Practice game Paper Sorcerer Kings against Hundred Kingdoms No. 2

In Discord, Johannes Scherer gave me some interesting insights and tips on how he's currently playing the Sorcerer Kings. As a result, I adjusted my army in the last report and this time I'd like to play his army once.

Johannes [1995/2000]

Sorcerer Kings

== Raj [130]: Jadoo Kavach
 * Rajakur (6) [240]:
 * Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]:
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:

== (Warlord) Sorcerer [120]: Parivartan, Court of Fire
 * Rajakur (3) [120]:

== Maharajah [185]: Dancing Scimitar, Court of Fire, Elemental Feedback
 * Rajakur (6) [240]:
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:
 * Steelheart Djinn (3) [190]:

The list consisted of many small units with Bloodlust and two large Rajakur blocks intended to bear the brunt of the battle. Honestly, I was initially skeptical. D3R3 troops with Movement 5 and W4 usually don't do much for me unless I have an extremely large number of them. However, the buffs from the Raj and Maharaja are significant. Even though the three additional hits from Burn to Cinder did not count towards healing, the Maharajah could still cast spells two to three times per round, potentially healing 6-12 life points. If I executed this correctly and only suffered minor damage to the regiment, it could work.

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

Marcus played his tournament list with cavalry once again. The blocks did concern me, but if they were only to charge towards me with Move Charge, the 6s Rajakur could survive this. Then I would only need an effective counterattack. However, the Ashen Dawn would somehow need to get a charge through the Raj block, preferably with minus one armor from the Sorcerer beforehand. I wasn't sure exactly how I should accomplish this yet, but at least there was a basic framework of a plan.

We played Bulwark, and two buildings obstructed our table. The riders seemed to be less bothered by this at first glance than me, but it would also complicate fast flank changes.

In the first round, only Marcus's bowmen marched onto the field since I was playing without light units.

In the second round, I only had Rajakur with the Maharajah. Internally, I flinched again. This was not a good situation, especially because Marcus received both Sealed Temples and a set of bowmen. His Sealed Temples were naturally placed face down, allowing him to know where my Maharajah would appear. In response, he set up both Sealed Temples.

In the third round, Marcus received one set each of Ashen Dawn, bowmen, and Household Knights, while I chose three Mediums and the hefty Bakasura. I needed rituals and could just barely fulfill the already ongoing Conflagration. Therefore, I opted for my proven strategy and activated the Rajakur first, always followed by one of the magicians. I positioned the sorcerers in the middle and placed a few Sword Dancers to the left of the Maharajah. Then, the Raj came to the far right side, and my army was neatly divided. It wasn't a decision I enjoyed making, but I didn't have a better plan at the moment.

Eventually, his Sealed Temples were activated, preferring to destroy the marker rather than attacking me directly. This allowed me to count the regiment from the Maharaja as +2 Stands and send it into the enemy zone. Thus, it became mine, and the Scimitar and Burn to Cinder caused only minimal damage. Marcus took it lightly but then made a mistake by placing his Household Knights directly behind the Sealed Temples. As a result, they were stuck between a hill and a house, both two depths away. Removing them while the Sealed Temples remained where they were wouldn't be easy. Additionally, he couldn't simply move charge since he couldn't place two Stands. This was an opportunity I could capitalize on. Score: 4:3.

We both received our remaining troops, and at the top of my list were the Maharaja, followed by the Rajakur, the Sorcerer, Conflagration, and the Bakasura. If I initiated the attack, I could prevent many hits by charging myself. If not, perhaps I could heal enough before the second attack to survive it. In any case, the Bakasura might avenge the regiment. The rest didn't matter much to me.

I began and managed to kill a total of two stands from the Commander's regiment. Then the second Sealed Temples attacked me and killed two stands. Later, with Conflagration, I could completely restore one. However, I was somewhat in my own way, and I decided to put the Bakasura in the zone because I somehow feared that the Rajakur might explode. I had no idea why I thought that way, but it made me feel better, and I accepted that taking the beast out of the game for another round was worth it.

In the center, the Ashen Dawn positioned themselves and extinguished the marker. On the right side, the Household Knights marched towards his zone under the protection of the bowmen. They were directly opposite the Raj, and I also placed a regiment of Sword Dancers there to support. The Raj moved within a usable Move Charge range for the HHK regiment, and mathematically, only 14 hits should come from the 24 impacts. That's roughly 9 wounds, 12 if things go poorly. This wouldn't break me, and I might even be able to stand a unit back up. That sounded like a valid plan for the next round. I positioned the Sword Dancers and Djinn in the center. Something had to stop the Ashen Dawn... well, slow them down at least. Score: 6:6.

Round 5, and I had two rituals available. However, I couldn't destroy the Sealed Temples before the Household Knights once again did nothing useful in the back. In the previous round, they were only busy with a backward movement and a turn, and I hoped for the same this round. Therefore, I decided to place one ritual at the top and then activate a few Sword Dancers. Maybe they could tie down the Household Knights on the left flank while I destroyed both Sealed Temples. That sounded like a valid plan. The rest didn't matter much to me; what was important was that the Maharaja and the Raj were placed low, with a set of Rajakur directly behind each. I just needed to catch the Household Knights, and with Far Sight, the Sword Dancers went for them. Two of them died, and I was satisfied when one Sword Dancer remained standing in return. That was enough to fulfill their task. Then, I took a beating from all sides and lost two stands of Rajakur in both large regiments. In the center, both regiments succumbed to Bloodlust and attacked the next opponent. This didn't go according to my plan, and although a few bowmen died, it didn't compensate for the losses inflicted by the Ashen Dawn on the two regiments. One Djinn barely survived, and at least now he was positioned in a way that he couldn't charge effectively in the next round.

Now came the crucial stuff. He played a ritual, allowing the Sorcerer to lower the armor of the right Household Knights, and later, with her action, she lowered the armor of a Sealed Temple regiment. With the extra action, the Bakasura engaged the left Household Knights. Then the attacks came, and the Maharaja only managed to kill three ponies in total. One remained standing with three life points, and I had to hope that the Scimitar would help in the next round. On the other side, Molten Blades from the Raj and Deadly Blades from the Household Knights resulted in the death of the Household Knights. When things go well, they apparently go really well. This allowed me to already inflict some damage on the objective with the Sword Dancers, but I realized too late that a reform before would have been sensible. This inadvertently blocked the Rajakur for the next round. Score: 10:6.

Marcus was running out of time. The Ashen Dawn wouldn't reach their desired position until the next round, and I contemplated taking a gamble but ultimately decided to wait. Thanks to the fallen Sword Dancers, I had three rituals this round and could cast three spells with the Maharaja. Assuming the left Household Knights were likely face up, I could elevate all characters and try to get as many rituals as possible. Theoretically, the Bakasura simply shouldn't die from the attacks, and with the -1 armor on the HHK regiment, killing would be more efficient. It went exactly as planned, except the Bakasura nearly died because the Noble Lord had an Eccentric Fighting Style with 7 attacks and Cleave 1. This dealt 11 damage to the bulky one, and the Sword Dancer died. Then, the Sorcerer lowered the armor of the HHK and began a ritual. Unfortunately, with Move Charge, the Ashen Dawn managed to break the Sorcerer's regiment directly. But I had already written them off. The other Ashen Dawn slew the Djinn and attacked the flank of the Rajakur from the Maharaja. He nearly healed them back to full and incidentally killed the Sealed Temple. Then they were allowed to turn as a follow-up activation. I still had two rituals and therefore two spells. They came later, but Burn to Cinder, after the Ashen Dawn had -1 armor, was excellent. Perhaps I shouldn't have written off the Sorcerer immediately. So, the Rajakur were back to full, and the Ashen Dawn lost a rider. The rest was just movement, and I struck the right objective a bit. Score: 14:6.

Round 7 began, and I started, of course, with the Sorcerer, as I urgently wanted to lower the armor of the Ashen Dawn before the Maharaja. The two Ashen Dawn only managed to kill 2.5 stands of Rajakur, and the Maharaja, with Scimitar, Burn to Cinder, and follow-up activation, nearly removed both Ashen Dawn riders from the game. Then the Sorcerer died, and the right objective fell. Lastly, my Bakasura finished off the one weakened Ashen Dawn, securing my victory since it was impossible for him to deny both zones. In the following round, he only eliminated the Bakasura and my Rajakur block, as the second Ashen Dawn could finally engage in a Charge Clash against their flank. D2 Hardened didn't hold up against the 9 impacts and 19 attacks with Blessed.

Another victory for the paper army, making it 5:1 so far. I still believe it's simply because nobody knows what's going on. Marcus just ended up tripping over himself here and didn't anticipate the Maharaja constantly healing the damage. In a Charge Clash, that would have been very grim for all knights. Unfortunately, I had to rely on starting in round 3; otherwise, it would have hurt me badly. Not something I enjoy.

Maharajah [185]: Dancing Scimitar, Court of Fire, Elemental Feedback

• He works like a beast, but for almost 200 points, that's still almost too little. I believe he would benefit from being in a large block of Sword Dancers, but that costs another 40 points, and you can't just stand models back up that easily.
  

Raj [130]: Jadoo Kavach

• Indeed, Jadoo was somehow not so interesting in the list. I felt like I couldn't bring him into play early because the focus was always on the Maharaja. Otherwise, Molten Blades is just very effective, even on Rajakur.
  

Sorcerer [120]: Parivartan, Court of Fire

• As a Warlord with Parivartan, it was quite useful, but she really wishes she had the archers as a means of transport. It feels like she doesn't want to stand anywhere in particular and just wants to stay far away from any problems.
  
• Court of Fire was doubly useful this time, and finally, I could distribute the -1 armor over half the table as well. Overall, with Omnipotence, she's gradually moving up to a three or two, if I were to assign grades like in school.
  

Regiments:

• Rajakur (6) [240]: Ablative hit points for the Maharaja and the Raj, with the Raj at least still providing offensive buffs. It feels like the Sword Dancers with Elemental were more flexible despite having Bloodlust.
  
• Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]: If I had used him more effectively, then maybe I would have something positive to tell. Overall, it was rather mixed, but he's still the go-to monster at the moment. Having 15 attacks is just invaluable.
  
• Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:Having three small units of Sword Dancers is too much. I end up losing control, they end up where they shouldn't be, or they attack things I don't want them to. I believe that having a maximum of two Bloodlust regiments that are meant to work, instead of four like today, is the maximum I can handle.
  
• Steelheart Djinn (3) [190]: I can't say much about it; they went off with the Bloodlust and were not seen again. I have different expectations for nearly 200 points.
  
  
  If anyone else has some tips, feel free to share them. I'm still in the process of figuring things out and I appreciate any ideas, comments, etc.