Umenzi Tribesmen vs Dwarves of Runegard 1500 points

[Chlor]

Here's my session report as promised  .

Setup




Antonian Horsemen, 2x Axemen, Hammermen, 2x Axemen



Front rank: Spearmen, Warriors, 2x Javelineers, Berserkers, Chosen
Back rank: 2x Shamans


Early Turns

Since most of the units had close orders, they simply advanced forwards. My opponent gave the Antonians a location objective to his left, so they could sweep in and flank or rear attack the Chosen if possible. Unfortunately, his plan didn't work out too well (there wasn't much space on that side of the field) and was forced to direct control his Antonians backwards to avoid them getting charged by the Chosen. Still, they succeeded in drawing the Chosen away from the line and delaying their entrance into the combat.

I spent a few of my command actions on Faith Armor, and didn't draw too many cards. My opponent gave Rune of Uruz to all five of his line units, and spent the rest on cards (and direct control  ).


Notice the Antonian horsemen's funny tricks  

Engagement

The charge turn was on my turn. It resulted in embarrassments on both sides, but mainly for the Dwarves, since they had the better line units after all. Still, none of them routed too early, or took absurdly high damage, unlike some of my units...


This was taken on the second turn after engagement (the Dwarves' turn). 3 for my Javelineers' rout check  

Things started off quite badly for my Umenzi, with the Spearmen taking a rout check and failing. Since the backup unit was Shamans, who couldn't declare the "Back-up unit" rule, they ended up engaged and destroyed.   Although some of the Umenzi did enough damage to force rout checks, some cleverly-played Runes prevented any screwups.

But with a bit of luck, my Warriors routed their Axemen opponents while taking only 1 damage in total  . The Berserkers were also doing quite well with their Axemen opponents, and the Javelineers in the centre, while almost dead, had succeeded in doing a good deal of damage to their Hammermen opponents.

The shamans, creeping behind the Warriors (following their Follow command), were protected from a final rush. Instead the Axemen turned towards the Warriors (who had by that time routed the Axemen), and the Warriors rushed them the next turn. The Javelineers fighting the Axemen had died by that time, and the Hammermen were moving towards the Javelineers beside them (the Shamans had shifted behind them as well).

Meanwhile, the Chosen, turning to pinch the Axemen facing the Berserkers, came into final rush range of the Antonian Horsemen. They final rushed the Chosen on the front, doing 4 damage (1 negated due to Faith Armor), while receiving none in return (Parry...5/1  )! A bit of luck on the charge turn, but then again their stats were indeed superior on that turn. However, the next turn, the Chosen proceeded to do 3 damage, while receiving none in return (Mettle  ). The Antonians promptly routed, and died from the free attacks.


This photo was taken after the Chosen had dispatched the Antonian Horsemen. Notice the rather interesting symmetry in damage on both sides of the Hammermen? The Berserkers were slaughtering the Axemen but the Axemen next to them were reaping apart the Javelineers. The Warriors on the other side had killed their Axemen opponents while the Axemen next to them had killed the Spearmen opponents.

End turns

The Javelineers facing the Axemen got destroyed, and the Berserkers started taking more reasonable damage from the Axemen. But it was too late since the Chosen came in for the pinch and destroyed the Axemen. On the other side, the Axemen and Warriors were both doing some damage to each other, but amazingly, the Warriors were actually still in the green and winning (probably due to copious amounts of spells, Faith Armor and a Devotion of Transference)!


More carnage.

The Axemen engaged the Shamans, doing an expected amount of damage, but since the Berserkers and Chosen were closing in from their left (and the Chosen were at close to full health), and their Axemen comrades on the other side didn't look to be winning their fight, my opponent conceded.


End game situation.

Most Valuable Units

Umenzi
Definitely the Warriors, who killed their Axemen opponent (who costed ~100 points more!), taking only 1 damage, and engaged another Axemen with surprisingly good results (they were still in the green when the game ended).

Dwarves
Most underperformed, but the best was probably the Axemen that killed their Javelineer opponents without taking significant damage (though given their point costs, that should be expected ).

Rules Clarifications


What should the Chosen do in this case? Move straight towards the Axemen (as indicated by the measuring tape) and overlap the Berserkers slightly? Or move while shifting outwards slightly, to avoid overlap?

Also, can a unit on Follow declare that it is backing up?


Which unit would be the nearest enemy to the Hammermen? I understand it is the Shamans, but since they don't have an open side, the Hammermen wouldn't final rush them.

[Kevin]

Good report, but am I the only one who's seeing broken graphics where photos should be? 

My guess is that you need to set viewing permissions to "public" whereever your photos are hosted.   But can someone else confirm if the photos can or can't be seen?

[BubblePig]

Nice report.  
To answer Kevin's question, I don't see any photos.

[gull2112]

Nice report. 
To answer Kevin's question, I don't see any photos.

[Chlor]

Hope it's good now 

[Kevin]

Yes, much better--photos are visible!

[Chlor]

Sorry for the bad lighting in one or two of them. 

[Kevin]

I'll comment more on the substance of the battle later.  Other than to say very nice report and no problem  on the glare--it affects us all at times.


As to your rule questions...

What should the Chosen do in this case? Move straight towards the Axemen (as indicated by the measuring tape) and overlap the Berserkers slightly? Or move while shifting outwards slightly, to avoid overlap?

Technically you get that direct path/indirect path choice.  However, 99+% of the time folks would choose the indirect path and have the Chosen swing out slightly.

Also, can a unit on Follow declare that it is backing up?

Yes.  From the 3.0 rulebook, "Back-Up Units rule" top of the 2nd paragraph (page 44).

If an unengaged unit is on Close or Follow and any part of it is touching any part of the rear of a friendly unit...

Which unit would be the nearest enemy to the Hammermen? I understand it is the Shamans, but since they don't have an open side, the Hammermen wouldn't final rush them.

A unit on Close will always try to Final Rush if possible.  So if the nearest enemy unit can't be final rushed, but a further one can, it will final rush the further one.  (See 1.4.6.3).

The nearest enemy is indeed the Shamans.  As you say, however, the Shamans front is not an Open side.  (The Shamans DO have an open side--their flank.  However, the center point of their flank is more than 3.5" from the Hammermen's front center point, so you can't final rush the Shamans.  And in any case the Javelineers' flank, and the Warriors' flank, is closer.)

The Hammermen would therefore Final Rush the Umenzi Javelineers on their flank.

You could of course spend a Command Action to give the Hammermen a unit target.  If you order them to target the Wariors, they would normally hit the Warriors in the rear, but I eyeball it to be just over 3.5" from the Hammermen front center point to the Warriors' rear center point, so your unit would final rush the Warriors on their flank, which is within range.

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By the way, since you seem interested in mastering the rules, have you seen the google document which tracks all clarifications and upcoming rule changes.  It clarifies the final rush conditions a bit.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K96P5uSvfX3KDDnEuJmyw4IP1Tlv0i-rpsdvoyhrBR0/edit?hl=en_US

[Chlor]

The Hammermen would therefore Final Rush the Umenzi Javelineers.

By measurement, the Hammermen would hit the Javelineers in the rear.  However, eyeballing it it appears that the rear center point is slightly over 3.5" away from the Hammermen.  (If I'm eyeballing it wrong then never mind and the Javelineers get hit in the rear.)  Assuming I'm eyeballing it correctly, the Hammermen would Final Rush the Javelineers in the flank.

Rear? I don't suppose you meant the Umenzi Warriors? (the glare I guess?)

[Kevin]

Wow, I totally muffed that answer.   For some reason I thought the javelineers were a Dwarf unit.  See the corrected version above (updated 11:50AM EST).

[Chlor]

They're actually 4++ inches away. So...

[Kevin]

OK, finally some comments on the battle itself.

Nice report overall!  Nice to see someone else posting a report with Umenzi--my personal favorite faction!

Umenzi Warriors defeating Dwarven Axemen!  Wow... I know they had some Shaman support, but don't count on that happening very often.



Just about any strategy works when done by both sides, but in general, consider trying the following...

- Leaving little gaps between your cards helps if your units need to move obliquely.  When you're in a super-tight formation, if one unit turns into the formation it can throw the entire line out of whack.

- Try going with a wider line.  Pinches are SO devastatingly powerful that there's almost no way an 8-wide army can lose to a 6-wide army, at least if both sides go straight at each other.  Try a wider army vs. a narrower one and you'll see what I mean.

- Those poor Antonians had no chance to defeat Chosen in a head-on fight.  When your unit is a lot lighter, but also faster, try keeping it outside the enemy's final rush range, but close enough to dash in and pinch or nail in the rear or at least flank if the enemy unit breaks off pursuit.   Yes it sucks up Command Actions, but it's less bad than simply having your unit crushed and the one next to it pinched!

- Don't be afraid to have your Shamans dive in and pinch--it's usually worth it!

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Anyway, I want to reiterate that that was an awesome first report.  I look forward to the next!

[RushAss]

First of all, nice write up!  The Dwarves and Umenzi are my two favorite factions, so double bonus for me!  Was this game played on a tile floor?  If so, that has got to be one of the cleanest floors I've ever seen.

Which unit would be the nearest enemy to the Hammermen? I understand it is the Shamans, but since they don't have an open side, the Hammermen wouldn't final rush them.

Which unit would be the nearest enemy to the Hammermen? I understand it is the Shamans, but since they don't have an open side, the Hammermen wouldn't final rush them.

A unit on Close will always try to Final Rush if possible.  So if the nearest enemy unit can't be final rushed, but a further one can, it will final rush the further one.  (See 1.4.6.3).

The nearest enemy is indeed the Shamans.  As you say, however, the Shamans front is not an Open side.  (The Shamans DO have an open side--their flank.  However, the center point of their flank is more than 3.5" from the Hammermen's front center point, so you can't final rush the Shamans.  And in any case the Javelineers' flank, and the Warriors' flank, is closer.)

Am I missing something here?  Shouldn't it be the Javelineers? 

OK, finally some comments on the battle itself.

- Those poor Antonians had no chance to defeat Chosen in a head-on fight.  When your unit is a lot lighter, but also faster, try keeping it outside the enemy's final rush range, but close enough to dash in and pinch or nail in the rear or at least flank if the enemy unit breaks off pursuit.   Yes it sucks up Command Actions, but it's less bad than simply having your unit crushed and the one next to it pinched!

Evrything Kevin said in his post is spot on.  I just want to add a bit to the Antonians/Chosen situation.  The Antonians should have been kept out of the Chosen's final rush range indefinitely (but within their own, so 3.51 - 7 inches) as long as the Chosen did not engage anybody else.  If the Chosen engages anybody else, the Antonians can nail the Chosen on the flank or rear and maybe even get the pinch.  Even without the pinch, Antonians have a good shot at causing grevious harm to the Chosen while the Chosen would be losing an attack die for the entire fight.

If the Chosen are held in check by the Antonians and choose to engage in a staring contest, that's a win for the Dwarves because they have a 280 point unit holding a 380 point unit at bay.  Meaning that the Dwarves would have a 100 point advantage across the rest of the fight as long as the Chosen are unengaged.

I'll repeat Kevin in saying that light cavalry units are not meant to be rammed head-on into sturdy line units for straight up fignts.

[Kevin]

Quote from: Chlor on December 24, 2011, 05:47:19 am

Which unit would be the nearest enemy to the Hammermen? I understand it is the Shamans, but since they don't have an open side, the Hammermen wouldn't final rush them.




Quote from: Kevin on December 25, 2011, 09:16:33 am
Quote

Which unit would be the nearest enemy to the Hammermen? I understand it is the Shamans, but since they don't have an open side, the Hammermen wouldn't final rush them.

A unit on Close will always try to Final Rush if possible.  So if the nearest enemy unit can't be final rushed, but a further one can, it will final rush the further one.  (See 1.4.6.3).

The nearest enemy is indeed the Shamans.  As you say, however, the Shamans front is not an Open side.  (The Shamans DO have an open side--their flank.  However, the center point of their flank is more than 3.5" from the Hammermen's front center point, so you can't final rush the Shamans.  And in any case the Javelineers' flank, and the Warriors' flank, is closer.)

Am I missing something here?  Shouldn't it be the Javelineers?

Remember, you measure corner to corner on the closest side.  When looking at the Shamans' front the longest measurement would be the Dwarf Hammermen's "south" corner to the Shamans' "west" corner.  When looking at the Javelineers' flank the longest measumement is the Hammermen's "south" corner to the Javelineers' "south" corner.  This is slightly farther away (Though it's closer than the Shamans' flank of course).

[Chlor]

The Antonians rushing the Chosen on the front was more of a mistake in movement rather than an intentional move. But I think we might have made a mistake - if a unit (the Antonians) were to be in final rush range of another unit at the start of the owner's turn, can you still direct control it (or change the standing orders) and prevent the final rush?

Remember, you measure corner to corner on the closest side.  When looking at the Shamans' front the longest measurement would be the Dwarf Hammermen's "south" corner to the Shamans' "west" corner.  When looking at the Javelineers' flank the longest measumement is the Hammermen's "south" corner to the Javelineers' "south" corner.  This is slightly farther away (Though it's closer than the Shamans' flank of course).

I don't get the "south" and "west" notation at all, sorry... can you just rephrase your point in terms of top left/bottom left/top right/bottom right corners instead?