The sun shone bright on Cranfield, and Day 2 began.
After Day 1, could I achieve a decent result.
Round 3: Paul Cummins and Southern Dynasties.
Or how to lose a game with three mistakes!
I knew what was coming. Why? Because Paul, Hammy and I had been discussing the madness of this list for ages! What madness, 8 war wagons of artillery madness, it's brutal! Oh and then some superior crossbows and melee expert loose foot! Genius list.
My army from the night before remained in place as the terrain landed. Rocky in the centre, forests on the right, villages next to another forest.
Deployment followed in its usual inevitable fashion. Trying to outthink Paul I put my bows and tepo in ambush, while I thought it would be a cleer idea to try a flank march with my cavalry as I knew I needed them causing havoc behind Paul's front line. (Mistake 1)
Paul sensibly put three TUGs of Warwagons out front, ready to roll me over.
The other wagon was tasked to hold his left flank, supporting two decent foot units thriough the forest and beyond. Yup, this is where my cavalry were due to come on as well!
The cavalry did not arrive turn one, even with a talented general; meaning Fluffy had to task his spears to go and try to break that beautiful wagon line 
Turn 2, and no flank march...
Superior spears decide that a warwagon has driven to close and go off to issue a parking ticket.
Three of Paul's units approach through his forest, meaning my allied spears and two shooty unit were despatched to deal with them. Paul parks up another TuG into artillery range of my spears. Yes, they ALL have artillery, four shots per TUG; beat that Hussites! Guess which unit takes the brunt of the shooting, you, my superior allied spears!
Turn 3, no flank march...
Skilled powerbow take umbridge at the artillery throwing large spears at them, and show how it's done. You know, if I had two more units of four bases doing that on table, I would have won this by now...
Great thing about this game, even if I lose, one of my painted figures will be on the winning side! 
It took two attempts, but my superior spears close on teh warwagons and let the air out of one of their tyres! In the background, Paul, convinced my flank march will come on to the right, repositions a unit of poor, combat shy crossbows to intercept (possibly the most dangerous thing in the game tbh).
Paul moves up his superior (!) crossbows to fill the gap left by the wagon (more likely to collect firewood). His catafracts wait, unconcerned, in the backfield.
It's
So action packed the shudder of the earth shook the camera! On teh left, my tepo try shooting the wagon, nope, nowt! My average bowscahrge it, assisted by a general, nowt! I charge Paul's troops in the forest, but it effects my spears giving him a massive up (Mistake 2) and soon I am losing bases. 
Turn 4: Guess what! No flank march!!
My spears advance without getting blown to pieces for once! Why two cards, beacause Fluffy had joined my superior spears to help overturn another wagon unit..jpg)
My poerbow despatch the first war wagon unit (2-0) and my spears get involved. 
Turn 5: Oh come on!
Paul helpfully points out where my spear unit just evaporated from! (2-2) to the right Fluffy and co kill a warwagon at last (three turns, gah)! (4-2)
Turn 6: OH FFS! Every other command on table (including Paul's) were dealt red cards that turn!
Turn 7! Good grief! They just never appeared.
So, having missed a turn of action, what happened?
Well...
Both my allied spears had boken (4-6) my superior spears had turned back to face Paul's truimphant foot forces, and the rest of my army had exposed its flanks (mistake 3)
That bow unit with a general that had hit the left hand warwagon TUG, not a scratch on the warwagon's paintwork, no no-claims loss here, and I lost my archers AND the general to green dice and KABS! This lost me the game too, as with no flank march on table, my break point was dropped from 5 to 4 units. 
Cracking game against Paul, a superb list, beautifully painted, and as ever, just the best opponent. He walked away with his first win for the weekend at 4-15 and would eventually place a well deserved 3rd. I was 0-3 for the weekend and heading for wooden spoon territory!
Going into round four, the table looked like this:
And the draw looked like this: 
Round 4 vs Pete Entwistle and his Mighty Qin
One round to turn it round...
However, I have fought the mighty Qin before (with Mitanni at Warfare in 2019, before the world went wrong) and was wary of their strengths and the fact they are a combined arms horde army (and beautifully painted in terracotta by Pete).
Terrain again favoured the Samurai on our side of the world, while Pete snagged a very useful hill and a ineyard. The two armies deployed in two straight lines, apart from my cavlary, in disgrace in the back and DEFINITELY NOT EVER FLANK MARCHING AGAIN! 
Turn 1, look, my cavalry finally gets a red card!
I swung my cavalry left to take on Pete's (it's the pottery, it makes them fragile), while the rest of my units spear out knowing that I would have to deal with 13 TUGs with 10 of mine, I would have to engage them at 2:1 (one of my units hitting two of his) to stop envelopments which crucify my army. 
The superior bows remind me I actually do want powerbows in my force as they show what skilled powerbow can still do to cavalry! That cheered me up, a lot! 
Left line, my line maybe wibbly, but that's because I am picking my targets carefully. My cavalry search for redemption by swinging left.
To the right, there's a lot of units lined up against my not very many, and some feature deastating chargers, which I have nothing apart from a few lead balls and flying sticks to stop! At least my superior and average allied spears are not being shot to pieces this game! 
My skilled powerbows line up against the next cavalry units after Pete's light horse evaporates (1-0).
With some goading, Pete's devastating chargers charge, and yes, they are really quite devastating in the charge, doing two and a half bases on my six base superiors and one base on my average, however, the replying hits knock one unit down to four bases, but the one against my superiors takes no damage. My shooting line to their left wonders quite what it signed up for as Pete's whole line shoots, yes, wall to wall crossbows, unless it devastating charges...
To the left, the cavalry make it into a decent position, and look on to Pete's cavalry, and more importantly, the end of his line, with relish!
My allied average spears break their devastating charger opponents with some impressive dice, and there was much rejoying (3-0), while my superiors still fail to hit owt! 
On the left, one cavalry unit is despatched to deal with Pete's remaining cavalry wing, while the other sizes up the flak of a nine of combied crossbows and polearms that had been left rather open for them. ACross the front, once the hard outer shell of the Qin (of you know what's coming) was cracked, inside the crossbows were a whole lot softer to hit. 
To the right, you might notice a missing unit. One of my 8s of spears never even made it into contact, dissolving uder massed crossbow fire (3-2) and allowing Pete to do what I feared which is to move to envelop my forces. My superior spears, somehow, hold on, while the average spears turn round to line up a flank charge. My Tepo take a charge from another dev charge unit, and slowed them the first time (all hits count as double slows) but not the second. My archers are down to 2/3 strength, as they cannot withstand the porqupining from the crossbows. 
The cavalry smash in, and break the unit to their front, (5-2); while my superior spears had just finished off the unit to their right (7-2).
On the charge, superior short spear cavalry hit shooting horse, we lose a base to combined fire and melee rolls, the results are NOT pretty for the Chinese as they lose two (although their figures definitely are).
The cavalry crash through into their next units, who are fighting my superior bows and Fluffy himself. The rending noise was huge!
But on the right, things are collasping fast! My archers are fank charged and evaportae (7-4), and my superior spears finally fail (7-6), my average spears fail to catch another Dev charger, it's too late for the allied superiors, and my Tepo are threatened from two directions too!
Pete attempts a flank charge with light horse on my superior cavalry, it bounces.
The superior cavalry catches another unit in the flank, (9-6)
Who gets the best charge wins?
The cavalry started over on the left! They have accounted for the major part of Pete's loses and ALMOST redeemed themselves.
It will be the doom of my Tepo, but it will also finish the Dev chargers (11-8), next unit wins!
It was moving so fast Pete could not even get his movement trrays out the way as my cavalry rode over the top of them!
Like sheep that pass in the night, on the right our units pass each other by. Two generals now are attached to my only remaining unit in the area!
My cavalry, down to two bases, is still causing losses on the Chinese horse units. They sell themselves dearly! My foot units stand and watch as the other cavalry rush past, Pete's line was here!
And here I was really stupid! Blame last turn jitters or brain fade, but my bottom cavalry base with Fluffy should have charged Pete's exposed flank, which would hve won me the game then and there! Oh well! 
On the right, it's a complete mess of units, as Pete tries to work out how to get one wound on my spears which are presently heading off out of shot.
The answer is... charge me in the rear with light horse! He only needs a wound, so why not?
It works, breaking me. 
Really great game, and right up to the wire. (10-15). One hit off a win! Just a superb game to round off a great weekend.
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