SAGA and The Dark Ages in London 2013
Vikings vs Vikings
Game 4 Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons
Game 3 was an attack across 2 fords - rather confusing as the previous scenario had been called The Escort (and even more so given that the first one was actually known as The ST24 Mondeo with Extended Warranty and CD Player Pack Upgrade). This would be a straight fight, so I tooled up with lots of Hearthguard and big units of Warriors to just bully my way through.
My army was
The lighting on this table was shocking for photos, so apologies in advance for the sometimes grainy shots. It's not me trying to be artistic, it's just a bit crap.
See the process in which my Vikings were painted
My opponents were also Vikings, and had a similar makeup apart from the addition of a unit of Levy. Their Beserkers were also rather more audaciously dressed than mine.
I started in a no-nonsense manner, with all my dice as usual stacked up on the "attack, expect to lose lots of bases but someone will feel the Viking pain" approach. No change there then!
The story of the battle was developing as if it were being told in a tapestry woven from the threads of Baldr's twin-headed serpent-tongue The dice tactics I had tried to start the game had not worked quite as well as hoped, and led to a large unit of Warriors almost being wiped out as they eliminated 4 Hearthguard in the first round of attacks. The lone standard bearer was now only useful as a Saga Dice, and needed to be pulled out straight away, or, to be more accurate, in my next turn
The enemy were piling a huge mass of their own Warriors over the other ford on the left as well at this time, which another mass of my own Warriors decided to meet at the edge. Meanwhile a Hearthguard unit were moving to cover the first ford on the right, and were supported by another large unit of Warriors and the Warlord in opposing any move by the enemy to cross it.
What's happening here then?
With matched armies and a straight fight scenario the opportunities for subtlety are limited. My Vikings have electred to try and hold the waters edge initially, allowing the enemy to make the initial attacks. Once the first few rounds of combat shake out my plan is simple - commit my reserves where the enemy line is thinnest
The enemy tried to push their Warlord and some retainers across the first ford on the right as well, which I had by now defended with a large unit of Warriors at the very edge of it, hoping to wear down any attack and still leave an opportunity for the remaining Hearthguard to deliver the coup-de-grace (or whatever that is in Norwegian… probably something about spearing the last picked herring from the bottom of the jar I imagine?)
The enemy attack was fierce, but my brave Warriors stood relatively firm - both sides were decimated, and then decimated again, and again, until first all of the enemy figures were removed - however by now 6 of my own Warriors had been taken down in the fierce hand to hand combat as well, and they were thrown back from the river's edge. Men were falling and being taken to Valhallah accompanied by the heavenly chimes of Vali's spume-soaked tongue-piercings! As the dist settled the enemy Warlord was left on his own, holding the Ford by its jump leads, and with 2 fatigue tokens to boot..
Next turn and spotting an opportunity to decapitate the enemy army, my Warriors again went in, aided this time by their own Warlord (or more accurately the two Warlords fought, and 6 of my Warriors stood by as an ablative shield in case of casualties). It was inevitably a coupe de grace for the enemy Warlord, and suddenly one side of the Ford was open to my troops - the Warlord and the remaining survivors inched cautiously across and started to rack up points…
What's happening here then?
An opportunity has presented itself, and my reserves have responded and been brought into play. They have blasted a way across the river, and the enemy will struggle to react as their remaining forces are largely tied up at the other ford. As soon as my men cross the river I will start earning points, and having kept back some Hearthguard (and attacked instead with Warriors supporting my Warlord) specifically with this in mind, the points earned for Hearthguard across the river will stack up too quickly for the enemy to recover.
Emboldened by this, the rest of my warriors took the battle to the enemy on the other ford - ratcheting up an impressive number of combat dice in the process.
The end result was dice based Viking carnage for the enemy, and their defences crumbled in an instant as their smaller, less saga-boarded-up force was eliminated at a stroke of a Viking axe and a roll of a Viking dice
Viking Funny
The enemy responded with a fierce Hearthguard charge, which would no doubt cause my no rather tired and emotional Warband remnants no end of grief Many of the warriors involved in the combat would soon be paying a visit to Valhallah, to be massaged by a team of heavenly virginial maidens, using scented oils made from Baldr's herring-sucking bacon slicer!
The Hearthguard pushed the shattered survivors back into the ford - as the enemy peasant archers breathed a sigh of relief…they would not be called up to fight today, as their army had already just about lost the battle..
My men, realising that they were by now almost certain to win the game due to the continued unopposed presence of their own Warlord and some other companions across the ford on the right, girded their loins for another rather suicidal attack on the enemy Hearthguard, and charged out of the ford - the attack was short, unsuccessful as my men were thrown back, but still eroded the enemy forces yet again. They now simply didn't have enough bodies on table to make up the points deficit that already existed. The Result is a Win!
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition, or read on for the post match summaries from the Generals involved, as well as another episode of legendary expert analysis from Hannibal
Post Match Summary from the Vikings Commander
Like a tool that is used once for assembling a very specific piece of flat-pack furniture, my Beserkers were kept in a drawer and brought out long after they thought their role had been forgotten. And the beserkers are unique (although in a game where the enemy had the same army, that is maybe not entirely true) and they played a great role here in taking everything apart, which I would have struggled maybe to do using only the regular tools that are universally available with all normal armies, except the Viking armies made in IKEA.
But here, the Vikings really came into their own and there was even a sniff of meatball-flavoured strategy as well, with a crushing victory on one flank allowing me to move high points scoring trooops over the river early doors and start ratcheting up enough points to be uncatchable in any normal timeline
Like a three-times-moved Billy bookcase I now have the hang of putting this whole thing together in a succesful and yet still slightly unstable fashion, and so I hope in the next game I can yet again slide the hardboard backing of Viking fierceness down the tongue and groove of an enemy's army to slot victory into place yet again and end the weekend on a real high.
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
By the severed hand of Tyr, what a shameful thing you are trying to claim as your own achievement ! Only a foolish man would claim success in a lottery as an example of his own skill, but here you are as someone looking up the table as a result of this outcome.
Here let me set up a shame-pole, and I will turn you against it and flay you for your overconfidence many many times over - much more of this unwarranted hubris and the goats will all flee at your coming!
This is a mere bright point in what - on a table wreathed in darkness - is sure to end in defeat across the day. The only saving grace is that each game is short, so it will not be long before your arrogance is broght back down to earth.
Were but I on the other side of this river - as then there would be no points for you for sure as I would defend the two fords with just my own engorged testicles, and after beating your men I wwould choose to leave you alive, so that went you are dying in your sick bed, you can lament just how great you never were. Let us see if that comes true in the next game
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition
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Game 4 Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons
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