Wednesday 31 December 2014

Stan's First X Wing

Good afternoon,

Another lunchtime, another game. Huzzah!

This time Stan wanted to try out an X Wing game.

So, as this was his first game, I thought 50 points might be a good idea. He took the Rebels...


...and I took the Imperials.


It subsequently occurred to me that we were playing with the contents of two starter set boxes. (Well, if you don't count that upgrade card...which I don't have anyway...)

I threw down some asteroids, and away we went.


Unfortunately, due to his unfamiliarity with the movement templates, Stan flew Luke onto a couple of asteroids in succession, which cost him a shield.



A bit of weaving and bobbing about...


...got the Rebels back in formation...


...closing...



...and killing!

As well as imparting a critical hit here and there. This one causing Academy Pilot 4 to loose an agility die.

Another Rebel close encounter...


...which imparts another critical hit on Tie 4, this time reducing his firepower to 1, and then...



...Boom!

We separate, getting ready for our next passes...


...however...



...Luke brushes just a little too close to another asteroid, and that was the end of that!

Another fun game, of which Stan seems to approve.

Sweet!

Nick

Oh, and this just in...anyone would think that I play a lot of X Wing!

Works in Progress

Good morning,

I've been happily painting away at that pile of plastic previously posted...


...and was all ready to base up my first finished Persian sarabara bow element, when I double checked the basing requirements of DBA 3 to see, low and behold, they need to be on a 60 by 60mm base. Ahh. That'd make 8 20mm figures look quite sparse, when I believe the intention is to represent a big bunch of blokes.

So, pondering that, and needing more figures anyway for the additional 2 7Hd elements for the updated Early Achaemenid Persian list, I purchased another box of Zvezda Persian infantry from Stan while I was over there on Sunday. Only to discover that, in addition to the massed Persians I now possessed, I now had a bunch of additional archers. So...






...let me introduce you to my 12Bw elements of my DBA 3.0 I/60c Early Achaemenid Persian army.




Oh my, that's a lot of figures to paint!

Nick

Tuesday 30 December 2014

Generals, Generally Speaking...

Good morning,

Another lunchtime, another DBA game. I could get used to this!

Yesterday, Young Stan popped round during his lunch break for another DBA 3.0 game. This time he took my partially painted Marian Romans...
  • Sulla (Cv)
  • 1 x Equites (Cv)
  • 1 x Syrian Horse Archers (LH)
  • 1 x Numidian Elephant (El)
  • 6 x Legionaries (4 Bd)
  • 1 x Numidian Skirmishers (Ps)
  • 1 x Balearic Slingers (Ps)
...and I brang out my completely unpainted, and untried, army of Mithradates...
  • Mithridates (Cv)
  • 1 x Pontic Lancers (3 Kn)
  • 1 x Thracian Cavalry (LH)
  • 1 x Scythed Chariots (SCh)
  • 4 x "Brazen Shield" Phalangites (4 Pk)
  • 1 x Thureophoroi (4 Ax)
  • 1 x Javelinmen (3 Ax)
  • 1 x Javelinmen (Ps)
  • 1 x Archers (Ps)
Again, I was the aggressor, so Stan laid down a hamlet, a gentle hill and a couple of ploughed fields, that turned out to be rough going (first PIP die roll was a 1). Slowed down movement for mounted and heavy foot, but otherwise no effect.

We were using Zombie Flux cards as camps. I must get round to making some camps...or, in the case of the Romans, getting their camp elements out...

Anyway, seeing as I wanted/needed to double rank my phalangites, my line was really short, so I tried to refuse my open flank, hoping to get my heavy infantry to grips with his, before my eastern flank was rolled up. (I was on the north side of my kitchen table, facing south.)


Stan starts to wheel forward, and I try to get my lads up as far as they can go before getting caught.


Arghh, they're coming closer!


Boom! Good, my first catch of the day. I've never used a scythed chariot before, I wonder how it'll work. Seeing as how it's double overlapped and all...




Mind you, a roll of 6 to 1 often does it, no matter the situation!

Huzzah!




Oh...


...unfortunately, 1s can afflict us all!

Still, a lost scythed chariot does not count as a lost element, so...one down, but then again, not..?

And then the expected cavalry clash. Though it turned out to be more of a match up than I thought, now that the elephant was otherwise engaged.


Knight in first, causing a recoil. Jolly good. Now for the generals.



Another 6 to 1! Huzzah!

And that was the end of that. Stan lost 3 element equivalents, including his general, to my, well, no element equivalent lost - and that was the game!

My pikes got nowhere near the action.

Seeing as how this was over in a blink of an eye (albeit a very slow blink), we rolled again, I was the aggressor, again, Stan kept the same terrain, and deployment, I thought to try something clever with my scythed chariot and away we went again.


Charrrggggee!


Didn't quite make it, the Auxilia engaged, I won, but the SCh only quick kill heavy foot, so 'twas a recoil and pursue.


I try to send up some support, but the chariot is just a little too far out.




And that was the end of that.

Seeing as Stan's flank was closing fast...


...I charge in my own mounted, holding back my LH to protect my flank. Or so I thought.



The thureophoroi finally catch up, with a little side support, but...


...seeing as my Kn failed to break through, owing to the lack of his own support from the Thracians, and so in turn was not able to provide Mithradates any overlap support...

...and seeing as I rolled a one...



...that was the end of that!


Still, my Ax managed to recoil a Bd, so...I had that going for me...which is nice.

And still the pike didn't get anywhere near the action!

Thanks again for the game Stan, 'twas another fun wee game.

Nick

Monday 29 December 2014

Samurai vs. Samurai...

...the Samurai win!

Good morning,

Yesterday afternoon I spent a pleasant while whiling away the time over a game of Samurai vs. Samurai, DBA 3 style, over at Stans.

We were both using the IV/59 Post Mongol "b" list.

Stan went with the double ranked Cv General with Samurai...
  • 1 x General (6 Cv)
  • 1 x Mounted Samurai and followers (Cv)
  • 3 x Samurai (4 Bd)
  • 1 x Nobushi (4 Bw)
  • 2 x Ashigaru with yari (3 Pk)
  • 4 x Sohei (3 Bd)
...while I chose the Cv General and Ashigaru.
  • 1 x General (Cv)
  • 1 x Mounted Samurai and followers (Cv)
  • 3 x Samurai (4 Bd)
  • 1 x Nobushi (4 Bw)
  • 2 x Ashigaru with yari (3 Pk)
  • 4 x Ashigaru with yari (3 Pk)
Once again, I was the aggressor (what's that all about?!) so Stan laid out the terrain (hilly - steep hills and forests...and not an auxilia or psiloi element between us!), so, as I had a bunch of heavy foot, there was only one place to deploy them.


I thought I might try something clever with my mounted, so deployed them facing east.


Stan rolled up...


...I tried to move around...



...and then the shooting began.


Check out Stan's funky dice! That's a "4" (I think) in Japanese. Vs my 1 in...Society of Ancients dice!

I get round the edge of the hill.

Nice big movement distances. 'Cept command distances - my general was out of touch...literally.


Stan rolls in his 3 Pk up against my 4 Bw. "Fast" heavy foot against against "Solid" foot respectively.

It was about now that he realised that even though his pike were fast, they were still heavy foot, so still went down two factors in the wood. Opps!




I realise that my clever trick of sending my mounted up against Stan's blades-emerging-from-the-woods wasn't going to work. And also that I had no reserves for when Stan's general punched through my line, as he was bound to do. So...back we go!




See. Case in point.

Keep an eye on Stan's Bw. Up against my double ranked Pk. All. Game.


The situation so far. His blades-emerging-from-the-woods have romped up to my blades-waiting-on-the-steep-hill, lots of pushing and shoving in the centre (with both sides following up any recoils), a rather large hole in my line and my bow about to be mobbed in the western woods.




So...I roll in my Bw before Stan can flank it.



Huzzah!

More pushing and shoving.

That Bw was overlapped. @ +1. Double ranked pikes @ +6, overlapped, +5.

Come on, die already!



Then Stan makes his move. As he had no room to flank my centre, straight ahead he did gallop. Up against my camp, and associated camp followers.

Ladies in...waiting...?


Which left enough room for his second mounted element to flank my western pike block. Who were still up against those jolly bow.


And, so as to give the Cv some room to recoil if they had to...single ranked pike in bad going against my Bw. +1 vs. +2.


The camp fight was never really in doubt.

That counts as one element lost for me. (The camp followers themselves don't count for anything!)


But the pushing and shoving that continued in the centre...



...had unexpected consequences. My pikes bounce his Cv, so I peel off my supporting pikes to deal with his mounted caught in the wood. (Just).



Those Fast Bds were making good progress up that hill. Mostly through recoils, hence their companions being left behind.


Finally, my own general arrives at his [sacked] camp.





Huzzah!

And very bad news for Stan. The first double element lost counts as two elements lost, + the general, which counts as an additional element lost. That's three down in one blow.

The pushing and shoving continues...up hill...


...while in the west...



...Huzzah!

And that was the end of that. Stan lost five element equivalents to my two.



And that bow element still survived!

Great game Stan, thanks.

I'm really liking the 3.0 subtleties of the fast vs. solid foot, as well as the longer movement distances which are allowing for such things as feints in the east and the sacking of camps in the north!

Nick