'Tale of Challenges' first of Saga games for Yule Event

 

 The climax of our Tale of Challenges: Moorish mounted hearthguards charge the Rus Shield Maidens

The gamers of Saga Ohio decided to host a virtual event and invited players across the world to take part in it. On the first day of the event, Andy S was gaming with his roommates on east side of town, while on the north side of Columbus, Jenny and I sat down after dinner to a game. The idea was for people to play Saga with someone in their "bubble" -- those that they have regular contact with. With most gaming areas in stores closed due to COVID, this would hopefully be a way for people to get in one or more games of Saga. The event was named Yule Saga Game Day Celebration (in honor of the Norse winter solstice festival), and would run from Saturday, Dec. 19 though Sunday, Dec. 27. So, feel free to join in - no matter where you are in the world! If you're not on the Saga Ohio group on Facebook, click here to join so you can post your photos and battle report on the event.

Jenny's photos came out much better - here is her shot of my left wing of spearmen and cavalry

Jenny has been steadily trying out the various Norse options in the Age of Vikings. She had yet to play Pagan Rus, so she decided to try that warband out. I handed her the Book of Battles and let her thumb through it to pick one out. We ended up deciding upon A Tale of Challenges. In this scenario, each player alternates choosing from a list challenges in the book. They must choose a minimum of two up to a maximum of four. I chose First Blood, since with my Moors I should be able to strike quickly and at a distance. It is one of the lower point challenges of the dozen listed, awarding your three points if you succeed or penalizing you three if you fail. Jenny responded with "We shall leave only widows," a very difficult one that awards six points in success or penalizes the player six points if failure. To succeed, Jenny would have to ensure none of my units were at six figures or higher by game's end. I responded with another one I felt would be easy for my Moors to accomplish, "I will sack your home." To do this, I would need to have three units of at least 4 figures within Medium of her board edge at the end of the game. I misread this during the game as ONE unit of at least four figures. So, I ended up failing on this one due to not reading it closely enough! 

My warlord Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa directs the larger right wing of his army forward

Jenny responded with her second and final challenge, Invincibility. With this challenge (6 points success, 3 points failure), she choose a turn from Turn 3 on in which she must lose no figures. It says the player selects when to announce she is attempting it, which we interpreted as meaning she could actually chose NOT to invoke it. That ended up being the case because she never felt confident enough that she wouldn't lose a figure for a turn during the game. We ruled she didn't lose the 3 points because she never invoked the challenge. Perhaps we were wrong? My final challenge was "I will be your armor," in which I vow to my army that I will lose no more than 1 unit this game.

 The deployment of the Moorish and Pagan Rus armies

The deployment is fairly standard, and I placed a large gentle hill on the right flank. She responded with a marsh in the center of my deployment area. I countered with one on the right side of her deployment area. Two more woods followed, with me shoving one near her baseline and her countering with one in the center of the board. I ended up deploying one foot warrior unit on either side of the marsh, with the levy bow as close to the center woods as I could get them. A 6-man mounted hearthguard unit backed up each warrior unit, while my warlord, Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa began the game with the right hand side of the army. Jenny deployed her levy javelinmen and mercenary shield maidens in the center, backed up by her Rus warlord. On her right was her foot warriors, while on her left -- opposite the gentle hill (where she expected my cavalry to go) were two fierce, 6-man foot hearthguard units.

 The Pagan Rus levy were the victims of 'First Blood' - dealt by the Moorish cavalry's javelins

I opened the game sending my cavalry on the left galloping forward to toss javelins at her levy. We scored two hits, fulfilling the First Blood challenge on the first turn. I then pulled them back with Perseverance to where they started next to the foot warriors. Others nudged forward as best they could with Maneuvers. Jenny countered by sending the levy towards the cover of the woods and bringing up the foot warriors opposite my left up in support. The shield maidens also began redeploying towards the left where she felt she needed more strength. Wary of the reach of my mounted hearthguard, her own two foot hearthguard units edged forward only slightly. They would spend the early part of the game watching, and later Jenny admitted she was too cautious with them (as they represented half of her army points).

 A 'Blizzard' meant to protect the levy from the horsemen, did little to deter my Moorish spearmen

She was bold in using the harassment the Pagan Rus battleboard can throw at an enemy. She regularly used Long Winter to prevent shooting or charges at more than a Medium. Every turn except the sixth she played Frozen Wind to hit 2-3 of my units with fatigue. And she had Biting Cold (which freezes a unit in its tracks after it performs a movement, shooting, or melee activation). This had a big deterrent effect, preventing me from duplicating my first turn tactic of riding forward, tossing javelins, then falling back. She also played Blizzard on the levy, which creates an area of uneven terrain a Very Short distance all around them. She did this to protect them from a charge by my cavalry. However, my foot warriors were within a double move, so I sent them forward to drive off her javelinmen. They did so, reducing them to five figures, while losing only two. 

Stung by the charge of my spear, Jenny sent in her Shield Maidens to drive off my warriors

This established my left as the bloody ground where we would do most of the fighting. Jenny responded by sending double moving her Shield Maidens forward. They cut down three of my spearmen, who recoiled back towards our lines. They killed two of the maidens, though, and left them exposed with two fatigue at the start of my turn. As Jenny was holding onto a Biting Cold activation, I knew I would have to charge into melee -- shooting wasn't an option. If I moved up to shoot, she would freeze me after the movement activation and before the shooting. So, I launched them forward with Torrent of Iron. I used the first part of the activation to clear off the two fatigues they had and the second part to charge into the Shield Maidens (which inflicts a fatigue, leaving her exhausted). She closed ranks, knowing I was going to use her fatigue to raise my armor to 6 meaning she wouldn't be able to hit. With Wholehearted (which gives me two attack and two defense for each of her fatigues), I was rolling 18 dice. I also played Inspiration with a rare die, which meant I could reroll any 1s, 2s, or 3s in melee. All 18 were hits, not surprisingly. What was a surprise was that she saved 15 of those 18!

Moorish spearmen recoil from the fierce onslaught of the Rus Shield Maidens

The Valkyrie was the lone figure that remained, and she staggered back wounded towards her own lines. The early successes had been mine, but now it was time for the Pagan Rus to go on the counterattack. Her foot warriors bravely charged into my victorious cavalry. Shockingly, they killed three of the horsemen, driving my unit back. That hurt, because it dropped them below the threshold of four figures to accomplish the "I will sack your home" challenge. Things were only going to get worse, though. On my right, one of her 6-man foot hearthguard were barely within range of my mounted hearthguard unit. She double moved them into combat. With the fatigue accumulated in the second move, it meant we would be dead even -- 12 attack dice hitting on 5's (I used her fatigue to raise my armor). The die rolls were anything but even. My cavalry ended up losing four figures while she lost only one. 

 The 'tit-for-tat' war continues as my cavalry gallop into the Shield Maidens, seeking vengeance

At this point, I knew she was probably ahead on massacre points. My goal had to be to prevent her from dropping my remaining two units of 6+ figures (levy bowmen and foot warriors on the right) below the number she needed to fulfill her "We shall leave only widows" challenge. I was comfortably ahead of on challenges, so should win barring further disasters like this past turn. Majik stroked his beard, sensing victory could be won by withdrawing. I began to pull my army back towards my rear and left. My archers finally got in some shots, whittling her victorious foot warrior unit down. 

 The sole Rus survivor of the climactic charge was the Valkyrie - Jenny saved 15 out of 18 times!

Her foot hearthguard unit tried to do its part, charging my fresh foot warrior unit. We closed ranks, and used their fatigue and all of our defensive abilities to minimize the damage they inflicted. We survived, and continued to withdraw. On turn 6 (you roll to see if you will play a sixth turn or if it ends on turn five), I dashed my warlord across the field towards her baseline. I thought this fulfilled the challenge, but reread it the next day to see that Majik's ride into the enemy camp had accomplished little except liberating some fine beverages that the Pagan Rus were too uncivilized to enjoy!

 As the Valkyrie staggers back to her lines, the Rus hearthguard in the distance move forward

As it was, the Moors won comfortably on the strength of two successful challenges. Neither of Jenny's two challenges were successful. However, to prove to Jenny how well she had actually done, I counted up the massacre points. We tied on them at 11 to 11. Adding in First Blood (+3), I Will Be Your Armor (+6), and I Will Sack Your Home (-5), that gave me +4 more points. Jenny lost -6 on We Shall Leave Only Widows, and possibly (-3) more if you deduct Invincibility if never invoked. I would be curious to hear from those who know how that should be ruled. Can you choose Invincibility and then never invoke it? Or do you have to do so on turn 3, 4, or 5?

 The Rus warriors surprisingly drove off the victorious Moorish cavalry with a charge

Either way, we had a blast celebrating Norse Yule with a closely-fought game of Saga. It was so much fun, Jenny wanted to play another game in a rematch. But that tale is for another day...! I hope to read other player's battle reports that are also participating in our online event!

On my right, one of the Rus hearthguard units savages my other troop of mounted nobles

The Moorish battle lines draw back to the left and towards their baseline

Majik ibn-Battuta al-Waqaa with the spoils of his gallop through the enemy camp

Armored Moorish Cavalry

28mm Gripping Beast Moorish armored cavalry to pad out my Saga army

Even though my Moorish Saga army has taken the field several times, I am still finishing up painting the last of the figures I acquired for the army. Here are the six mailed (and scaled?) cavalry figures that were included. They are 28mm Gripping Beast (I believe, as I bought them second hand). With this batch, my mounted contingent of 20 riders is complete. If I use all of them, that would likely mean fielding one group of eight as mounted warriors for Saga, and the other two groups of six as hearthguard.

I was fairly pleased with how the riders' cloaks turned out - nice fancy for the wealthy Moors

For these figures, the most complicated part of the painting process was their cloaks and saddle blankets. I wanted to give patterns as they would be the wealthiest and able to furnish themselves with the fanciest apparel and kit. For the most part, I think the patterns came out well. I think my favorite is the yellow cloak with the flowered-looking pattern with red and green. Honestly, I am running out of ideas for patterns so am glad that I am nearing the end of painting this army...ha, ha!

Three of the latest batch ready to ride into battle against the enemies of the Emirate of Cordoba

I try to do the horses up nicely, as well. I have a horse painting chart that I'd downloaded from the internet which gives the basic colorings for dozens and dozens of horse types. It certainly is a step up from my old way of doing horses -- three colors of browns, a black, a gray, a white - all painted in a fairly standard way. I think having this chart makes my horses more varied and also probably more accurate, though I wouldn't doubt a horse fancier somewhere would lecture me about this or that particular breed not being around in my time period or location! As long as they look good on the tabletop and add their own variety to a colorful army, then I am satisfied with the horses.

The rest of the half dozen riders, colorfully resplendent in their Andalusian finery!

As usual, I used a plethora of dots and speckled patterns on this army. When I put these six figures away in the box with the rest of the army, I did momentarily pause to marvel at the effect of all those colors and patterns. This may be up there in my top tier of colorfully painted armies during my miniature modeling career. Certainly, the long-since-sold 15mm Jacobite highlanders could hold their own against my Moors when it came to a fashion show. Few other of my armies are going to be able to claim so much extra effort put into them, though. I decorated the turban cloths with dots for most of them, and of course, put time into their shields. Speaking of which -- I hope you're sitting down -- I am actually thinking of trying shield decals for my next Saga army. I may change my mind, but they are so commonplace nowadays that I think my hand-painted patterns are actually beginning to hold my paint jobs back. Who knows? I may change my mind when it comes time to buying the decals...!

Galloping into action, the Moorish cavalry is ready to charge their emir's foes

A look at the shield patterns I gave this batch of Moorish riders

Check out my Podcast - Saga Ohio!

My Saga Ohio podcast is now live with its first episode!

After many pleasurable hours of listening to the Northern Tempest Saga Podcast while I paint, I decided to take the plunge and create my own Saga podcast. To me, it's the perfect accompaniment to a painting session. Joe and Jim's conversation is always funny and informative. They sound like guys you'd want to have in your game club. Plus, the "Saga talk" inspires you to keep painting. Once I'd run through all of their episodes dealing with Version 2 of Saga, I also started watching/listening to Saga Thorsday on YouTube. Rodge and Monty are like the Upper Midwest version of Joe and Jim. I particularly love their discussions of their own painting projects, dealing with long periods of no production, what inspires them to finish off that army -- great stuff!

I tossed the idea out on our Saga Ohio Facebook page, and got positive responses. Jim Beegan from Dayton was the most enthusiastic, so I invited him to be my first guest. I did some research and decided to use Cleanfeed for us to "meet" and record our session. The quality of the audio is superb. I am hosting my podcast episodes on Anchor, as their service is completely free. Plus, they push your episode out to other podcast channels, such as Spotify, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, and more. You download your audio file from your Cleanfeed session easily, and can then upload and edit it on Anchor's software. I ended up doing my editing on my MacBook in Garage Band because I wanted to "talk over" the intro sound effect. I then exported the file as an mp3 and popped it into Anchor. Boom...done! 

Click here for the link to my Saga Ohio page on Anchor.

I hope to do episodes once every two weeks or so. Local Saga guru Andy Swingle is slated to be my next guest. I'd like to be able to use the guest slot to eventually introduce all of the Saga Ohio members. I had a blast talking to Jim, and he was the perfect, easy-to-talk-to person to help me host my first episode. So, check it out, and stay tuned for more episodes!

Tangle in the Terrain with the Pagan Rus

Moorish mounted hearthguard skirt the edge of a forest in an attempt to encircle the enemy

 Reining in his horse, the warlord Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa shook his head as he regarded the hostile lands all around his small force. A giant rocky hill loomed on the left, while a dark, tangled forest to his right. Ahead, where his army had to pass through to get home, were two more wolf-haunted forests. The howls of the packs roaming beneath the tangled branches made his cheetah Scirocco pace nervously, the delicate links of her chain scraping against the rocky ground. This was not the type of terrain that favored his mounted Moorish warriors. He prayed that Allah would see he and his men through, and that they could find a way to return home to Cordoba.

The core of Adrian's Pagan Rus - 8-man hearthguard, warlord, Shield Maidens

For what may have been the first time, Jenny and I stayed for a second round of Saga Gaming at the Dragons Guildhall during our November meeting. Six total players stayed (of our original eight), so we matched up against new opponents. It had been awhile since Adrian J and I had played, so we selected a table and began to set up. Adrian is one of the top players in our Saga Ohio group, having been playing the game longer than just about anyone except maybe Andy S. He racks up victories with regularity, too, and is also the one many of us go to for that rules question we aren't certain how to answer.

Two 6-man units of Pagan Rus warrior infantry creep around the edges a wolf-haunted woods

Adrian enjoys scenarios from the Book of Battles Saga supplement, particularly Battle of Heroes -- which randomizes Scenery, Deployment, Game Length, Victory Conditions, and Special Rules. Players roll 1d6 for each and can add or subtract one from the roll for a selection they prefer. As first player, Adrian rolled for "Hostile Land" (which makes all uneven terrain Dangerous) and "Sacrifice" (bonus if your unit is destroyed by some means other than melee...shooting, perhaps?). I rolled for the other three categories. I chose Unknown Land (which allowed Adrian to set our four terrain pieces), "Confusion" (resulting in a diagonal deployment), and "Pitched Battle" (5 turn limit, but I begin the game rolling 4 Saga dice and placing them on the board before his first turn).

Decisive moment - the Moorish Cavalry prepares to charge the Pagan Rus' toughest unit

As Adrian had switched from his Anglo-Saxons to Pagan Rus, he set up a death trap of terrain for my mounted units. Throw in the "dangerous" rule -- which I rationalized by saying the forests were wolf-haunted -- and there were LOTS of places on the board my mounted couldn't go. Knowing he has the "Frozen Wind" ability on his Pagan Rus battle board, I tried to spread myself out as much as possible. However, the terrain kept me constricted. Adrian is a master at devising a pregame plan for a Saga encounter. I had a feeling that my undefeated streak was going to take a lot of Kismet (Fate) to survive this encounter! Little did I know, Adrian had other plans for me to make it even more challenging!

After the charge, the victorious Moors have pulled back on the left to regroup, enemy eliminated!

Adrian's Pagan Rus warband was an interesting mix of troops. Besides his foot warlord, he fielded one 8-man foot hearthguard unit (his hammer), and one unit of mercenary Shield Maidens. The other 3 points were foot warriors divided into four units of six. These "penny packets" of warriors he kept hidden as much as possible for the entire game. They scurried into the woods whenever my mounted warriors headed their way. Essentially, they were simply Saga dice generators for the three main strike units of hearthguard, warlord, and Shield Maidens. I used the same breakdown as I have in my previous two games with the Moors: mounted warlord, two 6-man mounted hearthguard units with javelins, two 8-man warrior units, and one 12-man levy archer unit.

Adrian's final gambit falls short - Moors withstand the charge of his warlord and Shield Maidens

I deployed my archers in the forest on my right to cover the front of his army. In fact, due to his "Long Winter" ability on his battle board, they would shoot only once the entire game. Still, their threat kept his troops shying away from the center of the board, and made his maneuvers much more cautious than I would have expected. In fact, I thought Adrian played a very cautious game throughout, which meant we had about as few melees as I had in my first "Ambush" game with Jenny's Vikings earlier. I placed one of my warrior infantry units to cover the central gap between the marsh and rocky hill, while the second one supported it from a distance in reserve. I placed one mounted unit on the far side of the rocky hill on my left and the other poised to skirt around the marsh on my right. The warlord kept his distance from his troops in the center.

Jim B, left, teaches his friend Mark the finer points of Saga in a first-round game

Adrian began with a tentative advance in the center with his hearthguard hammer unit, his warlord, the Shield Maidens, and one supporting warrior infantry unit. The other three crept forward on the flanks, though the two on his far left darted back into the woods when my mounted hearthguard galloped around the marsh on my turn. Majik ordered the left flank cavalry unit around towards the right, as I planned to sweep around on that flank to attack his center and rear. When one galloped forward to hurl javelins on turn two, Adrian sprung his "trap." Having played the Pagan Rus, I knew about "Biting Cold" -- which freezes an enemy unit after any activation. What I didn't realize was that my free shooting activation with javelins on a movement was a separate activation. Thus, I could move up, yes, but not shoot.  

Second round action: Bob's Crusaders tangle with Jenny's Vikings in the woods

Majik stroked his beard and gazed across at the burly Pagan Rus warlord with new respect, "Hmmm..." One of my mounted hearthguard units was hung out to dry, frozen, and facing his Shield Maidens. Knowing his cavalry would be left within the maidens' charge range, Majik ordered a warrior infantry from the center to support them. Shield Maidens, in general, don't like to sully themselves against warriors, receiving no bonuses against them. All that succeeded in doing was pinning a giant bullseye on them for his hammer unit. The hearthguard double moved forward, laughing off the extra fatigue as they eyed all the melee abilities Adrian had lined up for them on his board. I forget how many dice he ended up rolling, but he fueled it with a succession of abilities, beginning with "Wrath of the East," "Blood Feud," "White Wolves," and "Black Bears." In the end, he inflicted 20 casualties and also had five bonus defense dice. The warrior spear disappeared under their flashing axe blades. However, Adrian chose not to charge the frozen cavalry unit - having used all his Saga abilities in that melee. He did pull the hearthguard back a move, leaving them with two fatigues.

Toward the bitter end of a slugfest - mounted Crusades charge Vikings on foot

Both of my cavalry units galloped forward to toss their javelins at the murderous Norsemen. Of course, "Biting Cold" stopped one unit from throwing, and the other's shooting rolls caused only one kill. To make him think twice about using the hearthguard again, I played Discord for the first time. This requires me to place a fatigue on any three of my units, but I get to choose three of his to place on him, as well. His hammer unit entered his turn Exhausted. I thought he would charge with either his Shield Maidens or Warlord, but he played cautiously, and loaded me up with as much fatigue as he could with Frozen Wind. 

Consistently difficult opponent on Saga Game Days -- Jenny's Vikings (with new measuring sticks!)

On my turn, it was decision time. Shooting was not going to win me the game (again!). I played Discord again, exhausting his hearthguard once more, and then charged in. I played both "Torrent of Iron" (my bottom right corner "alpha ability" on my board). This gives me a +1 on all attack dice, in addition to "Inspiration's" rerolls of any ones on the dice. He reluctantly closed ranks, which turned out for the best for him as I manipulated the fatigue to give me armor of 6 -- which meant he couldn't hit me as an Exhausted unit. I also made his armor a "2", so that I scored hits on everything but 1's (and rerolled those!). Needless to say, I hit with all 12 dice. The moment of truth came and Adrian passed on only five of his saves, which meant he lost seven figures -- the entire unit! His hammer was broken!

The next turn was the final one - Turn 5. Adrian knew he was down on points. Of his two remaining major weapons, he trusted his warlord the most. He sent him in to charge one of my cavalry units (the victorious one had actually pulled back to stay out of any charge ranges of the Rus). The warlord killed four of the Moorish riders, but Adrian has played Saga enough to know that would still leave him short on points. He sent the Shield Maidens in, as well. They were unable to cause any casualties, whereas we killed one of them. Adrian conceded at that point, but I played out my final turn to see if we could rack up any shooting kills. Par for the day, our shooting was poor and the score did not change. Majik pulled off a narrow victory, 9 1/2 to 8. 

In the other battles, Bob's Crusaders continued their slugfest run. He and Jenny played Clash of Warlords, with the Crusaders outlasting the Vikings, 26-22. In the third battle, Jim B had also switched armies. He commanded Vikings against Dave E's Romans. They ended up in a 24-23 tie, with the Romans up by one point but not enough to avoid a draw. It was a long day, but fun. With COVID getting worse all throughout Ohio, who knows? It may be our last chance to enjoy some Saga fun on the tabletop for awhile. Crossing our fingers, though, and we can meet again on the first Sunday of December in Columbus!

Here are the results of the Round 2 battles:

• Mike D's Moors defeat Adrian J's Pagan Rus in Battle of Heroes, 9 1/2 to 8
• Bob B's Crusaders defeat Jenny's Vikings in Clash of Warlords, 26 to 22
• Dave E's Romans and Jim B's Vikings fight to a tie, 24-23, in Clash of Warlords
  

Feast of Saga at Dragons Guildhall

My Moorish warlord Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa leads his warband to ambush a convoy

We had one of our largest turn outs so far at the November Saga Game Day at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, Ohio. Three players made it from Columbus, while another came from the Springfield area to join four Dayton area gamers to bring our gathering to eight. What's more, six of the players stayed for a second round, giving all participants the chance to truly glut themselves on Dark Age slaughter! I brought my Moorish warband, while other armies included Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Pagan Rus, Romans, Normans, Crusaders, and Skraelings.

Jenny's Vikings appear across the road to contest our ambush of the convoy - eager for the loot!

One of the things we like to do on our twice-monthly Saga Game Days is to give players a chance to match up against opponents they haven't played (or haven't faced in awhile). Not only is matching up against a variety of armies an enjoyable tactical challenge, gaming with a number of different people makes for a pleasant time, too. Since Jenny and I had not played each other in quite some time, she decided to use her Vikings to take on my Moors. I let her choose a game from the Book of Battles and she picked "Ambush." 

Moorish cavalry circles around to get behind the wagons, while Vikings emerge from the woods

Moorish warlord Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa's raid into Christian Spain had gone well, so far. He had located the merchant convoy he'd been tracking and had hidden his forces behind a gentle rise, out of sight. Dust plumes showed the convoy's progress towards him along the road where his forces lay ready in ambush. A glint of metal on the opposite side of the road caught his eye, though. Beside him, Scirocco made a quizzical chirping noise. "What do you see, girl?" he asked the cheetah. After a few moments of watching, he recognized the fur-clad warriors striding through the trees, setting up an ambush of their own on the convoy he'd been tracking! Majik had clashed swords with the heathen Norsemen before, and knew them to be fierce foes. But he would not return empty handed to the Emir of Cordoba, inshallah!

The Vikings eschew missiles and charge in against the wagons and strike it rich first!

In this game, three wagons begin on one short edge in the center between the two armies. Their goal is to march across the board, attempting to reach the opposite edge. Of course, both armies want to loot them and prevent that from happening. The wagons count as a Hero (armor 5), but Unarmed (+1 to your melee save), and have only 3 Attack dice. Those attacking the wagons do not get to play Saga abilities in melee, but can when shooting. However, as I found out, with their Resilience (1) they are pretty much not going to be taken out by shooting. With average die rolls, you would need to amass 24 attack dice over the course of your turn to take them out with shooting! My Moors have nice shooting, but not that deadly! Shooting can soften them up, though, for a later melee charge to take out -- which is what I did on both of the two wagons I would successfully attack.

The rest of the Moors on the right wing, ready to block the escape of the wagons

The wagons have a random die roll to determine whether they move or pause, and also whether they remove fatigue accumulated from earlier attacks. They do this prior to EACH player's turn, so any fatigue you put on them will likely be gone before your next one rolls around. Knowing my toughest units were mounted, Jenny messed with me on the terrain, placing two marshes in my deployment area. In this scenario, the player's army "marches on" to the board from any point on their board edge not within 1 Long + 1 Medium of a wagon. This had the effect of scrunching my arrival point down to the right hand 1/3 of my table edge.

A unit of Moorish spearmen emulate the Viking success and charge in to seize the loot!

My plan was to move my infantry warriors forward to block the path of the wagons, while moving the archers towards the center to put hits on them (and Jenny's Vikings, if they came within range). I sent one of my 6-man mounted hearthguard units around the swamp to come in behind the quickly-moving wagons. The other cavalry and my warlord, Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa, would provide the reinforced punch on the right. I had placed a gentle hill in Jenny's area opposite my right. My plan was to race across and hammer her warriors on that flank where they had no cover to hide in.

After two rounds of melee, my Moorish hearthguard still have 4 troopers whittling the Vikings to one

Jenny marched her archers onto the center of the board, supported on their right by one of her 6-man hearthguard units and another unit of warriors. The other 6-man hearthguard unit came on towards her left, supported by her second warrior unit and the warlord. Looking at her army's breakdown, I realized that our armies were identical - except that my hearthguard units were mounted with javelins! Oh, and my warlord was mounted, too.

Chasing down the final wagon of the convoy, javelins and bows attempt to soften it up

Jenny struck first at the wagons when one passed close to the woods her archers were moving into. The 6-man hearthguard unit raced out and walloped the wagon hard enough on their charge to destroy it. They grabbed the loot, but did lose one veteran Viking in the process. This left them with two fatigue markers since they had done an extra move to charge the wagon. My Moorish horsemen circling around behind the wagons licked their lips in anticipation. Jenny sensed this, though, and used a third order on them to withdraw them into the woods, exhausted (but carrying their ill-gotten loot!).

On the final round of the game, Majik and Scirocco charge in and seizes the wagon and its loot!

I considered following up and harassing them anyway, but decided it would be ineffective shooting at them (armor 5 and in cover in the woods). Charging into the woods seemed suicidal, so the riders chased down the wagons instead. On the right flank, though, my other unit of cavalry galloped forward and charged her 8-man warrior unit that had come into my "Horse of the Maghreb" extended range. My horrible dice rolling continued, though! Despite the "Inspiration" of their warlord behind them, my attack killed only five of their eight. As always, Jenny had the "Loki" Saga ability in waiting, so his warriors garnered enough attack dice (and rolled well enough) to cause four casualties on my 6-man unit. I pulled the unit back with "Perseverance," stopping them in the path of the final wagon just short of its escape point. Jenny's unit of warriors also retreated towards their rear, happy to have survived the encounter.

Dave E (left) matches up against the steamroller of Bob B's Crusaders

Around turn 3 (of only five in this scenario), I realized shooting wasn't going to get the job done against the wagons. So, one of my 8-man warrior infantry units charged a wagon that had been softened up a bit by incessant shooting. They destroyed it, and eagerly plundered the wagon, equipping themselves with an objective marker. I foolishly left my outflanking cavalry unit in the center of the table, close enough for her archers to get a shot at them. For the first time in the game, though, my dice were good and I saved all hits she put on my vulnerable (armor 4) mounted troopers.

The Crusaders gallop in, eager to close with the Romans and their armored infantrymen

Jenny wasn't done with them, though. She raced her other 6-man hearthguard unit out to charge them. These mounted Moors continued to bless Kismet (fate), and rolled incredibly well on their saves again. The hearthguard backed off, having lost one trooper. When our turn rolled around, we loaded up on Saga abilities and sent the charmed troopers in again. Alas, their luck had run out. With a rare dice on "Inspiration," they would reroll any misses on 1, 2, or 3. "Wholehearted" gave extra dice for the enemy's fatigue, and I was sure I would eliminate them. Needing 4's to hit, I managed only a few hits on 14 dice. I rerolled and totalled exactly half -- seven hits! Luckily, Jenny flubbed her saves, and only one figure was left.

Jim B's Skraelings call for their totems to protect them against Mark's Viking invaders

That would end the actual fighting between Vikings and Moors. On my final turn, I had all of my javelin-armed cavalry and my levy archers shoot the wagon, then followed that up with a charge by the warlord. With Majik's pet cheetah savaging the horses, the warlord struck down the last of the guards and the loot was ours! With six points per wagon looted, this gave a big advantage to us on final points. The Moors triumphed in their second encounter, 37-29.

Just a small part of Adrian's Anglo-Saxon horde - six points of levy = 60 figures!

Elsewhere in Round 1, Bob B and Dave E were playing their first match against each other. Dave's Romans and their ballista faced Bob's Crusaders led by the legendary warlord Prince Henry. A bloodbath ensued, and Bob edged out Dave in Clash of Warlords 34-29. The genial Jim B was teaching his friend Mark in his second game of Saga. Mark was playing Vikings again, while Jim through a historical but unusual matchup of Skraelings at him. Despite Jim's encouragement and coaching, the Native Americans drove the Vikings from the field in Clash of Warlords with their archery, 22-9. In the fourth game of the first round, it was brother against brother as Adrian battled his brother Aaron in Prized Possessions. It was a close-fought struggle, but Adrian's Anglo-Saxons came triumphed in this historical matchup against Aaron's Normans, 15 1/2 to 9 1/2.

This game also saw the first use of my newly-created, custom-made Moorish measuring sticks!

 Round 1 Results

• Mike D's Moors defeat Jenny's Vikings in "Ambush," 37-29
• Bob B's Crusaders defeat Dave E's Romans in "Clash of Warlords," 34-29
• Jim B's Skraelings defeat Mark's Vikings in "Clash of Warlords," 22-9
• Adrian J's Anglo-Saxons defeat Aaron J's Normans in Prized Possessions, 15 1/2 - 9 1/2.

Mark and Aaron decided to head home, which left six players to get in a second round. I decided that I would go ahead and write up a second blog post for the second round. It is rare that I get to play twice in one game day, so I will take advantage of that and get two entries out of this day! Stay tuned for the next update!

Moors Beat Back Night Raid by the 'Rumani'

My Moorish warlord Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa and his cheetah pet, Scirocco

Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa leaned forward in the saddle and squinted into the darkness. He heard the high-pitched chirp of the great cat beside him as it also peered into the night. Watching the ears of the cheetah's spotted head slowly track then stop let Majik know his pet had spotted the intruders. "You see them even in this darkness, Srirocco?" Another chirp confirmed that he could trust the cheetah's tracking senses to lead his warband towards the incursion. 

I like the look of a large warlord base with a bodyguard, banner, and animal companion on it

 As they paced forward, Majik heard the soft hoofbeats of his cavalry following. His lieutenant whispered, "Who are they, al-Waqaa?" Behind them, two squadrons of veteran Moorish cavalry paced in single file on either flank. Between the horsemen, two files of spearmen followed in their warlord's footsteps. Bringing up the rear were the archers.

The battle after my first turn - my Moorish cavalry have returned to shelter behind the infantry's lines

"Rumani," Majik whispered in return. Romans. Or what remained of that fallen empire, who would be called in later tomes the Byzantines. Its still mighty navy could put raiding parties ashore in Andalusia, though, and that was what Majik guessed had happened. Why they were here in Spain he could only guess. The emir of Cordoba had decreed that the foreigners must be driven off, though, and Majik and his men would do that, inshallah, or die trying.

End of his 2nd turn - note my depleted levy and 2 fatigue tokens on his archers

I was almost as uneasy this past Sunday as Majik would have been. After a year of planning and painting this army, I was finally getting to play a game of Saga with my Moorish warband. Though not complete, I had enough figures ready to play a 6-point game if I used the cavalry as mounted hearthguard. I split three points of them into two units of six. I supplemented this force with two units of 8 warriors and 1 unit of 12 levy bowmen. My warlord base had been finished the night before and dullcoated that very morning.

My opponent was Mike S, who was using his Last Romans, again. He was still tweaking his list, not content with previous versions of it. The one I would face also included 3 points of mounted hearthguard, but deployed in three units of four. Two were armed with composite bow, while the third had standard melee equipment. Mike also brought two units of warriors to the field, one of which was bow armed. The final unit was composed of 12 levy javelinmen. A very similar composition to my force, but who would prevail?

The Byzantines strike back! Javelins and Byzantine cavalry charge whittle my 6-man unit to two

Mike S wanted to play "Battle of Heroes" from the Book of Battles. Our rolled variations were Night Battle (which means each unit that starts its turn without a friendly unit within Short distance suffers a fatigue), and Unknown Lands, which meant Mike set the terrain with four small pieces. I rolled Meeting Engagement, which meant he deployed his entire army after setting up terrain, while I got to set up second. I rolled Pitched Battle, allowing me to roll and place 4 Saga dice prior to his first turn. The final special rule was Show of Force, which would reward us for melees won and getting units within a Medium distance of the opponent's baseline. With my Horse of the Maghreb ability, I thought this would be a cinch for me to do - though that's not the way it turned out! My cavalry was way too busy to go on an end run in this battle.

Mike S deployed with his warrior archers on his right, backed up by the levy javelinmen. In the center, he deployed one unit of Tagmata (hearthguard horse archers) and another with melee weapons. They were backed up by his warlord. On his left, he deployed another unit of Tagmata, backed up by his remaining warrior unit. Called by his troops "al-Waqaa" (the Shield), Majik had a plan to use his infantry battleline as a wall from which the hearthguard cavalry could emerge, attack, and fall back behind. Very historical tactics for Moors, and I thought quite possible with the extra distance move provided by Horses of the Maghreb (Long+Short move), and Perseverance (activate two mounted or two foot units) each requiring only one Saga die. After Mike S trotted forward on his first turn, but staying outside Long range, Majik waved his horsemen forward to try. The attack actually began with a volley from the levy archers at the Tagmata horse archers, who were my target with their low armor class. That was followed up with one 6-man hearthguard unit racing forward and tossing their javelins, then the other. Finally, Perseverance allowed both to return behind the spearmen with only one fatigue.

The battlefield prior to my 6-man cavalry unit charging (and destroying) another unit of cavalry

My dice were terrible, though. With 18 shots needing a 4+ we killed only three of the four figures in the unit. Mike S quickly wisely pulled it back to the rear, where it would remain for the game (but continuing to provide a Saga die!). Next, the Byzantine strategos waved forward his foot archers. They advanced and took two shots at my levy archers. My saves in the cover were as bad as my shooting and we lost five figures. We did NOT use his fatigue on the second shot - I had plans for those two tokens in my turn!

That warrior bow would be our target for turn two. Once again, the archers began the attack. This was followed up by one cavalry unit riding forward and throwing javelins. We used the Wholehearted ability to gain 2 attack dice per enemy fatigue (so +4 dice). The second unit then crashed into the remaining warrior archers, with me playing Inspiration (reroll of 1's in combat, or 1-3's with a Rare die). The last of the warriors fell, though they did kill one of my hearthguard despite my bonus defensive dice. The theme continued - my abilities were giving me lopsided attacks in my favor, but my dice rolling was not fully taking advantage of them! However, Mike S had enough of my shooting and scooting and used the fatigue on my victorious unit to limit its pull back move to a Short. Oops. He had spotted a flaw in my strategy that I hadn't seen coming!

One of my Moorish spear units hurries to support the exposed cavalry

Mike S countered by targeting my exposed hearthguard unit. He moved up his javelin levy to shoot, and then followed it up with a charge by his melee cavalry. Once again, my dice were pathetic and this time his dice were very good. He didn't suffer a casualty and my unit was cut down to only two figures remaining. I knew that the Moorish cavalry with an armor class of 4 were vulnerable. That's why I wanted them shielding behind my warrior spearmen - not exposed out in front of the army! Mike S decided to pull the victorious Byzantine cavalry back to his center, which left them with 2 fatigue. Majik stroked his beard, eyeing them as a target, "Hmmm..."

This was not necessarily the battle I wanted to get into - charge and countercharge. However, with a chance to take a fresh 6-man hearthguard unit against a double-fatigued 4-man unit, the Shield of Cordoba decided to cast caution to the wind. I loaded up my board with Inspiration and Wholehearted and shouting praise to Allah, the Moors rode in! Despite receiving four defense dice in bonus from his fatigue, my unit still lost four figures. My dice were dependably below average all game. However, we did eliminate the Byzantine cavalry which scattered a fatigue onto the warlord and two other units. Of course, Mike S cleverly used my unit's fatigue when we tried to pull back!

Last gambit - Moorish cavalry attempt to put enough javelins into the enemy warlord to soften him up!

At this point, my primary attack arm was blunted - each down to 2-man units. I couldn't even do the run to the opponent's board edge because it requires a unit of at least four men in the victory conditions. Majik had no choice but to order the spearmen forward. It would take three charges by the two units to finally destroy his remaining warrior unit, as my dice continued to suffer. Luckily, neither of us were rolling particularly well on Saga dice. I think we rolled two rare dice between us all game! Mike S decided to use his remaining horse archer unit to do the end run and scoop up 4 victory points. 

Majik had one last gambit - try to shoot down the enemy warlord on our final turn. I tossed both 2-man units forward, using Wholehearted to gain 2 extra dice for his fatigue. Six dice = no hits. If I had managed to exhaust his Warlord, Majik was going to charge in and finish him off. However, with only one fatigue on him, it wasn't worth the risk. I thought I was up on points. So, I let the game end there, and we counted it up. As it turned out, Majik did emerge victorious, driving the wily, determined Byzantine Strategos from the field, 18-14. 

Close up of the Majik ibn Battuta al-Waqaa's banner (pattern looks black but is actually blue)

I really enjoyed playing the Moors in my first game. I was excited that historical tactics - sending cavalry out from behind an infantry battle line then returning them - worked well on the table with Saga. Mike S and I discussed that perhaps I shouldn't have been so impatient, and simply shot instead of charging in. That might have been enough to wear down the vulnerable Byzantine units and force them into doing something rash. 

Of course, I realized much later that evening that perhaps my dice wouldn't have been so bad if I had remembered something that I also forgot over and over in my games with my Welsh: Javelins receive +1 to attack dice when charging! I never used that the whole game!! I don't know the Arabic word for "D'oh!" but maybe I should find out! That gave me a goal for the next game: paint a marker of a javelin-pierced miniature with "+1 when charging" on its base to keep with my combat dice...ha, ha! I look forward to two week's from now, though, and our Saga Game Day at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, Ohio. Majik and Scirocco are looking forward to matching wits with another enemy!