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Post by martin on Feb 21, 2024 8:43:34 GMT
Looking forward to it , Pete. šš¼šš¼
Can we harvest some games for the Society of Ancients Championship, for those who are members, please? - Iām due to receive divine retribution from a couple of players I beat by pure fluke recently (unless they bring the same dice which let them down last timeā¦ š²š²š²š²š).
Must be a fair few SoA names in there (Denis suggested around 50%).
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Post by Baldie on Feb 21, 2024 17:16:30 GMT
Good luck all.
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Post by sheffmark on Feb 22, 2024 15:23:16 GMT
Will there be a 'Bring and Take Back' table?
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timr
Munifex
Posts: 33
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Post by timr on Feb 23, 2024 8:10:18 GMT
Might it be a bring and forget (abandon) table to make room at home. We can always blame our age
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Post by menacussecundus on Feb 24, 2024 9:13:53 GMT
Good luck chaps. Watch out for the Nabataeans. (The pronunciation can be pretty tricky.)
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Post by martin on Feb 24, 2024 18:21:17 GMT
Watch out for the Nabataeans. (The pronunciation can be pretty tricky.) They scored four wins [!!!] and a winning draw, which surprised me, and they defended in every game š³. BIG THANKS to Pete and ALL THE COVENTRY SCIMITARS for a well run day šš¼šš¼. Great format, lots of variety of armies and some fine opponents. 21 players, a very good turn out, which reflects the high regard players have for the Coventry tournaments šš¼šš¼šš¼šš¼. Iāll leave the announcements of podium etc to the organisers, but CONGRATS to all of them.
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Post by Ken Gordon on Feb 24, 2024 19:10:54 GMT
Well I for one enjoyed the day even though I finished at the bottom - as always a decent bunch of players gentlemen all and some interesting armies. K
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Post by hodsopa on Feb 24, 2024 20:29:16 GMT
The formula was to play three times with the army you brought, three times against it. I brought the later Ghaznavids (III/64b). It was interesting to see, for example, how some people would use the army's elephant assertively while I would skulk with it. In total my army won two games, drew three and lost one ā a worse record, then, than the Nabataeans.
In my first game my Ghaznavids attacked Steve Etheridgeās Melanesians ā who had ten auxiliaries and two psiloi, good grounds for my elephant to skulk. It took a while for my cavalry to get in amongst his littoral landers. Eventually that battle on my left was a 2-2 draw. On my right, my two LH made a rash attack in column on his two psiloi. It failed; they hard flanked me; I had the luck to survive that and then to ride them down for a 4-2 win. Could easily have gone the other way.
The second was a winning draw, close-fought, (3-2) in which I defended with Tony Greenās Sassanids against my Ghaznavids. Our elephants fought each other and mine won. If weād had five more minutes weād have had a winner, I don't know who. Both in this battle and the previous one, the Ghaznavidās opponentsā camps incorporated pigs.
In my third game I attacked Chris Kempās early Polish army with my Ghazavnids. Both these armies have 4 cavalry and 4 bows. While the Ghaznavids then have an elephant, a fast blade and two light horse, though, the Poles have four Sp. Defending, they put woods down in each corner of the battlefield; this meant we were both cramped; he was crampeder. His Sp didnāt get into the battle and I scraped a 4-3 win.
In the fourth I attacked my Ghaznavids with Tim Rogersā Bosphorans. Despite the Bosphoran knightsā foolish valour, I held on for a 3-3 draw. This time the bell may have saved me.
In the fifth I fought against Martin Myersā Massagetae. LH and gentle hills all over the place. I don't understand the rules on how gentle hills affect shooting. This lack of understanding (which persists) slowed us up; the battle ended in a 2-3 losing draw.
Finally I deployed Martin Smithās renowned Nabataeans (6 Bw, a couple of useful fast auxiliaries and other stuff including a camel which, it seems, hardly saw combat the whole day long) against my Ghaznavids. The Ghaznavidsā elephant advanced and had the bad luck to die at the hands of an auxiliary; their fast blade advanced and advanced and advanced and had the bad luck not to kill the Bw it faced; the Nabataens' Bw and Ax did well and eventually won the battle 4 (+general)-1.
The scoring system was 5 for a win; 3/2/1 for a draw depending on whether it is winning, equal or losing; 0 for a loss. Timing was an abrupt call for āno more PIP diceā which is the method I prefer though today a couple of times it frustrated me.
Thanks a milion to the organisers - and as always to our fellow fighters, it was a good day.
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Post by colinthehittite on Feb 25, 2024 7:19:39 GMT
A long drive through darkness, flooding, frost and fog brought my Zanj Revolt out into Coventryās blue sky where they felt much more at home. However, they did not have a good day. Each time I was in command they fell foul of massed knights in my opponentās wide open good going, leading to my three losses. When I played against them, I only had the opportunity for similar āpaybackā on one occasion. A drawn game in which I played Massagetae against the Zanj in the Zanj terrain (waterway, difficult hill, hamlet and wood) was by far the highlight of the day with the all-infantry Zanj in a constricted line struggling for PIPS, against massed horsemen, mainly light horse, forced into weak frontal attacks between terrain pieces. An awkward angle was needed to destroy a light horse element and some luck for Massagetae cavalry to take a Zanj element. Both sides worked hard for small advantage and the game provided my stone throwing Psiloi youngsters and sickle armed hordes with a refreshing change from the thunder of massed iron shod heavy horse and heavy chariots.
The venue is excellent, with all facilities including parking. I remember the days when you could just stop your car and park in the street wherever you liked. Pete was able to play without the strain of organising as a lieutenant did the chores ā Iām sure you will all hear soon about the success of his Frankish knights.
So, thank you Pete and I guess other members of your club, for providing a great gaming day to a good turnout of players from most points of the compass.
Colin
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Post by martin on Feb 25, 2024 9:03:42 GMT
Armies seen at the Mercian DBA- (21 players)
Nabataeans Zanj Revolt Massagetae Ghaznavids Melanesians Teutonic Order Samurai Carthaginians Normans Sumerians Early Polish Spring and Autumn Chinese (was this the āI/32 otherā?). Sargonid Assyrians Sassanids Bosporans Ottomans Early Egyptians Hyksos
ā¦and a few moreā¦any ideas which?
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Post by martin on Feb 25, 2024 9:05:27 GMT
I took recently repainted Nabataeans (II/22a), with 50% archers (3Bw), supported by a couple of javelinmen units and some random mounted, + Cavalry general.
My games were:-
1. Against Neil M.ās Later Sargonid Assyrians. The archers, holding a village on our left, fought a delaying action against the Assyrian heavy foot, while a big scrap developed on the right. Here Neilās chariots, cavalry and skirmish foot ramped up the pressure, with more and more units fed into the carnage. Ashurbanipal overran some of our archers and their supporting camelry, then chanced his luck against Nabataean horse archers who peppered him with arrows. The Assyrian general died, and the Nabataeans claimed a narrow victory (3g-2).
2. Using Philip D.ās Samurai (IV/59a) to invade Nabataea. Treachery was suspected š, as the Samurai foot (6 x 3Bd) were very reluctant to advance, and then fought extremely poorly (low PIPs and rubbish combat results). The seemingly blunt katanas claimed very few victims, as Philipās Nabataeans delivered him a 4-2 win. (Well done, Nabataeansā¦.weāll have words laterā¦.).
3. Reclaiming the Nabataeans, I next met Phil S., with his knight-heavy Teutonic Order army (IV/30?). The archers clung to the safety of difficult hills and woods, shooting at anything that moved. One Teutonic light horse unit was pushed off the board, a nearby cavalry unit charged but was stopped in its tracks and then the Grand Master (6Kn) was nobbled by massed archery. Nabataean win by 3g-0.
4. Using the unusual Melanesians (IV/12b, 10 x auxilia, 2 x psiloi) vs Stephen E.ās Nabataeans, who defended. Lack of a waterway meant terra firma only for the Melanesians, who massed asymmetrically on our left to assault the Nabataean right. It was touch and go, but the Melanesian slingers and warriors managed to scrape a win against mainly archer opposition just before the tougher Nabataean centre joined the fray (4-1). Closer than it looks on paper, or in pixels š³
5. Taking back the Nabataeans, I next encountered an invasion by Connor T.ās Later Carthaginians and their Syracusan ally (II32a+II/9a), all beautifully painted. Elephants and artillery, wotta combo!!! Fighting focussed on a big, rough hill in the Carthaginian right centre, which drew in more and more units, Balearic slingers and elephants included, and took up most of both playersā PIPs. However, neither could rack up kills, and the sun set on a drawn match (2-1 draw to Nabataea).
6. Lastly, I found myself using Ghaznavids (III/64b) in an invasion against Paul H., who commanded the weary Nabataeans. Paul moved his archers off the road, avoiding a threatened elephant charge, and then the Ghaznavids seemed to freeze. Though their swordmen repeatedly hacked at Nabataean archers they couldnāt break them. Finally, the Ghaznavidsā cavalry dithered, delivered a weak charge and died, the general, surrounded, falling to a Nabataean counter attack. (1-4g defeat for my Ghaznavids).
This was an enjoyable event, one highlight being the chance to command Samurai, Melanesians and the Ghaznavids for the very first time. The Nabataeans defended in EVERY game, and did well, far better than I expected, in fact- 4 wins and a winning draw, out of six. How they might perform āout in the openā was my major concern, but that wasnāt tested. Aggression 0 was their greatest allyā¦.
Thanks to all at the Scimitars for a well run tournament, and congrats to the podium placedā¦all well deserved šš¼šš¼šš¼.
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Post by diades on Feb 25, 2024 9:07:19 GMT
Ottomans, Early Egyptians, Hyksos, 1/32 other Chineseā¦
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Post by diades on Feb 25, 2024 12:59:16 GMT
Thank you to Pete and the Coventry Scimitars, one for your greatest hitsā¦š
I took Massagetae for no better reason than I had recently painted them. Cavalry x 2, Light horse x 7, fast bow x 2 and a fast auxilia A lot of fun they were tooā¦just one major disadvantageā¦
First of all I took on John Saundersā Chinese. John defended and placed two plough, which soon disappeared, and two roads, so fairly open. I advanced my left side. Much cagey missile fire often staved off by the brave Auxilia, followed by heavy chariots charging in with mixed success, finally the Chinese general succumbed to light horse attentions, a 3G-2 victory.
Next Kev Casey handed me Early Hyksos, fast blade and auxilia mix to invade. The Massagetae were a tad too adventurous in their initial advance, allowing fast blades to savage the fast bow, which provided enough of a head start for a 4-1 Hyksos victory.
Third, Bruce Williamsā Early Egyptians invited a Massagetae invasion. The Egyptians chose not to land literally and set back in marshes, difficult hills and a fort. Much sniping around the edges before the Massagetae charged in as the Egyptians combed off their hill. Nip and tuck for a 4-3 Massagetae victory.
After lunch, Colin used the Massagetae to invade Zanj territory. As he describes above, this was a challenging and entertaining game. The Massagetae general was destroyed, but PIPs were still reasonable. The final roll saw the Zanj fast blades finally get into Massagetae bowā¦Colin was ready to concede when the blade rolled a 6, butā¦.so did the bow! A 2g-3 draw.
Nowā¦the Massagetae got to defend against Paul Hodsonās Ghaznavidās. I have until recently shied away from hills because of the lack of absolute clarity concerning their effects. Using a steppe army, they are unavoidable. Extensive debate in the UK has them resolved conically. Thatās fine for combat. Due to the terrain issues I was looking to create, I used oval hills and proposed a sugar loaf, a cone cut in half and stretchedā¦.Cone or sugar loafā¦the flanks of a cone are rounded, so pose a problem for shooting. For two element on that surface, geometrically there will always be a part of the slope higher than either element. Should that prevent shooting(indirect fire)? The debate took much of the time and remained unsatisfactorily resolved. A shame rules are not clearer. 3-2 up for the Massagetae at the close.
Finally, I used Pete Duckworthās Western Franksā¦oh to have had some missile troopsā¦.to invade Massagetae territory. Pete did everything right, bravely threatening with the bow. The Massagetae charged first and their cavalry wiped Frankish milites out. Frankish knights retaliated destroying both bow, but were exposed. A healthy dose of PIPs allowed light horse to gang up on them for a swift 4-2 Massagetae victory.
Both my army and I managed 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss.
Good to see everyone!
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Post by peteduckworth on Feb 25, 2024 14:45:41 GMT
You're welcome. Our pleasure>
So glad you enjoyed the day.
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timr
Munifex
Posts: 33
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Post by timr on Feb 25, 2024 14:57:23 GMT
Thanks Pete for a great day 4 new opponents which was good. My dice rediscovered the 5 and 6 sides which meant I could hand on the wooden spoon for a change Tim
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