In our third encounter of the year, and probably the final one in MeG for the season, Andy Clarke and I wheeled (literally) our chariot period armies. This time, I had all but 3.66666 of my units painted, and no proxies on table (apart from an empty camp base, but it was poor and unfortified).My list below. Finally tweaked to something with a decent breakpoint and a possibly usable combination of chariots. I've dropped a unit of archers, and upgraded the other to skilled (but unprotected and combat shy means that in combat they would suffer against anything). Must find the name of my third general!
Andy's force was a massive tweak on his last version. A legend, a talented, a comprehensive and a mediocre general (not often you get one of everything!), 6 Exceptional battle chariots, 3 x 4 superior battle chariots, two units of 6 close short spear integral foot, a mob of 8 unprotected archers, three units of average cavalry and a unit of superior cavalry all four in fours. We both break on sixes, we both had brittle fours, and it being the chariot period, no one had any melee capabilities, it's all shooting and impact! Andy had saved a pile of points and had downgraded all his shooting capability to average. This was going a hard fight, if his chariots got in to my foot, I would be sweeping them up off the floor as he scattered through me.
I chose to attack, meaning Andy could try to take me apart on the plains of Assyria. Tried to take the terrain back to dense failed, but at least we out-scouted them by 60% (red is 40%, yellow is 20%, black - nout)
Deployment. The unit on the far left is unfinished, not skirmishers, the chariots right are average, centre are superiors, and my foot cower on the hill (the only terrain) in front of my 'camp'. Andy's better, harder, battle chariots deployed centrally, his cavalry on either flank, and his infantry also lurked in front of his camp. Looked like the infantry was planning to sit this one out!
Tangy Wine Gums, this year's club favourites!
After initial moves, it became clear that this was going to be a chariot dancing game. One of my superior 6s moved out left to hold down the superior and average cavalry the talented general was bringing round to threaten my flanks and my infantry on the hill (who were busy rearranging themselves into a square that Wellington would be proud of). On the right, an average skilled 4 (white and 2 painted) and my average experienced chariots broke off right to try and slow down the other two chariots controlled by Andy's mediocre general. Andy had more mounted than I, and I wasn't sure what I had would be enough to stop the behemoth approaching me.
Before anyone complains, Andy is doing a serious shuffle on the deck as ALL the black cards had been in our first hand!
Skirmishing begins. On the left, six skilled shots line up vs 8 experienced. In the centre, all my skilled chariots are negated by Andy being superior or exceptional (so I fire as experienced, matching him and wasting an AWFUL lot of points), on the right, his bow armed cavalry face off against my bow armed chariots.
Who says MeG doesn't have enough shooting?
And I came off a LOT worse! Honestly... One base and two wounds on Andy, he caused 5 wounds and a massive amount of slows!
Humph!
In the next turn (look, wounds bought off) my shooting returned to a more 'average' state, killing one from Andy's rear cavalry unit, and not much else.
Fortune favours the stupid! I decided that as I was a base up, and he could only shoot me with a black and a white die, (yes, he got two wounds and I had to buy my way into combat) that my chariots would charge his damaged cavalry, the effects were devastating! _(0-2)
His mediocre general dropped his cards in shock, and scattered off to his other cavalry unit, and we crashed into those too, causing a wound.
So, the dice... two blanks and that was all that Andy could manage on me. I managed a wound and a miss on the first file of combat that killed a base, then the green dice rolled a skull which killed the file his general was fighting with, the red was a KAB (Kill A Base test) on the mediocre general, who promptly fell under off his own chariot. The yellow is the KAB on the unit for seeing his nibs die. Thankfully for Andy, my yellow missed, or he would have lost a second unit that turn!
In the centre, after trading shooting losses, Andy chose to charge his battle chariots in. My only option was to shoot, scoot and prey I didn't get caught. Thankfully, superiors add 1 to their running away roll, so this turn I was (probably) safe. The exceptionals (white horses) were worrying me.
Meanwhile, on the second front, Nick's Assyrians took on Mark's Minoan and Mycenaean, it was a hard fight in all it's 10mm glory!.
Back at our game, the inevitable happened to Andy's next cavalry unit, he caused one kill, but it was too little, too late as his cavalry broke and his mediocre general could only watch on from the rear as he was sewn back together! His infantry redeployed, in case... (0-4)
Andy Charged again in the centre, my average chariots turned tail and legged it away. My superiors failed to run away effectively, but stood up against the +3 charge of the battle chariots (I was on a +2), and thankfully I only lost a base, and was able to move my superiors up in support. Andy's battle chariots broke and their KAB on their neighbouring battle chariots broke those to! (0-8) They had taken a wound and a half from shooting, and a green skull on the KaB test didn't help. (And the bows to the left took a casualty because of this too).
BIG hole in the centre, and my superior chariots are now clear of Andy's exceptional battle chariots, phew! My chariots that had previously broken through were now turning about to come back and help. My six superiors on the left were still trying to pin two fours of cavalry, who were now joined by 8 (well, now 7) bows, who had shot a base off them.
My superior chariots, joined by my legendary general piled into the unprotected, loose bows, causing two casualties, and suffering one and a half! Yes his worst combat troops were causing more casualties than his elites, even wounding my legendary commander. Ironic, don't you think?
Andy charged his superiors and remaining average cavalry into my beaten up superior chariots, who have lost a base and a half all ready. The chariots stood and shot (never a good plan, but it was that or run into my own troops on the hill and embarrassing everyone). Those two greens are me shooting dice. A 1/36 chance. It broke Andy's fifth unit (0-10) and he should have been rolling me over by now.
His superiors crashed in, I missed and he caused a wound and a half, taking my chariots down to half strength. I was about to lose a unit here.
My legendary general suddenly was no longer legendary as he patched up wounds all over his body from the bowmen, but it was not enough. The bowmen shattered, breaking his army. (0-15)
Yipes!
Not much left of Andy's army. Hell of a game, I had some incredibly lucky game. I managed to avoid the exceptionals this time, and was able to weaken enough of his units before contact to cause issues, especially in units of 4, which are always brittle.
Oh, Nicks Neo Assyrians lost too.
Should have removed the wine gums!
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