Advance the Colors 2021 Saga Tournament

    Lee P's Hospitallers and Bob B's Baltic Crusaders clash as tourney co-GM Jason S watches

The Jomsvikings run by Adrian John came out on top in the first-ever Saga Ohio tournament at HMGS Great Lakes' Advance the Colors 2021 convention. At the end of three rounds of play, Adrian's Jomsvikings were the only warband to win all three games among the 16 entrants. It is fitting that Adrian was one of the top finishers as he has been in the forefront of Ohioans promoting Saga for the last several years. He and Jim Beegan host a monthly Saga gathering at the Dragons Guildhall game store in Beavercreek, OH.

    Steve S's Scots advance to close with Mark B's Normans during the 'Old Feud' scenario

Although we had 20+ people committed to play at one point, life intervened as it has in these past two years to drop our numbers to an even 16. Myself and co-GM Jason Stelzer decided to abandon our plans for a two bracket tournament when our Age of Crusades entrants dropped to only three players. The rest of the armies were all from Age of Vikings, and included four Viking armies, two Norman, two Anglo-Saxon, two Scots, and two Welsh. Our three armies from the Crusades book included Baltic Crusaders, Milites Christi, and Arpadian Hungarians.

    16 players participated in three rounds of Saga battles at Advance the Colors 2021

Many thanks go to our generous sponsors that allowed every player to take home two picks from our prize pool. Hats off to Shieldwall Gaming Club, Gripping Beast, Game Table Adventures, Saga Ohio, and Tim Peaslee for their generous donations. Shieldwall Gaming Club and Game Table Adventures were both in attendance at the convention as vendors, and did very well on sales if my own purchases of more than $200 are any indication amongst the many Saga players in attendance!

    Adrian J's Jomsvikings hold off a charge of Mike S's Vikings in the final round of the tournament

The tournament went three rounds on one day and featured two scenarios from Book of Battles and a final round of Clash of Warlords from the rulebook. All three rounds had preset terrain. I had run my potential terrain maps past an experienced crew of UK Saga players, who gave me great suggestions and feedback. The tournament opened with Feasting & Pillaging, with rules modifications that disallowed moving a unit with an objective marker on the opponent's turn or off-table. We followed up with Old Feud. A surprising fact was only one of the eight battles had its victor decided by one challenger dying and the opposite surviving. All three rounds allowed the "first player" (the roll everyone in Saga wants to lose...) being allowed to choose his table edge AND move one of the terrain pieces.

    Mike S and Steve S battle it out in a tough-fought scenario of Feasting and Pillaging

Although our Toledo contingent was unable to show up for the convention, we did have a three-player group drive down for the day from Fort Wayne, IN. It was really nice to meet Mark Bishop, Troy Hill, and Phil Keifer in person. They all proved to be gentleman opponents, as has come to be expected of Saga players -- at least what we've seen here in Ohio. The other 13 players came from Ohio -- most from the Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, or Springfield area. For most players, this was the first time they had played three games in one day. The tourney GMs did their best to relieve their stress and streamline the games, giving two hours for each round and giving a lunch break of 45 minutes after round one. I honestly think that -- along with the friendly camaraderie among the players -- helped make this a more easygoing and fun experience than many may have been expecting.

    Warbands from Age of Vikings predominated among the 16 entrants -- including four Viking armies

A really cool factor was that we had two players who had participated in Friday night's teaching session decide to join the tournament. In other words, their second, third, and fourth games ever of Saga were in this tournament! So, thanks to Steve Smith and Ron Nassif for being great sports and willing to learn the game in a tournament format! Steve borrowed my Scots army while Ron used a loaner Viking army. Vikings were very popular in this tournament, but that was partly because it is our favorite "teaching army" here in Saga Ohio. The only experienced player among the four Vikings was Mike Stelzer, who made it to the Final Four and was only edged out by tourney champion Adrian in the final round!

    Adrian J, left, and Andy S's wage battle in Round 2 'Old Feud' - Jomsvikings vs. Anglo-Saxons

My thanks to Jason Stelzer, my tourney co-GM, for his tireless work resetting the terrain for each round and constantly circulating around the eight games being played to field any questions. This allowed me to focus on figuring out each round's matchups and not worry about monitoring the games themselves. Early on, I decided to make sure that our visiting players did not end up driving 2+ hours to play each other. None of our Fort Wayne, IN, players were matched up against each other. In fact, I tried to also not match up our regular Saga Ohio players against each other whenever possible. Still, I was able to preserve a "Swiss Chess" format and have winners playing winners, losers playing losers, and those with similar records in later rounds matched against each other. I also made every attempt to give our brand new players a good teacher as an opponent in all three rounds.

    The black-clad Hospitallers (Milites Christi) of Lee Parker advance upon their Norman foes

It was fun to circulate amongst the tables and watch the games going on. Mark Bishop received lots of praise a great and fair teacher from less experienced players. No one seemed to angry with one another, nor did anyone complain about the matchups. Having abandoned a book bracketing method, I was able to use the diversity of armies to my benefit in hopefully providing interesting and challenging matchups for everyone. In two dozen games of Saga being played over the course of the tournament, I heard only one player complain that the matchup severely disadvantaged their army. I considered this a success, as everyone seemed to have a great time and enjoy their day of Saga. Our first round began at 9:30am and our last ended before 5pm. Jason and I could have squeezed the games and tried for 1:45 minute games, but we decided that the extra 15 minutes would come in handy to finish games that ran long. This definitely proved to be the case, especially in Round 2.

    Prizes donated by Shieldwall Gaming Club and Gripping Beast

    Prizes donated by Pulp Figures, Saga Ohio, and Gripping Beast

    Prizes donated by Game Table Adventures and Tim Peaslee

I was pleasantly surprised to see our Saga Ohio regulars performed very well. Adrian John and Mike Stelzer, who have been playing in our group from the beginning, both were in our unofficial, undefeated "Final Four." Equally, I was happy to see some of our less veteran Saga Ohio players rose to the challenge of the tournament. Both Lee Parker, running Milites Christi, and Joe Dihrkop, playing Normans, were also in our Final Four. Congratulations to all four of them, as well as the other participants who performed well! It was interesting to see that Adrian -- who claims the Jomsvikings are one of the most deadly armies in Saga -- was vindicated in his ATC victory. Equally, it was fun to see Lee's Milites Christi -- who are on no one's list as the killer, unbalanced armies -- performed so well in the tournament. Modest as always, Lee attributed his winning to great dice rolling. But honestly, would it really be possible to win a Saga tournament (or any wargaming one) without average or above average die rolling?

    Phil K and his Welsh take on Joe D's very successful Norman army (3rd place finish)

I really enjoyed to see the mix of armies being played in the tournament, as well. With 16 participants, we had nine different armies being played. It IS interesting that with 13 of 16 armies being from Age of Vikings, we had NO Last Romans or Norse-Gaels on the field. The Last Romans get beat up on a lot in commentary as one of the weaker Age of Vikings factions. And despite their ability to roll bucket loads of combat dice, I honestly think Norse-Gaels are the other weaker faction in Age of Vikings. Otherwise, I feel 10 of the 12 factions in that book are strong -- very strong! No one played Carolingians, but I understand that as the Proelium part of their battle board makes them a high-skill level army. Our main Irish player, Tyler, was unable to attend, otherwise that army would have been represented. One shocker may have been the absence of a Pagan Rus player. That army is always one of the most frustrating to play against. We also did not have an Anglo-Dane player because of a positive Covid test the week of the convention. All in all, though, I was very happy with the variety of armies that were played!

   Mike K's Vikings advance towards their white-cloaked foes - Bob B's Baltic Crusaders

With only three Age of Crusades armies, I feel I should probably talk about that, as well. We lost two players the week of the convention -- Terry Doner was going to bring Mongols and Shane Evans was planning on Byzantines. Since I was GM, my Moors weren't going to see the field, either -- unless someone wanted to use them as a loaner, which no one did. Perhaps it is just a sign that Age of Crusades hasn't caught on as much as Age of Vikings? Bob Boggs did come and represent the Baltic Crusaders -- doing very well with them (as was to be expected), finishing 2-1. 

    Dave W's moves his Welsh warband forward to engage Troy H's Scots

Maybe this will give some folks ideas for new armies, too? I think a lot of people, like me, enjoy fielding those under-represented armies and winning with the "lower percentage" armies. I know that is why I am eventually going to field a Mongol army! Plus, I purchased a 4-point Gripping Beast starter set of crusader-type figures (the Spanish box, actually, though I will likely field it as Crusader or Milites Christi). Either way, I hope the exposure to so many different army types leads our regulars to field some new armies. I know Andy Swingle bought an Eastern Princes starter set, so it sounds like this movement is underway!

    The mounted swarm of Jim R's Hungarians prepare to encircle Lowell L's Anglo-Saxons

Here were the final standings of the ATC 2021 Saga Ohio Tournament

1. Adrian John JOMSVIKINGS, 3-0, 17 tournament points
2. Lee Parker MILITES CHRISTI, 3-0-1, 15 tournament points
3. Joe Dikrkop NORMANS, 3-0-1, 15 tournament points
4. Dave Welch WELSH, 2-1, 12 tournament points 
5. Bob Boggs BALTIC CRUSADERS, 2-1, 12 tournament points
6. Andy Swingle ANGLO-SAXONS, 2-1, 12 tournament points
   
7. Jim Randall ARPADIAN HUNGARIAN, 2-1, 11 tournament points
8. Mike Stelzer VIKINGS, 2-1, 11 tournament points
   
9. Mark Bishop NORMANS, 1-2, 9 tournament points
   
10. Troy Hill SCOTS, 1-2, 9 tournament points
11. Lowell Lufkin ANGLO-SAXONS, 1-2, 8 tournament points
12. Phil Keifer WELSH, 1-2, 8 tournament points 
13. Steve Smith SCOTS, 1-2, 7 tournament points
14. Mike Kennedy VIKINGS, 1-2, 7 tournament points
    
15. Jason Viner VIKINGS, 0-3, 5 tournament points
    
16. Ron Nassif VIKINGS, 0-3, 3 tournament points
    

 

    Lowell L, left, and Jim R battle it out in Round 1, Feasting and Pillaging

Here are the results of the first round battles using Feasting and Pillaging from Book of Battles

• Andy Swingle's Anglo-Saxons defeated Mike Kennedy's Vikings
• Adrian John's Jomsvikings defeated Ron Nassif's Vikings
• Dave Welch's Welsh defeated Troy Hill's Scots
• Lee Parker's Milites Christi defeated Mark Bishop's Normans
• Joe Dihrkop's Normans defeated Phil Keifer's Welsh
• Jim Randall's Hungarians defeated Lowell Lufkin's Anglo-Saxons
• Mike Stelzer's Vikings defeated Steve Smith's Scots
• Bob Boggs's Baltic Crusaders defeated Jason Viner's Vikings

   Mark B's Norman spearmen move past rocky ground, ready to engage with the enemy

Here are the results of the second round battles using Old Feud from Book of Battles

• Lee Parker's Milites Christi defeated Bob Bogg's Baltic Crusaders
• Joe Dihrkop's Normans defeated Jim Randall's Arpadian Hungarians
• Adrian John's Jomsvikings defeated Andy Swingle's Anglo-Saxons
• Mike Stelzer's Vikings defeated Dave Welch's Welsh 
• Troy Hill's Scots defeated Ron Nassif's Vikings
• Phil Keifer's Welsh defeated Jason Viner's Vikings
• Steve Smith's Scots defeated Mark Bishop's Normans
• Mike Kennedy's Vikings defeated Lowell Lufkin's Anglo-Saxons
  

    Jason V, left, ponders deployment of his Vikings to face off against Bob B's Baltic Crusaders

Here are the results of the third round battles using Clash of Warlords

• Adrian John's Jomsvikings defeated Mike Stelzer's Vikings
• Lee Parker's Milities Christi tied Joe Dihrkop's Normans
• Andy Swingle's Anglo-Saxons defeated Phil Keifer's Welsh
• Bob Boggs's Baltic Crusaders defeated Mike Kennedy's Vikings
• Jim Randall's Arpadian Hungarians defeated Troy Hill's Scots
• Dave Welch's Welsh defeated Steve Smith's Scots
• Lowell Lufkin's Anglo-Saxons defeated Ron Nassif's Vikings
• Mark Bishop's Normans defeated Jason Viner's Vikings
  

    Joe D's Normans advance towards their foes

For those interested in joining in the Saga tournament action, there is another Saga tournament planned for Cincycon 2021. It will be a three-round, Age of Vikings tournament on Oct. 23, 2021. There is a $5 entry fee and the tournament is being run by John Loy. I planning on attending, as are a number of others from the Saga Ohio group.

   Mark B measures his advance against Lee P's Milites Christi, who would go on to win 2nd place

    Mark B's Normans surge toward Steve S's Scots in the 'Old Feud' scenario in Round 2

Going Back to Hell for a Battle or Three

Wendigo Demon Leader eyes Andy's Venom Queen and Torture Master in our Reign in Hell game

We were intrigued enough after the first evening of trying out Reign in Hell skirmish miniatures game to take a return trip to Hell. This time, Keith and Mike S decided we'd do three 1-on-1 games rather than a big, six-player scrum. What's more, I would even get to play this time...woo-hoo (or insert some suitably demonic chuckle)!

    My Native American themed cabal with a Wendigo, Witch-shaman, Horned Serpent & Skinwalkers

I had actually come up with my own force. I downloaded the PDF of the rules from Wargame Vault for $10, and then sorted through the various painted and unpainted miniatures I had. I wanted to do a Native American demon and monster theme. I figured I could substitute in my Splintered Light Miniatures anthropomorphic animals as "Skin Walkers." My bears and wolverines are pretty hefty figures, and will match up well against standard 28mm figures. I also found a Jabberwocky figure among my unpainted lead that I could paint up as Uktena, the Horned Serpent of Native American Legend. 

    Andy's borrowed cabal (Lords of Hell faction) with a little of every demon type thrown in!

Probably one of my oldest unpainted castings I had in my lead drawer was a 28mm Djinni materializing in a swirl of smoke. The Void Demon -- the Devout, or second in command, of my "Empty" faction -- can teleport around the battlefield. In addition, I decided to FINALLY try out modifying a miniature with Green Stuff. With it, I made a flowing, deer skin cape and headdress. Atop it, I planted the head of a deer that I had cut off of a 25mm Iron Wind Metals deer. And finally, for my leader, I found a really creepy looking Wendigo figure on Thingiverse and had my friend Joe print it up for me. That would be my leader. 

    Hurriedly painted this week, my Wendigo 3D-printed leader and modified Djinni Witch-shaman

There was a slight panic when Keith and Mike suddenly decided to raise the point levels for our armies to 150 instead of 100, but I was able to simply add in more Splintered Light minis I already had painted. My force was from the "Empty" faction, which wants to destroy Hell. The leader would a "Zealot" class with Regenerating Soul as an Essence and Soul Drinker as a Relic. The essence I chose would allow him to regenerate damage when he activates, and the Soul Drinker did double damage on natural 6's rolled (plus healed a Life if I killed an enemy demon). The Shaman was my Void Demon Devout second in command. I would take one Greater Demon (another last-minute surprise to the force construction rules for the night), a Serpent Knight for Uktena. This demon would be a fearsome force in the game because it also caused two hits instead of one when I rolled a natural "6." The rest of my force would be six lesser demons. Four were the Splintered Light Miniatures bears as Armored Demons, while two were SLM Wolverines, who would be Corpulent Demons. I chose that not because they were obese looking figures, but because Wolverines are such bitter fighters and never give up.

    Andy's hit & run with a Mephit (flying demon) doesn't withdraw far enough to avoid counterattack

I would be playing against Andy S, and he was using a list that Keith had created. Keith LOVES to throw in the kitchen sink when designing a force. So, of Andy's nine figures, I think there was only one duplicate. I honestly think this handicapped Andy as it made it easier to forget some of the special abilities of the various Superior ("What?? We're using Superior Demons, too?"), Greater, and Lesser Demons -- not to mention his Leader and Devout. For example, Andy's leader was a Schemer type (you can choose Warrior, Zealot, or Schemer), but he completely forgot to use those special abilities for the first three turns or so. A schemer essentially lets you play around with the activation order and get in more activations or interrupt a player's turn, in essence. If I remember correctly, his Lords of Hell force included (besides his leader and devout) a Venom Queen (Superior demon), Torture Master (Greater), Slaughter Fiend, Armored Demon, Mephit, and Corpulent Demons.  

    In front, Allen ponders his first Reign in Hell game against Mike S, while Keith and Joel battle it out

We deployed our armies in opposite corners on my new battle board Jenny and I had created this week from really cool fabric we found at JoAnne's. My plan was to lead with my two Corpulent Demons (Skinwalker Wolverines), with a second line of my four Armored Demons (Skinwalker Bears). My three "big boys" would be in the third line as a strike force, swooping in for the coup de grace on injured demons, hopefully. The Serpent Knight ended up seeing the most fighting, followed by my Void Demon Shaman, and finally the Wendigo. Both Corpulent Demons and Armored Demons have excellent defense (or can take a lot of hits). So, I would absorb Andy's attacks with those six lesser demons and counterattack with my big boys. I didn't ask Andy what his strategy was, but honestly I think it was to simply to figure out his bewildering force! It is much simpler to figure out a strategy when you design your own cabal (as a warband is called). Unfortunately for Andy, his unfamiliarity with the troop types in his cabal meant the best he could manage was, "Go get 'em, boys!"

   Andy's Witch Hunter and Lord of the Pit are swarmed by a half dozen of my demons

Andy struck the first blow, having his fast-moving, winged demon (called a Mephit) do a hit and run attack. He retreated it back just inside a rocky area, hoping the terrain would prevent my troops from closing with it. Andy forgot that in Reign in Hell melee occurs when enemy figures are within 1/2" of each other. So, one of my Skinwalker Wolverines charged forward and wounded the Mephit. A Skinwalker Bear followed up and dispatched the Mephit, winning my cabal its first "soul dice." This is an interesting mechanic in Reign in Hell. Each time you destroy an enemy demon, you roll 1d6 and keep it to substitute for one of your (or your opponent's) later rolls. I rolled a "6", which I could then use later to substitute either for a failed saving roll, or for my Serpent Knight or Wendigo to cause x2 damage.

    The grand melee in the center between the ruins and rocky ground pulled in most of our demons

Andy moved his next demon up to attack, a Lesser Demon called a Slaughter Fiend. The Witch Hunter figure he was using for the fiend attacked my Wolverine (which is exactly who I wanted him to be attacking). Corpulent demons take 15 hits -- more than any other demon in the game, except for Warrior class Leaders (who also take 15). He also moved up his Devout, called a Lord of the Pit. On my turn, a half dozen of my demons swarmed the outnumbered pair, including my Witch Shaman, who teleported into the rocky area, Serpent Knight, Skinwalker Bears (Armored Demons), and two Wolverines. I was really happy with the Skadegamutc the Void Demon's Oblivion special ability, and used it to teleport into combat or out of combat when in danger. He finished off the Witch Hunter, and I rolled a "2" on the soul dice. I would use that later to reduce one of Andy's roll of a "6" to a "2". Knowing when to play the soul dice is an interesting tactical dimension I enjoyed in my first game of Reign in Hell.

    My greater demon and two lesser demons begin to wear down Andy's Lord of Hell leader

The enemy cabal kept coming, though. His leader, a Schemer Lord of Hell entered the Rocky area to attack my Shaman, who weathered the attack well, and promptly teleported away on my turn. A Skinwalker Bear and Uktena, the Serpent Knight showed no fear and rushed forward to attack the leader of the enemy cabal. On the opposite end of the battleground, Andy moved forward the two demons I feared the most in his cabal -- his Torture Master Greater Demon and Venom Queen Superior Demon. Each of them have very nasty special abilities. The Torture Demon can reduce your maximum Move, Combat, or Life stat by one for each hit that gets through. The Venom Queen has Burning Touch, which repeats the amount of successful attacks rolled when the enemy demon who suffered them activates next. Yikes! I immediately moved my Wendigo to that flank to assist the Skinwalker Bears that were holding that flank. The Witch Shaman teleported over to add his assistance, too.

Slowly, my three demons that were facing his leader gained the upper hand. When his leader was down to one hit remaining, he used his "Schemer" ability and withdrew from combat before I could finish him off. Andy's Torture Master and Venom Queen killed one of my bears. However, the score was soon four of Andy's demons slain to two of my cabal's gone. At this point, Andy conceded the game. Two of his lesser demons were still a way away from joining the melee, while all nine of mine were pouring hits into his. It wasn't all tactics, though. I think I was very fortunate on the initiative rolls, too. I would often get a string of three or more activations in a row, allowing me to move in with several figures and attack and finish off an enemy before he could react.

    The cover of Reign in Hell

I also think my tactic of blunting his attacks with my demons that could take the most damage worked, as well. There is definitely a lot of possibilities for tactical cooperation between the various types of demons in your cabal. My focused cabal -- four Armored Demons and two Corpulent Demons -- allowed me to manage the battle in my favor over the "kitchen sink" list that Andy was given. I also think I did well on my use of the soul dice. I noticed a couple of times Andy could have used them to his advantage, but did not. I think each die substitution I did paid solid dividends in either additional hits inflicted on him or in hits rolled by him reduced to misses.

I look forward to the next time we play Reign in Hell. Hopefully, we will drop back down to 100 points and try the campaign progression. This sees demons improve or get worse (possibly, if they are "killed" in the battle) as the campaign progresses. Your demons can increase their statistics, receive new relics or essences (special abilities), or gain new powers. It looks like we'll try one or two of the scenarios that are included in the book, too. Winning those can also give your cabal additional rewards. Should be fun and interesting, I think!

Count Drogo Holds Off Crafty Welsh Warlord

    Lee's sharp-looking Hospitallers saw their unveiling, using the Milites Christi battle board

Count Drogo sighed as Lord Merovus, High Counselor to the Frankish Emperor, lectured him about what to expect from the Welsh warband blocking their path to the coast, and home to Frankia. Even the count's dog Griffo seemed to have a downcast look about him as the Frankish noble droned on about his experience. Only Drogo's standard bearer Ranulf seemed to be paying close attention, nodding frequently and murmuring "Yes, my lord." Merovus was close to the emperor, though, and Drogo had to keep him safe in the upcoming battle. Excusing himself, he made his dispositions of his archers, spearmen, and cavalry. His wily Welsh foe would require all of his attention. 

    Joe studies his Anglo-Dane battleboard to figure out how to deal with Jason's Carthaginian elephant

We had 10 players for our September Saga game day at the Guardtower East in Columbus, OH. Two were either fairly new or brand new to Saga, so we set up a couple "mirrored matchups" (two of the same armies playing each other). I've found that it provides a good teaching game as the novice sees how the more veteran player is using his same battle board and gets ideas from it. It was also the unveiling of Lee P's newly-painted Milites Christi army from Age of Crusades. He's painted them up in the black robes of the Hospitallers, or Knights of St. John. They looked fantastic -- and it was interesting contrast seeing them arrayed against Bob B's mostly white-robed Baltic Crusaders in a civil war.

   Climactic confrontation: Baltic Crusader warlord vs. Hospitaller grand master

Other matchups included Andy S teaching Saga Version 1 player Lowell L how to use the Anglo-Saxon battleboard. Merica vs. Wessex? Either way, there were a LOT of Saxon foot on that table! Our #1 teacher, Jenny T, was introducing Jason V to the game, giving him a taste of Viking vs. Viking Dark Age warfare. Our one out-of-period matchup featured Jason S giving his Dad's Carthaginians a try against Joe M's Anglo-Danes. 

    Carthaginian advance, led by their elephant into the Anglo-Danish battle line

My opponent was Dave W, using my borrowed Welsh army. I know how tough that warband is, so I was anticipating a difficult match. I had been contemplating shelving my Carolingians, as I am not finding them as exciting to run as I'd hoped. To be at their most effective, the best tactics seem to be shooting, shooting, and more shooting. It is just a matter of maximizing my shooting and keeping the archers as safe as possible. At least that has been my impression over the last several games. I'd been contemplating a switch, but really don't know what else to play. I'd love to try the Age of Invasion Britions, Picts, or Franks from the soon-to-be-released book. Alas, I am not one of the ones gifted with an advanced look at the battle boards from Studio Tomahawk...! So, I decided to give the Carolingians another go.

    Jenny uses a Viking vs. Viking matchup to explain the basics of Saga to Jason V

We decided to play Old Feud, since it is one of the scenarios scheduled for the Advance the Colors Saga tournament. I let Dave have first pick of characters (going out of the strict setup sequence), and he chose the Princess. I picked the Counselor, though in hindsight I never would need his extra Saga die. With three of my eight dice tied up in the Proelium, I was always able to roll all of my available dice. The Counselor's "We Obey" did come in handy, though!

    Count Drogo's Carolingian warband deployed to face a wily, Welsh adversary

Dave started the terrain placement with a small woods on his side opposite my right flank, overlooking the center. I placed a Ruins in the center of the board, a little close to my edge in case he moved it towards his lines. Next, he placed a small gentle hill opposite my left. I countered with Rocky Ground facing his Woods. That ended the terrain placement, and then we began deploying troops, alternating units after placing our "Challenger" characters. Count Drogo directed Counselor Merovus into the back of the Ruins to keep him safe. After that, we had to deploy each unit within Very Short of previously deployed troops. As he probably expected, both of my large, 12-man Warrior Bow units were deployed in cover -- one in the Ruins and the other in Rocky Ground. The warrior spear were in the center, next to the ruins, and the two small units of mounted hearthguard nobles were stepped back obliquely towards the Rocky Ground.

    The Carolingian warband after turn 1 -- a formation Dave cried foul with and called "Turtle-ing!"

I showed Dave the shooting battle board abilities of the Carolingians, to give him a fair chance. He had never faced this army before (most people haven't, I think -- for some reason, very few people run Carolingians, I've found). He was a bit flabbergasted with the shooting firepower and I could tell he was struggling to think of a counter. That said, he had the perfect army to counter an opponent's battle plans. The Welsh have three Activation/Reaction abilities. These allow them to move in the opponent's turn and mess with the other player's plans. Dave would do that regularly throughout the game, and proved a very crafty opponent.

    The Welsh mounted nobles gallop forward and "Taunt" my archers into charging them

He took his first turn using Maneuver actions to move up his troops slightly, remaining outside of Long bow distance from the edge of the Ruins and Rocky Ground. On my half of the opening turn, I crept my archers to the edge of those terrain pieces, and redeployed one unit of mounted nobles to watch the right flank while the other kept an eye on the center. Ever the busybody, Counselor Merovus followed the archers in the Ruins, pointing out likely targets to the unit commander. At this point, Dave grumbled about me "turtle-ing," or sitting in my defensive positions and waiting for him to come to me. I told him it was only the first turn and to be patient. 

    A brutal melee ensued and the archers killed 7 of 8 of the mounted nobles, losing 8 of their own

Dave looked over his battleboard and had what he believed to be an "Ah-HA!" moment. On his second turn, his 8-man mounted hearthguard unit of Welsh nobles galloped up to the archers in the Rocky Ground. Dave then employed his favorite advanced Saga ability, "Taunt." This forces an enemy unit to charge a designated enemy unit. My archers came streaming out of the rocky ground, horribly offended by being called a bunch of terrapins! I wasn't that worried, though. I had loaded my battle board up the previous turn and used almost no abilities. So, I introduced him to Vinco (two automatic hits) and Potentia (rerolling up to 6 misses - as my Proelium was fully stocked on turn 1). I think Dave had a good idea, but what he should have done is Taunted my bowmen out with his warrior foot, then after we had fought and were fatigued, charged me with his mounted hearthguard. That way, he'd get the +1 bonus for javelin and would be hitting us on anything but 1's. A bloodbath ensued, and we lost 8 of 12 figures, but more importantly, the archers killed 7 of 8 of his hearthguard. Warrior bow may shoot only half of their figures, but they fight one-for-one in melee!

    Mounted nobles charge forward and chase off a unit of Welsh javelinmen, who retreat to the woods

Dave's goal, he admitted later, was simply to kill all of my archers -- no matter the cost! He moved up a unit of warriors twice, who threw javelins at the remaining four archers. Despite the heavy cover, they killed one. However, I noticed they were now fatigued. After losing to the Irish with my Moors awhile back, I've decided the thing you do to javelin-armed warriors is charge them. So, one of my units of mounted nobles hurtled forward on my turn. We used Potentia for the rerolls and our lucky Rare die for Fortis, which gave us three more attack dice, while taking three away from him. He rolled four 6's for saves, though, and lost only three figures - VERY fortunate outcome for him. We lost one rider, even though we had used his fatigue to raise our armor to 6. I pulled the nobles back to my rear, so they wouldn't get shot by his javelins. The remaining three archers shot down his last mounted hearthguard using Vinco for the two automatic hits.

    Dave continues his unwavering pursuit of his goal: Kill all the Carolingian archers!

On his turn 3, Dave kept his distance from my remaining full-strength archer unit in the ruins. Another unit of warriors came forward to relieve those who had been cut up by my mounted nobles. The damaged unit fell back to protect the Princess. In Old Feud, if one player's character is killed while his opponent's survives, they automatically lose. It doesn't matter what the score is on Massacre Points. That is used only if both characters survive or if both die.

    Meanwhile, Dave keeps his own Challenger, the Princess, safe amidst lots of potential bodyguards

On my turn 3, Count Drogo ordered the archers out of the Ruins, with the spearmen going along to protect them. Counselor Merovus was admonished to stay inside the ruins, though! Griffo growled his low-throated rumble to reinforce the count's orders, while Ranulf strained on the leash to keep the massive dog in check. The archers advanced to shoot Dave's own archers, but Dave cleverly played Evade to stay out of range. In fact, his Evade moves would frustrate not only my shooting, but also my charges in the second half of the game. The Welsh are a very fun and tactically interesting board to play. It is NOT line up and charge and roll dice. You can easily foil your opponent's plans and launch unexpected counter-attacks with their advanced Saga abilities.

    Count Drogo kept Counselor Merovus (in green cloak) hemmed in by troops to protect him

Once my archers were out of the woods, Dave's own warriors found their nerve and made a beeline for them. Two successive charges with the excellent melee abilities of the Welsh whittled down the archers to a single man. It didn't matter to Dave that his unit of warriors paid for their charges when charged by my warriors on my turn. He had succeeded in his goal. The vaunted Carolingian shooting of 24 archers was reduced to just four archers in two scattered units. I hammered his warrior javelinmen in revenge, and felt that I was comfortably ahead of points. Dave must have felts so, too, as he had one more gambit to launch. And yes, it involved "Taunt" again!

    The battlefield at game's end - both Challengers safe, but the Carolingians slightly ahead on points

Despite Count Drogo's best efforts, Counselor Merovus was not 100% safe. Dave double moved his last full-strength warrior unit to within short of my Challenger and played Taunt. I had expected something of that nature, and had kept "Defensor" active on my board (four bonus defense dice). Luckily, the position the Welsh javelinmen had to take so that Merovus could charge them put them close to one of my mounted nobles units. I would be able to use the Bodyguards rule if he would end up in Short, which luckily I could. The battle was fought, and Merovus took three hits. I used his Resilience rather than the Bodyguards rule. The javelinmen fell back. Dave tried to back them off with another move, but I used his fatigue to keep him close at hand. On my turn, the Carolingian nobles rode that unit down, punishing their impunity.

    Andy, left, and Lowell both fielded Anglo-Saxons armies in a Dark Ages civil war

It was a great back and forth game. Dave used his Activation/Reactions masterfully, and kept me from shooting and charging him throughout most of the game. His only mistake, in my opinion, was the Taunt which allowed me to take out his toughest unit, the double-strength mounted hearthguards. I ended up winning 23-17. Great game! Dave keeps getting better and better with the Welsh, which are a very deadly weapon in the hand of a clever general.

    An Anglo-Saxon civil war - Wessex vs. Merica?

We ended up having only one round of games. So, here were the full results of our game day:

• Vikings (Jenny V) defeat Vikings (Jason V) 24-16 in Clash of Warlords.
• Carthaginians (Jason S) defeat Anglo-Danes (Joe M) 13-10 in Clash of Warlords.
• Anglo-Saxons (Andy S) defeat Anglo-Saxons (Lowell L) 15-12 in Clash of Warlords.
• Baltic Crusaders (Bob B) defeat Milites Christi (Lee P) in Old Feud.
• Carolingians (Mike D) defeat Welsh (Dave W) in Old Feud, 23-17.

    Crusader crossbowmen defended an area of ruins from attacking Hospitaller sergeants

We have one more tuneup week of Saga game days (Sept. 19) at Dragons Guildhall before the first of our Saga Ohio tournaments. Hopefully, we'll get a great turnout as players get one last chance to try out the scenarios before Advance the Colors 2021.

Trying Out 'Reign in Hell' Skirmish Rules

    Keith's demons scurry across the temple streaming with lava in our playtest of Reign in Hell

Our Sunday night gaming group played a miniatures game! Stop the presses!! For the first time since we've been back from our Covid layoff, we actually sat down around a table on a Sunday night to play miniatures. We had planned on doing so a couple times before, but ended up doing board games instead. So, when Mike S wanted to playtest "Reign in Hell" -- a new set of skirmish miniatures rules he'd downloaded from Wargame Vault, I was ready!

    We had a good turnout for our first Sunday night miniatures game in a LONG time!

I had briefly read through them and even watched a couple play-throughs on YouTube to familiarize myself with the rules mechanics. Keith had also read the rules, and even purchased a printed copy of them. So, we had three people having a vague familiarity with the rules and three who they'd be brand new to that night. Keith, Andy, and Mike had brought along miniatures suitable for the game. Mike had created a half-dozen 100-point warbands, so we selected one and began to root through their figure boxes for appropriate miniatures to represent our demons and such.

    Jenny's fearsome Leader charges into the midst of Joel's warband

The idea behind Reign in Hell is that the netherworld is in chaos. Different factions are fighting for control of it -- some to bring back its "glory days"while others to destroy it entirely. Each player's force contains a Leader and his lieutenant (known as a Devout). With out 100 point armies, we would also have 5-6 lesser demons. Each faction also have a Philosophy. For example, the force I chose was "Empty" -- a group that wants to see Hell destroyed and all of the demons and such return to Earth. Shortly after I had chosen all of my miniatures, though, my phone rang. My 83-year-old dad had fallen and the aide at the house needed help getting him up. This was not the first time this had happened on a Sunday evening, but luckily it hadn't happened recently. Since I was hosting, Jenny was able to come downstairs and take over my faction and play.

    I had set up the terrain for the table, but Keith brought along this awesome, Hellish centerpiece

I returned just as the six factions were ready to close and trade blows. Mike had told me that he liked the looks of the rules because they looked quick and bloody. I agreed. The combat system essentially has players rolling a number of six-sided dice equal to their Combat Value. If their value is superior to the enemy's, they need a 2+ to score a hit. If equal, 3+. If lower, 4+ still scores a hit. So, there are going to be LOTS of hits. Saving rolls are made only with a "6" on 1d6. So, yeah. Bloody! There are modifiers, of course, but that is the basic system. Interestingly, there is NO missile fire that we'd seen, yet. It's all about bloody and brutal hand-to-hand combat.

    Keith's demons turn to face the arrival of Andy's force - not the his blue 12-sided dice for each fig

When you kills an enemy model, you receive a bonus "Soul dice." You can either use it in a subsequent turn, such as in a combat, or you can save it for the after-game campaign bonuses your warband may receive. That is what had drawn Mike to the game, as well. He liked the idea of an ongoing series of games where your faction's models get stronger, die, change, etc. It had been a long time since we'd done any type of campaign on or Sunday evenings. I think the last time was when we played Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago back in 2018. I think it ran less than 6 times, as I decided I wasn't really a fan of the Frostgrave Magic & Combat system.

    Balrogs, Gargoyles, Succubi were all scored from our collections to field warbands for the game

So, how did our Sunday night crew like Reign in Hell? They seemed to be having a good time. The Initiative/Activation system is interesting. You roll one 12-sided dice for each figure in your warband. First, all 12's move, then 11's, 10's, and so on. The problem with a six player game is that is a lot of circling the table, "Anybody have any 9's?" and so on. I suggested that instead of bouncing from player to player (Player A moves one 12, then B, then C, and so on), the player who is first (A) moves ALL of their 12's. Then B moves all of their 12's, and so on. Then simply rotate player A clockwise on the next turn. That would save a lot of time of going back and forth in a multiplayer game, I think. And as an observer and not player, it seemed to me there was a decent amount of time between one player finishing their move and figuring out who would go next.

Character Models for 'Old Feud' Saga Battles

    8 characters I painted up for the 'Old Feud' Saga scenario -- all plastic, Reaper or WizKids

One of the three scenarios that I am using in the Saga Tournament I am running for the Advance the Colors is called "Old Feud." Each player is given an extra hero character that they must protect in the battle. Knowing that most players don't always paint up spare figures to represent the "Princess," "Counselor," "Mystic," etc. for their army, I wanted to have loaner ones available. So, I have been collecting these Reaper and WizKids figures over the last year for players to use.

I chose these miniatures not because I thought they were the best ones available, but because I like to support the local hobby stores where we hold our game days. So, these eight figures were purchased from both the Guardtower East in Columbus and the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek. Actually, I think one or two may even been purchased at Ravenstone Games, too. They are all plastic or resin - which is NOT my favorite material. I prefer metal miniatures. I think the detail on most non-metal miniatures can be "mushy" (not sharp and distinct). I think you can see that in these extreme closeups, below. Here the eight hero characters I painted up, in no particular order, along with who makes the figure in case you want them, too.

    'Hakon, Iconic Skald' from the Reaper Pathfinder Bones line of miniatures - one of my favorites

Hakon, Iconic Skald is a Reaper Bones figure from their Pathfinder line. This one is probably my favorite of all eight miniatures that I painted. Although he has a bit more equipment and weapons festooned all over his body than I would prefer, the pose is pretty cool. I love the axes in each hand and the enormous horn strapped to his back. I am happy with how the detail I painted on the horn came out. I think the face and hair came out great and the sculpting is about as precise as they get in this batch. I also liked how the bright colors came out - very Viking-like, with their love of finery. He could easily be used as "The Brute," "The Soldier," and even "The Counselor" or "Traitor."

    Although the photo is a tad blurry, this is my favorite of the two Muslim "Mystics" I painted up

I really like this figure's pose, though I think his head seems to be a bit undersized. Or maybe it is accurate to scale, but we are used to more big-headed, wargaming miniatures? Either way, I thought the darker colors that I used for his robe and tunic worked out really well. I also used some of my tricks from my Moorish army on this guy, such as the dark, blue-green turban with light blue pattern of dots. This figure is from WizKids' "Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures" line for D&D. He came in a pack of two with the other mystic you will see below. The black robe had nice folds that took the medium gray dry brushing over it to bring out the detail well. This will definitely be my choice of Old Feud character when I am playing in the scenario with my Moorish army. I wanted to paint up some characters that look obviously Muslim for Age of Crusades armies. Now that I think of it, a Christian army could use him as the "Traitor" character, too, couldn't they?

    Another WizKids figure from their D&D line, this axe wielding barbarian makes a great 'Brute'

Although just about every player will have an extra figure to use if they choose "The Soldier" or even "The Brute" option for their Old Feud character, I thought this WizKids "Human Barbarian" pack of two figures would work perfect if anyone did need a loaner for that hero. I painted him as a standard Dark Age axeman -- he could easily be a Viking or Saxon. You name it. His double-headed axe is a little more fantasy than historical, but Saga definitely veers in that direction, as well. This figure also illustrates the problem I see with plastic figures. Mushy detail. Look at his drybrushed leather kilt or skirt. It seems a little flat with shallow detail. And you can probably also see the mold line on the arm holding the axe. You may even be able to tell how the axe shaft itself is also bent from being inside the package. Though I don't mind using these Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures for special characters in an army, I would never use them to make up the bulk of an army.

    I re-purposed this Reaper Bones Black Dark Elf as the 'Princess' character for Saga's Old Feud

I was actually surprised by how few figures in the game stores I saw that would work as an appropriate "Princess" figure. Nearly every female figure either is tricked out as a warrior or they are an obvious sorceress. This figure from Reaper Bones Black line ("primed" black out of the box, supposedly) was about as close as I found. Although the figure is not supposed to be female, the clothes are obviously very regal and rich. The long hair was definitely very Princess-like. Yes, you can barely see the annoying pointed ears poking out of her strawberry blonde hair, I figured they would be hidden when I painted it up, though. In hindsight, I probably should have snipped or carved them off with an X-acto knife. I have a metal Foundry miniature already painted up that can be my primary princess, though, and this one can be the backup. I painted the skull and crossbones imagery in silvery metal so that it wouldn't stand out as much. I am moderately happy with the figure's blue-toned clothes. It's hard to tell in this image, but the cloak is a darker shade than the sky blue under-robes.

    The second figure from the WizKids D&D 'Human Wizard' pack painted up as a Mystic for Saga

This was the only figure I actually modified of these eight character models. His staff actually had a cross atop it. I thought that was very odd for an obviously Muslim or Arab-looking model. So, I snipped it off and left the rest of his strangely-shaped staff in place. Since I went for a dark look on the previous Muslim mystic, this one went with a lighter look. His robe is white, while his cloak, sash, and undershirt were blue to contrast. I like how the pattern I painted on the robe's hem came out, but I was less than happy with how the white looked after I washed it with my standard brown wash. I assume the sphere he is holding was supposed to be a crystal ball, but I painted it a gunmetal, steel color instead. I was hoping that would look suitably "mystical" enough, but I think it kind of gets lost now that I see it finished. In hindsight, I should probably have given him a patterned turban, too, to give him more splash. 

    This WizKids "Vampire" figure worked suitably well for a "Counselor," I thought

As surprised as I was at the difficulty in finding suitable Princess miniatures, I thought it was equally hard to find one to use as the Counselor. I was just searching for a figure in medieval noble-looking clothes -- not armored for battle. I finally stumbled upon this pack of two WizKids "Vampires" from their D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures line. He had everything I wanted -- noble attire, a somewhat ceremonial looking sword, and a rich, flowing cloak. His head strikes me as out of scale undersized, though. Since I'd just finished painting my Carolingians in a green and red theme, I decided to echo it on this figure in case I use the warband for the Old Feud scenario. I added the hem pattern on the tunic and cloak to make his clothes look more fancy and wealthy. I don't see his high forehead as looking vampire-ish, so am fairly happy with the functionality of this miniature.

    This WizKids barbarian figure could easily double as a Viking berserker with his bearskin cloak

Although the elements of this pose are classic -- huge, double-bladed axe and bearskin cloak -- I think the casting of the miniature shows the flaws of soft, plastic figures. The detail is shallow, I feel, and doesn't stand out sharply. The mold line going across his left hand is annoying and accentuated by any washes you may do. This was the second figure in the "Human Barbarian" pack from WizKids' D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures line. He is huge, and the axe being held aloft makes him look even bigger. However, you can't a more appropriate looking miniature for the "Brute" character in Old Feud! I probably should have spent more time on the bear cloak and made it look even more realistic. All in all, he came out acceptably enough for a loaner figure.

    Although this miniature looks more like a vampire than the other in the pack, he also looks sinister

One of the characters players can choose in the Old Feud scenario is called "The Traitor." So, I was looking for something sinister when I was perusing the packs of miniatures at the game store. This was the second figure in the Vampire pack from WizKids Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures. I decided to go with a dark purple and black them for this figure. Those are stereotypical "villainous" colors in Hollywood and I thought the color scheme came out great. I have to admit, though, I am not happy with the detail or sculpting. His hands are very awkward, and it is hard to tell where his sleeves begin and end. I did like that he had a sword -- we don't normally think of sword-wielding vampires. The weapon is long, curved, and relatively thin, so I think that works for a traitorous backstabber. The detail on the face isn't very good, I felt. He could use a more defined nose. Still, the colors and stalking pose will make him stand out very well on the tabletop. So, he will do.

What's next on my painting desk? Well, I am working on special "Saga Ohio" measuring sticks to add to the prize pool in the ATC tournament. I created some about a year ago for my Moors and Jenny's Vikings. Everyone commented how they liked them. So, I will do something similar for my players in the tourney. The original plan was to make a set for everyone who entered the tournament. However, the Advance the Colors convention director has given me the go-ahead to exceed 16 players. So, I will likely not get many more done than the 11 that I am working on now. Plus, school starts Monday, so hobby time is likely to be more scarce than this summer. Stay tuned to see, though!