Early Imperial Romans vs Numidians: 250 pts per side
Romans
3x Legionnaires (FP)
3x Auxilia (FL)
2x Cav
1x Artillery
Numidians
1x Cav
4x Light Horse
4x Numidian infantry (FL)
3x Roman Trained infantry (FL)
1x Elephant
It was a really close game that went to the wire but the Numidians (me) just came out on top. The mobility of the light horse was really useful but I think we still got a few things wrong in the heat of battle, we'll review the rules and make sure we get them sorted for next time. We are both enjoying the free flowing nature of the games and Kent is now talking of getting his own Imperial Romans started (excellent!)
We used a 6x 4 table so there was plenty of room for flanking manouvres and this may have helped the Numidians, once we get the hang of things, 400 points on this size table will be very achievable.
Initial Deployment- The Numidain LH are off screen- 2 at the top, 2 below the main battlelines.
Turn 2- the battlelines close.
Send in Nellie! Alas she lost the combat and retreated.
Warlord Games Numidians- if only they can get round behind the hill in time!
Here come the legionnaires.
Sorry the next few are a bit fuzzy but even so give a good overview of the battlelines.
Things are getting fragmented as the battlelines evaporate! Some how the numidian infantry survived the legionnaires onslaught and retreated.
On the other flank the light infantry seek shelter in the woods.
The dice on the base indicates how many hits each stand has left (current VBU in game terms)- as you can see both Numidian infantry and the light horse are about dead and any one of these guys dying will lose us the game! The green counters are used to indicate disruption.
Post Game Comments
A fun game, whoever lost the next unit lost the game and we both had some very worn down units so were unsure as to who would grab victory. Being able to get charge in from behind the front edge is critical but, as I learned, doesn't always come off with light cavalry!
The Numidians performed better than I thought they would. Before hand I really didn't think they'd be able to stand up to the legionnaires but being able to use javelins to disrupt (disorder) the Romans before they closed helped to keep them off balance. The game ebbed and flowed quite nicely.
One thing not really captured in the photos is the free flowing nature of the game. With march moves, counter charges, evading etc being possible you are never really sure what is going to happen next. The fact that each turn you dice to see who takes the initiative means you are not really sure if your plan will develop as intended or if your opponent will manage to take the initiative off you. Add a couple more commands per side I can see the game really starting to hit its straps as activation of which command at which time can be critical.
250-300 pt armies are easy to put together and make for an entertaining couple of hours gaming (and a lot less once we get the rules straight) . The 6x4 table with this size force meant that flanks were important and we did not have the edge of the world syndrome that 24" board of standard 15mm DBA encourages.
I can't recommend the rules enough!
Craig
Yep, I would agree with you there Impetus is one of the best sets out there:-)
ReplyDeleteHi Craig, any comments on the differences between BI and the full version?
ReplyDeleteI like games with variable initiative.