More Viking Bondi (Warriors)

    8 Viking Bondi (warriors in Saga) using 28mm Gripping Beast Anglo-Saxon figures

In anticipation of face-to-face gaming (and our Saga game days) resuming eventually, I have been filling holes in my loaner armies. Previously, it was a struggle to field both Vikings and Anglo-Danes (or a second Viking warband). I didn't have enough unarmored warriors, though I had plenty of armored troops to use as Huscarles, or hearthguard as they are known in the rules. Thus, the purchase awhile back of Footsore unarmored Vikings. And more recently, the 4-point Gripping Beast starter box of Anglo-Saxons.

    The kneeling guy with the shield was on of my favorite poses - I also like the shield pattern I painted

The good thing about Dark Ages is that one warrior often looked a lot like another. So, two Germanic/Teutonic warriors aren't that different when it comes to either equipment or clothing. So, I sorted through the Gripping Beast box and chose out 8 figures that looked particularly "Viking-ish." I enjoy Gripping Beast metal 28mm figures. The shields are often cast on and the hands are usually open to glue in the weapons. Contrast this with Footsore, where you must drill out the sometimes too small fists to accept weapons (which are purchased separately). Footsore figs are lovely, but I like to minimize assembly when it comes to my miniatures!

    Another of my favorite poses is the guy with the leveled spear...not so much his partner, though!

All but one of the figures I picked out to become Vikings had steel helmets. They also tended to have short sleeve tunics with long sleeve shirts and long pants underneath. I tried to streamline my painting with this batch. After doing the flesh, I did all the base coat on all three of the above articles of clothing instead of one at a time, followed by its dry brushing. Thus, I did all three base coats in one setting and all three dry brushing sessions on those colors in a second setting. I did have to "erase" with water the odd bit of splash over from time to time, but for the most part, it worked great. I will be doing this more in the future!

    The "strawberry blonde" hair of the guy on the right is one of my more recent hair colors I've used

I use mostly Ceramcoat craft paints, supplemented by Howard Hues and Iron Wind Metals acrylics. I've collected quite a palette of colors. For Dark Age miniatures, I prefer faded hues like "Wedgewood" blue and green. For what would be brighter colors, like red, I will often use an earthier, red-brown tone. Naturally, I work in various tans and grays, as well as dull yellows. I reason that people in the Dark Ages didn't have closets full of clothes like we do, wearing the same clothes day in and day out. That, combined with their method of washing, would tend have a dull down any brightness of colors over time.

    I like the intricate, Viking borders I've been putting on figures lately - such as this guy on the left

As with the earlier batch of Viking archers, I worked in decoration and ornamentation here and there on the figures, too. Slight more than half had bands or decorated hems. Those that didn't were more likely to receive a decorated sword sheath. Obviously, I don't want my Dark Age warriors to be as brightly and colorfully patterned as, say, my recently-finished Andalusian Moorish army. I want the decoration to be subtle, and show up mostly when you focused on a single figure.

With this batch, I'm done with Vikings for now. I have started 8 more figs from the Gripping Beast box, but these will be for my Anglo-Dane (or second Viking) army. After those, I will likely pull out the handful of armored figures in the box and supplement my true Anglo-Saxon hearthguards with those. Then...FINALLY...I will be on to the Carolingians!

Viking Archers by the Dozen!

 A dozen 28mm Gripping Beast Viking archers - my first batch of painted figures in 2021!

My first batch of painted miniatures for 2021 was a group of 12 Viking archers. I picked them up last year at one of our Saga game days at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, OH. Not only did I want to support the store by making a purchase, I realized I needed more Dark Age archers. My Viking, Saxon, Pict and Welsh Saga armies were all sharing archers from the same pool of figures. This would go a long way towards making sure I could field these armies without swapping figures back and forth between boxes.

 I used faded colors for my palette, but with a little bit of decoration that the Vikings were know for

I have since tossed the packaging that these figures came in, but I am pretty sure that these are 28mm Gripping Beast miniatures. The bows needed to be epoxied into the archers' hands, but otherwise no assembly was required. That's one of several reasons why I prefer metal miniatures over the new wave of plastic which require the gluing together of arms, torsos, heads, and so on. I've said it before (and close examination bears this out), I am not that good at supergluing or epoxying things together. So, less of that I have to do the better!

 The pose variety of headgear was great - archers in helmets, knitted or fur caps or bareheaded

The variety in the package was marvelous! A little less than half the figures had metal helmets, others were bareheaded or had fur or knitted woolen caps. There was also some variety in the posing, with archers leaning back, forward, kneeling and even running. I highly recommend theses figures. There was very little flash, they are clean and easy to paint without too much equipment festooned over them. 

 Many of the tunics were painted with fancy borders even if the material itself was a faded color

I mixed in faded colors -- gray greens and blues, dun yellows -- along with a few brighter reds or blues. In Saga, the Viking archers are typically considered Levy troops (which would be the poorest members of society). However, I think that is an oversimplification because archery was a valued skill in Viking training for war. So, I made sure my Viking archers had a splattering of fancy borders on their tunics. They were a colorful group of people known for their love of fine clothing, good grooming, and wearing their wealth. So, I even decorated some of the quivers with stripes, swirls, and runes.

 I think the detail on the borders and quivers balances with the solid color tunics, shirts, and pants

Although I am posting all 12 archers at the same time, I divided them into two batches of six when painting them. I usually divide my painting into batches of six to eight figures. That way, I don't get bored painting huge numbers at the same time and feel like I am making progress as I finish them more quickly. I also base, flock, and seal the figures as I finish them. There's something satisfying about incrementally watching your army of usable figures grow that keeps me inspired...usually!

 The home page for Saga Ohio on Spotify, one of a number of platforms you can listen to it on

What else have I accomplished in 2021? Well, my Saga Ohio podcast just published episode 4, yesterday. The podcast is available (free, of course) on various platforms, including Spotify, Anchor, Apple Podcasts, and more. In my latest episode, my guest was Jim Randall - a local Saga gamer and big fan of the Byzantine Empire. I like the format, talking to my guest and getting them to explain to listeners how they field their army, what tactics they use, and how they best take advantage of the army's special abilities. I find listening to a podcast (or something similar) is a great thing to do while painting miniatures. I eagerly look forward to the newest episodes from my favorites -- Northern Tempest Saga Podcast and Saga Thorsday. If you haven't done it before, cue up one of these (or if I may be so bold, Saga Ohio!), next painting session and give it a try!

2020 - Gaming & Painting Year in Review

 Probably my favorite model I painted this year - my Moorish warlord (with bodyguard & pet cheetah)

I sit here in the sun room of my new house (moved in October 2020) and look back on the accomplishments of this past year. First and foremost is the new house, of course. Not only does it have the cozy sun room with its view of the neighborhood, but the new place also has a dedicated painting/crafting cubbyhole down in the basement. No longer do I have to use my desk in the office as a place to paint or organize my projects. What's more, the house has a huge finished basement with lots of room for gaming. That is, once face-to-face gaming starts up again! In fact, I just ordered two 8'x30" folding tables for that area, and there's room for even more gaming down there! I've joked that we can host an 8-player Saga tournament down there, and I think it is pretty close to true.

 Rival Samurai gangs battle it out in one of our last, face-to-face Sunday evening gaming sessions

Of course, year in review wouldn't be the complete without mentioning the 800-pound gorilla in the room: COVID. Our last Sunday evening, face-to-face gaming was on March 15, 2020, when Mike Stelzer ran a playtest of his Samurai miniatures rules he's writing. Yes, March 15...perhaps we should have followed the seer's advice to "Beware the Ides of March!"? Still, we met at our usual spot, my friend Mike's Brewpub/Basement (he usually has two of his homebrews on tap!). His wife, a nurse, had hand sanitizer on hand and we all made sure our grubby fingers were germ free. Allen resisted a bit, but knew we were serious, and after those preliminary precautions, we sat down to game. None of us knew that would be our last in-person Sunday night game session of the year. We were all worried about what was to come, and with good reason considering how this year played out!

Our Saga game days were one of the things COVID curtailed in 2020

COVID also clamped down on our twice-monthly Saga game days in Columbus and Dayton. After our meeting on March 1st, we didn't game together at the game store again till July. We were able to get in meetings until November, when the second wave once again closed the gaming areas of Guardtower East and Dragons Guildhall. I started 2020 off playing my Welsh warband in Saga, which had an amazing success record. I switched over to the Picts (Scots from Age of Vikings) partway through the year. I had a good run with them, too. On a whim, I tried the Carolingians, and enjoyed playing them well enough to pick up a 4-point army Gripping Beast army box from Game Table Adventures in Newark, OH. I also got in a game each with the Pagan Rus and Norse-Gaels using my Viking miniatures. I closed out the year playing my newest army, the Moors.

 Nechtan Mac Fergus' Picts racked up a phenomenal 8-0-0 record over their 2020 streak of games

It was a pretty successful year of generalship in the Saga games. Here was my record with the various armies I played over the course of 2020:

• Army  Wins-Losses-Ties
  
• Picts (Scots), 8-0-0
• Moors, 4-0-1
• Carolingians, 2-0-1
• Welsh, 1-0-0
• Pagan Rus, 1-0-0
• Norse-Gaels, 1-0-0

 I began 2020 playing Saga with my Welsh army, led by Lord Gwendawg, here

My run of success is probably in danger, as my luck can't go on forever! Seriously, I have really enjoyed the tactical challenge of playing Saga, though. Learning how to maximize the special abilities of my army, while simultaneously watching out for what my opponent's can inflict on me is a lot of fun. I like poring over a battle board and trying to think of combinations of abilities that can help bring victory on the tabletop. I usually type them into a Notes page on my iPhone and keep it pulled up during the game. Otherwise, I might forget to use a stratagem. 

 My Picts face Jeff F's Huns led by Attila -- a tough, tactical puzzle that solving makes Saga enjoyable

Still, winning at Saga is not all about using your battle board abilities. You need to have a plan for your army, and the ability to change plans in midstream. Two of my more challenging games this year were against Dayton area gamer, Adrian John. In both, he showed up with a superior tactical plan, in my opinion. My usual methods weren't bringing success and he was winning through the first three turns. However, I recognized that and changed tactics. I went with a backup plan (shooting with "Reach" with the Scots and charging home instead of skirmishing with the Moors). Both times, my halftime adjustments eked out a victory. So, Saga requires you to be flexible and adapt your tactics to your opponent and their army. 

 One of my first painting accomplishments of 2020: Finishing off my Pictish army for Saga

As far as painting miniatures in 2020, it was a moderately productive year. Ever since our school switched to online learning in April, and with my decision to teach the students whose families chose all online in the new school year, I have been incredibly busy. Adapting lesson plans to an online format is a constant process. This has impacted my painting time, of course. I kicked the painting year off last January by finishing up the Pictish infantry I needed for that warband. The army requires a LOT of infantry figures. I used four army points of warriors (32 figures), and 1 point of levy archers (12 more figures). Some were done already from our previous Dark Age skirmish games using both Song of Blades and Heroes and Tribal rules. However, a lot of the Pictish spearmen were newly-painted for the Saga force.

 The cover of my newest rules set - Mean Streets (inspired by the 1979 movie The Warriors)

I then switched modes back into terrain building for my gang warfare rules, Mean Streets. Another major accomplishment of the year was seeing them through to publication this past May. I created a number of things to fill my modern cityscape, including

• Wallace's Brewpub (named after our Sunday night host, of course!)
• O'Brian's Pot o' Gold Motel, a two-story motel (named after one of our Sunday members, Brian)
  
• Sidewalks and concrete medians to improve the look of my streets
• St. Jennifer's, a Gothic-style Catholic church (named after Jenny!)
• Two kiosks: Smith's Smoke Shack (after my friend Steve) and the Morning Crower newspaper stand
• Dumpsters and trash heaps (NOT named after anyone...)
  

 Wallace's Brewpub - named after one of our Sunday gamers - is one of the buildings I created in 2020

I did some other odds and ends, such as 28mm carts or wagons and their "loads" for Saga objective markers.  I also did some pack mules and handlers for my French & Indian War games with my Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules. I created some more terrain for Saga -- bogs or fens -- with material found inexpensively at Hobby Lobby. 

 The Indianola Mohawks was one of the two new street gangs I painted up this year

Inspired by March's successful final playtest of the Mean Streets rules at Cincycon 2020, I painted up two new gangs. The Indianola Mohawks were a "punk rocker" gang with colorful mohawk hairstyles, punk music t-shirts, and a good bit of black leather. The figures are from Casting Room miniatures, and I really liked them. I modified most, giving them weapons like chains and knives. This was also when I purchased the Wiz Kids gasoline station accessory pack, which you will see the Mohawks posed by if you click on the link. I bought this from Fun Factory Hobbies in Mt. Gilead, OH. Knowing how badly COVID was hitting game stores, I made it a point to buy things I might not have otherwise to help support them.

 Julio is the leader of the final (and 9th) gang I've painted, The Santanas (using Casting Room Minis)

When I ordered the figures from Casting Room Miniatures for the Mohawks, I ordered three packs total, which I had planned into using to create two different gangs. The second gang was your classic, leather-jacketed gang of street punks. Since I am trying to be ethnically inclusive in my portrayal of street gangs, this one would be my first Hispanic gang - the Santanas. I really liked how these came out, though they ended up being the last street gang that I'd paint for the year. With nine gangs painted up, I had enough for about as big of a game as I wanted to run.

Some foot from one of the 3 remaining 15mm armies after my selloff, Caledonian/Pict (still for sale!)

In July, I made a major decision to hone down my miniatures collection. I decided to put all of my 15mm Ancients and Fantasy armies up for sale. I post them here on my blog, and then also took them up to the Fort Meigs flea market, where unfortunately, none sold. However, I began to have success selling them online by posting them in various Facebook groups. The biggest score was when a single buyer purchased all of my remaining fantasy armies (built years ago for Hordes of the Things, which we didn't play anymore). I had been saving them in case we got back into it or a new set of rules took off, but we simply didn't play them for years. It was the same for my Ancient armies. I had been saving the Fall of Rome collection of DBA armies. However, with Saga taking off and me building armies in 28mm, it simply didn't make sense to keep storing them in my closet. I sold a number of them, but still have three left, if anyone is interested (Pictish/Caledonian, Germanic Barbarian, and Briton/Celtic). The Picts in particular are some of my best 15mm work ever, I feel!

It took me 5 months of 2020 to complete my latest army for saga, The Moors

July was also the month I began painting my newest Saga army, the Moors. I ended up completing 24 archers, 16 spearmen, 20 cavalry, and a command stand. I know I talked about this before on my blog, but this army was one that gave me faith in my painting skill, again. Prior to that point, I was honestly feeling that my skills were deteriorating. I felt I had passed my peak, and that the eyesight and hand steadiness needed to do superb work was no longer within my range. I made a commitment with this army, though, to using the lighted magnifying lamp I have attached to my painting desk. I bought new brushes with finer points. And much to my surprise, I found my hands could be steady when I held the figure under the lamp. One thing that help was cutting half of the stem off of my fine-point brushes. That way, I didn't have to deal with the tip banging against the top of the magnifier. Holding this golf pencil sized brush was much easier, and I found I could paint very interesting and colorful patterns for the robes of my Andalusians. I finished the army just a few weeks ago, which brings us up to present.

 Berserkers! The first of the figures from my Viking interlude after finishing my Moors

Although I have a Carolingian Saga army waiting in the wings to be painted, I decided to sneak in some other things I felt I needed. I had no berserker figures in my Viking army, so I painted four fantasy figures up for them. On my table right now, is the second half of 12 Viking archers. My Viking army is probably my most popular loaner army. I had a limited number of archers, so if more than one of my armies was being loaned out, I was scrambling for figures. This should solve that problem. I will also do a couple units of unarmored warriors from the Anglo-Saxon Gripping Beast box that I bought. I have plenty of infantry in chainmail -- which I like to use for hearthguard in Saga. I just don't have many unarmored Saxon/Viking ones, which I like to use for warriors. And speak of Saga, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Saga Ohio Podcast which I began late this year! In homage to the wonderful Northern Tempest Saga Podcast and the Saga Thorsday video blog, I interview and discuss Saga with one of our players. We talk about their favorite army, analyze the special abilities of the battle board, and future plans for other Saga armies. Give it a listen on either Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts, or several other platforms!

Other bits of 2020: 28mm Iron Wind Metals Policemen and a Miniature Building Authority dumpster

But wait a minute, this was supposed to be a year in review article! Here I am, discussing future plans!! All in all, I felt 2020 was a productive year in both terrain making and painting miniatures. I had hoped to get more time to work on the next supplement for Song of Drums and Tomahawks (covering Hernando de Soto's march through America), but writing and research was only just underway when prepping for school sucked away nearly all of my free time. Another First Command Wargames product that I had planned to start in 2020 that did not get done was the aerial supplement for the rules. I am pretty happy with the helicopter rules as they stand. I think the fixed wing aircraft rules need a little more work, though. I want to include shoulder-fired Surface to Air Missiles to the rules. That will require a lot more playtesting, which of course, is exactly what COVID conspired to limit this year.

 Owner Steve of Smith's Smoke Shack seems unimpressed by The Santanas anger at his prices

Still -- nothing wrong with a few unfinished projects at the end of a year, right? For such an awful year that COVID-ravaged 2020 ended up being, hobbywise, it could have been a lot worse. How was your hobby year? Feel free to add your comments below -- I'd love to hear!

Painting Progress: Last of Moors and 4 Berserkers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Viking Raiders Bedevil Cordoba Again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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