Round 4 and I face Cid with Gupta Indian. Gulp!
Cid, the number 1 ranked player in the UK, with an anti-cavalry elephant based army (12 of them). Don't think I have ever beat him, but at least I have two wins for the weekend and this will be a great game (if, no doubt, one sided).
At least scouting went my way! :D the giraffes do the maths at 90% outscouting the Indian masses. All that means is I get to see where 90% of his elephants are to start with! Archers, elephants, elephnats and archers. 
It's wall-to-wall out there! Terrain, tall crops dominate the left (oh yeah, elephants ignore them). A gentle hill on the right, a gentle hill on my baseline (Heeeeeelllllo camp and archer types) and some camel friendly scrub to the left off camera inhabitted by my infantry. Giraffes wander past, waiting for their lift home, knowing it won't be long.
A turn or so later, and on the right we are on each other, a nine of Cid's short spear javelinmen take on my 8 man melee expert infantry. whereas elsewhere I try and work out if anything will work.
On the charge we each lose a base, fair enough, but there are elephants on my flanks, ulp!
Despite rough handling by the nellies, my melee experts are expert and dispatch the javelinmen, much to both our shock. (2-0). I should have retired then and there! 
Cid's cavalry behind suffer a double KaB for seeing a break then being broken through, and I have them within a wound of dieing, but I am tied down by elephants and can't capitalise. My infantry shatter away shortly after (2-2).
Cid played it perfectly. My Tuaregs, despite knowing they would be up in the charge, will undoubtedly be flank charged by elephants on either side any second now! 
In the centre and on the right, I probe where is the most non-elephantine area and try to bring up archers to take on the beasts. My cows are still there, but doing not much. My best hope is against a mixed TuG of combat shy in the crops at the back of the table, although they are loose in terrain, I might nick a few wounds.
Yeah, there were three units of Tuaregs here at the beginning of this turn. At least I don't have to pay them now. (2-6)
My skirmishers begin the long, mostly fruitless chase of the cavalry, trying to get a shot in on black dice in terrain, nah!
Having flanks and munched up a unit of camels, Cid turns to face my Guard, who back the hell away. (2-8).
My brilliant cavalry plan failed, and I lose round after round of combat. Yes, his archers are combat shy, but green dice vs green dice is not fun when you have less bases to start with (and when Cid rolls nothing but skulls) (2-10).
Yeah, that's clinical from his side, messy from mine! (2-10)
Cid gifted me a unit of infantry for my guard to devour and I EVENTUALLY got the horse for 6 points, which is my best result against Cid in a LONG time, (who got a well desered 6-15). Still a great game, and as ever, a perfect gent to play against.
I end the weekend with 41 points, much higher than I expected and a good 14th place out of 32 players, prpoer mid-table obscurity that I actually enjoyed. Next time, something to take on pikes elephants AND catafracts?
No idea...
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