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MeG at Warfare

Wooden Spoon, this will be a fun chariot theme. The first ride of the three chariot books in a major competition. I was bringing my Mitanni, in the massive effort to show that in this 'scissor-paper-stone-lizard-Spock' period can be fought by the equivalent of a horse archer army.

Below in my list (and Cid's).
Now completely illegal...


The runners and riders for this competition. Cid and I ended up using EXACTLY the same army, exactly, down to every last detail! 


The first two games also feature shot curtsy of Nik Gaukroger.

Game 1:
The draw, I get another fight against Pete Entwistle after out tussle at Ribble Rumble. Five Hegemons is an impressive list, and Pete's armies are always beautiful.

The table fell as 'dense' and it's not greatly chariot friendly is it? Waterway, hill, a town, rocky ground and woods.

Yay, I out scout the Chinese by 50%

This one wasn't subtle, Pete deployed on his hill, and came through a wood, while I tried to keep my chariots in the open while avoiding his much much much much better chariots!

First contact is spears in the wood, as I try and find a soft underside of this army*. Yes, Pete's army is terracotta!
*(Hint, there isn't one)

The wood fight, how will this end up?


Exchange of shots, attempting to weaken the battle chariots. Return of fire.. erm, hold on, he's a bit good too! Drat!

Yeah, that hurt! Better bring the experienced chariots to plug what will soon be a rather obvious hole!

One of Nik's shots of the game. Infantry clash continues in the wood, while I wonder how much trouble I am in...


Pete puts his polearm armed Chinese down the throat of my bows. Not a pleasant fight as he will be up on me all the way through.

Three slows caused by shooting, not catching me in a hurry eh Pete?


His unprotected mixed unit suffers from my skilled shooting, soon they will be mine, Muhahahaha...

We keep swapping bases, but he was a 6 and I'm a 4! Just beautiful Pete!

 Nik's view of the fight in the wood, and on the hill I had lost a unit here, drat! I had got one of Pete's via a cheeky charge, phew!

But I got greedy, and smashed through into the battlechariots behind. Oops! This will hurt, especially as Pete gets the hill too!


It's odd looking at it from Pete's view in Nik's photo, but I pulled back, for my own safety! That's a LOT of horsepower heading my way!

After this, it all went a bit Pete Tong! Pete caught me with his shoot and charge battle chariots, which stopped me evading and left me with very fragile chariots with his heavy chariots.
 I disintegrated, 6-15. Ouchies! Well won Pete, about time you got me. I had at least enough of his units within a hit of breaking to win me the game, but after a superb game, Pete walked away grinning.


After round 1, I am well down the heap. Oops!


Ray Boyles very generously gifted me this between rounds. Awesome, thank you.


Round 2 draw.


Game 2 was against Peter Cross with his Hittites, an awfully even match-up, possibly? Not, he had battle chariots and exceptional chariots too.

How many red cards in the pack? Pity I'm not flank marching!


I will have that hill then!

Peter starts chasing my chariots with his Anatolian vassal chariots, long spear battle chariots, yikes!


These move quickly!

In fact we were both swarming to this sector of the field and it looks like it will rather busy! Peter is bringing his exceptional chariots round the hill too.

The hill is definitely mine then! 

Nik's shot from Pete's side, 4 units of average chariots against two sixes of superior skilled shooters. I might get away with it! 

And after a turn of shooting, Peter missed, I didn't!
  
 As Peter deals, I move off the hill and wonder how to deal with all these chariots. Oh, the way to deal with exceptionals, shoot them!

The ground shudders under the wheels of all these (teeny-tiny) chariots and Peter's foot. Knowing what was about to happen, I set up for a flank charge on exceptionals with average chariots, while he eyes up my superiors with his battle chariots.

Peter charges me with his two superior units, his exceptionals and his foot. I brace and shoot his exceptionals with my averages, knowing that I will not last long, but on the way in I take the joy of taking out one, but his superiors impact, killing one unit with their shoot and charge, but in return, my two averages wipe them out for no further loss.

My superiors get involved, against battle chariots (that's not going well) and against spears (again, not a great idea).

Two units of Hittite vassal spears await the arrival of my foot.

If you will leave skirmishers in range of skilled bow, expect a hurt!

My breakthrough chariots turn in, while my outclassed light chariots hold on.

Peter's foot, many units, against mine.

The exceptionals go to a flank charge, which crashes into Peter's foot. I loose my superiors to Peter's battlechariots, but it's too little too late, I am behind him and take his battle chariots before he can break me for a tight 15-8 win. We played his next charge, it would have been 12-all! Such a tight game.


The round 2 results, a little more hopeful of submarining, maybe? 
It's all a bit tight at the top!

Sunday dawned bright and early, and I was drawn against Dr. Simon Elliot, our first meeting since TOIL, where somehow I had snatched a win.




Neo-Assyrians, more battle chariots, you would have thought I knew how to fight them now?

I out scout him, again. This keeps happening.

On the right I pin his battle chariots with my average chariots, while swinging in again with my superiors. My foot regrets being born as they realise the mass approaching is WAY better than mine, and bigger, and better armed!

First round of shooting, I would say that's a decent throw, especially as those are white pluses, so the S wounds.

The return fire hurt even more. That's a three card group break off, the red to buy through the three slowing hits.

Guess the doors are closing here. I wheel my superiors to deal with the infantry threat.

Foot combat is joined, and the good doctor chews lumps out of me, as well as threatening to flank me with his Middenite camels. The good news is my shooting was worrying his central foot.

How best to describe this? Painfully not good!

Not good becomes - eh? How is that happening? Simon's flank charge by his camels obliterates my foot, but in the centre, somehow, I take on and beat all his chariots and his central foot. Simon should have taken me apart 15-0, which he has done before, instead, I pulled it back , further and further, with my army on their break point (three units a hit off loosing me the game),, in the scrum lower left we mutually destroy each other for a 12-12! Quite a brilliant game and great result.

The last game did, nothing, for my standings. Started the game as 10th, ended 10th! Think my plans to submarine have been depth charged.

Round 4, and with an almost inevitable fate, I'm up against my friend Paul. I had been beaten by him previously, and he has met my army before, so knows exactly what he is doing.
Paul chose 'Counters' and jolly tasty they were too. I was completely out scouted, and Paul had he terrain he wanted and needed, the now extinct 'rough ground' friendly to cavalry, lethal to chariots.


I got lucky early, smashing a TUG that was in skirmish formation, but that was about it really, Paul was able to pull me apart.

I tried to get at his camp, but it was no avail.

Bigger, more mobile, tore into my pifflingly small units with abandon.

Leaving me with an uphill fight. I did pick off a few stray cavalry units, but not enough and not quickly enough. Here you can see the damage Paul's mounted bows are inflicting.

Well, if you want to try charging me... Oh, they've got me surrounded.

This administered the coupe de gras, and my army melted away into the Reading subset.

Still, 10th is my best result here so far, happy with that, even if I maintained my place. It won me a £10 Lurkio voucher for being average! 41 points over 4 games, some weekends I dream of such heady scores! Fantastic weekend. Thanks to all my opponents, and I will return.

Think that's Robin's index finger....
He did win the spoon!

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