Battereport 100k against Nords, or Bretonnia versus the wild tribes from the North.

Hello,

In the past few days, several people have asked me about the Nords list I played against Marcus (Pommesmann on T3, Bremer on Discord). So, I decided to write a match report about our game.

== Blooded [125]: Dragon, The Hunt's Instinct
* Trolls (3) [170]:
* Stalkers (3) [160]:
* Bow-Chosen (3) [210]:
* Bow-Chosen (3) [210]:

== Blooded [115]: Dragon
* Bow-Chosen (3) [210]:
* Trolls (3) [170]:
* Trolls (3) [170]:

== (Warlord) Jarl [110]: Dragon, The Broken Blade
* Raiders (3) [110]:
* Sea Jotnar (1) [240]:

I shamelessly borrowed the list from Karl in the USA, who had quite a bit of success with it at an online tournament. There's now an updated version that has one less unit of Bow-Chosen but includes a unit of Fenr and anti-shooting gear for the Blooded. At the end of the report, I’ve included a brief summary and my thoughts on the units and the list in general. A quick disclaimer upfront: I had never played Nords before and had only seen others play them. So, I made a few mistakes during the game. On the plus side, due to an accident, Pommesmann hadn't played in a few months either, so we were on a similar level in terms of rustiness.

Die Liste vom Pommesmann:

== (Warlord) Mounted Noble Lord [180]: Olefant's Roar, Weapon Master, Tip of the Lance
* Household Knights (5) [310]: Veterans, +1 Clash, Standard Bearer, Tourney Champion
* Household Knights (3) [165]: Standard Bearer, Tourney Champion
* Militia Bowmen (3) [75]:
* Militia Bowmen (3) [75]:

== (Warlord) Priory Commander (Crimson Tower) [110]:
* Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [215]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [215]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Ashen Dawn (5) [445]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Sealed Temple (3) [205]: Standard Bearer

As an experienced Bretonnia player, of course, everything in his army has a banner, and two large blocks formed into lances were also included. Overall, the list significantly deviates from his usual standard, but it was intended as a test run for a large block of Ashen Dawn. Additionally, there was the obligatory Household Knights block as veterans with all the trimmings, and Crimson Tower for more damage. These are all things that Nords typically don't like, as he simply has significantly better ranges, but on the downside, he also had three heavy units that might not reliably reach their targets and fewer cards overall.

We played the Divide and Conquer scenario, which I believe is quite Nord-friendly because it has more than two zones that are well distributed. There were also six mixed terrain pieces. Don’t be surprised—I borrowed Uziel’s army, and since he doesn’t have three regiments of Chosen and Trolls, I had to fill in with some unpainted Raiders and Ugr as substitutes.

In the first round, all my units were able to enter the battlefield automatically without needing to roll, since the three characters had Flank, and the Stalkers have it by default. The only unit that didn't have Flank was one regiment of Bow-Chosen. Since I can choose one unit to automatically deploy, I decided not to bring in the Bow-Chosen right away. My reasoning was that by round two, there might be some cavalry on one side, and I could potentially catch them in the flank. With Jarl Supremacy, this seemed like a solid plan.

Pommesmann rolled for both Militia units, and we deployed fairly wide. Since my characters can score, I positioned them so they could move into the zones next round. However, I realized too late that the Jarl and his Raiders didn’t have a banner. This meant they wouldn't be able to move into the zone next round, which was a bit frustrating, but it was something I had to deal with.

The fact that Jarl Supremacy, in addition to Opportunist and +1 attack when charging into the flank, also allows light regiments with characters to score, is something I always found incredibly strong when watching Uziel. But you still need to think strategically and position them correctly. In this case, I think my positioning was less than ideal, but at least I already had three scoring regiments on the field.

In the second round, I received a unit of Trolls, which I've always rated as mediocre at best when used as MSU, and the last Bow-Chosen unit. I now understand why the updated list includes Fenr, as they have Flank and it’s really advantageous to get two medium scoring regiments in round two. Though it wasn’t entirely necessary, since I theoretically already had three scoring regiments thanks to my characters, I didn’t want to move the ranged units too far forward, knowing that the cavalry would soon advance.

Meanwhile, Marcus only got his big Household Knights death block and one Sealed Temple unit. This gave me a card advantage of 9 to 5, so I placed my characters higher in the deck and my shooting units lower. Since Marcus had a good idea of how my deck was constructed, he wisely didn't rush forward. Instead, he placed his heavy block on the far left, using the building as cover, either to outflank me or to push towards the center. This was fine by me, as I was more concerned about the five Ashen Dawn and the Crimson Tower units that were still to come.

On the far left, his Sealed Temple appeared, and his Bowmen took a few potshots at my Raiders, hoping for some lucky hits. Then it was my turn to shoot, and Marcus had moved his Sealed Temple a bit too far forward, so I managed to take one down with my Bow-Chosen. The last Bow-Chosen unit entered the field behind the Raiders, and the Bow-Chosen on the left made a double march to reach the zone, putting me ahead with a 3:0 lead.

In round three, I received the entire rest of my army, while Marcus got everything except one regiment of Crimson Tower. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but one unit of Bow-Chosen came up first, followed by the Stalkers, the characters, the remaining Bow-Chosen, the Raiders, two Trolls, and the Giant. My card advantage was still solid at 12:9, and I hoped to extend it further this round. I got to go first, and my rightmost Bow-Chosen decided to advance closer to the Sealed Temple to potentially get a flank shot. I rolled well, and unfortunately, so did Marcus, leaving the regiment with just one life remaining. This was annoying because I was missing options to deal that one damage cheaply.

Marcus, of course, had his Sealed Temple on top, gathered them together, and with their four impacts, they managed to inflict some damage on the Bow-Chosen. Then my Stalkers moved forward, took out the first unit of Bowmen in the flank, and in return, received more damage from the second unit of Bowmen. Next came the expected characters for both sides, and Marcus’s Ashen Dawn entered the field, positioned slightly further to the left to avoid all the Bow-Chosen turning to face them. I realized just how short 14 inches of range is.

My Raiders ran into a zone, and my left Bow-Chosen unit made a double march back to clear space for the Trolls, who were supposed to move into the zone. The third unit of Bow-Chosen then took out the remaining Sealed Temple, and I deployed the Trolls on the right flank. Finally, Marcus’s Household Knights block moved. A move-charge into the left Trolls in the zone in front of the Bow-Chosen was too far, so he chose to go around the house instead. I had anticipated this, so the Trolls and the Jotnar were positioned such that he could only attack the Trolls. Then, he would have to choose in the next round whether to retreat or destroy the Trolls with impacts and then reform to avoid being flanked by the Jotnar. The Bow-Chosen might shoot into his rear, but that wasn’t a serious threat since they would be engaged with Crimson Tower and Ashen Dawn.

His other Household Knights appeared on the opposite side, where the Sealed Temple had been before. This made it clear which card would be on top for him in the next round. My last Trolls came on the right flank, and the score was 8:0 in my favor.

In round four, the last Crimson Tower was placed on top of the brave humans' deck. Since I had both a card and a point advantage, it would have been advantageous to start the turn, as the Household Knights would inflict more damage on my Bow-Chosen than I would like in a Charge Clash. Therefore, I placed two units of Bow-Chosen at the top of my deck, followed by Trolls, Stalkers, Raiders, more Trolls, the characters, and finally the last Trolls and the Jotnar.

Fortunately, I did get to start, and the small Household Knights received 10 damage from the Bow-Chosen with Blooded. This broke them, which was exactly my goal. On the other side, his Household Knights retreated, and the shooting continued. The left Bow-Chosen rolled six ones against the Ashen Dawn and inflicted a total of 11 damage. However, since I didn’t use Fire and Advance, which would later prove to be a critical mistake, I missed an opportunity.

Now it was the Ashen Dawn's turn to attack my Stalkers, as Marcus wanted to prevent them from constantly shooting into his flank with rerolls. However, he made a planning error: the Trolls in the flank had 19 attacks on 3s, with rerolls and Cleave 1. Since Marcus hadn't activated his Supremacy, he lacked “Hardened,” and I managed to inflict exactly 7 damage with morale, causing two Ashen Dawn to leave the battlefield. I had read somewhere on Discord that MSU Trolls were bad, but with the “boost” provided by the Jarl’s Supremacy, they really perform well.

By this point, I was feeling confident. When my Raiders, along with the Jarl, survived the shooting from the Bowmen and then wiped them out in the Charge, I was looking forward to a comfortable victory. The Trolls moved towards a zone, but then I received a harsh lesson in cavalry. The Crimson Tower took out my left Bow-Chosen because I hadn’t used Fire and Advance to reposition them—I had simply forgotten.

Additionally, the Trolls that had attacked the Ashen Dawn in the flank cleared the way for the Crimson Tower. The second unit of Crimson Tower then took the place of the first, and I could already see what would happen in the next round. Before that, however, the Jotnar made a move-charge into the Household Knights, and the Trolls on the left moved along the side of the house to prevent the Crimson Tower from simply running around.

At the end of the round, the score was 10:2 in my favor.

In the fifth round, the Crimson Tower couldn’t simply advance due to the hill, but I also couldn’t shoot at them effectively—partly because of the hill and partly due to range issues. The question was whether to place the Trolls or the Jotnar on top of my deck first. I decided to place the Trolls first, followed by the Jotnar, the characters, the Bow-Chosen, and the remaining Trolls.

Marcus suspected my deck construction, went first, activated Supremacy, and the new Crimson Tower wiped out the Trolls engaged with the Ashen Dawn in a Charge Clash. This forced me to activate the other Trolls, and I chose the ones on the right, sending them into a zone. The Jotnar on the left was reduced to five health. What saved me this round was the card advantage and the fact that his second unit of Crimson Tower couldn’t see anything and a nice forest blocked their move-charge. Thus, this round was primarily about positioning for the next one.

On the right flank, I repositioned around the central zone, and on the left, the Sea Jotnar reduced the Household Knights to 2 health. Since he only had 5 health remaining himself, the outcome of this duel was uncertain. If the Jotnar were to die next round, Marcus could use his Household Knights to score, and my lead wouldn’t be significant. At the end of the round, the score was 12:4 in my favor.

In the sixth round, I started, and the Jotnar killed the Household Knights and made a double move towards Marcus's rear zone. Marcus couldn’t afford to turn around with one of his regiments, so his Ashen Dawn went straight for my Jarl-Warlord and destroyed him. I then shot the Ashen Dawn with both Bow-Chosen units, and his first Crimson Tower unit without a commander took out one of the Bow-Chosen regiments in a move-charge.

However, I could also make a move-charge and sent my Trolls from the left flank around the house to engage the Crimson Tower with the commander. This engaged them and showed that three stands of Trolls aren’t as easy to kill as one might think. With 18 health and only half Resolve damage, they can hold out for a couple more rounds without a reform, and with only 10 damage, the problem might persist for another two rounds.

The other Trolls charged into the second Crimson Tower unit, but they made more protection rolls than the Ashen Dawn had previously on a 4, and they remained with 8 health. At the end of the round, the score was 15:4.

Even though my army was slowly being worn down, the Trolls occupied Marcus for a long time. Additionally, the Jotnar contributed two points per round, and the game eventually ended with a score of 28:19.

Final Thoughts on the List:

• Jarl [110]: The Broken Blade is incredibly powerful, and the Supremacy is ridiculously strong. I always thought it was good, but playing it myself, I was surprised at how often one or two stands or an entire regiment can end up shooting into a flank.

• Blooded [125]: Blooded are real monsters in melee and also decent at range. The important factors are their Flank ability and the fact that small melee units have a hard time dealing with the Bow-Chosen. I didn’t calculate whether +1 Clash or +1 Attack is better, but it feels like +1 Attack should be the choice. However, it was almost irrelevant in this game. Over this he has Flank and maybe the best Warband in Nords faction
  

• Trolls (3) [170]: I usually only see them as a large block with Drizzt and Uziel, who complain that, despite 'Wealth of a Hundred Raids,' they often fall apart against many opponents. Honestly, I don’t find them effective as a block, but my opinion on MSU Trolls changed a bit after this test game. Of course, the opponent needs to seriously engage this unit; ping damage or half-hearted attacks are ineffective. This also applies to an MSU. With the Jarl Supremacy in the flank, they reach their full potential. In my opinion, they are a solid unit and especially have Movement 6 and Height 1.

• Bow-Chosen (3) [210]: One must get past the expectation of numerous ones. Mathematically, it’s roughly 2 per shooting phase, more in the flank. If you calculate with 5 shots and Volley 3, they deliver satisfactory results. When six ones do appear, it’s a bonus. Even in the flank, with 16 shots and rerolls at 14 inches, you get 3-5 ones. But you shouldn’t count on that. Also, remember that Opportunists only allow you to reroll failed hit rolls, not all rolls. So you can’t just fish for ones. Whether you need three regiments is another question; that’s 630 points, and two likely fulfill the role similarly well. I definitely want to try the modified version with Fenr, as I think it’s also solid.

• Stalkers (3) [160]: Uziel loves them, and I understand why. Personally, they feel a bit too expensive, but the combination of Vanguard, Flank, and Jarl Supremacy is indeed strong.

• Raiders (3) [110]: Flurry and Impacts are nice, but like the rest of the Nords army, almost every hit is also a wound. Nords don’t have cheaper units that can score, and with the Jarl, they were okay. Uziel always plays them with a Captain, but I don’t understand why the Captain costs an extra 10 points instead of being free. I think they deserve it.

• Sea Jotnar (1) [240]: If the Siegebreaker and Apex didn’t exist, I would have found my new favorite monster. What is wrong with Hazlia’s name on this thing? It’s baffling that it’s not in every Nord list, as it not only has impressive offensive stats but also Fiend Hunter.

Overall, I find Nords stronger than often claimed, but with fewer zones, you can quickly get into a grind battle, which you usually don’t want to engage in, as you’re likely to lose it. Thus, you need very good positional play to succeed in such a scenario. I don’t see good answers against Slingers, Disperse VCI with Stryx, and a few others. You’re probably relying on the opponent’s mistakes or have to sacrifice something, but your own units are quite expensive, and if the counterstrike is too costly, it must really hit. On the other hand, this was just one game, and maybe these aren’t real problems. If any experienced Nord players want to share their insights, feel free to leave comments below, send a direct message, or connect on Discord.