Skip to main content

MeG Imperial Roman vs Alexandrian Macedonians


The might of Alexander the Great vs a failing Roman Empire, who would overcome?

Wednesday night and Andy kindly came all the way over from Thame to play me at MeG at Leighton Buzzard Wargaming Club


Dense coastal terrain was generated, with (left to right) a coastline, a wood, a lump of rocky ground, a marsh and a vineyard (must find my vineyard, it's in a box, somewhere).

As close to outscouting a legendary general as you can get! Green =10%, Yellow 20%, Red 40%, so close!

Deployment. Left to right:
Romans: In the rocks hid my archers (loose, unprotected, combat shy, come on) and an average legion (flexible, shield cover, melee experts). In the gap between terrain nestled my exceptional legion and my 8 superior bases legion. Heading into the marsh, in loose, were another superior legion, and two average legions. Outside them is two units of Roman cavalry, one superior, one average, all melee experts, shoot and charge.
Facing them is a superior skirmisher unit with javelins, Alexander himself being a legend with his exceptional Agema, a phalanx of superior hypastpis spears, two taxis of average pikes, a unit of average greek cavalry, skilled Cretan archers, a superior cavalry unit and an unprotected lancer unit.
Yeah, interesting.

Turn 1, and Andy advances his skirmishers, Agema and hypastpists. I dive my average legions into cover and bring up my cavalry to close the right hand flank gap. My exceptional and large superiors legions pivot to try to close the gap between two main terrain features.

Andy's BEAUTIFUL pikes and cavalry, with a sneak peak at his Hypastpists!

And is amazing cavalry contingent. It's too beautiful to kill, man!

Degenerate Greek snacks compared to true Roman ones!
(Oh all right, we both enjoyed both of them, but I brought the wine gums).

So far, my legions are avoiding the Agema, as we square up, my exceptionals and superiors spend time expanding to try to fill the gap. My other superiors break out the marsh to threaten the pike's flank. My cavalry press forwards, covered by two legions/ Andy is engaging in a shooting match with my bows in the rocks.

Turn 3 and it's all kicking off!
Andy spots my superiors are still in loose formation, and charges before I can hit his phalanxes flankes.

We both have shoot and charge, and I did not have the cards to get two charges off, so shoot and stand on the right, hoping that lancers (+2 and shooting +1) would not disintergrate my short spear average cavalry (+1) too badly!
My superiors take aim at his...

The first taxis charge in.

Hold on, unprotected! I go up one with shooting! Wooppee! This is the best Roman cavalry has been since before v1 was released! Bad shot, sorry.

Due to Andy and my charge arrows, and Andy charging first here, I clip his average unprotected lancers with my superior, protected, melee expert, short spear cavalry, taking the stress out of my average cavalry. Phew!

Superior +1, Impact weapons +2, Integral shooters +1, vs Average, short spear +1, and loose in the open +1. I should be mincing these Greeks. They score a wound in the way in with a black dice shoot and charge!!

Which the promptly convert into a kill on the legion, who, rolling yellow dice, miss! My other superior legion losses a base, but smashes two from the taxis, even with an attached general, this is looking hopeful.

An average auxilia moves up in support of the superior legion, who promptyly lose ANOTHER base in combat, while at +2.

Did you sat unprotected lancers, melee expert, vs superior melee experts and a general, yes please!

Eight superior, long spear, shove hypastpist (+2) charge into six, exceptional, impact weapon, integral shooter (+5), one with a general (+6) Guard legionaries. I lost a base and a half, to Andy's three and a half on impact! They are beautiful though...

I lost a base (from one wound) in melee, Andy was creamed. (2-0)

However, tthe second taxis crashed into, and through, my eight of superior legionaries. Bit embarrssing! (2-2)

At MKWS, Nick and Mark have said that they believe each unit should be able to take two units. However, when the next unit in line is an exceptional Agema with Alexander the Great himself in charge, and you're a rather battered 6 stand legion, it tends to put a dent in that idea.

(Gulp)

I'm going to go through this one step by step, so you can witness the glory of this one.
Andy charges, he could not get all three in, so two, including Alex, will have to do.

His first file is +6. Green-White in Andy's favour, so a 1:3 of shattering (a plus two to the next file), 1:6 to kill & shatter. Oops, we both missed!   

The next file, he has only +4, whereas I I have +6 (+2 exceptional, +2 charging lancer vs exceptional +2, impact weapon +2, integral shooters +1 and a general)! Great result!

This is why I should have pursued! Andy's two taxis both turn 90 degrees, ready to brutalise two of my units on the next turn. Dratanddoubledrat!

Melee phase, and the Agema conform and expand out. They cause a wound in the process.

Elsewhere, my small superiors, joined by my average legion, tear lumps out of Andy's average Greek cavalry, but my superior legion keeps losing bases! My cavalry is on greens to whites along the line vs Andy's and are slowly winning.

Andy's flank charge is lined up on my Superior legion. I rush my Seguntites (average legion) to cover the gap.

Andy crashes in, with his taxi of pikes, the legion shatters and dies.

And so does my general! Causing KaBs elsewhere too.

My Exceptionals die to the flank too! (2-6) I'm losing badly. But I kill his Greek cavalry (4-6), and his unprotected lancers (6-all), Andy breaks on 4, as he has a tiny, but elite army. However, it was so tense I forgot the photos.

Pikes smash into the flank of my Guard legion, my average legion hits Andy's pikes, which are only two deep and I get them to four but not enough to break them.


Success comes from my superior cavalry getting the final kill on Andy's superior horse. Somehow, I made it. (15-6)


 A great game, and Andy has put together a seriously powerful force. Thankfully, the terrain fell well, but my three casulties were my three best units, two of which had pinned four of his, including superior spears and exceptional cavalry. I gave away my exceptionals, but my small superiors was just grim! Maybe I should have gone for a full speed pursuit rather than holding my follow up? Would the angle have been better? Who knows...

Grteat game, better grapes!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The random miniatures in my lead pile thread

Hi all, As the months go on, I am finding more random stuff that does not fit into any catagory is creeping it's way up to the surface of my lead mountain. I decided a few years back, rather than just throw it back like one of Nobby's escaped socks, I would actually paint some of them.   Nemisis the Warlock - Khaos; Deadlock; the Warlock; the Shape of Things to Come; the Lord of the Flies; Holder of the Sword Sinister; The Death Bringer One of my all-time favourite 2000AD characters (2000AD is a British sci-fi based comic for those not from the fair shores of Blighty). "Creedo!" I got hold of two of these on Evil Bay, one uncommon (yellow base rim), one rare (red base rim), so I trashed the rare one (and kept the base elsewhere). This is a simple conversion of a heroclix figure,  Excessus, Sword Sinister replaced, base ripped off and new one sculpted, undercoated figure,  completly  repainted, flying stem attached. Sometimes, you just need a seri

15mm By The Fire and Sword Transylvanians commission.

Principality of Transylvania ( those ones , not those ones , get your mind out the gutter). Batch 4:- Ten more bases of Transylvanians (so thirty figures) for Manny, this time Comitatus or heavy household troops. Heavy lancers. A lot more colourful than the light horse. As ever, Manny will do his own basing and add flags later. Lots of cloaks Quite a sizable force Batch 3: 30 extra Transylvanian light horse for Manny Not as bright as others, but these are lower order troops. Advance Lots of hairy cavalry As ever, Manny will base these himself. That way lads! Player's eye view At the trot The force, so far (there's still have a bag of blisters to do) Batch 2: As ever, Manny will add the flags and his own basing at his leisure. 12 bases of household levy lancers (36 figures, not sure how many units that equates to) for the 15mm Transylvanians. Only realised whe

Medieval Scots - A replacement army - second set of three spear units added

I  have, after much soul searching (no I could not find mine either), decided that I really should stretch my Pictish spearmen a whole 1000 years. 300ish to 1300 ish, so really stretching the whole Pict-morph-thing now. So 10mm to replace the fallen over the winter, this will be fun ( 18 months later, and summer is on the way and I finally started them ) This means a restart and finish with my Scots army back where I started with them for DBM, a successful army, but before MeG came out I had not touched them in 10 years, then I sold my 15mm version of them in 2014 (and then were instantly stolen from my late friend's car).  So, back to the 1300s version. 1315 to be exact. A project I've been putting off for years, but now I have started the Medieval Scots spearmen from c.1315 with Pendraken figures and flags . Got this lot finished just in time for this weekend's MeG tournement. More Scots spears and the generals Another 25