THE HALLOW :: Herd Battle Reports

Battle Reports / Games
47

That is true :sweat_smile: And well-timed, as I spent today making new Herd lists and considering what I’m adding to the army. Before we heard anything specific about COK22, I was already planning to print/paint these next:

  • Great Chieftain on Minotaur Chariot
  • Great Chieftain
  • Tracker Regiment x2
  • Spirit Walker Troop x2

Largely thanks to the files from a Kickstarter I really like. Happily, everything but the Spirit Walkers got a boost from COK22, so all ahead full I say, though the SW have pretty much dropped to the bottom of the list, between not receiving buffs and not being the most interesting to me.

Thanks to COK22, I’m adding these:

  • Tribal Tracker
  • Brute Horde (or 2)
  • Hydra
  • Longhorn / Hunters of the Wild Troop

The Tracker because she completes the formation, the Brutes because I was working on a Minotaur regiment but the loss of strider has me no longer interested in it until I give in and make my Stampede but I’ve got the models printed and primed and pathfinder means I’m interested in Brutes now, and the Hydra because I can. I threw some nice dryad minis on the printer today to make a large infantry troop with, likely to run as obligatory Longhorns but could be Hunters now that they’re cheap enough to be worth thinking about.

And then on top of those, I’ve got the stuff I’m currently painting/building:

  • Tribal Spear Horde
  • Greater Earth Elemental
  • Moonfang / Lycan Alpha

I don’t think the Spears will have the magic of the regiments, but I haven’t made an infantry horde for KOW in a long time, and I’m closing in on the last of the unit paint-wise. The GEE is because I’ve got the Mierce root beast and the GEE is the biggest thing in the army (or was before the Hydra was a thing). And the werewolf hero is another great sculpt that’s been backburnered as lists get tossed around.

So I’ve got a lot of new stuff either in progress or lining up. Lists themselves have been hard to work with, as I really like double Herders, but I know for sure that the Great Migration Chieftain is likely in every list - in my defense, I used to take him as a 110 pt fighty hero, so a 110 pt fighter and dread and WC aura hero is a no brainer in my case.

2 Likes
48

Here’s a 2000 pointer I’m aiming at:

The Herd
Guardian Brutes (Horde) 225
Guardian Brutes (Horde) 225
Tribal Spears (Horde) 225
Tribal Spears (Regiment) 135
Tribal Spears (Regiment) 135
Tribal Spears (Regiment) 135
Tribal Spears (Regiment) 135
Longhorns (Troop) 135
Centaur Bray Striders (Troop) 105
Centaur Bray Striders (Troop) 105
Great Chieftan on Minotaur Chariot 140
Great Chieftan - Horn of the Great Migration 110
Centaur Chief 110
Druid - Hex (2) 80

Total Unit Strength: 26
Total Units: 14
Target Points: 2000

Druid could easily swap to a Tracker, but I feel like having Hex around is going to be pretty relevant.

2 Likes
49

I like the way that the models lead the direction of the army but that you keep an eye on what works as well.

Not a buff specific to them, but I imagine that Spirit Walkers will often be the units benefiting from the Chieftain’s aura (in Herd lists in general).

Do you see the Longhorns as obligatory now? I’ve not seen them crop up in many/if any lists before the update. In another thread, I was wondering about taking two troops for maximum Rally.

I was toying with the idea of a Tracker and two troops before the update, now going to upgrade those to regiments and give the formation a try as it’s not too expensive as they go.

It’s great that the foot Chieftain is a more appealing option now - the new rules seem useful and thematic.

1 Like
50

Your lists are tightly built without much wiggle room for artefacts. It’s a shame there’s not space for a few items or cats (duellist). Nimble on the Longhorns or something similar, a few fun upgrades.

1 Like
51

Poor cats, competing for that troop level nimble now too :sweat:

My Ogre-playing clubmate has a Herd army as well, which he tries playing once or twice every year and gets housed to the point that he just goes back to his Varangur (Herd but good at it) or Ogres (decent in 2E, top tier in 3E). He’s excited for the changes and we’ll probably have an awkward Herd-off eventually, but he plays a more standard Herd list with 1x Spirit Walker horde, 1x Werewolf horde, 1x Stampede, etc. Anyway, that’s a lot to say that he’s been hot on Longhorn troops since 3E made them into an elite hammer unit, and the rally just cements that.

My main concern with the Longhorns is that they’re a pretty obvious target for shooting, especially in an army like mine that doesn’t have a lot of obvious targets. A Herd list like my clubmate’s, which has several high value / high threat / high pressure units bearing down, probably means the Longhorns stay alive longer … but also doesn’t benefit as much as a Herd-centric list like the one I posted, which is almost 100% Herd apart from the Centaurs.

You’re right on the WC(D3) units being especially attractive with the Chieftain. Launching the Chieftain Chariot out 16-18" is pretty neat.

1 Like
52

If you have gone infantry WC Rally bubble then the Spellward aura could be a good addition. Everything is clumped up already and it’ll make the more fragile elements harder to pick out.

I would have thought the Longhorns would be reasonably protected behind something cheaper.

2 Likes
53

I don’t think Herd is near top tier, but playing it once or twice a year sounds like it would compound matters.

54

The Brew of Haste & Mead of Madness are both interesting items for the Herd as they combine with WC and an already high Speed to push units into the cavalry bracket.

55

Yowza, one year later but I’m back with another Herd report! The Hallow are back on the table as I get ready for my club’s Dead of Winter GT in late January. Five games over two days, 2150 points, no triples allowed (but you could run 2x hordes + 2x regs + 2x troops of an entry, just not 3x any of those sizes).

3 Likes
56

Oooo, a report featuring two armies I want to explore more in 2023. Thank you! No triples is a really simple idea that should encourage a little more variety in lists I think. Good luck! That should be a fun event!

I have perused some of the thread here trying to wrap my head around the Herd. They don’t seem like a particularly popular army. Could you elaborate on some of your thinking?

  1. It looks like you’ve preferred Guardian Brutes over Lycans, generally. Are you seeking/expecting more head-on combats, and thus prioritizing the more likely extra damage from the Brutes over the speed of the Lycans?
  2. Previously you were running Spears instead of Warriors. I don’t have experience, but In a glass-cannon-style army, I would think the extra attacks might be worth the few additional points. Was the downgrade here just to free up some points? In other words, how do you feel about these two units compared to one another?
  3. Do you see any reason to run Minotaur Chariot Regiments that aren’t the unique Stampede? I had the minis, so I built up two Stampedes in 2nd, but in theory crafting, am not sure if the second regiment will ever hit the table.

Anyways, thanks for the report and congrats on the win! Looked like a fun game!

3 Likes
57

Thanks for checking my reports out! Here are some thoughts from me on your Herd questions:

It looks like you’ve preferred Guardian Brutes over Lycans, generally. Are you seeking/expecting more head-on combats, and thus prioritizing the more likely extra damage from the Brutes over the speed of the Lycans?

I don’t like playing as alpha strike armies, even if Herd seem to perform best when going for alpha, so have little interest in taking more than one Lycan horde. Plus I kind of don’t rate them at just CS1, but one unit buffed up to CS2, now we’ve got a serious pressure piece that can’t be ignored but can strike from far away. De 4+ isn’t ideal but eh, it’s Herd.

As for Brutes, there’s a lot to like since the update, especially if you’re like me and are here to roll dice - 30 is a lot of them! Or 60/90 as I got in this latest game. But I’ll be honest: if they didn’t have fury and pathfinder baked in I might not run them. So many of these berserker style LI units need fixer items to really function (terrain mitigation if they aren’t pathfinder, fury / headstrong / staying stone if they aren’t fearless), it’s really nice that Brutes feel like a complete package of unreliable Me 4+ attaks :sweat_smile:

As for play style, because I don’t want to alpha, I am playing a more control or piece trade game. Brutes will most likely be delivered by giving up other units or holding the enemy in place for a turn.

Previously you were running Spears instead of Warriors. I don’t have experience, but In a glass-cannon-style army, I would think the extra attacks might be worth the few additional points. Was the downgrade here just to free up some points? In other words, how do you feel about these two units compared to one another?

I 100% prefer spears, for the attaks but also because phalanx is a really underrated ability that comes up more and more every time cav are buffed, but affects a range of targets, including striping nimble from non-flyers. Funny you call them glass cannons, I actually find regiments of spear goats to be competent little scenario pieces, with the De 4+ protecting against shooting and CS1 units and the phalanx royally messing up flyers and cav that try to mess with them. In addition to their 15 attaks being worth bane chanting, especially in the flank. I ran four regiments of these the first year I ran my Verdant Herd format.

I didn’t take them here however because a) points and b) models. My models are spiky tree things, so could have and have had spears in the past, but I feel like no spears is a better fit. Plus the horde and regiments need to be armed the same, and while I could justify the points for the regiments, I can’t for the horde too. So nobody gets spears.

Do you see any reason to run Minotaur Chariot Regiments that aren’t the unique Stampede? I had the minis, so I built up two Stampedes in 2nd, but in theory crafting, am not sure if the second regiment will ever hit the table.

Nope. I was genuinely sad to see the Stampede return, it felt like the RC giving in - IMO the Stampede was a total crutch for Herd players and Minotaur Chariots were a very cool replacement that wasn’t so imbalanced (so obviously no one took them). But also I was sad because taking Strider away from the Mino Chariots took away the reason to run them over Brutes or Lycan or most anything else. I too was making two regiments before the Stampede returned, and have scrapped that entirely. I’m happy the Stampede isn’t an auto-include any more but it sucks that it’s largely replaced the Mino Chariot entry.

That negativity aside, maybe there’s some play for the troop size with Skrimisher’s Boots? Nimble is neat, and the Minos aren’t that slow with the WC in there. Tho that’s still 180 points for 10 attaks :open_mouth:

Also I’ll be real: I don’t like running non-pathfinders in Herd. This goes for the Chieftain on Mino Chariot, an entry I like but have to staple strider boots on to feel ok.

2 Likes
58

Well done! The new list worked great here, tough enough to deal with an alpha strike attempt (with skilful denial of double charges) and punchy enought to make 'em regret it.

It is a nice feature of “counts as” models that one can run them as more than one thing as occasion requires.
I think this list answers a lot of the problems you were having (esp. damage output).
Phalanx would have been nice. though.

2 Likes
59

Thanks! I don’t think I disagree on any of the particulars - even the gripes about the Stampede haha.

I think I have undervalued simple Spears generally, and want to do more testing with them myself. Tribal Spears look like a really fun unit to play around with.

The last time I evaluated the Guardian Brutes, they did not have Pathfinder. Gaining that is a huge buff for them and something I missed. They seem like a very attractive unit now for the Herd. Pathfinding units are why I want to play around with the Herd myself, so I 100% agree with your sentiments.

I appreciate all the insight! Looking forward to more reports!

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60

First report of the year is up, in which I meet a new player and do terrible things to him. Spoilers.

4 Likes
61

Another prep game for this weekend’s tournament, report is go!

3 Likes
62

Oh boy! You have had some ferocious games recently! Keep 'em coming!

I’ve only piloted the Ogres once (making my second attempt at them soon), and have not played against them yet, but they seem like a strong army if one can get the positioning down for the heroes. The Warrior Chariots seemed like an odd choice to me at first, but I guess it does give them something with more of a charge range. Neat idea there!

I’ve worked through a number of your Herd reports, but admittedly not all. You had been running Forest Shamblers in some previous versions. Was those big scout moves too “all-in” for your liking? Or did you find that the Brutes and such worked better and/or suited your play style better?

How are you feeling about the basic Lycan Alpha? Like everyone, I like my Inspiring sources to be doing other stuff than standing around and looking impressive, but I wrote off a lot of the 5 attack monsters (Lycan Alpha, Snow Troll Prime, Thegn on Frostfang, etc) as being too weak for combat. But I keep seeing those kinds of units in so many lists and think I need to reevaluate my thinking.

Thanks for the reports!

2 Likes
63

Thanks for reading! I’ll probably finish the next one around lunch today :wink:

So yea, when I first made the Hallow it was as a ‘Verdant Herd’ army, all Tree Herders, Forest Shamblers and Tribal Spears with Centaur support and a token Beast of Nature. It was an easy match for the minis I was using, plus I had never played with Scout and in my estimation going heavy on it was the way to do it. Years later it has turned out that having a 24" bow or a Sp 7+ movement are both solid Scouting options (he said, looking at Kin of various flavors).

I played a couple events with them, did slightly worse than I usually do but had an ok time. The flying Beast was easily the best unit and the only real pressure piece, followed shortly by the always great Tree Herders, the surprisingly solid Centaur crew and the plucky Tribal Spears. Notice that I’ve left out Forest Shamblers - honestly, I think they’re bad as hordes. They don’t really survive, being the archetypal De 5+ Nv 17 that everyone builds against, and they certainly don’t fight. I played a couple games where I hard scouted and trapped the enemy in their deployment zone, which was a great feel as that’s how it’s supposed to work (see the game vs Orcs at Crossroads 2021), but I shelved the army concept.

Last year I played only Trident Realm … but in that time I had gone back to painting stuff green for the Hallow, because I like hobbying on it and knew I’d be back, like all Herd players. I realized last summer that if I’m going to enjoy actually playing the army, I need some hammers, because it feels really bad to struggle across the table with my De 4+ and no shooting, only to do nothing when I arrive in combat. If I’m getting shot to hell, I at least want to give those elves a black eye in the process.

Happily the Herd is full of hammers, and COK 2021 had brought Brutes back onto my radar. One of the attractions of Herd for me is global pathfinder - y’all might not remember, but Brutes shipped with WC (D3) but no pathfinder?! Meaning I’d never considered them. Once COK gave them pathfinder (and brutal), I had pretty much found my smashy core horde again. I’m only a few games in with them but absolutely loving the unit. It’s not perfect, Sp 6 is slow and De 4+ is a liability, but man do they hurt. I will say, if they didn’t have fury I probably wouldn’t play them. I don’t like units that need to be fixed with items - look at Tyrants, whose lack of pathfinder is constantly being fixed by items - and Nv support would be needed if they didn’t have that baked in too.

You know, she’s really doing work! I prefer to give her a casting item (Trickster Wand or Zephyr Crown) so she has something else to do, but I’m grabbing flanks and combo-charging all the time with her. I’m genuinely surprised that a naked Alpha can be so useful, but as you say, she’s one of a category of nimble, scoring, inspiring hero that is very very good in 3E.

I do find I’m always upgrading her to Moonfang early in a build, then downgrading to Alpha with item, then taking her item away :frowning:

2 Likes
64

They’re for utility, rather than just combat.
Small, square bases and nimble means large infantry/cavalry heroes are very maneuverable while still blocking, scoring and doubling attacks on flanks like a unit.
They do more damage and are more durable than they might look at first glance. Usually Me 3+, CS 2 and De 5+, so damage output and durability are not far from a regiment of similar cost.

That makes them incredibly handy.
Maneuverable enough to get where you need them; cheap enough to chaff things up if need be or go get/carry an objective while still being just enough of a threat that they can’t be ignored.

I would make a distinction based on speed though.
The Sp 8 or more heros can also threaten flanks and force your opponent to respond, while the slower (Sp 6) large infantry heroes are “only” there to be handy as described above.

I think of the fast variety as half dragons; roughly half the damage output and cost and not quite as mobile (slower, not flying), but still very disruptive and the same US.
Like a budget version of budget dragons (flying large cav heroes, like beasts of nature)

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65

Reading about this large infantry smash up was fun, thanks.

Really shows how this version of your list (i.e. brutes vs shamblers) is a different and much smashier play style.
Being able to stand up to ogres in a smash up is no mean feat!

1 Like
66

Speaking of carnage! Here’s my last practice game before the GT. I’m genuinely surprised I’ve only played 20 games with my Herd army but I think that number is correct? Regardless, five more reports in bound in the next couple weeks, see y’all then!

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