SAGA Age of Magic: The Great Kingdoms vs The Horde

Welcome back for another game of SAGA Age of Magic. Today, I played an 8 pt game against my friend Matt. Matt's new to the game and hobby overall, but he's quickly learning how to roll the bones.

Rather than complicate things via the Book of Battles, we chose to play a standard game of Clash of Warlords.

The Narrative:
The Outlands are on fire. All along the horizon, columns of smoke herald the coming of unspeakable monstrosities. These are enemies without remorse, fear, or mercy. A cold, clammy dread seizes the heart of The Protectorate as wide eyed, blood soaked survivors spread tales of raids, massacres, and unearthly terror.
Sworn to protect the meek, His Order of the Ebon Cross is roused and readied in the panoply of war. Prayers are spoken, oaths taken, and weapons anointed. Time is fleeting and the fate of the Outlands must be decided. 
The Outlands are on fire.

Below are our lists.

THE GREAT KINGDOMS 8 pts

Warlord
-mounted: flying

Sorcerer 1 pt
-mounted: flying
-spells: Burning, Laying on Hands, Bolt

Captain .5 pts
-mounted: flying

Paladin .5 pts
-mounted: flying

Paladin .5 pts
-mounted: flying

8 Hearthguard 2 pts
-mounted: flying

12 Warriors 1.5 pts

12 Levy 1 pt
-crossbow

12 Levy 1 pt
-firearms

My strategy was all theory, as this was my first time playing this faction (I don't like playing with unpainted minis, so I tend to theorize as much as possible before I order anything). My plan was to spam Determination with my Warlord, Sorcerer, Captain, and Paladins. The Warlord and Captain would escort other units, using their We Obey to keep my SAGA dice usage light. Likewise, my Sorcerer (I had to use a magical Pole from my Kings of War army) would hop around and care for units by removing fatigue (Laying on Hands), giving defensive buffs (Burning), and occasionally taking pot shots with Bolt.

The massive Warrior unit would act as an anvil potentially using the Sorcerer for his defensive buff. The Levy units would provide ranged support while the Hearthguard (led by the Warlord) would act as a nightmarish hammer. The two Paladins would act as Monster and Creature hunters, due to their Heroic ability (when in melee with Creatures or Monsters, they become aggression 10 and gain Resilience 2).

 THE (undead) HORDE 8 pts

Matt's warband is still in progress, so we used my Undead miniatures as stand-ins. Fortunately, I've got a pretty large force to choose from, so things were fairly accurately represented.

Warlord
-mounted: beast

Sorcerer 1 pt
-spells: Transformation, Cleaving Blades, Rites of Battle

War Chariot 1 pt

War Chariot 1 pt

Behemoth 1 pt

8 Warriors 1 pt

8 Warriors 1 pt

4 Creatures 2 pts

I helped Matt assemble his warband, though this would also be my first time battling The Horde or even seeing them in play. The plan was to make a hard-hitting, aggressive force that would strive for melee while still being able to withstand missile fire. Regardless, this battle would be a learning experience for both of us!

DEPLOYMENT
As mentioned previously, we chose to play Clash of the Warlords. Matt won the roll off, so he became first player. We placed terrain alternatingly, then rolled for deployment and received deployment C (players place their units within L of their long table edges and must keep units M away from one another). This was an alright outcome for me, but not great for The Horde. For this warband to theoretically work, a Death Star of tightly clustered heavy hitters would be necessary. We also rolled on the Special Rules section and received Exhaustion. We both rolled for each unit and found that two units ended up with a single fatigue each.

Both forces deployed, some, fatigued.

A unit of winged pegasus knights flies over a burning hamlet.

TURN 1: THE HORDE

Matt rested his fatigued units and began advancing, driving his forces forward en masse.

TURN 1: THE GREAT KINGDOMS

I likewise rested and began consolidating my forces. My flying Hearthguard pushed forward on the right flank, Warlord in tow. I used a patch of rocky ground to screen them from potential chargers. My Sorcerer, Captain, and Paladins clustered between the Levy units, creating a strong counter-punch, if needed. I also cast Burning, just in case.

TURN 2: THE HORDE

Chaaaarge! As it turns out, For the Horde! is an extremely powerful ability. With all units granted an extra S movement during their charges and the use of Fatigue to shorten charge distances disallowed while active, this was going to be a brutal advanced ability to face. This turn, Matt charged headlong into my Warrior unit with both of his War Chariots (we resolved each charge separately per the rules, but posed them together dramatically above). As neither was fatigued, both benefited from Devastating Charge, giving them an aggression of 8. Furthermore, as War Chariots are equipped with javelins, both units knocked my armor down from 4 to 3. Fortunately, I had loaded my board with defensive abilities, like Repel the Shadows (gain 2 defense dice) and Shield of Bravery (gain 3 defense dice). The dice gods must have been with me, since I was able to destroy both War Chariots and only suffer four casualties. Back to the pit whence you came!

TURN 2: THE GREAT KINGDOMS

Let's poke the bear! Annoyingly, I cast maximum Bolt on Matt's creatures, inflicting two wounds. As you can see I was using the marsh as speed bump to prevent charges. Otherwise, I kept maneuvering my flanking force into optimal position.

TURN 3: THE HORDE

Matt didn't care for the taste of Bolt, nor the promise of a massed charge into his flank. Instead he brought his warriors inwards and clustered his forces into a defensive knot.

TURN 3: THE GREAT KINGDOMS

Looming death approaches! I continue my flanking moves, bringing the Hearthguard and Warlord into threatening L range. Likewise, I maneuvered my Paladin tag team behind enemy lines using their Flying rule. Seeing as they are dedicated Monster and Creature hunters, it made sense to get them into the fray!

My Sorcerer continued his magical aggression, launching another Bolt, this time, at the Behemoth (giving it a fatigue).

TURN 4: THE HORDE

A man can only take so much! This turn, Matt replied in kind and went on the offensive. Casting optimal Transformation on himself, his Sorcerer viciously tore my Sorcerer limb from limb. When will the Sorcerer on Sorcerer violence end?!

Matt also launched a charge with one of his Warrior units on my firearms Levy. Sadly, my Closing Fire ability was nearly countered by his For the Horde! and Endurance abilities, since I could no longer short his charge using the fatigue that firearms generated. In the ensuing combat, I caused two casualties and he caused four, forcing my Levy to withdraw.

TURN 4: THE GREAT KINGDOMS

This turn would be my turn of vengeance. On the left flank, I positioned my Levy units and used Enfilade, allowing them to both fire for a single SAGA dice. Unfortunately, they whiffed horribly and managed to only kill a single enemy Warrior. Without many options left, my Captain dove in and finished off the Warrior unit single-handedly.

On the right flank, the hammer finally fell. My flying Hearthguard pounded into Matt's remaining Warrior unit. Due to closing ranks and  Iron Will, however, I was only able to kill four of the vile monsters.

Not to be outdone, on the left flank, my Paladins charged Matt's Behemoth and brought it low.

TURN 5: THE HORDE

Now with seriously few SAGA dice left (three generated a turn), he had few options left. Throwing caution to the wind, he charged my Hearthguard with his Warrior unit and was summarily destroyed.

Next, he charged his Warlord mounted on beast into my Hearthguard to complete the one-two punch. Warlords mounted on beasts, especially when augmented by the super aggressive board offered by The Horde are no joke. Although I was able to cut his leader down, he in turn killed seven out of eight of my gloriously pinioned chevaliers.

TURN 5 : THE GREAT KINGDOMS

While I clearly had the game in the bag, it never hurts to wipe your opponent off the board! With one Paladin egging the other on with Inspiration (giving him two additional attack dice), my other Paladin charged the remaining Creature unit, destroying them entirely. Likewise, the exhausted enemy Sorcerer was summarily executed by the crossbow Levy.

GAME SUMMARY: VICTORY FOR THE GREAT KINGDOMS

As stated at the onset of this report, the intent of this game was to help Matt learn his faction as well as the game. By the end of the match, Matt commented that he felt much more comfortable, since he could now plan his turns, rather than frantically reacting. Likewise, we both gained insight into The Horde and discussed a second warband composition which might play to the faction's strengths better.  Overall, it was a great game and a good time for all. Here's what we discussed:

1. The Horde really does need speed on its side. Quadrupedal Creatures, a Scourge (rather than Behemoth), and mounted Warriors might serve better than their slower counterparts.

2. Stoke Fury might work better than Rights of Battle, as it's easier to coordinate and should stack with For the Horde!

3. Warlords mounted on beasts are costly in that you lose We Obey (we think Bodyguards matters much less for The Horde, as they are on the go fairly often). Using We Obey to hurl War Chariots, Monsters, and Creatures seems like a better use.

4. War Chariots are good, but not lone operators. Their javelins could be used for ranged attacks (though not to great effect), but more importantly, they should be used to pick off lone heroes, weakened units, and war machines.

5. Learning to use SAGA abilities in the Orders phase is difficult, but important. Likewise, being cognizant of "the stack" in melee makes a big difference when activating SAGA abilities.

 I also took some time to meditate on The Great Kingdoms, here are my thoughts.

1. I'm not sure if I like magic with The Great Kingdoms. I pretty much used Bolt twice during the game, and that was really it. Burning could have been cool, but for a whole point, I'm not entirely convinced that a Sorcerer is worthwhile. Unlike The Undead Legion or Lords of the Wild, where magic can be used constantly and to dire effect, I never felt like my Sorcerer was much more than a stinging gnat or missed opportunity. I'm sure Laying on Hands could have been used with greater effect, but it didn't really seem that necessary, given my enormous movement with Flying. I guess in a charge, magic, charge scenario, it might have been more worthwhile.

2. I really do need to take a war machine. For half a point, I can reach out and touch the enemy from anywhere on the board. Likewise, my Warlord can We Obey it every turn, instead sending my Captain out to escort the flying Hearthguard.

3. Firearms are cool, but situational. I would take them again, even if For the Horde! effectively nullifies their combo with Closing Fire (you can short your opponent's charge if the firearms inflict a single would, since they cause fatigue).

4. Crossbows are great, period. I rarely activate units to shoot twice a turn, so their limitation doesn't really affect me. I also love the +1 to hit they always have, unlike the firearms which only get +1 to hit at M range or shorter.

5. 12 man Warrior units are fantastic. I have some very cheap defensive SAGA abilities that can make this unit very durable.

6. I don't think a Warlord mounted on flying beast would actually benefit this warband. Sure, he'll hit like a ton of bricks, but We Obey is so, so, so strong. I loved having five units with Determination and two with We Obey, it felt like I had found free SAGA dice every turn. I suppose I could pair my Captain with the flying Hearthguard instead, but I guess experimentation is needed.

Thanks for coming, I hope you enjoyed reading about my battle as much as I enjoyed playing it!
-Nick

P.S.
I'm trying to decide whether my Warlord on flying beast should be riding a Griffin or Giant Eagle: comment below if you have an opinion!