Practice game Paper Sorcerer Kings against Hundred Kingdoms No. 3

Hello,

here's another exciting game report against Marcus (Discord Bremer) and his Hundred Kingdoms, before things quiet down a bit on the blog regarding the Sorcerer Kings as I'll be starting to assemble my plastic models. The plan is to have them painted by May, and in the meantime, I'll be playing more frequently with the Hundred Kingdoms. But now, onto my list and the game report:"

Feuer 🔥 [1990/2000]

== 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 [120]: Parivartan, Court of Fire
 * Rajakur (3) [120]:
 * Ghols (3) [110]: Court of Fire
 * Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]:
 * Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]:

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

I still find the list refreshingly different and amusing, although with the anticipated changes to the rituals and Bloodlust, I'll be mixing in more wind and fire elements.

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

I'm playing against Marcus again, and he's once again using his tournament list. Double Ashen Dawn and two large blocks of Household Knights are a problem, but I think the Raj with five Sword Dancers will be able to hold its own.

We played the German favorite scenario "Echolon", which I had never played with the Sorcerer Kings before. After all, neither of us had army lists specifically tailored for objective markers, so I was less worried about suddenly falling behind.

In round 1, I was allowed to shuffle both Ghols into my deck, while he chose both Bowmen. Essentially, we both marched forward, each with one regiment per flank. For round 2, we each received two medium units. I chose the large Sword Dancer block and my Warlord in the Rajakur. Marcus opted for the two Sealed Temples. Again, we advanced on both flanks, each causing one damage to an objective. Thanks to the Fire Sorcerer, my right Ghols were able to score, and we went into the next round tied at 2:2.

In round 3, I was allowed to put a Bakasura and the second Rajakur with Sorcerer into my deck. Marcus received both Household Knight blocks and one Ashen Dawn. That was uncomfortable and put more pressure on me than I had wanted. During deck construction, I decided to start by bringing the second Sorcerer onto the battlefield and then initiating three more rituals. Since I find the effects of the rituals to be 90% unusable and only use them for the third action of my Elementals, I choose them almost arbitrarily. During deck construction, I only make sure to have Conflagration early on so that I can use it every round from round 4 onwards, as that is almost always useful.

On the right side, I advanced my Bakasura and the second Sorcerer, while the Sword Dancers received a reform through Air Step. Then we both caused one damage each to the objectives, and finally Marcus decided to use his Sealed Temples to kill the Ghols in my zone. With a Move-Charge, they were gone. Since my Sword Dancers hadn't acted yet, I was able to make a Move-Charge on the Sealed Temples and thus put enough stands into the zone to prevent losing my zone in round three. Otherwise, one of the blocks of knights marched forward on each flank, and the Ashen Dawn were on the far left. It was 4:4.

In round 4, two rituals and the rest of my cards went into my deck. I could delay the activation of my large Sword Dancer block, as theoretically I also had the option to heal them later, and the Sealed Temples wouldn't kill them. Other things were more important, especially the Bakasura, who somehow should go into the Household Knights with three actions. Additionally, I wanted to clear the objective with the Ghols and... the list got longer, and I started (wrongly) prioritizing.

First, both of our objectives fell, then his left Sealed Temples attacked my second Ghols and destroyed them. After that, he comfortably passed by the Bakasura with his Sealed Temple, and his Household Knights made a Move-Charge on the 5 and killed my beloved large Sword Dancer. This practically thwarted most of my plans, but thanks to a ritual, the second Sword Dancers directly attacked the left flank of the Sealed Temples, at least solving a problem there. I placed the second Bakasura behind them, and his left Ashen Dawn simply continued marching forward, while the new ones positioned themselves in his zone. Then eventually my Flamecasters appeared on the right side, and I waited until he activated his second block of Household Knights, reducing the armor of the Sealed Temples once. After that, my Sword Dancers were finally allowed to strike. They managed it with Jadoo and Molten Blades without any problems. Almost as planned, and only one flank somehow collapsed for me. So it was a Mexican Standoff where I used the last card, a ritual, to make a reform for the Sword Dancers. It was 9:9.

In round 5, there were again two rituals in the deck and three in preparation. It would be extremely useful to start immediately so that I am not attacked by the Household Knights on the right side. However, it will probably be a Move-Charge, and I should survive that well. Nevertheless, I put the Sword Dancers on top, followed by a Sorcerer, a ritual, the Bakasura, the Flamecaster, the rest, and a ritual at the end. My plan was to cause maximum destruction in his ranks and then overwhelm the two Ashen Dawn. But I didn't start. Marcus attempted the Charge Clash on the 5, and my large Sword Dancer Block dissolved into chaos, while another ritual was placed into the deck for the next round and another one was cancelled because the Raj died.

The third action of the ritual from the previous round was now carried out by the other Sword Dancers, who had passed their Bloodlust roll and thus managed to flank the left Household Knight block. After dealing 12 damage, the knight block was only half intact, but the Lord with 7 attacks managed to slay 1.5 Sword Dancers in return. Then his Ashen Dawn executed a charge on the marker in the far left corner and destroyed it. Not unexpected, but annoying, and above all, it put me under pressure. When I only managed to inflict four damage with the Flamecasters and the Rajakur on the flank of the right Household Knights, losing the zone as a result, I had to rethink my strategy. Nevertheless, the Bakasura managed to slay the left Household Knights and earned me a point through his special ability, while heading towards the Ashen Dawn. I had a plan for the next round, but it was complicated, and due to a lack of options, I initially focused on healing the Sword Dancers. The score stood at 10:18.

Round 6, again two rituals and two in progress. It's not quite clear from the picture, but the Bakasura is positioned so that the Ashen Dawn wouldn't be in the zone if they charged him. However, my hope was that he wouldn't do that because I had another plan, as he only had four cards left in the deck. On his left side were the two Ashen Dawn, on the right side the Bowmen and the second large Household Knight Block. Thanks to the rituals, I had 9 cards and could thus outactivate him and then apply my shabby tricks. He started by turning the Household Knight Block in close combat and killed one of my Rajakur, whom I later healed up again. Shortly after, my right flank redeemed their failures of the last round, and Rajakur and the Flamecaster destroyed the Household Knights. Beforehand, of course, the armor was finely reduced, but not directly by the Sorcerers, but by a ritual with Parivartan. I wanted the Sorcerers to be as low as possible because they had to apply a fire ritual still in my deck. I didn't care about the effect of the ritual, but at the beginning of the round, I was aware that the Sword Dancers would definitely be bound by the Ashen Dawn who were not in a zone. In round 7, they would inevitably die, even if I tried to delay it. However, it was important that their death would trigger a fire ritual, which would bring me a safe ritual in round 8, and with the right planning, I would also have one for round 9 if I started one early with them next round. The element didn't matter. Complicated, and the sentence structure is meh, but hopefully, you understand what I mean. Then he didn't move with the Ashen Dawn, and my Bakasura eventually went into them after the activation of the second Ashen Dawn, and my Rajakur with the Wind Sorcerer as well. Then there was Wildfire on the Ashen Dawn, and he didn't score in his zone. 12:18.

Round 7, I began by explaining to the Ashen Dawn that they still couldn't score as long as the Bakasura was nearby. They naturally didn't like that, and their friends, as expected, killed the Sword Dancers with a Blessed Clash and then went into the flank of the Rajakur. This resulted in two of them being killed, while the other Ashen Dawn, with their 7 attacks, did nothing against the high-quality armor of the Rajakur. That pleased me, and the Bakasura then killed a rider out of revenge and another one halfway. Otherwise, my Flame Casters moved bluntly straight ahead with actions. For Marcus, it looked like I was trying to grab the objective, but mathematically, that just wasn't feasible anymore, especially if I didn't get a Charge, so he positioned the Bowmen as directly as possible in front of it. It was 14:18.

Round 8: I had one ritual in progress and one in the deck, thanks to the dead Sword Dancers. I was sure that both Ashen Dawn were at the top of his deck, and I needed to get the Flamecasters near his zone with three actions. But equally well, he could perhaps bind my Flamecasters with a Move Charge, and if he saw them running there, that could potentially lead to a problem. Therefore, I placed the Bakasura at the top. He started, and the Ashen Dawn in the zone killed the Wind Sorcerer with the Rajakur. This freed up the other Ashen Dawn, allowing them to flank and kill the Bakasura. However, since it was still his turn, I managed to take the last two lives from one of the Ashen Dawn, thus breaking the unit. Marcus would therefore not score again.

Then came the Rajakur of the Fire Sorcerer, which gave me two markers for the last ritual, and the Sorcerer, which added three more. That ensured I had it safely finished, and my Flamecasters set off with a mighty 18 inches to the left side. It was 16:18.

Round 9, and my deck construction was quite simple: Rajakur, Sorcerer, Ritual, Flamecaster. Marcus could indeed turn the broken Ashen Dawn and place it at the edge of the zone, but then I would probably shoot him down with only three lives and run into the zone. Therefore, Marcus decided to just collect it and push as many Ashen Dawn as possible into the zone, as that would earn him points. In doubt, it would also help him next round, and I only had three stands. Or so he thought, but my Fire Sorcerers were still there. Their Rajakur randomly brought them 12 inches to the Flamecasters, telling them they counted as two more stands. As a result, in round 9, I suddenly held both zones and went up to 22:18. Marcus could indeed kill the Flamecasters in the next round, but that didn't help him anymore. The final score was 22:20.

Post-Match Army Composition Reflection

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

• If he's working, he's working properly. Unfortunately, he surrendered too early. I believe some fancy protective gear would be better than Jadoo, but I couldn't find anything suitable in the army book, at least not for Brutes. Plus, I enjoy calling upon and dancing with Jadoo. Nonetheless, it will probably be replaced soon in favor of something else, if only to test different options.
  

Sorcerer [120]: Parivartan, Court of Fire

• The more I play them, the more I appreciate them. Two out of three spells are useful, and the fact that they distribute the -1 as a Warlord makes certain things much easier. However, in this game, Parivartan was rather unnecessary, but as a safeguard, it's a nice addition.

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

• Finally, I was able to use Wildfire effectively, not just once but twice. It felt unfair, but it was fun. Especially since it's called Wildfire, fitting nicely into the army theme.

Units:

• Rajakur (3) [120]: Task accomplished, and Hardend 1 is just good against Hundred Kingdoms.
  
• Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]: One simply fell, and the other fulfilled its role perfectly. The D3 R3 makes them very fragile, almost too fragile for their point cost. But they are simply the best beneficiaries of the rituals.
• Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]: The guys work properly when they want to. Unfortunately, most of the time, they don't want to. With the buffs from my two Court of Fire sorcerers, they have a decent damage potential, even though Bloodlust really annoys me. At least that's probably going to be over by August.
• Ghols (3) [110]: Born of Flame: They destroyed an objective and stood in the way. They're good at that, and the opponent also doesn't like being attacked by 22 attack Ghols. I can sometimes roll well, and then they might actually do something.
• Efreet Flamecasters (3) [160]: With three actions, everything somehow becomes great, but they are still only included for the harmony in the army. I just don't like playing the same thing three or four times if it's not necessary. The fairly flexible warband composition of the Sorcerer Kings helps a lot in this regard, of course.
  
  If anyone has any tips, feel free to share them. I'm still in the exploratory phase and welcome ideas, comments, etc.