight Kin Turn 6
With the Elves largely out of reach there wasn’t much Ben could do, the Phantoms moved to hide behind the building and other units shuffled into better positions. The unharmed Crone, however, was not content to sit back. Shadowy fingers reached out towards the Palace Guard and visions of eternal suffering filled the noble warriors thoughts as strength was leached from their arms. The once unshakeable warriors found themselves temporarily overwhelmed with fear (wavered).
Elves Turn 6
The waver on the Palace Guard could prove crucial as it prevented them advancing to claim Ben’s central section worth 2 points. I would need my Dragon to kill the Void Weavers to get the win this turn.
Shooting saw the Phantoms banished by the combination of one mage and the Seaguard. The King once more disordered the Crone. Crucially the Dragon killed the Void Weavers putting the Elves in the lead. But the Twilight Kin were not ready to give up yet.
Twilight Kin Turn 7
The Crone once more tried to incapacitate the Palace Guard but having conquered their fears the Elves shrugged off the evil one’s efforts. Leading by example the Twilight General issued a challenge and charged the Elven Lord and his dragon but it was in vain.
Elves Turn 7
Nothing was left for the Elves but to move to maximise the sections under their control and the game was over.
A 4-1 victory for the Elves.
Conclusions and Jubilations:
I’m only going to briefly talk about the game itself and then review what I thought of the new Twilight Kin units I faced. The game had quite volatile dice with lots of damage one minute, none the next and a big nerve roll out of nowhere after lots of low ones. I think it probably evened out but it’s hard to tell for sure.
I think I managed to put Ben in a tricky spot with my deployment, by placing a dragon last on a fairly empty flank he ended up with one flank badly outnumbered and my Dragon could just fly off leaving his units stranded. That was probably the deciding factor that ended up shifting the game in my favour.
Twilight Kin Units Review
I’ll go down the list Ben took as I don’t any other information on the rest of the Twilight Kin list:
Corsair Voidwalkers Horde: Without any upgrades these guys are a cheapish (for elves) block of nerve but pretty limited. I really like all the upgrades individually and together but then you’ve then got a fairly expensive unit with no crushing strength. I think they’re a useful unit but you’ll pay for what you get so you need to get it maximising whatever attributes you give it.
Corsair Fleetwardens Troop: I’ve only seen the troop version of this unit but I really like it with the two upgrades, I hadn’t originally picked up the unit had phalanx but I think that it’s a good value light unit, CS, plenty of attacks decent nerve, def 5 for a turn plus phalanx can make this unit a real thorn in the opposition’s side.
Voidtouched Weavers regiment: Lightning bolt on a unit is nice but lacks the flexibility of individuals running 6 inches backwards whilst lobbing the lightning bolts over their shoulder. They seem a little pricey for a unit that’s fairly bad in combat most units at that level have some kind of combat prowess. They’re also irregular which seems a touch harsh but apparently irregular is a common theme for Twilight Kin (which seems an odd choice for a major release).
Bound Phantoms Troop: it’s long been my opinion that any speed 10 nimble flying unit should cost a minimum of 100pts even with terrible stats. Unfortunately that’s not the case so Phantoms are excellent value IMO fearless, def 4, 12 attacks at Melee 4+ is a bargain light unit.
Bound Ravagers Horde: very similar to Ogre Boomers who have always seemed decent to me, stealthy is very nice if caught in a shooting war. Irregular again seems harsh.
Impalers: they feel solid, the big shield can be really good when played well but it can also be exploited as can their speed 5. They’re not very expensive and that’s largely reflected in their abilities IMO, Fearless is always a big plus in my book and probably makes them slightly better than average value.
Twilight Assassin: I like this guy a lot he’s fragile but comes with a lot of rules. I think Ben was too hasty using him to stop my Seaguard from shooting and he would have been an issue for me late game if he’d been held in reserve a little longer.
Summoner Crone: Ok rant time. These guys are ludicrously under pointed. They’re 90pts they should be 135pts+. I don’t know why but adding damage on to other spells seems to be criminally under appreciated in points values. Weakness 4 doing piercing (1) damage is at least as good as lightning bolt 5 on damage alone (no cover, & can cast into combat makes up for at lest 1 less dice at a minimum). I remember not so long ago lightning bolt was public enemy number 1 (or at least top 3) now it’s equivalent is getting given away virtually free. They also come with inspire so they’re just fantastic all round units which make me want to take a hard line on wage negotiation next time I meet with the Elven Mages’ Union.
Soulbane on Nightmare: one of many nice nimble monster units in the game at around 150pts he’s got everything you’d want and expect plus Dread’s a great rule. Twilight Kin seem to have a lot of irregular units so I’m guessing you might not see multiples of these guys in lists as much as Twilight generals might prefer.
As I said I don’t know the full twilight kin list but Ben’s usually pretty good at finding filthy options and with the exception of the Crone there doesn’t seem anything particular out of line with the good units you find in other lists.
Ben’s conclusions:
We’ll that didn’t go as badly as I’d thought it would. Playing Paul’s list is always fun, he knows what he likes and he knows how to use it! I don’t usually have as much shooting which meant I was fighting against Paul and my own inexperience. I don’t think the list is anywhere near optimal and it still gave him a close game. The first thing I did wrong was throw away my assassin and forget to use the Torc. Also it’s worth noting that the blade doesn’t combine with weakness which was one of my ‘cunning plans’. The four hordes all did a job but their damage was a little underwhelming. The fleetwardens were unlucky not to hold the Drakon charge after Paul overlooked their phalanx but I think they’re a great chaff unit.
My phantoms got lucky not getting disordered by the Silverbreeze charge turn two which allowed to perform a useful block but realistically they shouldn’t have been placed in charge range. The Voidweavers did ok and I think the level of shooting was about right. The Ravagers didn’t do what I expected them to but that was as much down to poor dice rolls as their capabilities. I didn’t use the Soulbane on Nightmare well and I think he could have really played a much bigger role. The stars were the crones but I could have guessed that before the game started. Paul did well using the hills and bane chant to undo the good work of weakness but it defiantly had a major impact during the battle. I didn’t feel the terrain was too bad but in a game of inches it added up. The fact I’d taken a lot of unit strength really helped, in other lists this will probably be lower, if I throw in some US2 monsters I should be able to get close, after the new book comes out there might be more monsters with high US to counter but for now I’ll try and take advantage.
Looking at Paul’s army: I really liked the storm wind cav troops, I think the elves have enough big hitters and with 4 fast chaff/utility units really offers a lot of flexibility. The only advice (coz I’m if anything overqualified to give it) is that Paul could swap the mounted king for the kings champion but other than that I’d say this is as good an elf list as I’ll face. Even the lack of glade stalkers compared to other lists didn’t seem to be an issue.
The game was close and at various points I felt it was going my way but I just couldn’t land the killer punch. I usually feel going second in control gives a big advantage but I wanted to get my shooting in first. Great game as always and well played Paul.
Ben’s new list:
Now I’ve played a game with the list I’ve made a few changes. The first thing I felt I needed to upgrade was to bring in more speed and hitting power so I tried to really hard to find the points and fitted in the Voidlurker, I could have upgraded it to the improved version but I wanted to sprinkle a few items on units so went with the vanilla version. The Voidweavers were ok but I didn’t feel blown away with them so I dropped both units and brought in some Voidskiffs which added shooting but also a bit more combat. La’theal was the next unit to come in, dropping two weavers took 16 shots away but with her damaging wind blasts and the skiffs broadside I felt I was on par and she has the added advantage of providing some movement spells, aura stealthy and the bane chant which would help boost my combat unit’s damage output. The compromise I had to make was to swap out a horde of Corsair Voidwalkers for a regiment of Fleetwardens, I think they’ll be nearly as good with the upgrades so overall I think it’s a fair swap. I’ve managed to keep at 14 drops, with 41 shots and added a bit of speed. Let’s see how it works next time!
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