WAB GT AAR

Well my buddy Pat L. (aka Socal Warhammer) and I just returned from England where we not only participated in the WAB GT, but also managed to see a lot of fine historical sites - and great pubs too.
Suffice to say it was an impressively run tournament by Andy Pickering and Phil Vernon. There were 32 players, including Phil, and chock full off experienced players with great armies. The period was all the way from Chariot Wars through 31 B.C. Pat placed a very respectable 7th with his three-elephant strong Seleucid army. I was lucky to end up at 24 (no doubt my early list entry with attendant gimme-points helped toward this). I made several critical (read, stupid) tactical errors in several of my games, but managed to finish with a clear win in game 5.

All of my opponents, as well as all entrants as far as I could tell, were very courteous and friendly throughout the tournament - and also after hours at the bar downstairs of the tournament area. Most of the players also went to a fine dinner at a curry house on Saturday night.

Anyway, here are photos of my five games from the tournament with my Myceanaean Trojan War army -

vs. David Pearson's Sumerians - a tie (my only actual Chariot Wars army opponent). The river was fordable at both flanks, and there was a bridge in the middle.

vs. Michael Curtis' (of 1st Corps/Curteys) Warring States Chinese - my loss (his crossbowmen on the hill - taking pot shots at one of my chariot squadrons while his heavy chariots crash into my spearmen).

vs. Dave Johnson's Classical Indians - another loss for me (he had troops armed with longbows, as well as elephants and heavy and light chariots - with bows also). My initial deployment of troops didn't help, but Dave did mention he plays WAB twice a week! Thanks for the schooling Dave.

vs. Grahame Middleton's Syracusans - the worst defeat for my army; I did some seriously dumb things which I don't even want to recall. Grahame placed 3rd overall by the way - my crushing defeat likely assisting in this. That all said, Grahame is a first class player and gentleman. I really should've done a lot better in this game - maybe I was still feeling the effects of jet lag (yeah, that's what it was).

vs. Kerry Rayner's Armenians - my only victory! Kerry played her army very well - which by the way was composed heavily of Nomadic cavalry with all the bells and whistles of the "Expert Cavalry" rule. The terrain probably hindered her a bit with her heavy cavalry, but a bad leadership roll had her allied heavy cavalry flee off the table. I had also managed to chase most of her light cavalry off with my chariots. Kerry was quite the sport as all the rest of the players. This game brightened my day though.

1st Place for the tournament went to one Martin Gibbins with his Seleucid army; Seleucid armies, by the way, were heavily represented at the event. Which reminds me that the Best Painted army went to Mario Kkonnous' splendidly painted one-off Seleucid army. His painting style made me think of fine Renaissance artwork. What is even more amazing is that he sculpted his whole army! I believe the figures will be going into production some time in the near future - keep an eye out for them.

A hearty congrats to all the winners, as well as to Andy and Phil for hosting such a great event. The Mansfield Games venue was also first class - plenty of table space upstairs and a built-in pub below with a friendly serving lass. Something missing from this side of the pond, I think.

I would also like to thank fellow blogger Paul (aka Scrivsland) for his hospitality at the tournament and also a couple of nights afterward when he hosted a fantastic Bolt Action game for Pat, me and Stuart of Great Escape Games. Please visit Scrivs' blog for a great AAR and photos of this fun game.

Exhausting as it was, our visit to England was rewarding. We saw many interesting sites like Old Sarum, Stonehenge and several castles.We also visited the Royal Armouries at Leeds and the Bovington Tank Museum. We even managed to pay a visit to The Foundry - and when I say pay, I mean Pat bought another 3K WAB army to paint. Pat had to redistribute his haul of lead so he didn't exceed the weight limitations for his checked luggage. Thanks again to Neil at The Foundry for taking the time to show us around and also giving us some great deals.