Practice game Paper Sorcerer Kings against Hundred Kingdoms

Yesterday the tournament took place in Münster, but here I am still sitting with the unfinished report of my game with the Sorcerer Kings from Wednesday. For those who constantly wonder why I don't write reports for all the games I play, it simply comes down to a lack of time and motivation. This week, it was one game each on Monday and Wednesday, two on Friday, and another three to four on Saturday. Finally, I also had to practice my Hundred Kingdoms list again before the tournament.

I prefer playing over writing reports, but currently, the Sorcerer Kings are really bringing me a lot of joy. They bring something new to the game, and especially their interesting reward system with constant markers, rerolls, etc., appeals to me.

Feuer [2000/2000]
Sorcerer Kings

== Maharajah [150]: Dancing Scimitar, Court of Fire
 * Rajakur (3) [120]:
 * Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]:
 * Ghols (3) [110]: Born of Flame
 * Rakshasa Ravanar (1) [240]:

== Raj [160]: Jadoo Kavach, Bound to the Elements
 * Efreet Flamecasters (3) [160]:
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (5) [270]:
 * Ghols (3) [110]: Born of Flame
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:

== (Warlord) Sorcerer [130]: Eye of the Blazing Tempest, Court of Fire
 * Rajakur (3) [120]:

I've rewritten my list a bit and also swapped out the Warlord. Now it's a complete fire-themed army. Today, Rhys explained to me that Bound to the Elements in the Army Builder is incorrectly priced at 30 points and actually costs 40 points. That's also stated in the PDF, and I'll make sure to take note of this for future army lists.

I'll share my thoughts on the list after the game report.

Glorious Charge 2.0 [2000/2000]
The Hundred Kingdoms
Veterans

== (Warlord) Mounted Noble Lord [170]: Olefant's Roar, Weapon Master, Eccentric Fighting Style
   * Militia Bowmen (3) [75]:
   * Militia Bowmen (3) [75]:
   * Household Knights (6) [370]: Veterans, Standard Bearer, Tourney Champion
   * Household Knights (5) [310]: Veterans, Standard Bearer, Tourney Champion

== (Warlord) Priory Commander (Sealed Temple) [110]:
   * Order of the Sealed Temple (3) [190]:
   * Order of the Sealed Temple (3) [190]:
   * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer
   * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer

My opponent was Marcus, and he wanted to test his tournament army of the Hundred Kingdoms for Münster. Quite a lot of heavy knights. I had to swallow hard at first because I wasn't sure how the Sorcerer Kings would break through that. On the other hand, I also posed a significant threat with rituals, and I just had to prevent him from catching me with Charge Clash.

We played Declined Flank, and in the center, there was a friendly house dividing the battlefield, opposite to which lay a small pond and a few hills, all of which turned out to be more strategically relevant than I initially expected.

Round 1 was rather dull, as only the Ghols and Militia marched forward. I positioned them in a way that I could safely score points in one of the two zones if the Magus told them they counted as two scoring units.

In round two, I only had my automatic selection, Sorcerer with Rajakur, and Marcus only had the first Sealed Temple. This was excellent because it meant I wouldn't fall behind in points. His riders came to the center, and opposite them, within reach of both Ghols, was my Sorcerer aunt. She ensured that the Ghols scored points once and a ritual was initiated once. It was tied 2:2.

Up to that point, I was content, and when in round 3 all reinforcements were rolled except for one unit of Sword Dancers, I was even more pleased. However, Marcus didn't have such luck, as both the HHK and Ashen Dawn had to wait. So, I could comfortably score points, expand my presence, and perhaps deliver a devastating first strike. We chose the middle zone on my side and the far-right one on his as the zones we couldn't score in. He had his token activations and Militia first, while I aimed to get various mages onto the field to initiate my rituals. First, the Maharajah moved from the flank into a zone, also initiating a ritual, and then the Sorcerer activated another. The idea was to finish two rituals in this round and start two more to ensure they would be completed early in the following round. Someone on Discord had given me this helpful tip, and mathematically, it's possible to always have two rituals from round 4 onwards, but one needs to be careful with activations. Due to this advice, I also switched my Warlord to the Sorcerer, even though I wasn't satisfied with her in the first test game, which didn't have a report.

As we neared the end, his Sealed Temple advanced into my left zone in front of the Ghols. Facing 22 Attack Clash 1, they naturally had no fear, but I still had my Flamecaster. They were allowed to come in from the side and shoot into the flank of the Sealed Temple. At least one rider died because I had also activated Jadooo. But Volley 2 at 14" is and remains inadequate. Give them Volley 3, and they would be somewhat usable, but somehow they just disappoint. Speaking of disappointments, the Ghols failed their Bloodlust roll and attacked the Sealed Temple. They did some damage or so, thereby denying the zone, and I would only fall slightly behind. The rest of his army came to the left flank: HHK, Ashen Dawn, second Sealed Temple. Since my large Efreet Sword Dancer block was already on the right side, both monsters came to the left. I had to somehow hold out there, even though I didn't know how yet. At least I was too far away for meaningful move charges from him in the fourth round and could simply offer him something to chew on. The score was 4:6.

In round four, the rest of us joined the fray. I had two rituals and originally wanted to ignite Conflagration early to recreate it, but it didn't fit well with my plans. I was hoping to possibly use the Flamecaster as bait; in my opinion, they're not good for much else, and even for that purpose, they're too expensive to lure the heavy Household Knights block with a character to the flank. Then Bakasura and the Sword Dancers still in reserve could wear down the regiment from the flank. If I could pull that off, I'd only need to sacrifice Ravanar to buy myself a round. The plan sounded good, so I built my deck accordingly. We both chose the opponent's middle zone, and I pulled my Flamecaster off the hill, firing at the Sealed Temple before. The Sealed Temple fell, just like that, thanks to Volley 2. Maybe I'll give the Flamecaster another chance, but I still don't think they're great.

Then both of us had token activations. For me, that involved Jadoo, setting up new rituals, and so on, while for him, it was characters and Militia. As a result, some of the Ghols were also taken down, but I managed to heal most of them back up almost completely. After some deliberation, Marcus decided to deal with the right Ghols using the Sealed Temple and switched flanks. Fluid Formation, Move Charge, and suddenly he was 17 inches elsewhere. My objection that the Efreet would get Impact hits and with Ritual even allowed a Clash was dismissed. It wasn't until the Sorcerer lowered the armor of the Sealed Temple that Marcus slowly realized this might not have been the wisest decision.

Since I needed the ritual for these Sword Dancers, the others activated and made a Move Charge into the flank of the left Household Knights. One went down, and more importantly, they were tied up. That was quite fortunate, and above all, it solved my problem with the activation sequence, but dead Sealed Temples were more relevant because otherwise, my three mages were seriously in danger. At least the two additional cards from the rituals came in handy, and when Marcus placed the remaining troops on the field - the second Ashen Dawn on the right and the second Household Knights in the center - I still had my Ravanar and the Sword Dancers. The Ravanar dealt some damage, and the Sword Dancers wiped out the Sealed Temples just with the impacts and Jadoo. Okay, it's also 15 impacts, and he only had D2, but still. This left me with one action and the choice to stay put or try to withdraw. I was roughly ~10/11 inches away from the Ashen Dawn, and having an extra 2.5 inches of distance would be great. I pondered for a long time whether I should try it, and I decided to take the risk. If I move forward 5 inches and the Sword Dancers die - they should survive with one model - I could lower the armor of the Ashen Dawn, and the Maharaja with the Scimitar and Burn to Cinder might kill some of them. I rolled the dice, got a two, and I retreated. The score was 8:10.

Round 5, and things were looking quite okay. The Ravanar would die, but maybe he'd get another good hit in before that. He chose the middle zone on my side, and I chose the far-right one on his. Instead of his Ashen Dawn, the Household Knights were there and initially took 3 damage from Aura of Death. This resulted in one rider going down, and the damage to the Ravanar and the Efreet was manageable. When the Ravanar struck now, he made up for his miss from the previous round and slaughtered all the Household Knights in contact. This opened up new possibilities and hopes, but first, Jadoo was announced, and Marcus threw around token activations. It didn't bother me too much since I currently had roughly a 5 activation lead, allowing my important units to activate late.

As the Ashen Dawn then struck down the Ravanar, and I found myself in a state of confusion, his second Household Knights activated. They moved with Move Charge into my zone, killing the Ghols and simultaneously blocking the way to the Ashen Dawn for the Ravanar. That was annoying, especially since the Bakasura only had Cleave 1, and because I had placed the Ghols next. I should have considered them as a dead card, but I hadn't. As a result, there was now a ritual and then my Sword Dancers. I decided to use the left Efreet since I couldn't reach the Ashen Dawn on the right flank. It was indeed a waste of the ritual, but better than having a dead 500-point block. The 3 Sword Dancers against the 3 Ashen Dawn only did some damage. Even better was that we both had exactly one stand in the zone, meaning he wouldn't score. However, my Flamecaster also managed to inflict two wounds on the Ashen Dawn, causing one of the riders to fall.

Then came the right flank and his last Ashen Dawn, which only put three riders into the zone to stay safe from the other Sword Dancers. They both failed their Bloodlust tests and moved forward, ending up halfway in the water. Bloodlust is so annoying, I can hardly put it into words. Only my Maharaja, or rather Rajakur, had already moved into the correct range to punish the Ashen Dawn next round with Burn to Cinder and the Scimitar if they were to kill the Sword Dancers.

Lastly, my Sorcerer happened to be within 12" of the Household Knights, and the Bakasura. The Household Knights only had D3 remaining after their spell, and the Jadoo-Bakasura had 15 Attack Clash 4. The combination resulted in 4 dead ponies, thus I had control of two zones while Marcus only had one. The score was tied at 12:12.

Round 6, this would either hurt me badly or not. I had two rituals, one was in progress, and some of the Sword Dancers were in the water. They should survive with one stand, and then I could heal them. This would mean sacrificing the others, but he was running out of units to score with. So, I placed the Raj and Sword Dancers up, then Foresight, the Flamecaster, the Sorcerer, and the Bakasura. Then the Rajakur, the Maharaja, and another ritual. I chose the right zone on his side, and he chose my middle one again. That was annoying, but my Sorcerer didn't want to leave there. He started, made a charge against the large Sword Dancer block, and thus was also in the water. 2 damage from the impacts and 13 from the attacks. That was only three dead Sword Dancers. Excellent. Let's get ready to rumble: The Raj activated, Molten Blades, and told the Sword Dancers it was their turn. Thanks to Deadly Blades, exactly one rider died, and the Sword Dancers were regrouped. Then, surprisingly, his Household Knights came instead of the Ashen Dawn and tried to kill the Bakasura. Of course, they didn't succeed, and the Bakasura was activated via Far Sight, slaying the last 6 lives of the riders with Jadoo, then turning and attacking the Ashen Dawn. Only impacts, but still three damage. The last share the blows between both regiments instead of just the Sword Dancers, thus sealing their fate, as the Flamecaster from the hill and the Sword Dancers together killed another Ashen Dawn, securing my zone.

The other Ashen Dawn fares no better as the Sorcerer tells them they only have D3 remaining, and the Maharaja, with Scimitar and Burn to Cinder, kills one of them. The score is now 20:12.

In round 7, the last two Ashen Dawn perish, and the Militia slay the Bakasura and the right Sword Dancers. Then the Maharaja turns them to ash, and we stop since I will now be scoring in two or three zones consistently.

Another victory for the paper tiger army, and I must admit that the Sorcerer Kings, in my opinion, are less complicated than, for example, the Wadhrun. You just have to get into it, but it feels incredibly positive that you always "get" something. Activate a regiment and you get a token, Jadoo and you can reroll 6s, etc. Always these little positive experiences, and then comes Bloodlust. How I detest that rule. Anything with Bloodlust is 20-30 points too expensive. But let's return to the overview:

Maharajah [150]: Dancing Scimitar, Court of Fire

• "Dancing Scimitar" is nice. But whether I really want to pay 30 points for it, I'm not sure yet.
  

Raj [160]: Jadoo Kavach, Bound to the Elements:

• "Jadooooo!" Oh, I love calling out Jadoo again and again, and the Raj with the Sword Dancers is just pure fun. Well, as long as you have a ritual at hand. Another 10 points on top, then 170. Honestly, that's too much investment for what's in the Sword Dancers. Most people play him in Rajakur, and I think I'll do that in the future too, even though they're not Elementals.
  

Sorcerer [130]: Eye of the Blazing Tempest, Court of Fire

• The Eye of the Blazing Tempest didn't see action this time, but that was also partly due to the scenario. Perhaps I could have used it more actively, but I don't want to throw it out at the moment. On Saturday, after Nino and I finished our game quickly, I played another round of Sorcerer Kings where I constantly healed the two Efreet blocks with it. Currently, it's my favorite item.
• Court of Fire was useful, especially in combination with Omnipotence. I still find Wind to be more flexible, but I understand why Spire loves putting it on the Pheromancer with -1 D.
  
• What bothers me the most is the wording of Omnipotence. If I could use it to target Ignite on my regiments for healing and Aura of Death, it might be more useful. But overall, I don't like Supremacy either. The problem is that currently, I don't find any of them good, and all are at best mediocre.
  

Einheiten:

• Rajakur (3) [120]: Still rock-solid. They serve their purpose, score, albeit slowly, but are a good bodyguard regiment against light attacks..
• Ghols (3) [110]: Born of Flame: Incompetent fools. I might want to keep one for the reinforcement line, but I still find them really bad..
  
• Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260] & Rakshasa Ravanar (1) [240]:  Especially with the Warlord Sorcerer, the Bakasura continues to gain value, while the Ravanar loses it. Aside from finding both of them a bit overpriced, I just find the Ravanar's 11 attacks with Terrifying 1 too little. On the other hand, I like the Bakasura, but 15 dice and +3 charge range against regiments with characters are useful in almost every game.
  
• Efreet Sword Dancers (5) [270] & Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]: Bloodlust really isn't great; otherwise, they're my favorites. It might also be because I always imagine them dancing permanently while singing "Jadooo, Jadooo, Jadooo".
  
• Efreet Flamecasters (3) [160]: I'm not warming up to them. They fit thematically into the army, but since everything relevant is size 2 or 3, they can't shoot over them either. They're still better than their Wind counterparts, but since I find those to be totally overpriced, that doesn't help.
  
  
  If anyone has any tips, feel free to share them. I'm currently in the process of figuring things out.