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Post by martin on Apr 28, 2024 7:53:35 GMT
I understand fully why the Rshtuni have an aggression of 0. They would have been mad to book a fighting away day. Hey ho. They might return for the Cold Ash Clash in November. You have been warned! ššš¤£
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Post by martin on Apr 28, 2024 7:47:36 GMT
Rather interesting interpretations of the Arthurian Cycle. I presume the fact that both series referred to Saxon 'axes' as their primary weapons is a misreading of 'saxes.' Bernard Cornwell gifted the use of axes to his Saxons in the Winter King series, IIRC (?). Maybe historical writers (a tad less āinformedā than us readers of Armies of the Dark Ages et al) associate hairy seafolk in a dark age setting with axe wielding Vikings, subconsciously, regardless of their nationality.
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Post by martin on Apr 27, 2024 17:55:56 GMT
Thanks to all who attended the Alton DBA today, from near and far. I really appreciate the effort the players go to to attend. Good to see some returning players (Phippsy eg) and some players new to the DBA ācircuitā (Marc P. and Mark K.), and players in good spirits whether top or bottom of the rankings.
Bit of a whirlwind for me, as both organiser and having to play to keep numbers even, but with players showing great patience we got thereā¦š.
There were some stunningly varied, weird and wonderful armies on show, which was a BIG bonus, especially when you see first place taken by a player running Skythians, an army few would dream of using in most circumstances (so it was good to see the theme push the edge of the envelope somewhat), and that Tournament Tiger, the Wallachians, scoring well š.
Without further ado, here are the final placings:-
Alton DBA 2024 Results
1. Martin Myers, Skythian I/43a, 142 points 2. Martin Smith, EMNAS III/33, 118. 3. Mark Skelton, Wallachian IV/64, 114. 4. Paddy Green, Bosporan II/25+ Alans, 99. 5. Paddy Myers, Palaiologan Byz. IV/50, 92. 6. Bill MacGillivray, Shang Chinese 1/13b, 83. 7. Stephen Finn, Rshtuni Armenian III/27, 76. 8. Ivan Djokic, Numidian II/40+ EIR, 76 (Head to Head). 9. Pete Duckworth, Komnenan Byz. IV/1a 75. 10. Colin OāShea, Southern Dynasties II/79b, 72. 11. Peter Ellis, Alans II/58, 66. 12. Mark Kulke, LPIA II/23a+ Sassanids, 64. 13. Peter Phipps, Early Byzantine III/4a, 59. 14. John Saunders, Golden Horde IV/47, 56. 15. Connor Truby, Kipchak III/80, 53. 16. Marc Priest, Seljuk Turk, III/74a, 50. 17. Kevin Casey, Early Hyksos I/17a, 47. 18. Richard Pulley, Neo-Hittite I/31b + Phoenicians, 31. 19. Lindon Paxton, Parthian II/37, 30. 20. Stephen Etheridge, EMNAS III/33, 6.
Photos will follow in due course on easily accessed groups.io and assorted facebook pages.
Cheers all.
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Post by martin on Apr 26, 2024 11:14:40 GMT
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Post by martin on Apr 26, 2024 8:32:28 GMT
Seven games of DBA in 15mm yesterday, on a āweak elementsā theme - minimum six light horse and/or psiloi in each army, vs host player Richard.
1. 2. and 3. - First three were a ācivil warā campaign in 2000BC Syria, using a āLadder Campaignā based on Cromwellās suggestions on this forum. Armies only differed in the chosen general element: Richard used swordsmen (3Bd) while my general rode a light chariot (LCh), and both forces included swarms of light infantry militia with javelins, bows and slings. The skirmisher foot clashes were extremely unpredictable, but went Rās way, while his swordsmen general and retinue proved decisive. He won the campaign 5-2, 5-0 and a far closer 4-3, while being repulsed from my home city walls. Weāre now paying tribute, in the form of cake and biscuits. [Army lists were from I/9, Early Syrian].
4. My Thracians defended I/48 against R.ās Ostrogoths II/67b. Skirmish foot from both sides faced off against each other on my left, while my light horse and mountaineer foot attempted to stop the wild Gothic cavalry charge in the centre. A couple of Goth cavalry were skirmished to death by the Thracian horse, but the weight of the attack proved unstoppable. Goths win, 4-2.
5. I now led practically naked early Libyans (I/7b) into the frozen wastes of Lithuaniaā¦most unwise. Libyan skirmishers were fighting well against Lithuanian archers in woodland on my right, grinding them down, and the game reached 3-3. Then Lithuanian light cavalry broke through in the centre, and the Libyans were routed (a nasty 6-3! But closer than the numbers suggest).
6. My Nubians I/3 countered an invading Aramaean force (I/18b) with a Phoenician ally. Some lucky Nubian archery eliminated a few enemy elements, but the enemy heavy charioteer general began to carve into warbands in the Nubian lines. Fortunately a strike by my skirmish foot nobbled a couple of extra opponents before the chariots could complete their rampage. Nubian win 5-4.
7. Last game was an Ostrogoth civil warā¦near the coast Gothic heavy cavalry clashed in a to and fro battle, while the opposing skirmishers stared menacingly at each other inland. A tight fight suddenly saw my bunch crumble as the opposing skirmishers closed and were victorious. Richardās Goths win, 6-3.
A tiring but fun day of games. The low combat factors of light troops certainly add to the unpredictability when the lines meet and the dice take over. š
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Post by martin on Apr 22, 2024 19:37:13 GMT
Spot on. Choosing order of combats, which goes first, can be vital. š
PSā¦no daft questions, only daft answers. Ask ANYTHING š
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Post by martin on Apr 22, 2024 7:28:41 GMT
The subtleties of DBA, skb777 . Do you take mainly Ps and hope your opponent has brought Bw, or do you take mainly LH and hope he hasn't? (Always bearing in mind that you will be using your own army for three games and your opponent's army for the other three.) Iām taking a punt there will be plenty of Bw on show I can pretty much guarantee thereāll be plenty of Ps and LHā¦.š My choiceā¦yes, it has one lone bow element, but itās otherwise a bit of a mixed bag.
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Post by martin on Apr 21, 2024 8:04:16 GMT
Players List, Alton DBA 2024
Pete Duckworth Kev Casey Lindon Paxton Peter Ellis Steve Etheridge Patrick Myers Colin OāShea Richard Pulley John Saunders Mark Skelton Paddy Green Mark Kulke Bill MacGillivray Connor Truby Stephen Finn Ivan Djokic Oli Currant Peter Phipps Marc Priest Martin Myers
ie currently 20 players booked
(+ Meā¦.if needed).
Iāll be intrigued by what the wise ones have chosen as a āgoodā army choice. š. Mine (fill in only) was decided aeons ago (and without a lot of thought š).
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Post by martin on Apr 20, 2024 10:16:51 GMT
Iāve contacted the seller and heās happy for me to put his email here and people to contact him direct. john_liu141@hotmail.com Note I have no connection or affiliation to this seller but have only purchased items via eBay. K Someone on the SoA forum was asking about the quality of the metal compared to the original Outpost ones.Ā Can you help?Ā Ā Mine are en route or poss on the doormatā¦. Iāll havva look later
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Post by martin on Apr 19, 2024 13:49:30 GMT
Hi rudi DBA is designed at such a big picture scale that javelin throwing and short range skirmish bow shooting are subsumed into the close combat factors, and are wholly inappropriate to the scale.
All you have to do is tell yourself that when a Ps is face to face with a Spear theyāre NOT two paces away poking a hoplite in the eye with a hand-held javelin, theyāre getting within eg 30m away and throwing their pointy stick. When the Ps flee itās cos the hoplite growled too loud or threatened a charge or sent out some runners to scare off the skirmishers.
Once you have that in mind, itās far easier to cope. Try playing in 2mm, for example, and then the 28mm/15mm figures being only figure height away from each other no longer makes the process seem unreal/abstract.
Otherwise youāre flying in the face of the whole design philosophy, and that makes the game far harder to rationalise.
Martin
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Post by martin on Apr 18, 2024 16:31:50 GMT
"May not post to the United States" And here I was just starting to think about a Republican Roman army. May not isnāt necessarily āwill notā. Always worth messaging the guy, to ask the questionā¦
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Post by martin on Apr 18, 2024 9:03:07 GMT
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Post by martin on Apr 18, 2024 8:11:53 GMT
Alternative Armies have kindly agreed to sponsor this event, and are currently in the last couple of weeks of their very generous Spring Sale (20% off šš¼šš¼)
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Post by martin on Apr 18, 2024 8:08:11 GMT
If you need a Horde in hurry their 15mm Orcs and Goblins paint up very nicely. Those look really nice, Mark šš¼
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Post by martin on Apr 18, 2024 8:07:29 GMT
Yep, a very generous 20% off, AND many of their figures are cheaper than other manufacturers to start with ! They stock the 15mm ex-TTG Dark Ages and Medievals, which paint up very well (as menacussecundus and paddy649 have shown). Byzantines, Late Romans, Goths, Blemmye, Arab Conquest, generic European Feudal etcā¦.. [my order went in last week š]
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