Practice game Infanterie Block of the Hundred Kingdoms against Spire

As announced, the second test match with my troops took place in Hildesheim. The army list remained unchanged from the game against Dweghom.

Hundred Kingdoms [2000/2000] Relentless Drill

== (Warlord) Imperial Officer [130]: Armor of Dominion, Brace for Impact, On Your Feet
• Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
• Men at Arms (3) [105]:
• Steel Legion (4) [245]: Standard Bearer, Drillmaster
• Gilded Legion (9) [445]: Standard Bearer, Drillmaster

== (Warlord) Noble Lord [110]: Front Line Tactician
• Household Guard (9) [405]: Standard Bearer, Armsmaster
• Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
• Longbowmen (4) [175]:
• Longbowmen (4) [175]:

Quote from the last Report: While Mass and Benjamin are currently focusing and playing with large infantry blocks in Discord, I decided to test a similar list again. Since I only own 9 stands of Gilded Legion and do not plan to acquire more, I have slightly adjusted one of my old lists. I played a similar one more frequently in mid-2023, but the enjoyment of large blocks quickly faded, especially when faced with heavy shooting or magic. With Movement 5 and no further tricks, you quickly fall behind, especially when you have no additional protection available. D3 R3 simply melts too easily. Therefore, I packed regiments in the army that could inflict damage from a distance. Knights would be more sensible, but I consciously decided against them and instead relied on solid shooting to force my opponent to run into my blocks. The theme was ultimately to field a pure infantry army, and depending on my positioning, the longbows could continue to fire with Arcing Fire. Plus, I just like longbows, and with only 10 cards, there are also fewer wasted activations.

The Under Spire [1995/2000]

== Lineage Highborne [120]:
* Centaur Avatara (3) [190]:
* Avatara (3) [165]:
* Avatara (3) [165]:
* Siegebreaker Behemoth (1) [190]:

== High Clone Executor [100]:
* Bound Clones (3) [120]:
* Marksman Clones (4) [200]:

== (Warlord) Pheromancer [125]: Cascading Degeneration
* Stryx (3) [120]:
* Brute Drones (3) [170]:
* Abomination (1) [150]:
* Force-Grown Drones (6) [180]:
This time against Spire in Hildesheim, there were two more Hundred Kingdoms players, though they heavily relied on cavalry and especially on Ashen Dawn. My teammate was therefore relieved when I explained that I had no cavalry with me. Apart from the Men at Arms and Crossbows, he hadn't seen any of the other regiments before, and everything was more pleasant than the steeds. Before we get to the army list, here's a picture of the perfect Spire transport option:

The army list provided here includes new material and a few other elements for testing. However, the Siegebreaker requires some better synergies to be effective in the game, ideally Unstoppable Essence and/or Burnout. I do respect it, but without the buffs, it's too limited.

We played the Bulwark scenario with some large forests on the battlefield. Since we had practiced this scenario extensively for Hamburg and it was the second game with this list, I had a rough idea of how I needed to position myself this time. My plan was simple: I wanted to focus on the zone with the enemy objective and defend with my friendly teammate. One of the blocks should hold this long enough for me to break through the other flank and score.

In round 1, I had both Longbows and one regiment of Crossbows available, while he only had the Stryx. These advanced a bit and were peppered with arrows. Unfortunately, the damage wasn't sufficient to break them, but perhaps there would be an opportunity in the next round.

In round 2, I was able to deploy both medium regiments, and the Spire received the FGD block and one Avatara. The Avatara advanced to the far right of the battlefield, where I positioned the Men at Arms. On the other side, the FGD block and my Household Guard moved forward. My teammate's eyes widened as 10 stands marched onto the board. Reading and seeing are two different things. His Stryx inflicted some damage on the objective, and my Longbows dealt damage again to the healed Stryx. So, a little of everything happened this time.

In round 3, I was able to deploy all my cards, and the Spire deployed everything except the Bound Drones and the Siegebreaker. That was an excellent starting position. After some quick thinking, I decided to place the Longbows up first, followed by the characters and the rest. I got to start shooting the Stryx, and we advanced with our troops. On the left, his Abomination came with more Avatara, and in the center were the Centaur. Behind the Centaur were Marksmen, and I positioned everything on the right side, placing my Gilded Legion in the center as Centaur bait. Then his Avatara attacked the Crossbows, while my Household Guard targeted the Abomination. It was only 15" away, and a Move Charge was interesting because I would still hold the zone. Well, a charge on a 5 with reroll is a sure thing - not. Still worked. The left was blocked by the Abomination and the Household Knights. Breaking through both the FGD block and the Avatara there took time. Score: 4:2.

In round 4, there were important elements on both flanks, and I structured my deck so that the Men at Arms could retreat if necessary, allowing the Steel Legion to crush the Avatara. However, I didn't want a charge from the Centaur into the Household Guard, so I positioned them upwards. They have more than enough attacks to defeat the Abomination even without Inspire and then move into the Drone block. This continued to block the Avatara, and hopefully, the fat shrimp would avoid the flank. After a quick measurement, I would just narrowly pass the Centaur. They wouldn't see me anymore, so a win for all sides. That's exactly what happened, and now the Marksmen had no good target except for Arcing Fire, which I had enough life to endure. Only Aura of Death worried me a little. After that, the Avatara decimated the Crossbows and wanted to remain in the zone.

On the other flank, it was now the turn of my Gilded Legion. They destroyed the Avatara in front of them, and then the rest of the Spire army advanced on the right flank. The Centaur took the objective, and the Brute Drones moved into the zone. My Longbows took care of one of the Brute Drones, and I still had the Men at Arms, Steel Legion, and Crossbows. After a brief consideration, I opted for a charge of the Steel Legion against the objective, again rolling the five with a reroll, which of course succeeded. The Crossbows then cleared the objective, allowing me to once again control the more valuable zone. Score: 11:5.

In round 5, I was quite satisfied. Not much would happen on the left flank, unless the Centaur decided to turn around. On the right side, I could hold my position, even though the Siegebreaker now wanted to join there. After some hesitation, I structured my deck more aggressively and started with the victory of the Steel Legion over the Brute Drones.

The Spire Marksmen took some shots, and my Gilded Legion attempted a charge against the Centaur with a 5+ roll and reroll, which seemed like a sure thing - but it wasn't. It worked out; the Centaur succumbed to 41 Cleave-1 attacks, and although they were in an awkward position, it was a great success. These charges never work in tournaments. Really never. I had done this primarily because I wanted Bastion. A Move Charge would have been wiser, as the spinning Centaur would have hurt the Household Guard. Inspired by my charges, the Siegebreaker decided to go for it and rolled a six. Fair, albeit frustrating. The Siegebreaker crashed into the Steel Legion, but it wasn't enough as they only suffered 11 damage with Bravery. I focused on damaging the Shrimp, and the Men at Arms denied the zone. Such a Shrimp does not like so many AP 1 arrows. In the end, the Household Guard activated in the Aura of Death of the FGD, which caused them little damage, but the clash destroyed the FGD regiment. The Avatara finally hit the flank of the Household Guard, and what I previously thought were solid protection rolls failed, resulting in three stands going home. Score: 11:5.

In round 6, the Steel Legion took the lead. They started by rallying with Bravery and slayed the Shrimp. Later, they fell victim to the Bound Clones, but the shooting and the Men at Arms cleaned up and secured the zone until the end of the game. On the other side, the Household Guard succumbed to the Avatara, and my Gilded Legion hunted down the Marksmen to protect the Men at Arms. The game ended as the Avatara couldn't destroy the left objective in time, and my lead was too significant.

Victory for the brave humans over the scourge of the planet!