Pictish Crossbowmen for my Saga army

    My final addition to my Pictish Saga army - 12 levy crossbowmen from Gripping Beast

I had been using my 28mm Pictish figures as Scots for quite some time before the new Saga: Age of Invasions book came out. Its appropriate, as the medieval Scots were an amalgam of the Pictish kingdoms and the immigrant Scots kingdom of Dal Riata. Together, they formed Alba, or Dark Age and medieval Scotland, which is the period the Age of Vikings book covers. Naturally, when Age of Invasions came out, I was interested in trying out the retooled Pictish battle board. I had never played the other one, content to wait for the new one I'd heard was on the way.

    There were four poses in the 12 figures, but with the tartan and checkers, they look varied enough

Troop-wise, the one thing I needed to get to really take advantage of the new list was a unit of Levy crossbowmen. There is both archeological and pictoral (no pun intended) evidence of the Picts utilizing an early crossbow. The weapon is effective in the Saga rules, and would be a great option to add when selecting my army. Previously, when fielding levies for the Picts, I was using bow or javelin-armed troops. My plan now that I have this batch painted is to field one of each weapon type.

    The checkers and tartans I 'painted' with Micron pens, while the other patterns were done by brush

I got the figures from Gripping Beast. Last summer, I had entered 8 Mongol cavalry figures in the Saga Thorsday painting contest. I was the "random" winner -- not the entry they chose as best painted, but one they picked as a consolation prize, of sorts. I held off for a couple months ordering anything, and Andy from Gripping Beast was patient and said take my time. Once Age of Invasions came out and I got a chance to play the Picts, I knew that was what I wanted. So, I ordered it, and they shipped it quickly from England.

    I found it easier to draw the lines of the tartans with the pens than I have in the past with a brush

The Gripping Beast Pictish crossbowmen are cleanly cast, and consist of four poses. That means there is a repeat of three of each pose in my unit of 12. That's not a problem because I planned on painting them up in a variety of colors, each with their individual tartan, checkered, or cloak pattern. After painting up my previous batch of miniatures (Mongol cavalry), these seemed to go SO fast. There is a minimum of equipment on these -- cloak, tunic, belt, quiver for their crossbow bolts, and the crossbow. I decided that I wanted to keep the cloak colors on a woodland scheme -- contemporary accounts say the Picts were great at concealment and hiding in ambush. So, no really bright colors. I also went with dun to light brown tunic, undecorated. And I decided to use my Micron pens to do the lines and checkers for figures who had a tartan or checker pattern. I wasn't sure how it'd work out, but I was VERY happy with how they ended up looking. These are better than my more recent attempts at checkers or tartans with a brush, by far. The ink in the pens should probably be left to dry on the figures for a couple days before doing a wash over them. I had one that ran a little bit when I washed it the next day.

    This pack of six Micron pens cost about $20 at Hobby Lobby

I also decided to put some flower flocking on the bases, like I did with my Carolingian army. I figured it would make differentiating the crossbowmen from the archers easier when I was pulling miniatures out of the box. Finally, I painted them up in two batches of six. Hope you like how they came out -- I know I did!

Picts Emerge Triumphant at Saga Tourney at Game Table Adventures

    My Pictish army at bottom closes with Ted H's all-foot Crusader force in round 1's Change of Plans

Drust son of Drust set a cup of whiskey in front of his father the king and then relaxed into his own carved, wooden chair. The bard began to strum his harp as he saw Drust take a sip from his own cup. "Tonight, we hear the tale of Prince Drust's battle against the men of iron who invaded our isles." Drust remembered the mist that plagued the Orkneys for days prior to the arrival of the strange fleet. Their sails were emblazoned with red crosses, as were many of the host themselves. Drust had been tasked by his father with repelling the unexpected invasion. So, he assembled his warband. Half were veteran warriors, while the other half were the untried and adolescents...

    Drust's Picts faced Ted H's all-foot Crusader army in the first round in the Change of Plans scenario

My first battle in the Game Table Adventures tournament Jan. 15, 2022, was against Ted H's Crusader army. Surprisingly, it had no mounted troops. There was only one small unit of foot knights who remained close to the warlord -- the rest of the army were levy and warriors (like my army). There were two units of levy pilgrims, one of warrior crossbowmen, and two units of foot warriors. 

For the tournament, my Pictish force composition was identical in all three rounds. The tournament allowed a 7-point list, from which you choose 6-points each round. My unused 7th point was the Molossian mercenaries (war dogs). Here were the forces I used:

• Pictish Foot warlord
• 3 units of 8 Pictish foot warriors
• 1 unit of 12 Pictish levy archers
• 2 units of 12 Pictish levy javelinmen

    Two units of Pictish levy javelinmen cut down the crusader crossbowmen with accurate volleys

 

Round 1: Change of Plans vs. Ted H's Crusaders

One of my later opponents was surprised by the size of my army. Three units of levy really pad out the numbers of your warband. I took all three levy rather than the dogs in the first round because I wanted more missile troops. My plan would be to harass and wear down the crusader's slow-moving footmen. When the crusaders charged my levy units, their sheer numbers should allow them to survive, and my plan would be to then counter-attack with my warriors.

Ted's crusaders moved first and advanced steadily on his first turn. We were playing the Change of Plans scenario, which has you count victory points three times. At the end of Turn 3, each player tallies their Slaughter Points (enemy slain). At the end of Turn 5, we would calculate Survival Points. And finally, at the end of the game, we receive bonus Conquest Points based off of our units that are fully beyond the centerline of the board and inside the enemy's half. Like Ted, I also advanced steadily. My first target would be his crossbowmen (his sole missile unit). I advanced both of my units of javelin levy forward quickly, one deep onto the wooded hill and the other alongside it. Each threw their volleys of javelins. Ted's saving rolls were horrible all game, spectacularly so on turn one. Six of the eight crossbowmen fell, as did two of his foot warriors.

    The crusader pilgrims advanced through the center valley but were blocked by Pictish spearmen

The crusaders were undeterred, though, and continued to advance. Both pilgrim units advanced into the center valley between the forested hill and gentle hill. The foot knights marched forward to plug the gap created by the loss of the crossbowmen. The enemy foot warrior who'd been stung by my levy javelinmen charged in and drove them back into the forest. On the Pictish half of the second turn, my levy units continued their volleys. The javelin men targeted the foot knights this time. My above average rolling and Ted's below average saves continued unabated. All but one of the foot knights fell transfixed by the Pictish javelins. Meanwhile, the archers began to target an advancing crusader warrior foot unit that was marching across the gentle hill towards them.

    Crusader foot warriors hurl Pictish javelinmen back into the woods in

It gradually became obvious that Ted's battle plan was to rely on his pilgrim's enthusiasm. He used the crusader board's advanced Saga abilities to have them fight as warriors and activate for free. One charged into a unit of Pictish spearmen who were blocking the center valley. The veteran Picts closed ranks and hurled the pilgrims back. The other pilgrim unit charged into the woods and shoved back the other unit of javelinmen. 

    Pictish archers whittle away at an advancing crusader warrior unit while Pictish spearmen close in

The first phase of my battle plan was nearing its end. Two of my three levy units were depleted, but still at about half strength. It was time for my Pictish warriors to do their part in the struggle. On the far right, a unit of Pictish spearmen charged and shattered the crusader footmen who had chased the javelinmen into the woods. On the far left, another unit of Pict spearmen closed in towards the center. In the center, the already-engaged unit of warriors remained in place, blocking the Crusader advance.

    

    At game end, the crusader warlord has only the remnants of a pilgrim unit left in his command

Ted continued to use his Saga dice to hammer the pilgrims into my troops, but each time we withstood his blows, backing off slightly or hurling them back. Their numbers were being whittled down. On Ted's turn, my troops would either close ranks or play one of one or more of our defensive Saga abilities to minimize casualties. On the Pictish turn, I used "Stalking" regularly to add 3 attack dice to shooting, and "Ambush" to give 4 bonus attack dice to attacks. There are more lethal melee abilities on the crusader board, but Ted was feeding his dice to his pilgrims instead. As the game wore on, the Picts continued to grind down the enemy army while taking way fewer casualties. Soon, all his warriors were gone, as well as one of the pilgrim units and the last surviving foot knight. I "called off the dogs," so to speak, and focused on moving my entire army across the centerline of the table. Ted did likewise, but the score was very lopsided in this game, and I was off to a 1-0 start in the tournament!

    Rich S studies the deployment of his Welsh and my Picts in round 2's Claiming Territory

Round 2: Claiming Territory vs. Rich S's Welsh

The cheers of the king's hall rebounded from the rafters as the bard finished his song. Whiskey cups banged on the oaken table and Drust beamed as his father's men cheered the tale of his victory. The bard held his hand up for silence and the noise slowly died away. "Since it is our Prince's birthday, we will have another tale of the martial prowess of our king's heir.  Who remembers the raid on Damnonia?" Drust looked around the hall and saw many of his men from that raid nod their heads, their eyes misting over with memories. "We shall have that song again tonight!" the bard shouted and the hall erupted again...

Those on the Saga Facebook groups and our local group know of my utter disdain for round two's scenario, Claiming Territory. Four objective markers are placed on the board, two on each player's half (their position selected by the opponent). The ONLY way to get points in this game is to move one of your units within Very Short (2") of these while keeping any enemy more than Short (4") away. That's it. Squat on the objective markers and rack up the points. Slay the entire opponent's army? Meaningless. No points at all for killing enemy troops, or losing your own. The Conquest Points chart in the Book of Battles is also heavily weighted in favor of large units of warriors. If your army is composed of no or few warriors you are at a big disadvantage here.

    My right wing deployed to seize one objective marker, while the archers prepare to harass the Welsh

The good news was this was my third time playing this scenario, so I knew its quirks. Even better news was I had 3 points of warriors in my army. For this game, I split them not into three units of 8 but instead into two of 12 figures. My entire battle plan was to squat these big units in front of the objective markers (back rank within 2") and block the enemy's access to them. And rack up the points. Offensively, I would move my two units of javelin levy to contest one of Rich's markers. If I could cause him to not score it for a few turns, he would be too far behind in Conquest Points to come back. What's more, Rich had not played this game before and did not change his unit sizes to maximize his points. As the game unfolded, Rich had an old gamer phrase for the way it played: Sitskrieg (little maneuver - mostly sitting and staring across the table at your enemy).

    My left wing, which would seize and guard one objective and move into position to contest the other

I absolutely love the Welsh army and it is one of my favorite armies I have ever played in Saga. There are so many ways to "mess" with an opponent's battle plan on its board. Plus, it has some nice abilities that provide it a powerful punch. Rich's Welsh warband was composed of two units of 4 mounted hearthguard with javelins, 1 unit of 8 mounted warriors with javelins, two units of 8 foot warriors, and one unit of 12 levy with bows. He began the game advancing his right wing close to the objective marker on his side of the table -- the one I would end up contesting. The other marker, he sent only a unit of foot warriors to claim it. The mounted warriors stayed back and kept an eye out to make sure I didn't get to close to the warriors they were guarding.

    The key maneuver in the game - my javelin levy occupy scrubland that denies the Welsh one objective

On my half of turn one, my 12-man warrior blocks moved in front of the objective markers and adopted a defensive posture. The three levy units raced forward to get within range of the enemy, but staying completely inside the terrain to minimize the effects of a mounted charge. To conform to the terrain, the javelinmen were several ranks deep, which meant very few could get off a shot at his mounted hearthguard. The archers had a longer range and killed one of the enemy warriors. On Rich's turn 2, he sent one of his mounted hearthguards to pull my the old trick I would use with my Moors. He dashed forward, threw javelins, then pulled back. With his unit being only four figures, and mine being 12, it would take a lot of turns of this to have any effect on the points I was racking up, though. Trying to be courteous, as Rich is still learning the nuances of Saga, I pointed out a better use of his battleboard abilities to do this mounted skirmishing tactic.

On my half of the turn, it was time for Rich to show me something about the Welsh I had never really used the way I played them. I moved one of my javelin units up to hurl missiles at his cavalry. He immediately played Guerrilla -- which takes place after my move but BEFORE the free shooting activation. To get all of my levy in on his cavalry, I ended up within range of not only HIS cavalry returning fire, but the javelin-armed warriors to their right and the levy archers to the left. Before we could get off a shot, the levy were plastered with 14 attack dice of shooting! To add insult to injury, when I opted to take my free shot with my surviving javelinmen, he played Evade, and scooted this cavalry back out of our range. That cancelled our shot at their declared target as it was no longer within range. Whoa! I had never happened upon this in my half-dozen games with the Welsh. As I had planned to do, I then pulled the levy back with Scouts, sheepishly vowing never to try that again!

    Static positions on the right - Pict archers unable to shoot Welsh warriors (who would Evade away)

If the Welsh activation reactions were keeping me from targeting his vulnerable mounted troops, the Pictish board had its own ability that deterred him from routing out my levy contesting his marker. Masters of the Field takes an area of uneven terrain and turns it into solid cover for my troops (also not slowing us down as a bonus). It can be played with either an Uncommon or Rare and I was thankfully never short of those in this game. Every single turn the scrubland that my javelin levy lurked in was solid cover for us. What's more, I queued up good defensive melee abilities in case he did decide to try to drive us out. 

In the end, Rich chose not to risk the casualties and try to force the levy out. Thus, we devolved into a Sitskrieg. Neither of us moved from our hunkered down positions. Granted, he SHOULD have tried it. Otherwise, I would continue to pile up 6 Conquest points every turn while he would get only 2 points. And that is what happened. The game ended with a lopsided total in favor of the Picts, even though Rich had killed 10 or so figures to my one. And this is why I detest Claiming Territory. I won this game mostly with my unit sizes and a little bit of maximizing the terrain. I can guarantee that I will never choose this scenario in any tournament that I run, even though my victory in it took me to 2-0. 

  In the "finals" of the tourney, I was facing my nemesis of late: Jim R's Normans in Clash of Warlords

Round 3: Clash of Warlords vs. Jim R's Normans

 As the song of the Raid on Damnonia finished with a flourish, many of the veterans of the battle clustered around Drust and clapped him on his shoulders. A cup of whiskey was slammed down in front of him. Drust hefted it and tossed the fiery liquid back. More cheers resounded from the wooden rafters of the hall. Drust roared, "The Damnonians rightly feared your spears, my brave comrades. Let's hear now of a battle in which we struck blows upon the enemy and received them boldly in return!" Drust waved his cup towards the bard who stood smiling and leaning upon his harp. "If I may ask, will you sing of Orkney's plundering of Normandy and the bloody Fight Amongst the Fens?"

At the end of three rounds, three of the 14 entrants had 2-0 records -- myself, Adrian J's Pagan Rus, and my opponent for round 3, Jim R's Normans. Jim has been a recent nemesis of sorts for me, winning both of our previous meetings. His Arpadian Hungarians (which use the Norman battle board) beat my Carolingians towards the end of last year, and his Normans defeated my Moors in The Crossing scenario at the DayCon 2021 Saga Tournament. Jim has obviously fallen in love with the Norman battle board. Since returning to Saga after sitting out during the Covid interlude, he has played nothing else, to my knowledge. I give it to him that it is indeed a tough army. The 2xLong shot of their levy archers makes it difficult to hide units vulnerable to shooting. The three Activation/Reaction abilities makes it almost impossible for foot-sloggers to catch up with their horse. And their Crusader-style melee abilities mean they pack an incredibly powerful punch. My Picts were in for a tough contest, made all the tougher by the battlefield which include NO pieces of uneven terrain. This entirely took both my Secret Ways and Masters of the Field battle board abilities out of my arsenal. We would fight amidst three swamps (dangerous terrain), with a good area of the board being open ground which the Normans prefer.

    Fearing my archer's effect against his horse, Jim charged them immediately to try to take them out

Round 3's scenario was Clash of Warlords (which Jim also prefers to play on our Saga Sundays). He was first player (I feel I caught a break there) and rolled the "spread out" deployment method. This meant every unit except the warlord had to be more than a Medium (6") away from another friendly unit. Surprisingly, his levy archers were in the open -- not one of the marshes. He did have them in the center where their 2xLong (24") range could sweep the board. There would be no cover either -- marsh is "Low," so doesn't block line of sight. To the archer's right were both units of Norman foot warriors, then further out on the flank were one of the small, 4-man units of mounted warriors and a 6-man unit of Norman mounted hearthguard. Note: I had not realized that the tourney director had okayed the 1/2 point option for buying your troops. Jim bought three points of warrior foot, but gave up half a point to the hearthguard to give them a bigger, more survivable 6-man unit. The Norman warlord was directly behind the archers. Their left was guarded by the other 4-man mounted warrior unit.

Battle lines at the end of Pict turn 1, with the Orkney men scurrying to pin the enemy near the swamps

How would I attack that? My number one priority would be to keep the battle within 4"-6" of the swamp pieces as much as possible. So many of the Pictish battle board abilities require the unit using them to be within either Short or Medium of uneven or dangerous terrain. The three swamps had already taken two of my 10 battle board abilities out of the game. Fighting away from the swamps would declaw the Picts even further. Number two priority was to take out the ridiculous 24"-shooting levy archers -- or at least mask them or reduce their effectiveness. I played a levy javelin unit directly opposite them. To the right of that unit were the levy archers, to their left the other unit of levy javelinmen. On the far left, one warrior spear unit guarded the gap between the swamp and the board edge. In reserve were the two other units of warrior foot and my warlord.

I've found in our games that Jim has two speeds - full stop (when he is just hanging back and shooting you) and super-aggressive. Jim began with the latter, charging a 4-man mounted warrior unit against my levy archers. I understood the move. They are the missile troops that can inflict damage on his cavalry at range. Still, he would likely lose a Saga die -- which is the main point of splitting the 8-man warrior point into two units of four. The Breton cavalry charged in, slew five archers, but at the cost of half their numbers.

    It was important to tie the battle down around the swamps so I could use my battle board's strengths

On my half of the turn, my archers moved close enough to the swamp to play Stalking (gaining 3 bonus shooting dice), then loosed a volley to eliminate the remainders of the Breton cavalry. On the far left, the Pictish warrior unit used Scouts to hurry 12" towards the edge of the swamp anchoring the Norman right. I did not get a Rare, so was unable to move a second unit with Scouts. I was also short on Uncommon dice, which prevented me from having the javelinmen move towards the Norman archers and to try and block out any other targets. This would cost me on the next couple turns. Otherwise, the Pictish army advanced as fast as it could. 

My rapid advance was partly to prevent the Normans from withdrawing to the open areas of the table

Jim's levy archers loosed their usual "ridiculous range" volley (I call it the Norman trebuchet unit) and whittled my levy archers down to 3 figures (eliminating one of my Saga dice - this would be a very tit-for-tat game!). I countered with an aggressive advance on his right. The Pictish warriors moved into the swamp, while the javelin levy advanced alongside in the open and hurled javelins at the 10-man Norman foot warrior units. Bad rolls meant we killed only one. The other javelin levy unit did much better, advancing right into the face of the Norman archers, killing four of them with their volley.

    Knowing their bravery would be sung about, the Pictish youths hurled javelins at the Norman line

Jim went from shooting mode to aggressive mode on turn 3. His warlord, much to my surprise, took on the job of driving off the javelinmen menacing his archers. He loaded up some big melee abilities -- remember, I said the Normans are like the Crusaders and pack a humongous melee punch -- and slaughtered nine of the 12 javelinmen. My other javelin levy unit was charged by the warriors who they'd stung them with a casualty last turn. Six javelinmen fell, but importantly, this weakened the warrior unit even more and would set up my riposte. With a fierce yell, the Pictish tribesmen splashed out of the swamp and into the flank of the Norman warriors. They cut them down to a man, losing only two of their own number. Meanwhile, Prince Drust brought up the other two units of Pictish warriors for the next counterpunch.

    In back to back turns, both Normans and Picts launched bloody charges and counter-charges

This was the polar opposite of my game from my round 2. The Normans and the Picts landed blow after blow on each other's army. As the turns went on, the casualty totals seemed to be about even. The key difference that I was seeing was that I was completely eliminating some of his units, while he was usually leaving a few survivors. I was carefully moving the remnants towards the back and behind my other troops where he couldn't pick them off later with the "Norman trebuchet." On Jim's turn 4, he sent his mounted hearthguard unit to avenge the death of the warrior spearmen. We closed ranks - as we would tend to do on turns he charged -- and were able to keep the unit alive with a single figure, who scurried back towards the swamps. Then, he decided to prove his levy archers had not been defanged by my javelinmen and shot at one of the advancing Pictish warrior units. He put 5 dice into this attack (1 Uncommon to fire the archers and 4 other Saga dice in Combat bonus).  Three spearmen died, but the unit was still at an effective force and producing a Saga die.

    More charges punches landed as the two armies batter each other mercilessly, turn after turn

Now, it was time for the Pictish counterpunch! The levy javelinmen advanced and hurled their missiles at the Norman cavalry, knocking two troopers from their saddles. The full strength Pictish warrior unit charged the remaining 10-man unit of Norman warriors, slaughtering seven of them. This was turning into one of the hardest-fought battles I've played in Saga. I felt like I was using 100% of my consciousness and maximizing the use of every Saga dice to inflict the most casualties on the enemy while trying to minimize their potentially devastating counter-blows.

One of the hardest-fought battles I've played in Saga - I squeezed out every tactic & advantage I could

At one point, we honestly lost track and weren't certain whether we were on turn 4 or 5. We had to retrace what his archers had done to be able to ascertain it. In the intensity of the game, I had forgotten to flip the turn marker die I usually keep on the table. The game came down to turn 6 - no surprise! The Norman cavalry attempted to charge the javelinmen who had wounded them earlier. However, I noticed he had no other way of activating them and they had a fatigue. I played their fatigue, and their charge came up short so was cancelled. Next, his warlord once again charged into the fray, slaughtering to a man my largest unit of Pictish warriors. I was down to three Saga dice for my final turn.

    The cinematic final moment of a hard-fought game: Prince Drust cuts down the Norman warlord!

Now would have been the perfect time to roll a Rare so I could utilize Activation Pool. However, the Rares were stingy in this game despite being plentiful in my two earlier rounds. No Rare on turn 6. Examining the remaining clumps of warriors on both sides scattered across the battlefield, there seemed to be only one tactic: the Norman warlord must die! First, I used "We Obey" to activate the javelinmen to hurl their missiles at the general, hoping to inflict more fatigue. Jim played the levy's own fatigue to raise his armor to five and he survived with no hits. I'd been hoping he would play that fatigue right away. Next, I used a Saga dice to activate them to shoot again. I also played Stalking, giving a bonus 3 dice. After saves, he still suffered only one casualty. However, he was double-fatigued. 

Now was the time, Drust son of Drust knew. Time to forever cement his name in the annals of Orkney legend. Accompanied by his bannerman and his faithful Deerhound Machrie, Drust charged the wounded warlord. His steed pierced by a javelin shaft, the warlord could not get away. Drust raised his sword and cut his enemy down. As the Norman leader tumbled from the saddle, the Pictish prince was certain this would prove to be the decisive blow. Victory would be theirs!

Both Jim and I let out a huge sigh after this epic game. We counted up the victory points. At first glance, it looked like we were tied. Tied?? Then, I recounted. No! I had forgotten to tabulate his six destroyed mounted warriors. That earned 3 more points -- exactly what was needed to go from a dead-even tie to a victory! Adrian actually also ended up 3-0 with is Pagan Rus, and would have won if we did end in a tie. It was a long day, but definitely a satisfying end. After my two previous experiences in Saga tournaments (1-1-1 and 1-2), it was good to get the monkey off my back and have a good outing.

 Here are the standings for the tournament, as given to me by John:

• Mike Demana (Picts - AOI), 3-0, 110 points
• Adrian John (Jomsvikings - AOV), 3-0, 97 points
• Jim Randall (Normans - AOV), 2-1, 92 points
• Rich Smethurst (Welsh - AOV), 2-1, 84 points
• Robert Smethurst (Goths - AOI), 2-1, 81 points
• Theodore Hehemann (Levantine Crusaders - AOC), 2-1, 62 points
• John Loy (Saracen - AOC), 1-1-1, 70 points
• David Eblin (Roman - AOI), 1-1-1, 65 points
• Ross Geidenberger (Vikings - AOV), 1-2, 78 points
• Jason Stelzer (Romans - AOI), 1-2, 73 points
• Michael Cooper (Republican Roman - AOH), 1-2, 72 points
• Karen C (Vikings - AOV), 1-2, 68 points
• Mike Stelzer (Vikings - AOV), 0-3, 73 points
• Jenny Torbett (Vikings - AOV) 0-3, 47 points

Thanks for John for running the tournament, and Dan at Game Table Adventures for hosting it.

 

 

Picts Pounce on Viking Raiders in the Orkneys

Picts gather their forces to repel a Norse landing in the Orkney islands at our 1st game day in 2022

From the shelter of the trees, Drust watched the Norsemen begin to deploy in their battle lines. Their scouts must have spotted the presence of his Pictish warband. Either that, or they heard the baying of his hounds. Perhaps this time the dogs would do more than mark their territory in the trees! He was paying their pack master well, so hopefully the man and his hounds would earn their silver this time. Drust noticed that the rain clouds continued to gather and darken overhead, which was not ideal for his archers. He would need to start the battle soon, before the rain began to fall and affected his archers' bowstrings. Drust ducked back beneath the branches and summoned his nobles to give them their orders.

    Viking and Pictish warbands arrayed after my first turn of Pictish movement and shooting

We had an odd number of players for our first Saga game day in 2022. So, I helped organize the matchups then recorded all of the strategic actions, as we were starting a Saga campaign (see the post Strongholds Saga Campaign Underway in 2022) that meeting. I also recorded which player was attacking who, and what scenarios they chose to play. However, about 15 minutes after the games began, we had a brand-new player arrive at the Guardtower East who'd learned about our game days from our Saga Ohio Facebook page. He knew Andy S from other games (mainly Flames of War WW II), so I offered to teach him the game. I lent him my other Viking army (my two Viking armies are my most common loaners) and ran him through the Saga basics -- troop types, Saga dice, the turn order with Orders, Activations, etc. Once he seemed comfortable with the mechanics, we set up a simple Clash of Warlords game against my Picts. I explained that my army was heavily dependent on terrain, so urged him to cut off placing terrain at 3 pieces (I was Player 1, as it turned out). Our battlefield was a large circular woods in the center, a small fields he placed on his left, and a small woods I placed on my own left.

    A great opening shot by my levy javelin men transfix three of the six Viking elite hearthguards

I decided to give the war hounds another try ("Molossian" mercenaries from Age of Invasions). I figured the Viking's Odin ability would cut down on my shooting, so another Warrior unit would be better than a third levy one. I deployed my archers so I could rush them forward through the large woods in the center, my javelin men were placed in the left hand woods. I "refused" on the right flank where Daniel N (the new player) had placed his own levy bowmen. The three warrior units and the dog pack were deployed in a second line to support the levy. Daniel N deployed one of his 6-man hearthguard units opposite the javelin men, and an 8-man warrior unit opposite the center woods. I had a feeling he was going to advance them aggressively and try to take out my shooting units. With the Viking battle board's Odin ability, I knew I had to strike fast with my shooting. 

    In Saga, for every success there is a failure - such as the archers' lack of hits on these hearthguard

This was actually one of the times when being Player 1 was a benefit. No Odin to deal with on Turn 1 -- I could shoot to my heart's content without having to worry about being Exhausted by the one-eyed one's wrath at our cowardly archery! And even more luckily, I rolled a Stag (Rare) die for one of my three Saga dice I received as first player. I placed it on Scouts, which allows two (when using a Rare) units to move a Long distance -- the move not being reduced by terrain or fatigue. The archers and javelin levy raced forward just far enough so that all figures were within range. The archers shot and scored only one hit on the warrior unit opposite them. However, the javelin men -- eager to please their warlord Drust, the king's son -- transfixed three of the heavily armored Viking huscarles opposite them. Of course, they were given a bonus 3 attack dice with Stalking, but what a throw...er, roll!

    The 3 remaining hearthguard drive off and kill half of my javelin men in revenge, losing one

As Daniel rolled his first-ever Saga dice in battle, I talked him through, giving suggestions. I showed him how he would need two moves to reach my javelin men. He understood that would have them enter battle with a fatigue, but I pointed out how the Vikings' advanced Saga ability "Frig" would allow him to remove that before I could use it to reduce his armor or increase mine. I pointed out my 12 levy javelin men would roll only four dice in combat, so perhaps "Heimdall" would be worth it. It would lower HIS armor by one, but give him five more attack dice. He took my suggestions, finished placing his dice on his board, and waved forward his Vikings and launched his attack. The depleted, 3-man hearthguard unit cut down six of my 12 javelin men at the cost of only one man of their own. Revenge for Daniel!

    This was NOT going to be pretty: 6 Viking hearthguard charging a unit of Exhausted levy archers

On his left, he moved his other 6-man hearthguard unit to enter the woods and prepare to do the same thing to my archers next turn. He ended up with an empty battle board except for Odin -- which I stressed he should queue up as often as he could until my shooters were no threat anymore. On my turn 2, I decided to pull my archers back out of the woods and then shoot them at his advancing veteran hearthguard. I played "Stalking" for three more attack dice, bringing me to 9 dice. I talked him through the timing of when to play Odin. First, he used my leftover fatigue from turn 1's shooting to raise his armor to 6. This would leave them Exhausted and vulnerable next turn. My archers' shots must have all been deflected by the branches, because I scored no sixes and thus no hits on my nine dice.

However, on my left flank, I decided to take out his remaining two hearth guard in the woods. I advanced one of my Pictish warrior units and then charged them in with a second move. My board was loaded up for melee -- including Frenzy (plus 2 attack dice and re-roll all misses) and Ambush (+4 more attack dice). Daniel decided to close ranks in hopes of weathering the Pictish onslaught. He just missed doing so with his saving rolls. The Vikings were down an entire 6-man hearthguard unit at the cost of only one warrior and six levies, so far. And the woods on the left were ours again!

    With battle board loaded, a unit of Pictish warriors drives off the Vikings and slays all but one

The inevitable payback came on Daniel's half of the turn. His hearthguard charged into my Exhausted archers. He wisely played abilities that gave him lots of attack dice and managed the fatigue so that I could do no damage to him and he could kill as many of my levy as possible. One of the strengths of 12-man levy units is simply their numbers. The Viking hearthguard ended up rolling 13 hits -- yikes! Luckily, I rolled 3 saves, which meant my unit was not eliminated. The pair of surviving archers skedaddled towards the rear. 

    Finally - the war hounds see some action! The pack gallops in and tears the last Viking to pieces

This game was definitely one of charge, push the enemy back, then suffer the opponent's riposte. The counterattacking unit would then be vulnerable and attacked themselves. His remaining 6-man hearthguard was alone on my half of the with five of my units within striking range. How to deliver the death blow and kill all of them? Drust was VERY tempted to send in the dogs first to soften them up. One of the Molossians' advantages was that a combat with them gives two fatigues, instead of one. Then I could finish them off with a warrior unit. However, I knew that an eliminated mercenary unit provides the opponent with a bonus two points in scoring at game's end. So, I decided to load up my board for that one combat, including Sacred Tattoos (+4 defense dice). My tattooed and tartan-clad warriors charged in and slew five of the six Vikings. What was even more amazing was we took zero casualties doing so! Daniel's attack roll was awful. At this point, Drust motioned to the war hounds pack master. The baying of his hounds filled the air and they bounded into the woods, tearing the terrified Viking to pieces. The dogs had done their work!

    The struggle for the woods on the left see-sawed back and forth all game as we both fed in fresh units

Meanwhile, in the woods on the left, the tit-for-tat continued. A unit of Viking warriors charged my Picts who were occupying the woods, driving the Orkney men back. He followed it up immediately with another charge by the same unit. This time, I had my Picts close ranks. Both of us rolled dismally, and no casualties were inflicted. The frustrated Vikings backed off. On the following turn, I sent in another fresh warrior unit. Their charge shattered the Viking warriors, and hurling them out of the woods once more.

At this point, with one more turn to play, we decided to call the game. I was comfortably ahead on points, and would use my Turn 6 Saga dice rolls to back off out of his range. He would then be unlikely able to mount an effective attack on his turn as both hearthguard and one of his warrior units destroyed and the remaining severely weakened. His archers were out of range to do much. So, it was an obvious Pictish victory.

    With nearly every unit fatigued, the Picts still hold the field over the depleted Viking warband

Daniel had picked up the nuances of the game very quickly, I felt. It was fun teaching a new person the game and seeing how he was excited about the possibilities. He dissected the strengths and weaknesses of our two battle boards, and was intrigued by the four "Age of..." books and the variety of armies available. I asked the players if my game with Daniel should "count" as a campaign one, and they all agreed that it should. Daniel said he was interested in playing in the campaign, so we became the 9th and 10th players. 

Drust patted the head of one of the packmaster's hounds and congratulated him on the dogs' performance. Behind him, he could hear his warriors jeering at the Vikings as the Norsemen began withdrawing to their longships. With all of his elite oath men slain, the Norse jarl would doubtless think twice before sailing to the Orkneys again to raid. Just as importantly, Drust's name remained secure. He would continued to be the prince and his father's heir apparent -- Drust son of Drust, of the Orkney realm...

Pups of War

    My pack of war dogs for Saga -- painted as various breeds

I have been playing Picts from Saga: Age of Invasions, lately. While planning on taking them to the upcoming tournament at Game Table Adventures on Jan. 15, I was looking into the rules for it. Surprisingly, mercenaries were going to be allowed. No "Legendary units or leaders," but mercs from any of the historical books would be allowed (in the armies that are allowed to take them, I assume). For the fun of it, I checked out which mercenaries my Picts would be allowed to take and was intrigued by the Molossians.

    Most of the figures are old Ral Partha (Iron Wind Metals now) 25mm miniatures

Molossians are a breed of huge dogs common during the later Roman empire. I believe every army in the book is allowed to take them as mercenaries, and the Picts were one of them. I am assuming this is to represent the local breeds of dogs -- not that Molossian packs were actually traded to as far-flung places as the steppes of Asia or northern Britain. Curious, I dug through my unpainted lead and found my bag of 25-28mm dogs. I had plenty enough, though none were huge Molossian-sized war hounds. So, what the heck, I decided. Why not?

I cleaned and primed seven of them (the handler makes the eighth figure in a warrior unit, and I would just use an ordinary Pictish warrior for him). While they were drying, I Googled "Dog Breeds of Scotland" to see what breeds might match the castings. Most of them were old Iron Wind Metals 25mm dogs. Some of the figures lined up fairly well with a Scottish breed, such as the Scottish Deerhound and Gordon Setter. Others were obviously other breeds, such as the bulldog miniature.

    The dog laying down is painted as a Gordon Setter, while the gray one a Scottish Deerhound

Since the only equipment the figures have is a collar (if that), they painted up rather easily. I did my best to match the images I found online, like I do whenever I paint animals. It's those little patches of lighter color or white that make miniature animals look right on the tabletop. I'm not sure if it shows up, but I even put a tiny, tiny dot of white on the black for their eyes. 

 I know the poses are a bit smaller than most 28mm figures, so I decided to create special bases for them rather than use my normal large squares from Litko. I pulled out the small green plastic circular bases that come with packs of Gripping Beast miniatures. Normally, I just give those to a friend, but the dogs fit perfectly on them. I gave them a circle of magnetic material first, then epoxied the figures onto the base and flocked them the way I usually do my miniatures.

    This pair includes a brindle-patterned Mastiff and a Doberman Pinscher

I think they came out pretty good. Are they historically accurate for a Fall of Rome era Pictish army? Yeah, probably not! However, I think they'll add a spot of color to games of Saga and certainly will give my Picts another tactic to use in games.

Picts Out-Pillage the Huns

    Pictish raiders marshal their forces in a woods ready to snatch plunder from a Hun warband

Drust's raiders had sailed far to plunder the rich lands of Gaul. Other raiders were lurking nearby, though, and seeking to pillage the same farmlands as Drust's men. The men from the Orkney Islands had never seen such fierce and cruel-looking horsemen. They dashed about on their horses, nearly every man carrying a bow and sporting evil-looking scars on their cheeks beneath dark slits for eyes. "These must be Huns!" whispered one of Drust's commanders, having heard tales of them from prisoners taken in previous raids of Roman lands. Drust nodded and turned away, motioning his commanders to him behind the trunk of a wide, sturdy oak. "This is how we shall snatch the prize from these foul horsemen..."

    Jenny celebrates Yule in front of a festive tree as her Pagan Rus take on Karen's Vikings

We had eight players show up for December's game day at the Guardtower East in Columbus, OH. Half of the armies fielded were from Saga's newest release, Age of Invasions. Both Dave E and Bob B were fielding Roman armies, while Joe D had brought Huns and I was running my Picts, again. Also taking the field were Jenny's Norse as Pagan Rus, Karen's Vikings, Jim R's Normans, and Lowell's Anglo-Saxons. Joe and I squared off, and I was looking forward to seeing how the Hun's battle board played. Joe wanted to play an objective-based scenario to hone his skills with this army, so we picked Feasting and Pillaging from the Book of Battles. 

    Picts, after their first turn of movement, advance against a Hun warband in Feasting & Pillaging

Three objective markers representing loot were spaced evenly across the centerline of the table, with each of us deploying our armies a Short distance from our baselines. A large woods was on my half of the table, towards my left, and a smaller woods near my baseline on the right. On the opposite side, another small woods was in the Huns rear on their right. A large, gentle hill was on his left. Most players don't like being "Player 1" in Saga, but I found that it is a slight benefit to the Picts. It allows the player to place an extra piece of terrain, which is crucial to utilize the Pictish battle board to its best advantage.

    War dogs! My newest Pictish unit ended up never seeing battle, spending the game marking trees

Drust had swapped out one of his units of levy javelinmen for a "mercenary" unit of war dogs (Molossians from the Age of Invasions book). I wasn't sure if they'd be much use with the Picts, but I wanted to try them and see how they worked. As it turns out, it probably wasn't the best choice in a battle against an army with lots of archery like the Huns! The eight warriors (seven dogs and one handler) are only armor class 3 vs. shooting, so I quickly moved them into the large wood where they ended up never leaving. Doubtless, they found plenty of trees to mark! Also in the woods, and a key part of my battle plan, were the levy archers. They moved in on turn one and were able to shoot at enemies every turn afterwards. On either side of the woods, a unit of tattooed foot warriors advanced slowly forward towards the center and left hand objectives. On the right, a third unit of warriors and javelin levy marched past or through the trees towards the right hand objective.

    Bob maneuvers his Roman legion against Jim's encircling Normans in the first of their two games

As Player 1, I could have done double moves and seized all three objectives on turns one, at the cost of a fatigue on each unit. However, I had never faced the newest version of the Huns and wasn't sure what its battle board could do. I had yet to pore over the list and didn't really have a lot of study time before the game began. So, I played it cautious, and advanced only one move from my baseline. The archers, war dogs, and levy javelinmen all sheltered beneath the trees at the end of our first move. Joe responded by waving forward his mounted horde. Armed with composite bows and deployed in small units of six figures, they galloped towards two of my spear units and showered them with arrows. I had Sacred Tattoos, which provides 4 bonus defense dice queued up, but ended up not using it. Nor did I used Secret Ways, which allows a unit to redeploy near uneven terrain after suffering a shooting attack or charge. The attacks and damage seemed minimal, so Drust's Orkney men simply endured the scattering of casualties.

    After two turns of movement, the Picts on the attack, but also remaining close to the shelter of woods

On turn 2, Drust waved the archers further forward into the woods. This brought them within range of one of the horse archer units, which had pulled back after shooting. The foot bowmen unleashed their own volley, and three Hun horsemen fell from their saddles. In the middle, the center unit of warriors seized the first objective, each man burdening himself with as much loot as he could carry. There was an angry shout from the Hun battleline as the steppe warriors saw the barrels of fine Gaulish wine being taken by the northmen. A large band of 12 Hun mounted levy hurtled towards the Pictish warriors and charged into them. The veteran raiders closed ranks, interlocking their shields and thrusting their spears between them. In addition, I played Sacred Tattoos, which gives me 4 bonus defense dice. Joe rolled 12 attack dice, but with the tattoos and closing ranks, we suffered only two casualties. The mounted levy also suffered two casualties, so withdrew, leaving my Pictish raiders in possession of the wine barrels.

    Tartan-clad Pictish warrior seize the first objective - a stash of fine Gallic wine

On my third turn, the the levy archers switched targets and whittled another unit of horse archers down to three horsemen. The warriors carrying the wine began to withdraw. They were able to move back an extra Short move with Swift as the Wind, almost reaching the shelter of the trees. On the right, Drust ordered forward the levy javelinmen. Using Scouts, they moved a Long distance and then hurled their javelins at another unit of horse archers, tumbling three more men from their saddles. Joe's saves against my shooting were below average all game long. Otherwise, he said afterwards he felt his dice were okay throughout the game. It was just my shooting he didn't seem to have an answer for. In addition to throwing their javelins, the levy javelinmen also rounded up a small herd of pigs. My third unit of foot warriors marched forward to support the javelinmen.

   The Huns do not relinquish the wine barrels easily, following up and harassing the Pict withdrawal

The Huns continued to send waves of horse archers forward to shoot at Drust's Pictish raiders, but their small unit sizes kept arrow storms from inflicting too much damage. I kept expecting the Hunnic nobles, his mounted hearthguard, to charge into the fray, but Joe seemed to be saving them. He was willing to send the mounted levy into battle, but was shielding his nobles from combat. Meanwhile, my successful pillagers continued to withdraw towards our baseline, moving one or two Short distances a turn. One of the Pict battle board's strengths is its variety of ways to move troops. Scouts is very effective, and with a Rare die allows two (one with a Common or Uncommon) units to move Long distance -- their move not being reduced by either terrain or fatigue. We agreed that the rules to Feasting and Pillaging prevented my units carrying objectives to exceed a Short distance, though -- even if moved with that ability. My warriors on the left charged and seized the third objective from Hun horse archers, and then hunkered down, ready for Joe's counter-attack.

    Second objective is seized - a herd of swinge - by Pictish javelinmen on the right flank

Surprisingly, it came not in the from of a shower of arrows from his the Hun levy foot archers sheltering in the woods, but in a charge from them! My six warriors (reduced by previous horse archery) closed ranks, expecting to easily repel the levy. Shockingly, the archers caused two casualties and saved all but one of our hits. Embarrassed, the spearmen withdrew from the surprisingly fierce steppe footmen. Seeing this humiliation of his warriors, Drust swore. A horn blast and their warlord's pointing and shouting attracted the attention of the Pict warriors on the right. They raced across the board using Scouts, and then charged into the jeering archers with Swift as Wind (which doesn't cause a fatigue if the move or charge ends within a Short of uneven terrain). Once again, the archers fought fiercely, but the attack of the tattooed tribesmen was more savage, and the archers dropped their loot and scampered back to the shelter of the trees.

    Pictish warriors seize the 3rd objective, taking it from a small unit of Hun horse archers

Once again, I held all three objectives. Using multiple moves, the warriors carrying the Gallic wine were able to exit the board, while the javelin levy edged closer to the shelter of the trees near our baseline. Once again, the Huns galloped forwards, firing arrows. The Hun battle board also has the ability to put fatigue on enemy troops, which Joe was also doing in attempt to slow down my Picts. However, with three different ways of activating my raiders for movement, I was able to frustrate his attempts to keep me from making off with the loot. On the fifth turn, Joe sent in the archers out from beneath the trees again. This time, my warriors repelled them -- sending them scurrying back to the trees. Frustrated, the Hunnic warlord sent in his nobles, who charged into combat shouting their fearsome war cries. This time, my Pictish raiders were beaten back, and they dropped the loot at they ran for the shelter of the large woods.

    Brave beyond measure, the Hun foot levy archers fought tenaciously for the 3rd objective

On my final turn, my archers used the last of the arrows in their quivers to target the enemy hearthguard. We scored four hits and the northmen celebrated when the enemy failed all four saves. On the opposite side of the battlefield, the levy javelinmen were able to sneak through the trees and off the edge of the table, escaping with their stolen herd of swine. Drust had yet to unleash his war dogs upon the enemy -- the pack was gathered on the edge of the treeline, growling at the enemy, hackles raised. However, he knew victory had been won by this point. He ordered the withdrawal of his raiders from the field, content with loot they had snatched from underneath the noses of the fierce steppe horsemen. The men of the Orkneys had stung the enemy more than once this day, and would sail home to boast of their victory.

    Hun horse archers try to prevent the escape of the Pict javelin levy with their stolen swine

Afterwards, Joe and I discussed how his army performed. I told him that I was planning similar sized horse archer units for my Mongol army. I was a bit concerned at how quickly his units were whittled to three figures (no longer generating a Saga command die). The Pict shooting is tough, though. When a full sized levy unit shoots and is augmented by using the Stalkers battle board ability, they generate nine shooting dice. Against armor 3, that should be six hits. Saves should be at 50%, which means my shots were not above average -- three losses is what should have happened. Joe talked about maybe increasing the size of his units in future games. On the other hand, I felt he was a little tentative in charging. He rightly sent the mounted levy into combat every turn that he could help them with the +6 attack dice Barbarians of the East ability. I just think he could also have charged with other troops and used some of the other melee abilities on the Hun board.

    Dave's Romans (left) and Lowell's Anglo-Saxons wage a close-fought clash that ends in a tie

Either way, this was not the best terrain nor scenario for an army of mounted horse archers. Mounted units trying to move an objective marker suffer a fatigue every turn. Joe could have taken one with the foot archers, but all in all, I felt he was at a disadvantage in this matchup. The Picts got the terrain they needed pluw were able to use their foot troops to take and move seized objectives back multiple times a turn. 

    Jim's Normans encircle and overwhelm Bob's Romans in hard-fought battle

Here are the results of the first round of battles (Jim R and Bob B were setting up for a second game when I left):

• Mike D's Picts defeated Joe D's Huns in Feasting and Pillaging (no score tabulated).
• Jenny T's Pagan Rus defeated Karen's Vikings in Feasting and Pillaging, 33-29.
• Jim R's Normans defeated Bob B's Romans in Clash of Warlords, 23-18.
• Lowell L's Anglo-Saxons tied Dave E's Romans in Clash of Warlords, 22-21.

    Battling beneath the northern lights! Pagan Rus and Vikings come to blows in the far, frozen north

With Christmas less than a week away, it was a small turnout with only eight players. Hopefully, we will have a nice tune up session in two weeks when we do it again the Sunday after New Years. It will be the last chance to practice before the Saga Tournament at Game Table Adventures, Jan. 15. I hear that a half dozen players are coming up from Cincinnati for it, as well as another half dozen locals in the Newark, OH, area are playing. It should be quite the clash, and I am looking forward to it! If you're looking to get in some good Saga games, come on out that Saturday and join us!