Derventio II at Boards and Swords, a 4 game Meg Competition Games in Derby

This weekend saw the second Deventio Mortiem et Gloriam competition hosted by the wonderful Boards and Swords shop in Derby. 

Over the weekend we had 22.5 players enjoying four games, the themes was any list from the Classical section of the Mortiem et Gloriam army lists. The range and scope of the lists was interesting, after last year, when pikes dominated the scene, this year saw the Roman lists dominate the field.

In no particular order, and with no allies listed:

Ray Duggins   Early Macedonian

Robin Spence   Later Sarmatian
Keith Spedding   Mid Republican Roman
Pete Entwhistle   Later Foederate Roman
Jeremy Howison-Haworth   Royal Achaemenid Persian (300 Inspired list)
David Parish   Spartan
Lee Sanders   Satrapal Achaemenid Persian
Richard Jeffery-Cook   Early Imperial Roman
Phil Powell   Macedonian Successor
Laurence 'Cid' Donahoe   Asiatic Successor
Will Denham   Dacian
Ian 'Manny' Mann   Mid Republican Roman
Stephen Stead   Dacian
Nigel Emsen   Spartacus Slave Revolt
John Munro   Middle Sassanid Persians
Alasdair Harley   Lowland Thracians
Bruce Rollett   Bosporan
?/Roger Whittam (Sunday)   ?/Quadi
Pete Simpson   Numidians
Kev Brewin   Sassanid Persians
Nik Gaukroger   Imperial Roman
Roger Pitfield   Imperial Roman
Adrian Pitfield   Greaco-Bactrian

and the draw, except that Ian Mann and I agreed that he would drop out to run the store on Sunday and allow Roger Whittam to step in, and I would keep playing.

I was borrowing Nick Overland's magnificent Dacians with Later Sarmatian allies, as I wanted to try something a bit different. The idea was to put the legend straight down the throat of any opponent with a superior Nobles, the rest were to enjoy their time in the field, if the warriors got into combat, it was a bad day! If the poor warriors got into combat, it was a REALLY bad day!


Game 1 vs Adrian Pifield (Greaco-Bactrian)
The old Bactrian list, as perfected by Paul Cummins and Nik Gaukroger, is a deadly cavalry heavy wall of lancers backed by, lancers and catafracts. Not what you want to meet as loose troop in the open (giving away a +1 on the charge), and the potential for many, many horse archers that could shoot and scoot, causing me many problems with no reply (this prophecy would come back to haunt me later in the weekend).

With a legendary general and the ability to dominate the terrain choices in every game I chose to defend, with a secure flank (a coast line) and as many woods/forests as I could manage, just like Dacian itself (we basically held variants of this terrain configuration an all games). I decided to hide behind my allies!

Regular viewers will know I do not corner sit! The Graeco-Bactrians piled over their magic terrain to come and attempt to run me over.

A few games in progress.

Alasdair vs the War Doctor.
 
Not a bad hand of cards!  

Adrain's A line was superior lancers, backed up by lancers, which I chose to meet with Superior lancers and average lancers. He also took the unusual step of putting ALL his generals into this first attack. Massive combat bonuses, but no way to manoeuvre his other units as his generals were tied up in the fight.

That line didn't last long, leaving units stranded that I was able to envelop. 

Adrian attempts to bring his catafracts up into the field.

We even took out one of his generals! His flank charge came to nought too.

 15-4 to Dacia!

Game 2: Vs Nik Gaukroger's Imperial Romans
A nasty mix of legionaries and auxilia, many superiors, exceptional and impact weapons with melee experts, better than me in all areas basically, oh, and he was flexible, so would not mind coming to play in bad terrain too. Nik put some of his stuff in ambush on my approach vector. Oh well, we came here to fight! 

My cavalry force attempts to screen the Romans. Nik's ambushes are revealed, and the line braces for a massive impact! 

We ran out of charge markers! My three heaviest foot took on Nik's exceptional, led by my legendary general and two units of lancers pile into Nik's foot. In the woods, my foot was paired up with Nik's vastly superior foot.
Two units of my warriors stay on the hill, brew up and watch with interest!

That's an awfully long line! On the left, my first cavalry unit evaporates! In the centre, the impacts caused a lot of hits on Nik, but he was piling them back. 

Sure I had a unit here just now!

My foot smashes through Nik's line, including his Exceptional guards, great news, as do my lancers, who pursue into the wood (not good news, at all). Then they had to turn back, as Nik hit them hard in the flank (seriously bad news, he killed the unit with one charge).  The pink counters denote has just fought, not official, but dashed useful!

See that, it's going to hurt.

I tried catch Nik's cavalry while my brave lads attempt to break one more of Nik's unit and either of these would win me the game!

This wasn't to be. Nik gracefully points out where I went wrong! I broke four times all my foot in the forest and my two cavalry units all disintegrated, and Nik won 8-15. Absolutely brilliant game, a real challenge to us both and one of the best I ever fought. Sooooo close to getting him.

After two rounds, the table looked like this:


And the Sunday draw looked like this, note that the allies were listed now, as everyone knew what was happening:

Ray with his Spartan delivery system on Sunday, yarg!
 I took as much terrain as possible to try to hold him up, while swinging in my lethal foot into his more average spears at the rear, unfortunately, they had a large wall of superior and exceptional Spartans to their front. In fact, Ray had more Spartans than the Spartan list!! I swung my cavalry left to screen, I moved up in the centre, aiming at the wood...

 I killed a base! with black dice shooting (1in36 chance)! A small moment's gloating there for me.

Ray cleverly sacrificed this unit to hold me up long enough to allow his Spartans to form a line and take my cavalry apart! But, well, a point' a point!

I even offed a general! 

Here's a moment you don't often see, 2 dead elite Spartans from cavalry charges. This would not last, but man it felt good! These cavalry were toast!

Time was called by the evil umpire (oh, that was me) at 10-6 to Ray, I had escaped lightly, and I even had one spartan unit within a whisper of breaking, but it did not happen! Oh well, an exhausting but great game!

Game 4: vs Kev Brewin with (borrowed) Sassanid Persians 
Again, I flooded the table with terrain, but I chose rocky terrain mid table (silly, should have chosen more woods, would have allowed me a place to hide from all those horse archers, I could use excuses like it was a long weekend of organisation, I just didn't think).
My cavalry vainly faces down Kev's superior horses, while I try and gain a flanking position, or his camp, or a miracle!

 Superior cavalry vs superior cavalry, I was up on the charge, and lost in the melee, it was going so well!

That well in fact, that's two units down in a matter of minutes. Kev had the absolute drop on me, and I was suffering here!

He was soon sweeping his entire army around my flank as unit three was dispatched.  My most effective unit was my skirmishing archers, who held up many of his horses with the implied threat of two white dice...
Honest.

It ended as 9-2 to Kev, as he wasn't coming in, and I DEFINITELY was not going out there.

 Another great game, and Kev's fourth game, his first competition, he did brilliantly.

Final results, great weekend. Only the first time out for the Dacian army on one test game, but it will definitely be back, especially as Pendraken will be releasing their version in 10mm soon! Pendraken Dacians, OHHH YEAH!
 Muhahahahahahah!


Adrian with his Wooden Spoon for last place

Richard wins his beer for the Arminius award for the most units killed (apt really as he was using the German.

Jerry with his best painted award for his brilliant 300 themed Persian army. My bald spot is spectacular!

Phillip Powell with his well deserved Dino Monticolli award for best Sportsman during the weekend.

Lee Sharpe in 3rd. Trophy bases hand turned by my amazing father-in-law.

Richard's second beer, for second place. 

 (The resemblence is uncanny)

Alasdair, so nearly pipped at the post but came through with another amazing perfect score.

Thank you to Lurkio Miniatures and Boards and Swords for the amazing prize support too!