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BADCON Round 3: Imperial Romans vs Steve and his Late Republican Romans with Numidian Allies

So, a little hung over, I emerged blinking into the rain, and made my way back from Lichefield up the A38 and face the ultra hard legions of the Late Republicans and Legio X.

A Roman civil war, how novel!
Q, Who did the Romans fight the most in history of their empire?
A. Romans!

Okay, yes, I've done that line three times, but there were many Roman players.
Steve took a lot of open terrain for a dense table! I was left with an abutted wood and village, and again, we didn't want a flank.

My cavalry attempts to pin back the masses of Numidian cavalry. They were lost, but how lost could they be? I also swung two average legions left to intercept Steve's superior eight (and hopefully the poor yellow shields and his camp).

Steve's legions are all red, but the big line of mine is facing eight exceptional legionaries. Averages span the middle gap, and his cavalry is setting itself to deal with my legions with cheeky flank charges.

His superiors hit my two average units and start by losing bases, should not really go that way. Stephen brings an average unit up too.

On the right, we spend a good few turns staring at each other, daring the other to charge.

That eight is not doing well, I have lost one base to his two, but he has brought up an average legion and his pesky cavalry unit onto my flank, trouble here.

No, not now! Gah!

My exceptionals decide that the only decent thing to do is aim for the rear of that flanking cavalry, or if that fails, they might hit a superior unit and an average unit too.

I try to put three units into his exceptionals, and my exceptionals hit his superiors. Meanwhile, my cavalry is still around trying to secure that right hand flank,

Except against that kind of firepower (skilled and experienced shooters) my time is limited.

Shoot and charge ALMOST worked, especially against unprotected cavalry, where your shooting is upgraded.

I broke his superiors, great news, but he broke one of my legions in return (2-2), and his cavalry, after legging it from my exceptionals hit me in the back. However, he missed and I didn't!

IMPACT, and my exceptionals did absolutely NOTHING! A base each, but I should be chewing lumps out of these, and I'm not... Boo!

Yup, my cavalry is really starting to suffer now.

My poor (well, average) legion beat up the cavalry, then in their pursuit end up EXACTLY in the right place to flank charge Steve's average legion, who are already several bases down and carrying a wound. My combat shy bows even come out to play! 

My legions slam into Steve's exceptionals and my hangover fuggs my thoughts as I charge the averages. I did not even have enough cards to move my general!

Two rounds of melee later, I am still not damaging his superiors with my exceptionals, but I had slain two bases of his exceptionals (he did not have melee experts, so my two superiors were as good as him, and I had overlaps). My averages were taking a battering in the line, but I was confident of 20 bases dealing with 8.

The end is nigh for my cavalry, but they have sold themselves dearly.

A flank charge! I told you I was hung over, that green should have been a red, and it rolled the skull needed to smash the unit (6-4).

However, my averages facing Steve's exceptionals and one of my superiors die as he throws in an extra average unit, as does both my cavalry! (6-15)

A great game, I was within a hit of securing two more units, that would have given me the win. Such is life! Steve got some great dice later on after the early catastrophe of his superiors. My exceptionals woefully under performed, and I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Off to Round 4, could my luck improve? More the point, would my hangover go away?

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