Edge of the Abyss

The Kings of War Global Campaign

Devean vs Euclid

2000+ POINTS
Salamanders
Devean
VS Abyssal Dwarfs
Euclid

Devean (Salamanders) vs Euclid (Abyssal Dwarfs)

This was a 2500 point game played over Universal Battle, an online platform for playing tabletop games. One of the best things about playing over Universal Battle is being able to play people from all over the world so lots of different lists pop up all the time. Euclid is a new opponent for me so I don’t know how he plays (though the ignorance is mutual!)

We played the Secure! scenario and location was the Forest of Galahir.

I've submitted our respective lists separate so no need to go through them. I will give some pre-game thoughts, a quick overview of the game as it went and then some closing thoughts on tactics etc. So here we go....

Lists and Deployment

Deployment

This Abyssal Dwarf list looks tough as nails and lacks only in shooting. It outmatches my Salamanders in combat prowess, speed and resilience. My main advantage is my short range shooting and my strong individuals. If I can take out some of the supporting elements of the army (gargoyles, slavedriver and Dravak) I will have more options. However, Ba’susu and the Halfbreed champion will make it difficult for me to get close without getting immediately punished. Overall, a very solid force of Abyssal Dwarves.

Deployment (from left to right)

Salamanders: ghekkotah regiment, flying battle captain, lekilidon, ancients on rhinosaurs (pathfinder), lancers (haste), herald (rally), Orlaf, ghekkotah regiment, clan lord on drake (elite), ghekkotah horde, Artakl, unblooded regiment, tyrant regiment (headstrong), lekilidon, cmounted clan lord (slashing), clan lord on flying drake (courage)

Abyssal Dwarves: gargoyles, obsidian golems, Infernok, Dravak Dalken, obsidian golems, slave orcs horde, 2x flame teams, Ba’susu, slave driver (+2 nerve and fury to slave orcs), slave orc horde, gargoyles, slave orc gore riders, halfbreed regiment (pathfinder), abyssal grotesques (courage), gargoyles, halfbreed champion

Game Overview

(This game took place before this site was up. I only have 2 screenshots sorry! I thought I took 3 but the end game one was accidentally overwritten after the game :( I'm also relying on memory quite a bit so I may skip a few details)

Abyssal Dwarves won the roll for initiative and decided to get the game underway. Everything moved up to just outside Salamander charge ranges and solidified Dwarven control over the terrain. Having the three fastest Salamander units (flying captain, lancers with haste and flying clan lord) spread over the field helped to limit the Abyssal Dwarven advance. The majority of the Salamanders responded by themselves moving up conservatively. On the left, the battle captain kept the gargoyles from shooting down the flank, my three heaviest hitters in the rhinosaurs, lancers and Orlaf advanced to about 12” away from the golems (Dravak is great but his surge isn’t fantastic by itself). Artakl marched up beside the forest, out of site from Ba’susu ready to start plinking away at the fire teams next turn. Inspired by their intrepid clutch warden, the ghekkotah units moved up to contest the central forest. They would be fighting a delaying battle as much as possible, tying up the slave orcs until one of the flanks can break through (if they could break through). As we were using height 2 hills, the halfbreeds on the right were blind to all bar the flying clan lord. Using this to advantage, the lekilidon marched up just behind the hill, hoping to tempt the abyssal grotesques to a premature charge. The clan lord moved up to just within 12” of the gargoyles (and outside charge range of all but the gargoyles) and breathed on them, hoping to rout them in one go. The breath wasn’t hot enough however and only a few wounds were caused, the gargoyles were unfazed. This put the clan lord in a tricky position as he now had his flank exposed to the surprisingly resilient chaff and would likely be tied down for a while.

Sensing their moment had come, the gargoyles took the offered flank and wounded the clan lord, limiting his chances of escaping from a fast approaching halfbreed champion. The Abyssal Grotesques saw the lekilidon on the other side of the hill and took the offered charge. After thoroughly dismantling the poor beast they were set upon by the tyrants, unblooded and mounted clan lord who (with some degree of luck) managed to rout the abominations. While the unblooded and clanlord were able to back off the hill (and out of site of the halfbreeds) the tyrants were not so lucky and were forced to bear the brunt of a vicious counter attack of both the halfbreeds and slave orc gore riders come to assist. Despite doing an incredible 10 wounds to the tyrants, they surprisingly held their ground and with fury, would be able to attack back in their next turn. As the two cavalry regiments were only able to back up an inch, the halfbreeds were still mostly on the hill and the unblooded were able to help their giant cousins attack the halfbreeds. Meanwhile, a second battle for survival was being held on the extreme right where the clan lord was struggling to fend off both gargoyles and a halfbreed champion. Seeing that he was close to death, his fellow clan lord moved into assist by attacking the gargoyles after routing the grotesques.

In the centre, both orc slave hordes entered the forest but were as yet unable to reach the slippery ghekkotah. Artakl was able to sneak into the forest and being the master hunter that he is, was able to take down a fire team at the far edge of the forest. Likewise, the clan lord moved just in range to breath on the orcs entering the forest and put some preliminary wounds on them. Having a range of 12” here was pivotal as I was able to stay just out of reach of the slave orcs. Ba’susu also decided to stay safe behind the forest which meant that he was blind to my vulnerable ghekkotah and clan lord. If he had entered the forest and risked a few wounds from shooting, he would have caused the Salamanders much more pain in the long run. After reshuffling the orcs a bit, the Salamanders decided to take a gamble. If they could rout the slightly wounded slave orcs in one turn, they would likely be able to collapse the middle of the field and start assist the flanks which were both under pressure. Despite ending up with a sizeable 17 wounds from Orlaf, the ghekkotah horde and clan lord on drake, the orcs held and fury ensured they were able to counter charge the clan lord on drake. Their fury was somewhat dimmed by their ability to brandish weapons as they only managed 3 wounds on the beast. Sensing an opening, Ba’susu flied over the combat and positioned himself to take on the vulnerable ghekkotah regiment claiming two terrain pieces.

On the left, another all or nothing gamble had been made. Seeing the implacable advance of the golems couldn’t be stopped by other means, the rhinos and lancers double charged into the leftmost golem horde, breaking them into tiny pieces. The counter to this preemptive strike was just as vicious however, seeing the lancers die in one stroke to the right golems and rhinos damaged by the seemingly indestructible Infernok. Despite a valiant resistance from the rhinos, they were eventually run down by the implacable construct although by this time, the battle captain had managed to sneak his way behind the enemy and distract Dravak, thereby removing surge from the game.

At this point, the game is poised on a knife edge and we come to the mid-game screenshot at the start of Salamanders turn 4

Beginning of turn 4 for the Salamanders

On the left, the lekilidon vainly tries to finish off the rhinos good work but is unable to dent the magically enhanced obsidian armour of the Infernok. The battle captain continues to distract Dravak and the ghekkotah regiment stays back and continues to hold the forest and building terrain pieces.

In the middle, the slave orcs are wiped out by the ghekkotah, clan lord and Orlaf triple team while Artakl continues to amuse himself by taking out fireteams. Seeing as she is in a particularly mischievous mood, she decides to shoot down the fireteam whilst also blocking the advance of the second horde of slave orcs. After defeating the orcs, the clan lord and orlaf advance to clear out of the golems line of sight while the ghekkotah horde turns to face the slaves.

On the right, the double charge of the tyrants and unblooded successfully routs the halfbreeds while the two clan lords are equally successful in routing their direct opponents. With all three units routing, the right is beginning to look solidly in the Salamanders favour.

The gargoyles on the left respond by charging the lekilidon, instantly routing him. The two remaining golem units are now unable to charge anything so they reposition themselves to address the threat of the clan lord and Orlaf on their right flank.

The orc horde in the centre charges into Artakl but the cunning clutch warden is at home in the trees and is able to escape with only a few wounds. Seeing what had happened on the right, Ba’susu decides his services are needed elsewhere and the ghekkotah regiment in the middle breathe a sigh of relief. He charges in to the tyrant regiment alongside the gore rider slaves and finally routs the stubborn brutes.

With Dravak now distracted by an annoying battle captain, the clan lord is able to breathe on golems at will. The damage is minimal however and leaves only a few singe marks on the obsidian armour. However, the clan lord is now in a good space to contest the hill that the golems are on as well as a nearby fence (both of which are worth double points being on the opponents half of the board). The ghekkotah charge into the gargoyles but are only able to waver them, leaving that part of the board contested.

In the middle, the ghekkotah are blocked by an unusually brave slave driver but are otherwise happy to watch the orcs continue to stumble through the forest trying to catch Artakl. Meanwhile, Orlaf gives credit to the barabian name and charges headlong into the golems, hoping to delay them for a critical last turn. A double charge from unblooded and the flying clan lord routs the orc gore rider slaves and the unblooded advance in such a way so as to block ba’susu from charging the clan lord on drake.
Abyssal Dwarves are able to eliminate the battle captain that was causing Dravak a powerful headache although at this stage are unable to contest more than the hill and building nearby so stay put. Slaves in the forest are finally able to rout the annoying Artakl and charge into the ghekkotah, inflicting minimal wounds. Ba’susu elects to not charge the unblooded but instead repositions again, hoping to catch the flying clan lord in the last turn.

In the dying stages of the game, the ghekkotah regiment are successfully able to rout the gargoyles that were contesting the top left of the field and the herald is able to block the golems in such a way as to allow the clan lord on drake to contest the hill. The ghekkotah and orc slaves continue to through pillow at each other in the central forest and unblooded are able to shrug off an attack by Ba’susu to claim three terrain pieces in the top right of the field. Despite Ba’susu’s best efforts, the flying clan lord is able to fly out of range and claim the bottom right forest, giving double points.

The final score is 13 VP’s to the Salamanders and 2 VP’s to the Abyssal Dwarfs. (2VP per terrain piece except obstacle’s which are 1VP. Terrain fully on opponents half count for double points).

Post Game Thoughts

This was a game that was much closer than the final score shows. If my tyrants and flying clan lord had routed when averages said they would, this game would likely have been a tie. Euclid brought an incredibly well thought out list which is able to compete well in almost every aspect of the game. I feel that if Ba’susu had been committed to combat a little earlier, I would have struggled to curtail his influence. As it was, he only entered combat once this game so much of his potential was lost. Still, I feel like Euclid is a strong opponent and I felt lucky to get a win against a solid opponent with a quality list. Thanks Euclid for the game and I look forward to the next! :)

Army Lists Used In This Battle

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Salamanders
Devean
Wins

11 Comments

  • doppelganger says:

    hey! that’s me, thanks for posting this!

  • Marwin says:

    Funny battle. In the program, after all, you could play for 4000-5000 points!

  • Devean says:

    Thanks Raziel and ChopperHarris for your kind words- much appreciated!

    I’ve all but finished a new report and will be posting it soon. I’ve gone all out and tried to embrace more of the storytelling nature of the campaign. Stay tuned!

  • ChopperHarris says:

    I like the way you present the battlefield in the images. I’ll try and do the same in my reports as its very clear.
    Another victory for good and an amazing report. Keep it up!

  • Raziel says:

    I spend my time good reading this. Great battle.

  • Devean says:

    Thanks for commenting Corathan and Paladin. Glad you like the writeup 🙂

    As I mentioned elsewhere, there are 12 of us playing our own campaign games as a group over UB (6 evil and 6 good armies luckily enough!) Many of us don’t have the luxury to play with our physical models (I live in northern Thailand – enough said). The suggestion that games played via UB shouldn’t count for as much is both disappointing and frustrating.

    Anyway, that said, I’m going to try and introduce some more narrative to the reports in the future, embrace the fluff so to speak 🙂

  • Corathan says:

    Nice write up, very well done

  • paladin314 says:

    I wonder if they are going to count UB as much as physical battles.

  • Devean says:

    Thanks for your comments Darth and Lit Wick. While I do enjoy the UB platform, I 100% agree that it isn’t the “full KoW experience” of painted models and social interaction that you get in real life. Unfortunately, I live in an area with no other KoW action so this is the best I can do. Believe me, I’d love to dust off my salamanders and put them on the table 🙂

    Perhaps I should try and make these reports a bit more immersive on the story side of things too 🙂 (you’re right, it is a story driven campaign after all!)

  • Lit Wick says:

    Very thorough battle report. Using Universal Battle is a pretty cool idea, and it definitely broadens the availability of people ready to play a game. Still…there’s something about seeing an entire hobby unfold on a tabletop complete with miniature armies that’s just plain inspiring. I guess I feel like a component of Kings of War is missing here, especially since this is a worldwide miniature gaming campaign where many groups have pulled out the stops to make it as immersive as possible.

    That being said, your write-up is EXCEPTIONAL and a win for the Forces of Good is ALWAYS appreciated :D!!

  • Darth Toiletroll says:

    Interesting. have contemplated trying Universal battle before