Hello,
Flo, aka Bloodjack on Discord, asked for battle reports from the Church, so here’s one straight from the altar of war. The opponent was Christopher's new Yoroni. Up until now, I had only played against them using the Wadrhun. With the recent update, the Yoroni’s high number of wounds has become quite a challenge for the Church, given their rather limited number of attacks.
Hundred Kingdoms [2000/2000]
== Imperial Officer [125]: Art of War
* Hunter Cadre (3) [160]:
* Hunter Cadre (3) [160]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [110]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [110]:
== Chapter Mage [100]: School of Water, School of Fire, Talented
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [110]:
== Theist Priest [140]: Elysian Fragment, Glimmer of Faith
* Crusaders (6) [260]: [Veteran]
* Archangel (1) [260]: Aspect of the Redeemer (Shield & Spear)
== (Warlord) Crusading Noble Lord [130]: To Cast Out the Daemon, Get in Position
* Household Guard (7) [335]: [Veteran], Armsmaster
My list is basically built around the well-known Imperial Theist standard, with the only difference being that I use the Household Guard instead of the Men-at-Arms. That’s not because I find them better, but because they fit well with the infantry concept, and I finally wanted to put my painted Household Guard to good use. They also benefit from Iron Discipline, which I often rely on to blunt enemy attacks. Against the Yoroni and their free activations, that unfortunately wasn’t an option this time—but usually, my buffed blocks don’t get wiped out by just four stands.
The plan was to use healing from the Archangel and the mage to keep the large blocks alive long enough to collect enough points. It also helps that, in this list, I only need to roll for one regiment of Crossbows. All the other cards either have the Flank special rule or automatically appear on a set round.
Christopher’s list was based on what’s currently available. He had previously experimented with monsters and light units, but since we were preparing for Saturday’s tournament, he brought the list he expects to use for that event.
Rolling Stones [2000/2000]
== Daimyo [140]: Gunbai
* Modular Regiment (3) [240]: Kami Ayakashi, Oni Ayakashi, Kami Ayakashi
* Modular Regiment (3) [230]: Kappa Bushi, Oni Ayakashi, Kappa Bushi
== Oyabun [140]: Unyielding Kata
* Modular Regiment (3) [240]: Kami Ayakashi, Oni Ayakashi, Kami Ayakashi
* Modular Regiment (2) [150]: Tengu Bushi, Tengu Bushi
* Modular Regiment (2) [150]: Tengu Bushi, Tengu Bushi
== (Warlord) Kitsune Bakasu [150]: Way of the Kensei
* Modular Regiment (3) [240]: Kami Ayakashi, Oni Ayakashi, Kami Ayakashi
* Modular Regiment (2) [160]: Tengu Ayakashi, Tengu Ayakashi
* Modular Regiment (2) [160]: Tengu Ayakashi, Tengu Ayakashi
Szenario: Melee
Round 1
The only card I had to roll for was a regiment of Crossbows. It arrived right away, and I chose the left flank. By the way, the terrain consisted of pieces from the starter box and some cardboard terrain from Runewars, which you can currently get at a pretty good price.
Round 2
In the second round I was able to bring my four medium regiments onto the field. Overall I now had 11 cards plus Art of War. This usually provides a lot of flexibility and allows me to respond to almost anything the opponent does. The Yoroni also had two units with Flank in their list. However this round only three regiments with characters made it onto the field. Christopher placed them centrally and on the right flank. So I positioned my Household Guard and the two Hunter Cadres there. On the left I placed the Crossbows as I didn’t expect any significant threats to come from that side. This allowed me to build a comfortable lead of 10 to 0.
Round 3
This round, I clearly had the upper hand: 12 cards plus Art of War against Christopher’s 8 cards, since he was only allowed to include two Ayakashi in his deck. My Archangel had also entered the battlefield, and my characters were near the top of the stack. Christopher initially held back as well, then moved the Foxblade regiment into the right zone. That opened up a charge opportunity for my Hunter Cadre, who managed to take out two stands—much more than I expected.
Unfortunately, I had built my deck poorly. The Hunter Cadre and Crossbows should have been placed toward the bottom to activate early. Instead, the two infantry regiments were there—units that were really just meant to benefit from the Archangel’s movement bonus. This was a major mistake, and it became increasingly clear as the game progressed. The Yoroni are simply too flexible for you to get away with that kind of misstep.
So I had to activate the first Crossbow regiment and pushed one unit forward as a potential sacrifice. Maybe Christopher would take the charge, and I could then shoot at him with the other two regiment cards and move the Crusaders into position. That’s more or less what happened. Christopher charged the front Crossbow regiment without a character. The others started shooting, but barely did any damage. In hindsight, I probably should have asked earlier whether they had Hardened, or if I needed to consider the birds.
My Crossbows with the Chapter Mage turned, fired, and barely had any effect. Then the Asian horror movie began for my faithful humans with sticks. I had forgotten or simply failed to consider that the Tengu Ayakashi can move 13 inches onto the field with Fu and Vanguard and then shoot another 14 inches, right to the spot where my poor Chapter Mage was standing. Two Ayakashi regiments wiped out the Crossbows and noticeably reduced my card advantage.
The Crusaders positioned themselves out of sight of the enemy melee regiment, and my Archangel placed itself between the two blocks.
On the right side, I had to activate the Hunter Cadre but had no good line of fire on the weakened Kami in the zone. So I used them as a screen for the Household Guard and fired at a healthy Kami regiment. The Kami moved and charged my units but ended up outside the zone because Christopher had forgotten that he could not bring in his Tengu Bushi this round. That way I secured two zones and extended my lead significantly to 17 to 4.
Round 4
The Yoroni were allowed to put their remaining cards into the deck and also start. That did not go well for one Hunter Cadre in the zone. It was reduced to one stand but later managed to almost completely push back the enemy regiment. The other Hunter Cadre killed one stand from the Daimyo’s regiment but was completely wiped out by the Daimyo as the last activation, long after my Household Guard.
Then two Bushi regiments appeared on the right flank but did not enter the zone because Christopher feared I could use Reform from my Supremacy to do some nasty things. He had played against my list several times before with his Wadrhun and knew what happens if I get free reign. My assurance that he should score and that I had no crazy tricks planned was ignored, which I was happy about because the zone remained untouched. Unfortunately, this meant that on the right flank in round five I was dependent on a good initiative roll. I was not happy about that. Things looked better on the left flank.
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My second card was the Archangel, who charged into the Kami from the Oyabun and killed one stand. Disappointing. Seven wounds are simply a lot. The Kami reformed, killed the Crossbow next to them, and caused some hits on the Angel. Then the Ayakashi turned up the pressure again.
This continued throughout the entire game, but at least my Crusaders held firm with solid save rolls and only lost two stands. The birds were now dangerously close, too close. The Crusaders attempted the charge, succeeded, and were now in the zone. Incidentally, one bird regiment was wiped out in the process, which I was very happy about. I also gladly took the Angel’s regeneration. So each of us controlled one zone, but Christopher had killed two regiments and I only one. Score: 21 to 10.
Round 5
Building the deck was difficult. I really wanted to save the Hunter Cadre, but there were still plenty of enemies in front of my Household Guard. At that point, I considered the other flank to be safe. I decided to use the Blessed Supremacy and placed the Household Guard and the Hunter Cadre near the top, followed by the left flank.
I was allowed to start. The Guard wiped out the Daimyo’s regiment. Then the birds moved toward my Household Guard. I advised Christopher against it and told him he absolutely had to kill the Hunter Cadre; there would be plenty of time for the Guard later. He thought about it, rejected my suggestion, and so the Cadre survived, killed the Foxlady’s regiment in return, and stood grinning like a Cheshire cat in the zone, scoring points.
The two Bushi regiments, however, nearly wiped out my Household Guard alone. After those two regiments, I had five wounds left and was allowed seven armor saves in total, the rest being automatic wounds. I flinched inwardly but my lead was high enough. At least, I hoped so.
Things went better on the left flank. My Angel survived the Oyabun’s attack thanks to Blessed and killed the regiment in return, supported by the Crossbows. The last Ayakashi retreated, and Christopher’s fresh Kappa made a move and charged the Angel. The Angel barely survived with two wounds left. Unfortunately, my Crusaders’ line of sight was blocked by the Kappa regiment, and I decided that the zone was more important than a dead bird. Three zones, all regiments with characters, and no losses on my side extended my lead to 45 to 10.
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Round 6
The game was far from over, since you can make a strong comeback in melee. Deck building became tricky again. Which flank should I prioritize? Where would Christopher start? I expected him to start on the right flank, so I placed the Crusaders early. I wanted to kill the block in front of the Archangel and assumed Christopher would give it less priority. I activated the Supremacy of the Imperial Officer, placed the Priest for the Fragment on top, with the Crusaders underneath.
Christopher began and killed the Angel with Inspire. In return, my Crusaders killed his Kappa. The Bushi wiped out my Household Guard, and one of their regiments went home thanks to the Crusading Lord’s Die Fighting. The second Bushi attacked my last Crossbows on the flank and nearly wiped them out.
The Ayakashi made a solid 16 hits on my Crusaders, costing me three stands, and they took the zone. My last Hunter Cadre stand defiantly shot at a single Bushi and bravely continued to defend the large zone. Each of us controlled one zone. Score: 50 to 18.
Round 7
Christopher started again. The Ayakashi shot down more stands of mine. I was broken, gathered myself, and turned the block. The Bushi wiped out the last Crossbow stand including the officer. My last Hunter Cadre, the embodiment of the brave man with a stick, continued to hold the large zone courageously. I never tired of reminding Christopher that this man should actually be dead. We both scored. Score: 55 to 29.
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Round 8–10
My Crusaders were shot down. In round 9, the Bushi moved to the next zone and in round 10 made a move-charge on my Hunter Cadre. In the last round, they were wiped out, I got tabled, but I narrowly won with 58 to 57.
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Final thoughts
Nasty birds. Ugh, just awful birds. That really reminded me of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and the church did not like it at all. No, not at all. Especially not when the pious men with sticks suddenly realize the air is burning and there is no cover.
Still, I made many mistakes, especially with positioning and deck building. Most painfully, I did not use my Crossbows properly and placed the Hunter Cadre too riskily. But in the end, Christopher’s uncertainties and a few missed chances on his side saved the game for me.
What really got to me was how the Yoroni pushed me into an uncomfortable activation game. Their flexibility almost forces you to think defensively and constantly reposition. That is not my style with this church list. I usually play strongly through card control, Supremacy, and resilience. Here, however, I felt like someone who is only reacting to enemy movements and hardly able to dictate their own plays. The high number of wounds, the constant hits, and the fact that the church can hardly apply pressure in this version. In short, the matchup was tricky and probably much more pleasant without kill points. But it remains a challenging game for the church, especially if your synergy is not perfect. I definitely learned to plan my deck structure more carefully. Next time, hopefully, the Hunter Cadre won’t stand alone in the middle of nowhere and will become a hero against their will.
Despite everything, it was an exciting game, a close finish, and a valuable test for the upcoming tournament. And even though the church bled in the end, it has triumphed. For now.
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