Saga Game Days Restart in Columbus

 

    Here come the Gauls! Andy continues to cut down his opponent's with his Age of Hannibal Gauls

A dozen Central Ohio Saga players showed up to restart the Saga Ohio game days at the Guardtower East this past Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. The group is in the midst of a recruiting boom and that, combined with the long, Covid-induced layoff for many players, meant I wanted to get a head start on figuring out the player matchups. I try to have a fairly experienced player (and good teacher) matched up against our novice warlords. That way, they can coach them through their game and help them learn the rules. Saga has a moderate learning curve, especially as it relates to managing an army's "battle board" -- the command and control function of the game. A couple last-minute player cancellations made me shuffle the matchups slightly, but on the whole, I was satisfied with the teaching that would be going on.

    Lots of teaching Saga! Here Jenny gives Lee a few pointers, while Anthony fields his Anglo-Danes

I had also been busily making new terrain specifically for Saga. I created four new fields, along with the same number of rocky areas and ruins. I reshuffled my terrain boxes to better stores the pieces and make them more accessible to players. I got a lot of compliments on the new terrain pieces, so I will eventually add in some more. More than likely, I will do a blog post on how I created them. So, stay tuned for that! 

    Jenny's Viking archers occupy one of my new Ruins terrains pieces I recently created

As it was, I have kind of taken over from Andy S and Steve P (who moved to San Diego) in providing most of the ground cloths and terrain that we use. I admit I was also very inspired by Jim B's terrain boards he unveiled two weeks ago at our Saga game day at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, Ohio. I figured that it was high time I step up my game in that area! Especially since I had no rocky areas or ruins for players to use during terrain deployment prior to creating these.

    Daniel advances his Norse-Gaels as Thomas' Crusaders await for what will be a bloody clash!

As players showed up, I let them know who'd they be matched against and nudged them to get started. So, the round one games began gradually. Thomas and Daniel M were stuck in a traffic jam driving over from Dayton, so were our last game to get started. I felt bad that the twins had to play each other, but they confessed they had yet to be matched against each other in Saga. They set up their battle on the table next to Jason S and my game. 

    The Norse-Gael battle line advances towards a deadly combo of knights and fanatic pilgrims

It was especially enjoyable to hear them banter back and forth while Jason and I were playing. In fact, the four of us on our table were the only ones to switch opponents and get in a second round of games. The other eight players were sated after one round. It is actually a rarity for me to get in two games in Columbus. I usually sit out the first round as I am busy matching folks up as they show up.

    A look at one of my Rocky Ground terrain pieces with its removable bases of larger boulders

The first game to get completed was a slugfest between Andy's Gauls and Allen S's borrowed Vikings. Allen is one of our novices and this was only his second game. Andy has been playing Saga longer than anyone else in our group, so he was a natural to help coach Allen through his first game. Apparently, the Gauls were able to bring the "Power of the Ancient Gods" ability on their battle board ability to bear regularly. Allen said later Andy was rolling more attack dice than his units were fairly consistently in melee. 

    Allen and Andy were the first game to finish as the "Power of the Ancient Gods" brought victory

Andy and Allen's scenario was Battle of Heroes, with Andy patiently explaining the more unusual deployment and game conditions in this scenario. Battle of Heroes is probably our second most popular scenario played in our meetings (after the standard "Clash of Warlords" from the book). Late in the game, Allen's forces had been cut down by the Gauls to such a degree that he conceded defeat. On a positive note, Allen said he is having fun learning Saga, so hopefully we have another long-term recruit.

    Allen's Vikings sound their battle horn as the waves of Andy's Gauls approach

My own first game was the next to finish. My Moors were taking on Jason's Romans from Age of Invasions in another Battle of Heroes. I felt lucky to be the first player, as it allowed me to turn our "Uplands" terrain condition into a roughly open battlefield. I did this by using the "Meeting Encounter" deployment option to make us fight with the short edges of the 4'x3' battlefield as our base edges. I will post another blog entry describing this game (and my second round matchup against Thomas' Crusaders) later, so stay tuned for that, as well. 

    Lee's Scots (my borrowed Picts) move through the woods to attack their Viking enemies

It was tough fight. Jason gets better and more skilled with the rules every meeting. He craftily laid an ambush for one of my units of mounted hearthguard, killing 5 out of 6 figures. He'd given up his small, 4-man mounted hearthguard unit in return, but appeared to win out on the exchange. However, with "Show of Force" victory conditions, his completely eliminated unit came back to bite him in the end, and he lost our game by a single point. I felt VERY fortunate to escape this game with a victory. 

    Dave's Romans from Age of Invasions march past one of my new Fields terrain pieces

Thomas and Daniel finished next, despite being last to start. They are both aggressive players, and the Levantine Crusaders fanatic pilgrims mean LOTS of charges and follow up attacks. Daniel's Norse-Gaels are no slackers either, and his "Spill Blood" ability meant carnage ruled on this battlefield. Between that and the lethal Crusader board with its boatloads of additional attack dice, figures died quickly. I laughed as each jokingly accused the other of using cheesy advanced Saga abilities. The fanatic pilgrims out-cheesed the Norse-Gaels in the end, apparently. Thomas won fairly handily 33-19.

    Jenny's Viking warlord watches the advance of the more lightly-armored and numerous Scots

Jenny T's teaching game with Lee P (who I believe was playing only his fourth game of Saga -- and first in many months -- was the next to finish, I believe. Lee had borrowed my Scots. Jenny said Lee wrong-footed her from the deployment when their Clash of Warlords game switched to the diagonal corner deployment method. Her archers were ineffective, and the Scots proved every bit as tough as I remember them. One of the things I like about Saga is novices are able to pull off the victory fairly often against a more veteran player. There is enough dice rolling, and plenty of openings for clever tactics that an opponent had not considered, to make a big difference. Lee pulled out a victory over Jenny, who has learned the Viking battle board quite well and routinely defeats opponents with it at our game days.

    Bob and Keith played an introspective game, as they regularly discussed the abilities of their armies

Another one who keeps getting better and better with their chosen army is Dave E with the Age of Invasions Romans. Last meeting, he defeated a very tough Norman army. This week, he was facing Anthony B with his Anglo-Danes. Dave was able to slough off Anthony's fatigue generating abilities and defeat him. I did not get a chance to see much of the game, as Jason and my game was a nail biter and very close.

    Bob's Last Romans, infantry sheltering in terrain, await the approach of Keith's Irish

The last first round game to finish was Bob B, who'd switched back to his Last Roman warband. He was teaching Keith F, who was playing Irish in his fourth game of Saga. As always, Bob is extremely patient, and Keith said the two spent a lot of time discussing the ramifications of each army's advanced Saga abilities so he could know what to expect. As us veteran Ancients players have done so many times in the past teaching new players, Bob coached Keith to victory over his Last Romans. 

    Keith's Irish, including their champion and war dogs, race forward to take on the Last Romans

The statistics for the first round games:

• Andy S's Gauls defeated Allen S's Vikings in Battle of Heroes (no score, game conceded)
  
• Lee P's Scots defeated Jenny T's Vikings in Clash of Warlords, 18-8
  
• Keith F's Irish defeated Bob B's Last Romans, 24.5-19
• Dave E's Romans defeated Anthony B's Anglo-Danes, 25-19
• Mike D's Moors defeated Jason S's Romans, 27-26
• Thomas M's Crusaders (Levantine) defeated Daniel M's Norse-Gaels, 33-19

    2nd Round action: Jason's Romans press forward to clash with Daniel's Norse-Gaels

The second set of games went VERY quickly. I let the "Next Generation" (Jason, Daniel, Thomas) choose the matchups. They decided that the Crusaders were the best chance to stop my Moor's winning streak. So, I would play Thomas and Daniel would seek redemption against Jason's Romans. I pulled out a Moorish battle board for Thomas to keep an eye on while we played (and also got out a copy of the Crusader board so I could remind myself about what he had queued up on his board). 

    Thomas' Levantine Crusaders are urged to charge into battle by a priest

I find it VERY useful to have on hand a copy of the opponent's battle board. After their order phase finishes, I always confirm with them which abilities they have activated so that I can know what to expect. With Saga, it is also a good time to double-check and make sure you both agree on exactly what those abilities can do! The last thing you want is arguments in the middle of a melee or turn. I try to be a gracious opponent, and would often point out abilities on my board to Thomas that he should plan for -- such as the Moors move of Long+Short with "Horses of the Maghreb." 

    Banners waving in the wind, the Scots surge forward in a riot of tartans, checkers, and stripes

Thomas surprised me by not playing his fanatic pilgrim heavy Levantine Crusader version. He said he wanted to try the Baltic Crusaders. I flipped to their entry in the Age of Crusades book and we discussed what changed for him on troop makeup. He wanted to try out Levy crosssbow, so I made sure he understood how the rules worked for shooting for them. On one turn, I stopped him as he was getting ready to move them to remind him to shoot first, THEN move if he wanted to get closer. That way, he could then fire a second time after the movement (as long as he didn't mind the extra fatigue!). I could swear I saw one of my Moorish spearmen crane his head around towards me quizzically, as if to ask why I was helping their enemy shower them with a second round of crossbow bolts!

Jenny and Anthony try to maneuver their way out of the straits their opponents' have placed them in

Here are the results of the second round of games (expect me to cover my game in detail in another blog post):

• Jason S's Romans defeated Daniel M's Norse-Gaels, 19-16 in Battle of Heroes
• Mike Ds' Moors defeated Thomas M's Baltic Crusaders  (no score, game conceded)

 I was happy with a dozen players in our first round back, especially since a bunch of our regulars had other commitments that weekend. It wasn't as many as Dragon's Guildhall's 18 two weeks ago, but I have a feeling we will be reaching those numbers very soon. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed being back to playing Saga in Columbus!

Moors Battle a Carthaginian Enemy from the Distant Past

 

    My Moors faced a new & dangerous opponent - Carthaginians from Age of Hannibal

Word had come to the court at Cordoba of a landslide high in the mountains that had exposed a hidden valley. Villagers in the area complained of raids by a strange people who plundered them, then retreated back into the valley. The emir was concerned, and ordered his trusted commander, Majik Ibn Battuta al-Waqaa to march his company to investigate these stories. Majik advanced cautiously, sending scouts on foot and mounted ahead of his forces. They found the raiders in a bleak area of hills, not far from the entrance to the valley. They wore bronze armor, some on foot, some on horseback. There were even troops riding atop an elephant! These were definitely a foe that Majik had never faced before.

I spent the first round of our initial Saga game day at the Dragons Guildhall helping pair up opponents, and answering questions from our newer players. It had been more than six months since we had met, so even the relatively experienced players were rusty on the rules. I had originally intended to record interviews for Saga Ohio at the game day, but the players needed my help with the rules more than they needed me pestering them with questions!

    Mike S examines his battle board as our armies are deployed for a Battle of Heroes scenario

As players were finishing up, my friend Mike S urged me to get in a game. He was playing his brand new Carthaginian army, having barely lost a slugfest with Andy S's Gauls in round one. To be honest, I was a little leery of taking my Age of Crusades army against what I'd heard were very potent Age of Hannibal opponents. I had not really read the Age of Hannibal book all the way through, but it is set up like the others. So, I figured that I could mull my way through things. I had already considered how my army would deal with an opposing elephant. So, it would be fun to see if my plans would bear fruit.

    A closeup of part of Mike's gorgeous, new Carthaginian army deployed for battle

Mike chose Battle of Heroes and wanted to use the "Considered" option. That meant we rolled or each of the five variants, one at a time. I won the first roll and was "first player" for terrain setup. I chose "Bleak Moor," which uses the standard setup method. I started with a large gentle hill in the center of the board, so my cavalry would have room to maneuver. Mike countered with a rocky area on my half of the table along the right board edge. I needed to place one more piece, so I chose a Marsh, but tucked it away on the far left hand corner of his baseline. He chose to move that piece a Medium distance closer towards the center, and so our battlefield was set.

Next, he won the deployment roll and chose "Vanguard." That meant we placed our troops in alternating groups, beginning with our mounted troops, then foot troops. He placed his elephant and mounted hearthguard and Tarantine mercenary cavalry on his left, facing the gap between the large hill and the rocky area. I placed my mounted hearthguard and warlord near my baseline, behind the hill. All subsequent troops must be placed within a Short distance of previously deployed troops. I walked my foot troops to the right, placing both foot warriors to the right of my cavalry, and finally the levy archers in the rocky area. Most of Mike's army ended up behind his mounted troops.

    I was worried about facing an Age of Hannibal army, as I'd heard their boards were very powerful

I won the next roll, too, and chose "Cautious" for game length. This meant our game would last only five turns (we were getting a relatively late start, and I figured that would help speed up our game). It also meant HE had to move first, and no unit could move more than one activation on turn one. I won the roll for "Special Rule," as well. I chose "A Dash of Nostalgia" because it meant his mercenaries would not generate a Saga die, and our warlords would generate two. Although it left him unchanged in total dice, it would give me one more. My Moors thrive on their maneuverability, so I could use the extra command dice. Finally, Mike won "Show of Force," which meant we'd be counting Survival Points and score bonus for getting a unit within a Medium of the opponent's board edge.

    Mike's Elephant had effective firepower with the "Eagle Eye" ability on the Carthaginian board

Mike opened the game by moving his elephant forward towards my archers in the rocky area. I noticed he had the "Eagle Eye" activated on his board with a Rare dice. Not only would this give him 4 extra dice in a shooting attack, it meant no cover bonuses for the target. Uh-oh. Oh well...there are 12 archers -- they can take a few casualties, I figured! I was surprised that he moved forward so aggressively with his four-man unit of mounted hearthguard, though. They were supported by a unit of citizen foot hearthguard, but I felt they were pretty vulnerable with an Armor of 4.

On my turn, I sent both of my 6-man mounted hearthguard units dashing forward. They tossed their javelins. Twelve shooting dice later, and extremely poor saving rolls by Mike, and his mounted hearthguard unit was eliminated. My levy archers tried to get in ojn the act and shot at the approaching elephant, but Mike had cleverly positioned a contingent foot warrior unit with range of them. With the "Blood Price" ability, he could push casualties inflicted on the elephant onto their "escorts." 

    

    The Moorish battleline prepares to advance against their ancient foes

The elephant lumbered forward into range of my levy with their composite bows. Their normal two dice were boosted to six with Eagle Eye and three of my levy fell, riddled with arrows from the elevated vantage point of the howdah. In the center, Mike saw the danger his foot hearthguard was in, so sent a citizen foot warrior unit forward to support them. However, Mike is an aggressive player, and saw that the hearthguard were also within a double move of one of my mounted units. Wanting payback for his dead cavalry, he ordered them in. I used his fatigue to raise my armor to 5. His rolls were poor, and the hearthguard were driven back with casualties. My Moors saved all but one of the hits he rolled, and were ready for the counterstrike.

Although I had my "Torrent of Iron" ability activated on my board, I guessed that I could destroy the Foot hearthguard with shooting alone. Majik waved his cavalry forward again. Javelins flew, and another of Mike's hearthguard units lay dead on the hillside. My levy were not having the same luck, though, and his elephant took only one fatigue from my sole hit (he considered it not worth playing Blood Price). My foot warriors, though, edged away from the elephant, making sure they were outside of a Medium + Short of the elephant. We were winning in the center, why jeopardize things with unreliable things like dice rolls?

    Majik Ibn Battuta al-Waqaa orders his cavalry forward to pepper the enemy with javelins

Mike began to furiously try to bring up the rest of his army, but the citizen foot warriors were exposed. On my next turn, I sent both units forward to shoot again, whittling down their numbers. I followed that up with a Torrent of Iron charge (my Moors signature battle board ability), which completely eliminated a third unit of the Carthaginians. On Turn 4, I switched targets to his elephant. He had advanced the pachyderm and crew towards my warriors, hoping to find someone he could charge (entering the rocky area to charge the levy he considered too dangerous with too little reward). 

    After each advance, Majik would pull back his cavalry and out of range of counterattack to rest up

The final volleys of the game flew. My levy, and both units of cavalry hurled their javelins at the elephant. He was out of range of his elephant escorts, and my multiple attacks quickly used up his Resilience. The great beast fell. At this point, Mike conceded the game, having only his warlord, the contingent warriors, and his Tarantine mercenaries (who had dashed back and forth, not sure where to commit themselves for most of the game) left to face my entire army. Unlike my last game, which I won with charges, this game my Moors triumphed with shooting. 

I know this was only Mike's second game with his Carthaginians, while I had played the Moors half a dozen times. So, he will get better with them. Still, I really like this army, and love the flexibility of my two 6-man, mounted hearthguard cavalry units. They can skirmish or be an armored fist. With Torrent of Iron inflicting a fatigue on the enemy unit when I close, it means I can raise my armor class from its vulnerable 4 to make them more survivable. I really look forward to playing more games with them!

    A look at the board at the end of the game

Saturday's Change of Plans: "Tune Up" Game of Saga

 

    Change of Plans scenario with the Viking deployed at top and my Moors at bottom

With the return of Saga Ohio game days only a week away, Jenny felt she needed a tune up game of Saga. She wanted to brush up on her Viking battle board and familiarize herself again with the mechanics of the game. I needed no arm twisting to play Saga, so we pulled out the terrain and armies for some Saturday night Saga instead of our usual two-player board games. 

    Jenny's Vikings once again invade the Emirate of Cordoba defended by my Moorish army

I tossed her the Book of Battles to pick out a scenario, and she chose "Change of Plans." This game has three separate scoring rounds -- massacre points after turn 3, survival points after turn 5, and conquest points at the end of turn 6. It is one of the scenarios Adrian was thinking of using for the Cincycon Age of Vikings tournament (Oct. 23, 2021). Neither of us had played it before, so I agreed that it would be good to try it out. Jenny was using a new, hearthguard-heavy Viking build (five points in units of 6, 5, 5, and 4 figures, along with her usual one point of levy bows). 

    The Moorish warrior foot open the game with an aggressive advance towards the Viking woods

For myself, I wanted to see if my two units of 6-man, mounted hearthguard with javelins unit could switch gears from skirmishers to battering rams. We have a lot of Viking armies in our Saga Ohio group, and the Viking battle board has the "Odin" ability that can Exhaust a shooting unit. Since I also have a Levy bow unit, I normally try to tempt Viking opponents to use that ability on them instead, freeing my mounted to do their usual ride up, throw javelins, and retire behind the lines of warrior infantry. I knew Jenny was on to my trick by now, though. So, my new plan was to use them in primarily a melee role when facing Vikings. Would they be survivable enough? This was my test run.

    This will NOT be celebrated over horns of mead - Viking hearthguard repelled by Moor warriors

I set out a large, gentle hill in the center right of the table to free up maneuver space for my Moorish cavalry. Jenny jacked that up quite nicely with a pair of marshes bracketing it -- one on her side of the board and one on mine. She had a forest on her right, set up in perfect position for her levy archers to enter and use as a stronghold to unleash volleys of arrows from. Deployment in this game is by each player alternating units. I began with my own Moorish levy archers in the center swamp on my deployment area. Since Jenny had complicated things on my right, I decided to switch my main attack to the left. I put out a cavalry unit like it was going to the right, but planned to move forward aggressively on the left, instead.

   My cavalry countercharge came up equally short, causing no casualties on the exhausted Vikings

I opened the game with my two units of warrior foot advancing a full move towards his levy's woods. My levy scooted up to the edge of the swamp to be able to target anyone on my soon-to-be-refused right wing. I placed used one of my three Saga dice (as first player) on "Forest of Spears," in case one of her units of hearthguard double-moved to attack them. Jenny must have had this in mind. She began her turn with a volley from her archers which caused 3 casualties on the warriors on the left. Very good rolling on her part, and below average on mine. It was as if I had read her mind, because Jenny then moved up one of her 5-man hearthguard units once, and then a second time to charge them into the depleted spear unit. We closed ranks, played Forest of Spears, and ended up taking no hits. As if that wasn't insult enough to the Norsemen, she didn't save one of the hits I put on her, so she actually lost a figure and recoiled.

    My warriors screen my recoiling cavalry while the other unit advances into the woods

That was the opening I had been hoping for -- one of her units ending with two fatigue on it (one for the second move and another for the combat). I was VERY fortunate on my command die rolls in this game. On turns 2 through 6, I rolled at least one rare dice each time (one or twice rolling two). This allowed me to use the Moors' primary melee ability, "Torrent of Iron." My warlord Majik Ibn Battuta al-Waqaa waved the left hand unit of cavalry forward, while his pet cheetah Scirocco watched with hunter's interest. As we hit home on the chastened Viking hearthguard, we inflicted a third fatigue, making them Exhausted. This meant they were -1 to all melee dice. That is what my Moorish cavalry are looking for, and we used their fatigue to raise our Armor to 6. That meant she couldn't hit us, and we essentially had free strikes with no chance of casualties. In my excitement at getting what I wanted, I forgot to play "Inspiration," which I had cued up on my Moor Battle Board. That allows rerolls of any 1's on my attack dice. And I rolled a LOT of ones! Still, with the +1 bonus from javelin and lowering their armor, I scored 5 hits. She saved all of them. Five rolls of 5+ on a 6-sided die!!

    Moorish warriors, after repelling an attack from hearthguard, charge into the levy bowmen

Now, it was OUR turn to be chastened and back off. She cleverly used my cavalry unit's fatigue to cut down my ensuing retirement move to a Short distance. My mounted units have only an Armor of 4 and are very vulnerable to both shooting and enemy charges. So, I pulled the depleted warrior unit out into a screen in front of the cavalry. Interestingly, Jenny was NOT playing "Odin" from her battle board on my levy archer's shots. She was being canny and saving it to unleash on my cavalry when they tried to toss javelins and then retire.

    My warlord Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa waves the Moorish cavalry forward to charge again

Determined to save her levy and eliminate the threat of my Moorish spearmen, she brought a 4-man hearthguard unit forward to charge the threat. Once again, my warriors closed ranks. We each caused two casualties, which meant her hearthguard bounced off my warriors again! My turn 3 was probably my best of the game. My warlord galloped over to the cavalry, exhorted them, and ordered them in against this new, double-fatigued hearthguard unit. Inspired by Majik's words, or intimidated by Scirocco's yellow stare, they redoubled their efforts and this time did not fail. It also helped that I remember to play "Inspiration" this time (which I needed, as I rolled a lot of ones again!). The Vikings were eliminated and we once again suffered no casualties due to their exhaustion from Torrent of Iron. 

    The Moorish warriors have driven the archers out of the woods and await the Viking counterattack

One of the nice mechanics of Saga that simulate morale is when a friendly unit is eliminated, their comrades within a Short distance receive a fatigue. This included the archers, who were then charged by my warrior unit advancing on them in the woods. We hurled them back cutting their numbers nearly in half, but they caused two casualties on my spearmen. Knowing this was the turn 3, when we would count up massacre points, Jenny brought up her other 6-man hearthguard unit from the center and charged those warriors. This was Jenny's best melee of the night, and she killed all but one of the warriors, sending the survivor running headlong from the woods.

    Another Viking hearthguard unit charges Moorish warriors, this time slaying all but one

Once again, though, the Vikings had accumulated two fatigue with their second move and the melee. Once again, the Moorish cavalry were waved forward (the right hand unit this time). Four Vikings were cut down in another Torrent of Iron. If I had not been so successful in rolling at least one rare in each of my turns except the first, I doubt my charges would have been nearly as successful. Still, we did our usual, and pulled the victorious warriors back towards our lines after their charge.

    And the inevitable response to a double-fatigued Viking unit: Torrent of Iron cavalry charge!

It was at this point that most of the fighting was done. Jenny brought her archers back into the woods and caused a couple casualties here and there. My own archers were ineffective all game. I pulled back the bigger unit of warriors towards my lines. Survival points would be counted on turn 5 and I wanted the +1 they would score for me for generating a Saga die. Jenny considered coming forward with her two, undamaged hearthguard units (one of 5, one of 4), but seemed demoralized by the charges of my cavalry. I knew that I was ahead, and since we were counting survival points, had no plans on making potentially risky charges on fresh troops.

 Situation at the end of the game - my battered warriors withdrawing knowing victory was in hand

After turn 5, which saw only arrows flying, she and I decided to call the game. She pointed out that I could move across the centerline with my two cavalry units and my warlord to score a lot of conquest points, while she would have to double or triple move to get across. The handwriting was on the wall, and it was in Arabic. The Vikings withdrew from the field, chastened. I consoled Jenny, pointing out that she punishes other players in Saga Ohio regularly with her Vikings. She has a system down using them, with the Loki-Odin combination hamstringing many armies' strengths. My advice was to be patient when facing armies that can use your fatigue as effectively as the Moors. Do single moves. Play the long game and advance steadily across the table, sweeping them toward their base edge until they run out of room to withdraw. I am reminded of my early years playing Ancients when I would lose what seemed 9 out of 10 games against my regular opponent, the late Larry Connor. It was those bitter lessons he taught me that made me a better player, though. So, my advice to fellow Saga Ohio players is, if you are selecting opponents to play, beware of Jenny! Hell hath no fury...

Painting Progress: Last of Moors and 4 Berserkers

The final eight miniatures of my 28mm Gripping Beast Saga army (with scratch banner)

My Moorish Saga army took me half a year to paint, but I am very proud of it. I know it won't win painting competitions, but on the tabletop I believe its pastel colors and patterns will be quite eye-catching. I finished the last of the army this past week when I completed the final eight foot archer figures. Not much of a climax to this project, but hey! I had been playing with the army for a few months already, so they were definitely the low priority, less important part. In fact, I will likely not use all 24 archer figures I completed. I will most likely field just one point (12 figures) of bow-armed levy in my 6-point Saga army.

Most of these figures had turban wraps around their helms - I particularly like how the stripes came out

Most of these figures had steel helmets with turbans around them, which was a change of pace. The eighth figure was actually a spearman that I converted into a standard bearer. Somehow, I had lost one of the separate arms in the Gripping Beast figures clutching the bow. Yet another reasons to NOT like figures that require arms glued to the bodies (though, to be fair, most of the Gripping Beast figures in this army were not like that and were "solid state." I didn't have anything that could really substitute, so I figured I would just paint up a guy hold a banner in case I ever need all 24 of those figures.

 The spearman standard bearer and his Photoshop created banner proclaiming Moorish "Tolerance"

I certainly won't miss painting patterns for awhile! I tried to keep the fanciness of the robes down a bit. Previous commenters on my blog had mentioned that not everyone would be able to afford a richly brocaded robe! So, fewer dots to do on robes, this time. I still did some on the turban wraps, though - kind of eyeball each figure to see if I felt he needed more. Same with the patterns on the quivers -- not everyone received one. I continued with my three different flesh tones to represent the diversity of the Andalusian ranks. 

 My four Viking berserker figures (using fantasy miniatures - 1 metal, 3 plastic/resin)

The banner was one of my usual Photoshop projects. I found a nice pattern I liked and placed a black bar across its middle. I pasted in the Arabic phrase for "Tolerance" -- a key idea of the Andalusian Muslim kingdoms. To further that, I created a border with alternating crosses, crescents and stars of David. Once you shrink the banner down to fit the figure, though, this detail becomes difficult to see. It's the thought that counts, though!

 My favorite of the four - I think he looks a bit like Rollo on the History Channel "Vikings" series

While I was finishing up the archers, I began prepping my first non-Moorish batch of figures in almost half a year. My Viking army is a frequent loaner request, so I decided to augment that with four berserker figures. I wanted to make sure that they looked WAY different than the rank and file Vikings. So, I picked up three fantasy barbarians at one of the Saga Game days at the Dragons Guildhall. Two of them have the ahistorical horned helmets that cartoons like to depict Vikings as wearing. Yes, I know Vikings didn't wear horned helmets, but they were just such cool, over-the-top figures that I couldn't resist. Their lack of armor and big weapons made me think that there would be zero doubt which figures in the army were the berserkers! The third figure was of a clear material, and seemed to be rising out of the ground. He was such a dead ringer for Rangar Lothbrok's brother Rollo that it only sealed the deal. 

This female fantasy fig has been in my unpainted lead pile for a LONG time! Love her tattoos...

I looked through my unpainted lead and found a female figure that would pass as a berserker -- short on clothing, like her male companions. I have decided that I don't like painting the plastic or resin or whatever it is that the barbarians are made from. The detail is softer and more blurred, in my opinion, than the crisp detail you see on a metal figure. The faces of the two Conan the Barbarian clones had very little detail. Very mushy. It only reinforces my preference for metal figures. Still, the bulging muscles and Conan physique of the miniatures were fun (and easy) to paint.

 These horned-helmted figures drew me to the blister pack, but their mushy detail detracts

Once I was done with the basic detail -- drybrushing their fur trousers and painting their leather -- I knew I would have to do tattoos. I am actually VERY happy with how their tattoos came out. I used my newest 10/00 brush and a dark, bluish-green. All four got tattoos, and I think this gives them a kind of unit integrity. Despite being drawn to the pack because of the pair of Conan figures, I think my favorite is the Rollo lookalike. I considered shaving off part of his fantasy, jagged axe, but kept it. I made sure I put lots of details on the clothing of the female berserker to offset the simplicity of her barbarian brethren.

 I do really like how the tattoos came out on these figures...how many times will people tell me Vikings didn't wear horned helmets, do you imagine?

All in all, I think these came out very nicely. Expect some more Viking additions from my painting desk before I start on the Carolingian army waiting in the wings. I have some more Viking archers primed up, and some unarmored warriors to go with them after the bowmen are done. Hopefully, I'll get more done during my two weeks of winter break. So, look for more updates soon!

Viking Raiders Bedevil Cordoba Again

 Moorish cavalry charge down upon Jenny's Shield Maidens in Clash of Warlords

Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa shook his head and mumbled into his beard as his horse crested the rise. "Norsemen in the Emirate, again? Will fair Cordoba never be free of them?" he mused, watching Scirocco, his pet cheetah, sprint up the hill and stop beside him. Majik's force had been patrolling the borders looking for signs of the reported Viking incursion. A scout led them to this hillside where they could view the Viking warriors spread across the green fields like a stain. "Prepare for battle, defenders of Cordoba! Archers to me on the rise - spear to my right, cavalry to the left. We will send these pagans back across the seas, inshallah!" The men raised a cheer and hurried to their positions. Excited at the prospect of bloodshed, Scirocco prowled forward, yellow eyes locked on the enemy.

 Jenny's Vikings at bottom and my Moors deploy for a Clash of Warlords as part of the Yule event

After finishing our first game as part of the virtual Yule Saga Celebration, Jenny wanted another. It was still early on a Saturday evening, and we had not played Saga for a month or so at this point. Of course, that was the whole reason for the virtual Saga Ohio event. Players were supposed to seek out a game with someone in their "bubble" -- that they have regular contact with -- and make up for our COVID-cancelled, twice-monthly game days. We had just finished A Tale of Challenges from the Book of Battles, so we opted for a simple Clash of Warlords. Jenny reverted to her Viking list -- foot warlord, two 6-man foot hearthguard units, Shield Maidens, 8 Viking foot warriors, and 12 Viking Levy archers.

 Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa marshals his infantry to attempt to drive off Viking raiders again

I saw no need to mess with success and kept the Moorish list I'd been using -- mounted warlord, two 6-man mounted hearthguard with javelins, two 8-man foot warriors, and 12 Moorish levy archers. Yes, other than three of my units were mounted, our lists were nearly identical. However, our battle boards were very different. Facing the Vikings and their Odin battle board ability meant I would not be able to use my shooting much. I couldn't afford to have either of my two big strike units (javelin-armed mounted hearthguard) exhausted with three fatigue at the whim of Odin! It would have to be a game of melee, charging with my horsemen instead of skirmishing with them.

 The view of the brightly-colored Andalusian army from the Viking warlord's side of the table

Jenny placed a woods in the center of the board, along with her usual marsh in the center of my deployment area. I opted for a large, gentle hill on my right and a steep hill opposite that on her baseline. Although the steep hill was uneven ground, it wouldn't provide cover to shooting. I was first player and had to deploy half my units first. I marshaled my two spear units opposite the woods, with my warlord in reserve behind them. This left her guessing where my mounted would go. She deployed her archers close to the center woods, as I expected, supported on their left by a hearthguard unit and her Viking warriors. On her right was the other hearthguard unit and her Shield Maidens.

 My infantry spear line opens the game with an advance towards the center woods

I then placed the remaining three units to the left of my spearmen. The archers were on the gentle hill, flanked by the two units of mounted Moorish nobles. I planned for a sweeping movement on the left, which I began on turn one. The spear advanced towards the woods to root out the Viking levy. I sent the archers forward to launch a volley of arrows towards her hearthguard unit and one of the bearded warriors went down gurgling as an arrow pierced his throat. Jenny responded on her turn with an advance -- her archers into the woods, while her hearthguard advanced quickly, followed more cautiously by the warriors and shield maidens.

On the opening turn, my two units of Moorish cavalry swept to the left to outflank the Viking raiders

Perhaps Jenny was expecting me to skirmish with my cavalry this game, like I prefer to do. She was surprised when one of the hearthguard units thundered down onto her unit that had been wounded by the archers. I played my usual 1-2-3 punch for what I call the "Hammer Blow": Torrent of Iron to begin the charge, Wholehearted to take advantage of enemy fatigue, and Inspiration to get rerolls on misses in combat. The dice definitely favored the Moors, and her entire unit was eliminated. We took two casualties, and then immediately withdrew back to our lines using Perseverance. 

 Beyond the trees, one of the Viking hearthguard units stalks toward my line of Moorish spearmen

Stung, the Viking raiders then launched their own attack. The far left unit of hearthguard double moved and charged into the first unit of my foot spearmen. We closed ranks, attempting to wear down the Vikings, but it did no good. We missed all of our saves and lost five figures, recoiling backwards. I had thought about placing the a dice on an ability that gave my foot units 3 bonus defense dice in melee, but had decided not to, last turn. Ouch! That was painful, but then again, not nearly as painful as her loss of an entire 6-man hearthguard unit, I rationalized. 

 The gathering storm viewed from the Viking side as my units of Moorish cavalry prepare to charge

Knowing her right was wide open, Jenny moved up the Shield Maidens to cover the gap. My levy archers unleashed a volley on them. She responded with Odin -- exhausting them, but too late! Two of the shield maidens fell to our shots (our her unlucky save rolls!). Seeing the Shield Maidens down one third, my fresh 6-man cavalry troop hurtled forward. Unlike last game, when the Valkyrie survived the melee, this time there were no ladies left alive. We rode down all of them at the cost of two slain troopers, again. At this point, I was feeling very confident. However, what I didn't know, was that her victorious unit of hearthguard was about to embark on a string of melees and dice rolls that would earn them the nickname "the Unstoppables."

 The Viking hearthguard have smashed into one unit of spear, slaughtering more than half

These pagans unleashed their fury on my next unit of Viking spearmen. Despite closing ranks and three extra defense dice, we lost three men and had to fall back. At least they were still generating a Saga dice, being above four figures! The levy archers then targeted the Unstoppables, but they used our two fatigue to cancel the shot. The levy would try again next turn, and once again, cause no casualties. On her right, Jenny moved up her unit of warriors and charged my four remaining hearthguard who had eliminated the shield maidens. Although they lost three figures, they killed two hearthguard - a fair trade. Payback was coming, though, and the other Moorish cavalry unit charged in on our turn, eliminating the warriors to a man. Our casualties left me with two mounted hearthguard units with only two figures each.

 After successfully riding down a unit of Viking hearthguard, the victorious Moorish nobles pull back

I had one last gambit to try on my turn. I trotted each hearthguard unit forward to throw javelins at his warlord. I figured that if either scored a hit -- or better yet, two -- I would send my warlord forward to battle his in melee. However, all our hits missed. I simply didn't trust my die rolls to go one-on-one against a fresh enemy warlord. On our side of the board, his unit of Unstoppables was full strength still, but surrounded by two warrior and one levy unit. Turn six ended with no climactic final clash, and it was time to count up the points. 

 Overview: Viking hearthguard pummel the Moorish right while shield maidens try to hold their flank

I knew it would be close -- she had killed more of my hearthguard than I had of hers. However, I had completely eliminated her two warrior units (one being the mercenary Shield Maidens). In the end, the Moors were ahead on points 21-19. However, Clash of Warlords requires you to beat your opponent by three points or more to score a victory. This mean both armies withdrew from the battlefield to bandage their wounds.

The Shield Maidens attempt to hold their right fails as they are trampled by Moorish cavalry

The Unstoppables (Viking hearthguard) slam into and drive back another unit of Moorish spearmen

Moorish cavalry tries one last gambit to whittle down the Viking warlord with javelins, but fail

Closeup of the Unstoppables, who would have won Jenny the game had she not lost her Shield Maidens