Played the Umenzi last night

[blkdymnd]

So I tried both of the quickstart armies against dwarves and against orcs.  The dwarf player played very defensively trying to whittle my guys down with range before they got across the field, I then learned how cool Faith Armor is.  As my Worthy would have been in the yellow if I hadn't given them Faith Armor, instead they had one or two points by the time they got in the fray.  I ended up with a pretty decisive win as both of my Javelineers held one flank and punched into the middle.

My second game was against Orcs, and it went the other way.  I got outmaneuvered a bit by some very good timely lashing from my opponent.  He was able to get good combo's of lashing, a good offensive green card, then a great offensive red card on one unit and just punishing my units that way.  He got me pretty decisively on that one.

I love the Atlatlmen.  They run up behind units and are really really good supporting units for melee by ranging just over their cohorts heads.  They really never were engaged either because they are so close behind the main line.  A couple Javelineers on a flank are devastating as well, as if one doesn't get the Final Rush, the other one usually did for a good healthy 10 total attacks.  I also like the addition of Shaman's and High Priests.  They are such a cool unusual unit that really performs well in the right situation.  Didn't get that Dwarf Crossbowmen down to have to take a test?  Plink them with Death Curse and watch em run 

Overall, I'm really enjoying them and will be playing them once our campaign starts up

[Hannibal]

So I got in a couple of games with the Umenzi and me likey.  I'm a horde army guy and so these guys fit perfectly with my mentality.  My thoughts after a couple of games:

Overall:   the synergy of this army requires some real forethought when deploying.  With other armies (especially Dwarves) you can almost literally throw your cards on the table and have that be their deployment.  Not Umenzi.  You have to be careful to ring leadership units with guys who gain the bonus.  At first, Faith Armor seemed to be rather weak when compared to the Rune of Uruz (which, granted, is a strong power) but it really worked for me.  Between the rune, judicious use of cards, and then heal, I managed to keep most units in the green until contact.

Javelineers:  At first glance, these guys are no-brainers.  184 pts and they're Core?  It pops into the mind to just take your leadership units and then nothing buy Javelineers.  However, in playing them I've found that it can be hard to get those javelins on the charge.  If you don't, then they're over-priced warriors.  Sure, you can throw them before you charge, but you often suffer a Movement and long range penalty.  These guys are very much surgical units and work best when you get the final rush.  This can require taking control so that you stay more than 3.5" away from an enemy infantry so that if you can't get the final rush this turn, you can get it next turn.  In that case, taking a whole army of them isn't the best.  Ironically, they make good 'flank holder' units to pair off against cavalry, because most cavalry will charge from further than 3.5" thus allowing you to throw the javelins regardless of turn.

Berzerkers:   awesome unit.  The fact that they move at the same rate as the rest of the army means that they're great flank protector units.  Even if they die, they'll take most of the game to do it and if the enemy pours missile fire into them, then that's the rest of the army he's ignoring.

Worthy & Chosen:   Of the Leadership melee units, I prefer the Worthy.  Yeah the Chosen are nice, with that Def 3 but I don't know that they're worth the points.  Yeah, their Leadership is further than the Worthy, but here's the way I see it:  the Worthy, with their 3.5" Leadership will get units on either side and right behind them (i.e. atlatlmen).  The Chosen have a Leadership range of 5" I believe.  Doesn't reach the center to provide a boost any further than the Worthy.  Maybe I'm playing them wrong, but at the moment I'd take 2 Worthy and if I had the spare points, then I'd upgrade one of them to Chosen.

Atlatlmen:   nice units.  Good ranged backup that seldom gets shot at, and can secure a flank.  Because they don't shoot until the guys in front are engaged, they tend to get overlooked.

Shamans & High Priests:   Wow, what an awesome unit.  Hex in particular really helps protect the Umenzi from being shot up in the early part of the game.  Heal is of course awesome.  Upgrading Shamans to High Priests is not something that is automatic.  Death Curse is nice, but you have to be in the right place to gain any rela effectiveness out of it.  Good to upgrade one or two Shamans, but not 3 or 4.

And yes, I did use 4 Shamans/High Priests in one game (at 2,000 pts).  I did it by deciding not to use any Worthy or Chosen.  Wouldn't recommend it.  Halfway through the game, the Hawkshold player realized he could pummel them with his longbows because of the low Def & Toughness.  The 4 shaman route is a bit dicey that way.

War Elephant:  Meh.  Nice and very tough on the charge, but I'm not sure they're 523 pts nice.  Not being able to heal, bless, or use faith armor on them, while expected, means you have to use cards to protect them.  And with the Faith Armor costing a command action each time, you don't have a whole bunch of cards.  Also, losing the spear attacks when you go into the yellow/red means that your opponent effectively gets double the bonus (-1 attack from elephant, -1 from spears).  Finally, with only a moderate command (12), which is again to be expected, they actually stand a pretty good chance to run.

[andrewgr]

Javelineers:  At first glance, these guys are no-brainers.  184 pts and they're Core?  It pops into the mind to just take your leadership units and then nothing buy Javelineers.  However, in playing them I've found that it can be hard to get those javelins on the charge.  If you don't, then they're over-priced warriors.  Sure, you can throw them before you charge, but you often suffer a Movement and long range penalty.  These guys are very much surgical units and work best when you get the final rush.  This can require taking control so that you stay more than 3.5" away from an enemy infantry so that if you can't get the final rush this turn, you can get it next turn.  In that case, taking a whole army of them isn't the best.  Ironically, they make good 'flank holder' units to pair off against cavalry, because most cavalry will charge from further than 3.5" thus allowing you to throw the javelins regardless of turn.

They should never suffer a long range penalty.  In the 2.2 rules, 0" - 7" is short range, and they only have a range of 3.5", so they're always in short range.

The movement penalty is more interesting.  When I was in Boston and playing against the pre-release version of the Umenzi, I pointed out that the Javelineers paid a movement penalty while shooting, and Chad said that was an error on the pre-release version of the cards, and that they were supposed to act just like the Ravenwood Centaurs, which don't pay a penalty for moving and shooting.  I will follow up with a question in the "Rules" area to see if this is a mistake, or if they changed their minds.

[Hannibal]

They should never suffer a long range penalty.  In the 2.2 rules, 0" - 7" is short range, and they only have a range of 3.5", so they're always in short range.

Ah, thanks for that.  I was operating under the "over half is long range" theory that I was taught.  Thanks for that.

Also means atlatlmen never suffer a long range penalty, making them more awesome.

[andrewgr]

0"-7" is short range, no penalty.
7"-14" is long range, -1 skill.
14"-21" is extreme range, -2 skill.

So yes, the atlatls are never at long range.  On the other hand, being able to shoot from 14" at -1 ain't so bad either, which is most armies can do with bows. :-)

[Chad_YMG]

So I got in a couple of games with the Umenzi and me likey.  I'm a horde army guy and so these guys fit perfectly with my mentality.  My thoughts after a couple of games:

Overall:   the synergy of this army requires some real forethought when deploying.  With other armies (especially Dwarves) you can almost literally throw your cards on the table and have that be their deployment.  Not Umenzi.  You have to be careful to ring leadership units with guys who gain the bonus.  At first, Faith Armor seemed to be rather weak when compared to the Rune of Uruz (which, granted, is a strong power) but it really worked for me.  Between the rune, judicious use of cards, and then heal, I managed to keep most units in the green until contact.

The Umenzi are very likely the most challenging set we've ever made...they really force you to plan our army construction, deployment and each turn because there are so many levels of interaction.

Javelineers:  At first glance, these guys are no-brainers.  184 pts and they're Core?  It pops into the mind to just take your leadership units and then nothing buy Javelineers.  However, in playing them I've found that it can be hard to get those javelins on the charge.

Javelineers were designed to guarantee that they get one shot in before engaging, provided the are engaged on the front.  If you're charging, it happens automatically.  If your opponent is charging from more than L away, it happens automatically.  If your opponent is charging from less than L away, you would have thrown Javelins as a normal ranged attack on the prior turn.

If you don't, then they're over-priced warriors.  Sure, you can throw them before you charge, but you often suffer a Movement and long range penalty.

One error from you and one from us.  We mistakenly left out that Javelineers get no penalty for move-and-shoot.  As Andrew has pointed out, L is always short range.

Atlatlmen:   nice units.  Good ranged backup that seldom gets shot at, and can secure a flank.  Because they don't shoot until the guys in front are engaged, they tend to get overlooked.

I particularly like the way Atlatlmen offer inexpensive ranged fire and yet also plug holes in your line without being just speedbumps like most archer units.

War Elephant:  Meh.  Nice and very tough on the charge, but I'm not sure they're 523 pts nice.  Not being able to heal, bless, or use faith armor on them, while expected, means you have to use cards to protect them.  And with the Faith Armor costing a command action each time, you don't have a whole bunch of cards.  Also, losing the spear attacks when you go into the yellow/red means that your opponent effectively gets double the bonus (-1 attack from elephant, -1 from spears).  Finally, with only a moderate command (12), which is again to be expected, they actually stand a pretty good chance to run.

Hey, at least they don't take rout checks on a pinch! 

[Hannibal]

Javelineers were designed to guarantee that they get one shot in before engaging, provided the are engaged on the front.  If you're charging, it happens automatically.  If your opponent is charging from more than L away, it happens automatically.  If your opponent is charging from less than L away, you would have thrown Javelins as a normal ranged attack on the prior turn.

Yeah the no move penalty is nice.  And the short range is just me remembering the rule wrong:  half range vs a fixed short range.  That does improve Javelineers a lot in my mind, making them almost your mandatory Core troop choices.

I particularly like the way Atlatlmen offer inexpensive ranged fire and yet also plug holes in your line without being just speedbumps like most archer units.

Definately.  Frankly, I think this makes them one of the most useful units in the army.

Hey, at least they don't take rout checks on a pinch!

What I will say about the elephants is that I like how they can be fit into a 2,000 pt army.  With the Umenzi, you can field a line 6-7 units wide and still squeeze the elephant in.  With, say, Hawkshold to get the big expensive unit of Knights, you often have to field a shorter line.

[Forevernyt]

I played a 2000 pt force on Sunday, with an elphant and still had nine other units on the table.

I like the Umenzi. Of course, I haven't yet played any of the other factions....but I happen to be waiting patiently for a particular scaley faction to be released.

[blkdymnd]

Chad, one thing we noticed on the Javelineers.  They're "extra" attacks on the charge are impossible unless you take direct control of them for a turn.  Ranged units if given range will move up to range and keep shooting unless you have an objective.  Ranged units on close will basically do the same thing as if they had the ranged ability.  So unless the Final Rush is arbitrary and always overrides their current order, you would have to take direct control of Javelineers to make them final rush otherwise they will sit there and just shoot at 3.5 away.. unless i'm missing something

[andrewgr]

The description of the "close" order in the rules is actually poorly worded.

A unit on Close will final rush if it can.  If it has ranged weapons, it will shoot if it can, but will not stop at a distance in order to continue shooting (the way it would if it had the Ranged order)-- it will continue trying to make contact.

So I can definitely see why you would interpret the sentence "If it can shoot, it will do so as though it had the Range Attack standing order" the way you did, but the intention of that sentence was only to say that it would take the opportunity to fire when it was presented, not that it would stop at a distance to do so.

[blkdymnd]

I understand that, the Javelineers create sort of a final rushing anomaly.  They move 3.5" and shoot 3.5" so if you are on Close they would final rush, if they are one Range they would stand and shoot at the 3.5"?

[Chad_YMG]

Correct.  Andrew is (shock!) correct; the bit in the rules about a unit on Close shooting as though it were on Range refers to how it will behave during the Combat phase, not M&C.  We were trying to avoid repetitive text about nearest enemy, etc., etc., but I can see how it's confusing.

To clarify:

During M&C, a unit on Close will act the same regardless of whether it can fire or not, i.e. it will (unless blocked) move at full speed towards the nearest enemy.

During Combat, an unengaged unit on Close will behave as though it were on Range.

[blkdymnd]

Got it, thanks for the clarification.  We were discussing that during our last army building conversation

[killik]

I played a 2000 pt force on Sunday, with an elphant and still had nine other units on the table.

I like the Umenzi. Of course, I haven't yet played any of the other factions....but I happen to be waiting patiently for a particular scaley faction to be released.

I recently played a 2000 Umenzi army with the Elephant as well and it did very well. My other units were 2 Berserkers, 2 Shamans, and 4 Javelineers as well as starting with 3 command cards. I found that this army had some good synergy with the units. My set up was the Elephant in the middle and on each flank 2 Javelineers, 1 Berserker and 1 Shaman. The Javelineers were set up in a line with a Berserker in between them and the Shaman slightly behind the Berserker.