Back in 2019, when the world was sane, I took third place at Rollcall with my Senguko Samurai. Now, it was time to defend their honour. Would I succeed?
My list, a few slight tweaks as teh cavalry lose their skilled powerbow rating (they keep it when they dismount) and a better fourth general, and a whole extra unit, exactly 10000 points, the holy grail of MeG lists! It takes me to the 10 TUGs, but only 5 break point, whereas 9 TUGs breaking on 5 inevitable always somehow feels more solid, maybe!
Game 1: vs Jacques and Tibetians
Catafract central! I can kind of deal with that, but these catafracts get to dismount, and had brought lots of horse archer allies. A tough ask and a good player all the way from Belgium too.
His half of the table was perfect for catafracts and horse archers. mie was perfect for spear armed samurai.
Only 60% outscouted by an all mounted army, I can live with that!
That's an awful lot of horse flesh coming my way! Waht could I do about this? My powerbows with Fluffy and his spears hold the centre. My ally holds the left, my cavaly looks at the wall of horse flesh coming my way and decides it has better plans!
So they dismount and use their longer range to start weakening Tibetian catafract units at full range (should be green plus as firing at superiors with powerbow, but full armour drops us back to white plus). Not a bad shot there boys!
On the right, my average archers show what they can do to normal cavalry as well! Good work lads!
My allies take their usual role of arrow magnets facing down two TuGs of cavalry and two units of light horse, so going bowling for vultures, my superior cavalry catches and kills a light horse unit that failed to roll anything but a 1 (-2) while skirmishing (-2) in cantabrian (-1)! (1-0)
The general situation, generally, looks interteresting, in general. My aim on the right is to push back the horse archers, allowing me round the flank, while on the left my two units are tasked with causing as much trouble as possible before getting gunned down! In the centre, it was grin and bare it!
The Tibetians get off their ggs, and suddenly become even harder, as most are superior, fullly armoured and long-spears, with integral shooters, so double up if being charged, otherwise mostly up!
On the right however, an unexpected twist emerges. Jacques has got three of his horse archers tangled up in themselves, so with a multitude of archers in range, we open up on the nags. I break a unit (3-0) which breaks back through one of it's friends, causing double KABs (one for the break, one for the run through) and breaks them too! (5-0) At this point I'm thinking, maybe, just maybe, I'm on for a win!
Especially when my Firearmed Tepo join in and do this! Suddenly that right flank is very, very open to abuse by Samurai and their friends.
The KaBS and shooting even hurt the average fully armoured dismounted catafracts behind. Things were definitely going my way!
Another dismounted catafract unit feels the weight of Samurai shooting, as two black pluses cause damage (both wound). The shooting was really going my way!
Jacques charges my handgunners on the right, who will break the horse lords (7-0) his whole line goes in in the centre, I send an 8 of average troops after his beaten up 6 of long spear heavy armour in the back field, while on the left my allies face down three units of shooty cavalry and the hits are starting to mount up on them.
My superiors are slowed by two. Not good. Both units have also lost two bases, even worse! This was a matter of not if, but when, these two would break.
Six superior spears and four superior Samurai collude to take on the beaten up remanants of 6 superior fully armoured spears, could I get them?
My eight slams into the other beaten up unit, hopefully, despite being down on the charge, we will do enough to finish them?
I kill one of the left hand spears... one wound left to finish them, please be nice! I do get them! (9-0) One more unit to win...
The overview, however, reveals an uncomfortable truth. My allied average spears disintergrated (9-2) and in the centre, two units of Fluffy's command and a dismounted cavalry unit could not stand up to the weight of the Tibetan heavy foot/horse (9-8).
I needed one hit to break the rear spears, but Jacques hit my allied spears hard with three horse archer units, breaking me. (9-15)
What a game, I should have stuck to the shooting it was amazing! The combats, less so. To be fair, if He had missed my allied spears I owuld have had him. Oh well, 9 points is not to be sniffed at.
Round 1 results, 7th and only 2 results, interesting...
Round 2 draw, and I am up against Malcom using Takeda Samurai
Takeda were Uesugui's arch enemies, and they virtually destroyed each other in one massive battle, and also Malcolm has has also taken the pirate allies, which clan Uesgui spen the rest of the time fight against! It would be a historical fight.
Is that allowed?
The table fell well with plenty of great terrain. As we both ignore most of it as our armies are either loose or flaxible!
Hold on, he's got 11 units! That's huge for Samurai! Only two superior spear units, and one six of cavalry. This was going to be a tough old fight, even with three archer units to pick on, should be a Muhahhahahahaha moment, but Samurai never do well vs bigger forces..
We closed quickly, with both keeping lines, his wall-to-wall, mine going to the wall! I decided to charge one archer unit with a combination of average long spears, who would also be taking on pirates, and a unit of superior cavalry. I should be up here, (superior, short spear, loose in the open with general, +4, yes please, or +3 without the general). On the right, Malcolm charges my average archers with his superior lancers (going to hurt) and his lancers hit my tepo, wouchies! That's going to cost me.
A close up of the action, this is going to be a tight one. The cavalry takes a wound on the way in.
My bows do a kill, while my Tepo do a respectable wound. Neuither are enough to slow the Takeda superiors though!
The firearms do well, killing two wounds for only a wound, but not enough to stop the horse as Malcolm buys through some of the slows. The bows hold their own, taking a base and losing a base, honours even, I can live with that.
The melee phase is not so good for the archers, as they lose a base and a half for nothing in return! The tepo lose a base too, but my superior spears advance into a flanking position, ready for the next turn.
Back on the left, my allies have finally made it into place as they had swapped positions, so my superior spears were lined up and my average spears were lined up too plus the third bows are in sight.
The flank charge takes a base and a half. To their left my average spears clash with Malcoms on green dice. Ne'er a good idea.
My archers collapse to the superior spears. Inevitable at +2 a dice. (0-2) At least I killed two bases...
Disappointingly, and yet inevitably, both my cavalry fell to the average archers, while the average spears were now fighting the beaten up archers (only needing one hit to break) and pirates who had lost 2/6 bases. (0-4). I was in trouble, but my cavalry rushed back to help
The Takeda lancers break, as do my Tepo at the same moment! (2-8) Thankfully I also took out a pirate unit (4-8) My superior spears hit an archer unit, hoping for a good result.
On the left, seeing the archers come forwards, and knowing my cavalry was in range for a rear charge, both they and my allied avaerage spears pile in.
In the centre, my superior bows are taking their sweet time to break Malcom's second piarate unit, while the absolutely even ashugaru fight was slightly in my favour.
In the centre, my superior bows are taking their sweet time to break Malcom's second piarate unit, while the absolutely even ashugaru fight was slightly in my favour.
Flank charge on a double red, what do I roll, a wound! Seriously! I should have done way more than that, but I blew it! My average spears lost a base, and my superiors and Malcolm's handbagged each other!
In fact, I did a wound and he missed, while my average spears missed completely!
Back to the centre, Fluffy himself wades in as Malcolm commits his third pirate units to support them.
Fluffy causes the kill that we needed, the only good pirate is a dead pirate! (4-8) Plus lots of KaB on Malcolm's units will help our cause as one of the other pirate units legs it (6-8).
My superior spears grind through the archers, giving us another dead unit (8-8) but the average spears stand at even losses, it's down to the wire!
And that wire is a garotte held by a Takeda ninja! My average spears facing the average spears break, just as I kill the first engaged unit of archers and Malcolm's Takeda are historically accurate in fighting a very bloody battle which grinds us both down. I lose (8-15). Guess what, I needed one hit on one unit to break him! If my cavalry flank charge had worked, I would have cruushed him!
Great game, damn those historically accureate results!
Bang goes my chances of retaining my thrid place, but I had had two cracking games!
Hopefully, I can pull it back tomorrow.
Nik after having two byes, had sensibly slunk off early, leaving me to do the scoring a draw (what do you mean I'm the responsible one), but the scores and draw looked like this. Still 8th, and my round 3 will be against Paul, as is the law, my closest neighbouring player and great friend, and we end up fighting, again, in round 3!
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