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| Who thought this was a good idea? |
It hadn't been done before in our club. The models were sitting in our bags, daring us. Something had to give. We decided to start at 9 AM, but logistical issues and setup delayed us until noon.
One does not simply begin a game of Unbound. One must prepare, mentally and physically. One must ... unpack. One must pull up an extra table upon which to place models and cards and magazines with rules. One must take a very deep breath.
We began to set up.
First, a Warhammer-style four-foot by six-foot play mat, just to have enough room. And then, a mission. The No Quarter magazine is full of charming, excellent missions. We could have chosen any of those. But, no, not us. No, we just had to play the mission where you place five hills down in an "X" pattern on the board. Each hill becomes an objective worth victory points. If that sounds pretty tame, you're right. You haven't heard the punch line yet. At the beginning of each turn, you roll. On a one or two the entire table floods and everything becomes shallow water (except the five hills, of course). And thereafter the entire table becomes rough terrain. For the rest of the game.
What were we thinking?!
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| Yes, that's all going on the table |
Kommander Harkevich, The Iron Wolf
- Behemoth
- Black Ivan
- Destroyer
- Spriggan
- War Dog
Supreme Kommandant Irusk
- Devastator
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker
Vladimir, The Dark Prince
- Drago
- Juggernaut
- Kodiak
- War Dog
Battle Mechaniks (min)
Doom Reavers
- Greylord Escort
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Greylord Ternion
Gun Carriage
Iron Fang Pikemen (full+UA)
Iron Fang Uhlans (min)
Kayazy Assassins (full+UA)
Koldun Lord
Koldun Lord
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich
Man-O-War Demolition Corps (full)
Manhunter
Widowmakers
Winter Guard Infantry (full+UA)
Winter Guard Mortar Crew
My Retribution list was:
Adeptis Rahn
- Discordia- Phoenix (x2)
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker
Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper
- Phoenix
Lord Arcanist Ossyan
- Manticore (x2)
Dahlia Hallyr
- Skarath
Arcanist (x2)
Dawnguard Invictors (leader+9+UA)
- Griffon
Dawnguard Sentinels (leader+9+UA)
- Griffon
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution
House Shyeel Artificer (x2)
House Shyeel Battle Mages
House Shyeel Battle Mages
House Shyeel Magister (x2)
Houseguard Halberdiers (leader+9+UA)
Houseguard Riflemen (leader+9+UA)
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Mage Hunter Assassin (x2)
Mage Hunter Strike Force (leader+9+UA)
Stormfall Archers (leader+3)
Stormfall Archers (leader+3)
Unbound Formations
- Avenging Angels: Phoenix myrmidons gain Righteous Flames. Enemy models ending their activation within two inches of a Phoenix are set on fire.
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| The iron heart of the Khador lines |
Khador setup first and setup wide. Steve created a 'jack wall in the center of the board with Harkevich and Vlad1's battle groups. He set his cavalry wide left and his kayazy wide right. Very balanced. It put his slower units central and his fast units wide, giving Khador maximum flexibility and a great trap for anyone foolish enough to rush the center and get flanked.
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| Retribution denied flank deployment |
Retribution setup second, denied flank. This had its pros and cons. In the pro column, it helped keep most of Vlad1's battle group and the entire cavalry unit unable to reach any Retribution for the entire game. In the con column, it created the greatest parking lot and activation tetris problem I've ever seen. Furthermore, it allowed that fast cavalry to quickly and easily sieze control of two extra sectors, which boosted Khador's initiative on the second turn to great advantage. More on this later.
...
[ I fully intended to write up the entire game with details and strategies. However, after trying for several weeks, it almost seems that the best presentation of the Unbound experience is the photographs speaking for themselves. ]
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| Deployment Complete |
And then we moved a lot of models. And so on, and so forth.
And the battlewagon blasted away at the hill.
And we killed a lot of models
And it started to look like Khador was going to win with victory points.
And the battle mages played piñata with a few of the Khador 'jacks.
And pretty soon it was time to go home.
Lessons Learned
Despite the mind-numbing model count, and the setup, and the threat of flood, we both had a good time playing Unbound and agreed that we would play it again... in a while. The most important take-away is that Unbound is not Warmachine. It's a similar game that uses many of the same rules. The definition of "round" and "turn" become critically important. Their interplay changes how you must approach unit activation, spells casts, defensive setups, and unit positioning. The sheer volume of pieces on the board, not to mention the multiple extra battlegroups, adds a massive sequencing problem to your plate beyond just fighting the opponent and winning the game.
That said, it's immensely fun to plunk down and use 170ish points of your favorite army. The firepower is astonishing. The potential combinations and synergies are amazing. I would definitely play again.
And thanks again to Steve for spending a perfectly good holiday trying a new, crazy game.
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