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Post by martini on Nov 11, 2016 18:53:22 GMT
What is the format for the Welsh Open next year at Penarth? I last played in this competition many years ago and then it was an open comp i.e. any of the armies in the army list were eligible. I've looked at the Crusade 2017 website but could not find any details there.
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Post by menacussecundus on Nov 11, 2016 21:22:28 GMT
I'll check with the organiser and get back to you.
They generally allow quite a bit of latitude. You don't even have to be Welsh.
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Post by davidconstable on Nov 14, 2016 6:39:51 GMT
In the past it has always been a full open, anything legal goes.
It pays if going with friends to register early, that way they try to get you into different groups.
Good selection of trade stands, and I have used the bring-and-buy, but will have to see this year as it is a new venue.
David Constable
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Post by martin on Dec 25, 2016 11:23:58 GMT
Just seen confirmation over on the Yahoo DBA group that Alan intends to run the Welsh Open at Crusade, on the last weekend of January 2017. Details to be confirmed.
Note, new venue (ie NOT the previous Leisure Centre site).
Martin
PS- PLEASE IGNORE THE OTHER THREAD I'D STARTED ON THIS SUBJECT.....ooops
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Post by menacussecundus on Jan 7, 2017 13:34:05 GMT
What is the format for the Welsh Open next year at Penarth? I last played in this competition many years ago and then it was an open comp i.e. any of the armies in the army list were eligible. I've looked at the Crusade 2017 website but could not find any details there. The organiser has just posted on Yahoo confirming that it is a completely open competition, i.e. any legal army. The initial group phase will give 4 semi-finalists with the other contestants going into a plate competition.
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Post by martin on Jan 9, 2017 21:11:30 GMT
Posted by organiser Alan:-
"Hi Martin,
Show doors open at 10:00am as normal so registration will be until 10:45am aiming for an 11:00am start.
Now that I think about it how would people feel about registration being complete by 10:30 aiming for a 10:45 start? Just an idle thought... Pob Bendith, Alan Davison.".
M
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Post by martin on Jan 22, 2017 22:18:23 GMT
Looks like a decent turnout anticipated.
Carload from Hants - myself, Mark S, Colin t'Hittite and pawsBill.
Who else is coming?
Martin
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Post by menacussecundus on Jan 23, 2017 8:13:15 GMT
Looks like a decent turnout anticipated. Carload from Hants - myself, Mark S, Colin t'Hittite and pawsBill. Who else is coming? Martin Army chosen and packed, train tickets bought and accommodation arranged. So all being well......
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Post by martin on Jan 29, 2017 9:52:48 GMT
Another fun day of DBA at Penarth Wargames Club's excellent new Crusade show venue, a very up-together school with lots of light and decent parking, a significant improvement on the previous sports centre venue. Many thanks to Alan Davison for organising the Welsh Open, which he once again did with flair.
Three initial games each sorted the sixteen competitors into two sets:- the four semi-finalists and the rest of us, who fought out three further time limited rounds in a Plate competition.
Congrats to:- Winner- Pete Duckworth (Qaramita)- Magister Militum voucher prize. 2nd- Arnaud M. (Tamil + Hindu ally). 3rd- Bill MacGillivray (Warring States Chinese, Chao) 4th- Mark Skelton (the mighty Tupi).
Plate winner- Colin O'Shea (Palmyran, Odenathus)- Magister Militum prize. 2nd in Plate- John Saunders (Mound Builder American??).
Other armies in use were:- Breton+Viking ally, Seljuk Turk, Alexandrian Imperial, Sub-Roman Brit 'c', Early Crusader, Parthian, Rajput+Hindu ally, Thracian+EIR ally, Later Visigothic 'b', and Classical Indian. No two the same, and a great deal of variety.
Before I set off, toting approx. 800AD Bretons with a Viking ally, the soothsayers had forecast great slaughter and mighty victories. How right they were!
My army was 4 x Breton Cavalry (Cv), 2 x javelin Light Horse (LH), 1 x javelin skirmisher foot (Ps) and 2 x Peasants (7Hd). The ally was 1 x Huscarls (4Bd) and 2 x raiders (3Bd).
James Yates' Rajputs saw me rapidly defeated in round one on a devastating 0-4+2x Hd result, Chris Cale's Later Visigoths lost their fort to my Vikings but defeated the Breton cavalry in detail before a strike on my right wing could be brought to fruition, resulting in a 1+1 x Hd to 4+2 x Hd loss and I managed to give Arnaud's elephant herd a run for their Rupees before going down 4+2 x Hd to 3, killing two pachyderms in the process, a minor consolation.
In the Plate Steve Aspinall's Crusaders fought off my Viking landing force, and it went a tad downhill from there, the Breton general being killed for the only time that day (0-3G). Martin Myers' Thracians defended, leaving a juicy fort to capture in my half, but the game timed out at 1-2. Finally, my first successful Viking landing, sacking the enemy camp in true Norse fashion, helped secure a lone victory against Seljuk Turks to round the day off (3+camp-2).
Yes, there were mighty victories and great slaughter, though I was on the 'wrong' side of both for most of the day. What would I do differently?? Pay the generally ineffective Vikings by result only, not in advance, and sack the soothsayers (!!).
Great fun, fine opponents, and well run, with shiny shiny trade stands nearby to empty the wallet.....what's not to like ??!!
Martin
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Post by colinthehittite on Jan 29, 2017 10:45:07 GMT
The new venue is excellent and what a great turnout.
I had a disastrous first game against David’s massed pikes, but the most exciting was against Mark’s Tupi – manoeuvre, unlikely results and a warband general surviving 3 rounds against knights maintained the tension right until the end, when my Palmyrans finally went down. I didn’t get to play against Arnaud’s elephant circus but did manage to force another player’s elephants to trample each other, saving me from disaster.
Congratulations to Pete in overcoming the trumpeting Tamils, a tricky result to achieve particularly as camels flee from elephants rather than recoiling – they were still playing after I had finished 2 plate games!
A great day, Alan, thank you and thanks to Magister Militum for their continued sponsorship.
Colin
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Post by diades on Jan 29, 2017 17:58:36 GMT
Just to add my thanks to all the good words above, especially to Alan and all the Crusade organisers.
The new venue was a light, warm, airy improvement on the squash courts of old! The ease of parking tempted me off the train and into the car.
I took Thracians with EIR allies. I thought they'd be unexpected and not so weak, with a Knight General, two light horse, Five fast auxilia and a Psiloi, with two solid blades and a knight to support. I was looking forward to laying down lots of terrain. I invaded four times out of six! At least with so many troops allowed out wide I could mass on one side to attack.
First up were Steve Aspinalls Early Crusaders. I was not too hopeful, but managed to swamp his missile troops with auxilia on the left, lock his supporting spears in place with a Psiloi sent around the back and almost hold my own in the centre. An unexpected Thracian victory!
Next an invasion of Bill's Chou China. I amassed on the left and relied on quick kills whilst Bill wheeled his left around. No luck with the quick kills and with the Chinese sharp shooters also doing well the Thracians were sent packing.
Final group game and at last I defended. A steep hill on my right and a fort to the left of centre led to a stand off against the invading Parthians. A bold attack by my combined Knight between hill and fort and auxilia vs. Light horse on the right went Thrace's way for another convincing victory. Pleased with a group second place.
On to the plate. James' oriental elephant parade. I invaded and took the fight to the lumbering pachyderms with auxilia and Psilo. Light horse clashed with Spear on the left and I was thankful the enemy knights were screened for so long on their left by their own bows. My light horse closed the door time and again on an isolated Blade at the board edge, but couldn't finish it off. An elephant finally succumbed, but only served to let the Knights through...The Roman knights charged an isolated Blade on the left and promptly died on a tie. Things started going badly on the Thracian right, so the General charged in on that lonesome Blade, lightning couldn't strike twic could it?....oh yes it could!
Martin Smith's Bretons invaded the Thracian foothills next. A rushed game due to the terrain and plate time limit, but a 2-1 draw at the close. The Thracian casualty was once again a Roman Knight tied with a Viking blade!
Finally an invasion of Scott's Classical India. I amassed on the left happily taking light horse and cavalry on with auxilia. Good use of the road allowed my blades to cut a hole in the Indian line, where Bow were lurking and enough damage was done before the elephants and heavy chariots could reverse matters. A win to go home on!
Great to see so many turn up. Looking forward to next year already. Thanks all.
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Post by martin on Jan 29, 2017 18:54:34 GMT
Photo album now on Yahoo.....please add if you can.
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Post by peteduckworth on Jan 29, 2017 23:30:06 GMT
The new venue is excellent and what a great turnout. I had a disastrous first game against David’s massed pikes, but the most exciting was against Mark’s Tupi – manoeuvre, unlikely results and a warband general surviving 3 rounds against knights maintained the tension right until the end, when my Palmyrans finally went down. I didn’t get to play against Arnaud’s elephant circus but did manage to force another player’s elephants to trample each other, saving me from disaster. Congratulations to Pete in overcoming the trumpeting Tamils, a tricky result to achieve particularly as camels flee from elephants rather than recoiling – they were still playing after I had finished 2 plate games! A great day, Alan, thank you and thanks to Magister Militum for their continued sponsorship. Colin Colin your post nearly had me returning the trophy. Im the heat of battle Arnaud & I forgot the camel flee from elephants. As I recall it only happened once The Qarmati mostly dismounted as spear before Elephants in an attempt (largely failed) to catch Tamil Bow. The one camel that did face recoiled rather than fled but was sandwiched behind a Psiloi and looked as if it would be squished up against my overlarge (but pretty Baueda) camp. Had he fled I could have maneouvered (& dismounted him) so I think our failure to play the rules as written actually worked against me... My victory over Arnaud was down to a couple of fortunate combat rolls at the right time and the predictable failure of PIPS for Arnaud at crucial times once we finally stopped maneuvering and got stuck in so he could only move zero, one or two elephants - but that comes with 5 elephant territory. Our slow progress resulted from awkward terrain with a fort on one flank and a huge enclosure on the other both of which stopped dead speedy camel progress. Facing 3 Bd across the enclosed paddy fields I didn't dare move the camels through as it would have taken them three moves to cross but the Blade were utterly unaffected by it. Only once Arnaud entered the clag was I willing to follow suit getting him in my ZOC. Even then the pesky 3 Bd retreated as soon as Arnaud had sufficient PIPs to move backwards. A terrific, close game though VERY slow. The score in no way reflects how close it was. Arnauld's attack was stalled when my (very busy) psiloi destroyed an element of 3Bw using the -1 edge of the world rule. Very tricksy maneuvering on both sides. A terrific day and a lovely warm Welsh welcome. The venue and show add a real bonus - I picked up some lovely tufts for nicer basing. Another terrific opportunity to catch up and play lovely games with some of the friendliest gamers in the world. Winning was a real thrill and icing on an already sweet cake. Thanks again to all who took part especially my gracious well spirited opponents. Also special mention to James who drove me down and whose mid- table result represents such a leap forward from his first DBA comp last year when he managed to destroy just 1 element in 6 games! Re rules: - 3Bd seem astonishingly powerful. So much so I have spent my Magister Militum voucher on Celtiberians already! What a shame they don't have any allies...
- Dismounting troops is really cheesy and we should consider amending the option.
- Low aggression is VERY significant Its not so much the 5 Elephants as the terrain that Arnaud uses with them that make it a tough nut to crack. Arnaud & I agreed that the most significant throw in the game was to determine the defender (he wasn't keen for Elephants to attack accross my dunes). Would we take different armies if we disregarded the aggression factors in the lists for competition play? If we can accept that a Spanish & Tlaxcalan Army can a European Bronze Age army separated by both thousands of years and a huge ocean of space is the agression factor in any way relevant?
Sorry to drone on...
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aldavion
Munifex
Looking forward to the Welsh Open.
Posts: 44
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Post by aldavion on Jan 30, 2017 12:33:06 GMT
My first post on the new Fanaticus! And it's to post the results!
FULL RESULTS FOR THE 2017 DBA WELSH OPEN Champion: Pete Duckworth – III54b Qaramita Armies Runner-up: Arnaud Marmier – II42b Tamil 3rd: Bill McGilivray – II4c Chou Chinese 4th: Mark Skelton – IV29 Tupi Indian
Following order determined by tie-break for British National DBA League placings:
5th: James Yates – III10b Rajput + IIIc Hindu allies 6th: Martin Myers – I48 Thracian + ?allies 7th: David Constable – II15 Alexandrian Imperial 8th: Scott Russell – II3b Classical Indian 9th: John Saunders – IV11 North-western American =10th: Steve Aspinal – IV7 Early Crusader =10th: Colin O’Shea – II74 Palmyran 12th: Chris Cale – II83b Later Visigothic 13th: Patrick Myers – II81c Sub Roman British 14th: Martin Smith – III18 Breton + III40a Viking allies 15th: Tim Cale – III74a Seljuq Turk, Rum Army 16th: Denis Grey – II37 Parthian
The above group also participated in the plate while the Open finals were played. Everyone continued with the same army. The complete results for the Plate are as follows:
Winner: Colin O’Shea Runner-up: John Saunders 3rd: Steve Aspinal
4th: James Yates 5th: David Constable 6th: Denis Grey 7th: Martin Myers 8th: Martin Smith 9th: Patrick Myers 10th: Chris Cale 11th: Scott Russell 12th: Tim Cale
May I again thank everyone who took part and Richard from Magister Militum for sponsoring the tournament and presenting the prizes. I will do a report once I’ve had a chance to ruminate on the tournament.
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Post by colinthehittite on Jan 30, 2017 13:57:46 GMT
Sorry to give you palpitations, Pete!! It’s the’ flee if beaten’ result that has made me hesitate in fielding Qaramita, knowing that the elephant circus is likely to turn up. However, now that you have shown the way perhaps I’ll try them. An impressive victory, and on Arnaud’s terrain; well done.
I suspect the Qaramita only used camels as transports and wonder if they might be better represented by the mounted infantry category, certainly primarily armed longbow camel riders sound like mounted infantry to me.
3 Bd are indeed powerful. As for Celtiberians – an excellent choice. If there were more open tournaments I would certainly field mine; they only fear one thing and that’s definitely not elephants. Fielding Palmyrans pushed me to paint the elements needed to adapt my late Romans – I finished the bows the night before.
I also agree that it is the combination of 5 elephants and a low aggression factor that make Arnaud’s army of choice so powerful. If you had won the terrain it could have been a very different game.
And talking of amending the rules, it was suggested in the drive home that the first elephant lost in a game should count as 2 elements – interesting, I thought.
Colin
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