Saga Game Day - Polish Crusader Warband vs. Vikings

Well, I finally got in another Saga game today using a newly formed Polish warband using the list in the Age of Crusades. Most of the figures were painted a long time ago and used in both WAB and Lion Rampant games in the past. The only new figures are a unit of levy bowman using Fireforge plastics. The warband did well against my buddy's Viking warband. I managed to kill off his unit of Berseker hearthguard and Gael warriors with my double-sized unit of mounted hearthguard and mounted warriors. The mounted hearthguard also took out his his warlord. My levy bowmen also took out most of his levy bows too. Here's the Polish Crusader warband below - if  I were to play them again I'd add another unit of levy bow. In fact, I only used two units of levy spears because they were already painted.

Here's a few shots from the game.

The Polish center and left wing - left to right: unit of mounted warriors, double-size mounted hearthguard, warlord in the rear of one of the levy spears, and finally levy bowmen. Oh, I should add that we didn't use a mat - and played on the bare table top. Note to self - need to get a 3x4' mat for Saga.

My buddy's Viking warband - left to right: Gael warriors (with double melee attack dice), levy bowmen, Bersekers with warlord behind them, and a unit of Shield Maidens.

My double-sized unit of mounted hearthguard charging into the Berserkers and about to totally destroy them - leaving their warlord open to a subsequent attack. I think this was when he activated his Gaels, and I used the Terror of the East rule to react by charging an enemy unit (the Bersekers) within Medium range (6") - it also added 2 defense dice which weren't needed as the initial attack destroyed them.

The Polish mounted warriors supported on their right by a unit of levy spears. I used the mounted figures with lances to indicate the hearthguard. Most of the warrior figures have handheld weapons.

Polish levy bows on the left whittling down the Viking levy bows.

Polish mounted hearthguard about to take out the Viking warlord. Although it wasn't used, the Polish board has a "Squires" special rule which allows a warrior unit with Short (3") from a hearthguard unit to swap casualties with it. I tried to keep the warrior unit next to the hearthguard unit for this reason.

Polish left wing - two intact units of levy, one each spears and bows; the Warlord comfortably behind them.

We kept playing after the Viking warlord was killed, and the Polish mounted hearthguard went on to destroy the unit of Gael warriors. My buddy erred by removing my two fatigues and reducing my armor to 3 - whereas he should've increased his warriors' armor since I was the attacker and destroyed his unit before it could retaliate.

End of the game with the Viking warlord and two of their units destroyed.

I should add that I didn't attend last Saturday's game day at Fort Steilacoom because I cancelled my game a few weeks ago. The reason being is I apparently got Covid, but thought it was allergies as the symptoms were very mild. Only after giving my wife the bug and she got tested did I realize had it. I actually recovered quickly and tested negative but didn't want to take the chance of spreading it at the game day. I think I picked it up a few weeks ago after attending not one, but three different gaming events - a Black Powder game with about 7 players, followed by a Chain of Command game with 5 players, and then a game day where I hosted a Rebels and Patriots game with 5 players. I actually thought I had an allergy as the symptoms were not only mild, but we had heavy smoke during the time from nearby fires. Oh well, I can finally say I actually got the thing after over three years without. Anyway, thanks for checking out the blog and wishing you all the best!

Footsore Late Roman Manuballista

This is my first experience with Footsore Miniatuers, and I must say it was a pleasant one. Ordered the Manuballista along with a copy of Age of Crusades SAGA supplement, and both arrived within a week here in Washington State. The Manuballista and crew are very nice, and come with an integral base with magnets and small washers to allow removal of the crew as casualties. Very nice touch!

The textured base is really nice, and was only dry-brushed. No other flocking used. The spare bolts in the bucket also come with the kit.

Added thread to the bow as it might look a bit barren without it being so large.

Per the Saga rules, the Manuballista is a single figure unit, but doesn't generate a Saga dice. It can only move Very Short; 2 X Long range for shooting with Attack dice equal to half the number of figures in the targeted unit. Might not be a great choice, but plan to use it just to see how good or bad it performs.

The washers and magnets that come with the kit for easy crew removal are great additiona.

A size comparison of the crew next to a Gripping Beast plastic figure - close enough.

And finally, a gratiutious shot of the piece next to an older Greek bolt thrower (Essex, I think?). Thanks again for stopping by and checking out the blog.

Late Romans vs. Picts SAGA Gameday

My Late Romans faced my buddy's Picts today. We played a scenario where I captured 2 of the 3 victory tokens early in the game. However, I only realized later that the units with the tokens had their movement reduced to Short. Also, the two cavalry units which held them also suffered Fatigue after each movement. The Picts' Attacotti Warrior unit destroyed all 3 of my Hearthguard units - with combined special abilities they had 20 Attack dice and were allowed to re-roll all misses! To be fair, they only get this many dice when they attack, but my attacks were not sufficient to stop them first. I found the Roman's Battle Board pretty good - was able to use the Scuta Reaction ability to re-roll the number of defense dice up to the current Impetus value +1. The Signa Activation is also good with being able to remove up to 2 Fatigues for up to 2 units. I failed to use Ardour in Melee which is also good - reduce Impetus by 1 and gain Attack and Defense dice equal to Impetus +1. I like the Late Roman's abilities and found the use of Impetus pretty straight foward. Plan to play them again in the future.  Here are some pics with Picts in some.

Roman deployment - they got to go first.

Picts initial deployment. They have abilities to move through woods without penalty.

Late Roman Warrior units - one mounted with composite bows (they were one of the units that captured a victory token). 

Foot and mounted Hearthguard units. Next time, I may increase them to either 6 or 8-figure units.

The Cataphract Hearthguard unit - already capturing a victory token and getting a Fatigue for movement. The Warlord behind them, and a Warrior unit with bows to their flank. The bowmen did well in decimating one of the Picts' Hearthguard units.

The Roman mounted Warriors with a victory token early on - prior to them being killed by the Attacotti Warriors.

Attacotti Warriors attacking the Cataphracts - who have been slowed to their already slow Medium movement to Short. They were also destroyed in subsequent attacks by the Attacotti - who also ended up killing the Roman Warlord.

Even though the Romans lost, it was still an enjoyable game and a lot was learned about the Picts' special abilities. Several of my buddies have Pict warbands, so will likely be facing them again in the future. Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoyed the post.

Gripping Beast Late Roman Army (Warband)

Finished up all of the shields with LBMS transfers - which I managed to only screw up one of them after forgetting to peel of the plastic layer before wetting the paper backing. Otherwise the transfers are great - they even have the areas for the shield bosses cut out. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the completed project. All of the figures are plastics from a box each of Gripping Beast Late Roman Infantry, Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, and Cataphracts.

All of the shields - except for the ones with the foot unit on the far left - are LBMS transfers.

More than enough infantry for the SAGA games I play in - usually 6 point warbands. However, for something like Hail Caesar (or WAB), more infantry would likely be needed - another box or two of Gripping Beast plastics. The unit in the front can be used as Hearthguard as they wear mail hauberks.

Again, for SAGA, way more cavalry then needed for most games. As the Heavy Cavalry and Cataphracts are classed as Hearthguard, every four figures costs 1 point. I do plan to use the Light Cavalry as Warriors with composite bows for sure though. I like having a mobile missile unit in games.

Thanks again for stopping by and checking out the blog. Best wishes to you all.

Gripping Beast Late Roman Light Cavalry

These are all armed with bows, but the kit comes with javelin arm options too. The SAGA rules for Late Romans have these classed as warriors with composite bow.

This set of figures should be it for mounted units for the SAGA Late Roman warband - along with the Heavy Cavalry and Cataphracts. As the group I play with normally use 6 point warbands, they'll be some decisions to make when forming up the warband. Altthough it is good to have options available.

These were painted in my usual block painting followed by Minwax staining. The tunic embellishments were given a little high-lighting for effect.

The horses are a little different from the ones in the Heavy Cavalry set. These have a little more fancy horse furniture - some have small strips hanging off the main straps - also some metal discs. Also, the horse halves seemed to fit better together - no noticeable gaps.

Besides the Litko bases showing up in the mail, the LBMS shield transfers for the infantry and heavy cavalry also arrived. Once the shields are done a family portrait will follow. I hope to have the Late Romans in action next week at our SAGA game day. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you the best.

SAGA Game Day - Italiotes vs. Jomsvikings

Had another great SAGA game day today. Several of the usual players couldn't make it due to some kind of huge traffic snarl on I-5 northbound to Tacoma. I live only about 15 minutes away using backroads so luckily avoided this. For those of us who were fortunate enough to show up there was a 3-way Picts game, while I pitted my Italiotes against Jomsvikings. The group I game with are very accomodating and have no issue playing out of period. I'm still learing the game and my Battle Board as well, but left feeling very good with my current warband composition. The Italiote warband consists of an 8-figure Hearthguard Phalanx unit, two Warrior units with javelins, and a Merc unit each of Tarantine Cavalry and Cretan Archers. The 8-figure Phalanx unit was able to destroy an enemy Warrior unit, and the javelin and bow fire whittled down several other Jomsviking units. We called our game after Turn 4 with my warband still having 4 out of 6 SAGA dice (only two figures left in my Phalanx Hearthguard unit), while the Jomsviking were down to 3 out of 7 of their starting SAGA dice. I really liked how the Cretans have a free activation to shoot at the start of each turn, and also get 2 bonus attack dice and +1 bonus to hit in their first shooting activation. If an enemy unit at medium distance (6") away activates to move or attack, the Tarantine Cavalry gets a free move prior to the enemy unit completing its activation. Against the Jomsvikings which had no missile troops, this kept them at bay the whole time. Granted the Jomsvikings have some special ability with the proper SAGA dice to lob 3 missiles onto any unit on the table - regardless of distance or line of sight. I was fortunate the the two times my opponent was able to attempt this, it only caused minimal casaulties. Plan to keep using this Italiote warband as is, but hope to have the Late Roman warband ready by the next time we meet for our twice-a-month SAGA game day in a couple of weeks. Here are some pics of the two games (note my opponent's warband was still in bare nekkid metal).

The Italiote warband, left to right: Warriors with Javelins, Phalanx, Warlord, Warriors with Javelins, Cretan Archers, and Tarantine Cavalry.

Italiotes facing the Jomsvikings clothed in steel (or lead). For the record, I don't really care for the 2D terrain some of my buddies are using for SAGA since I find it remember what each represents.

Hearthguard Phalanx unit in the center of the warband with the Warlord behind them. They did well enough to survive the battle with two remaining figures. And as the Age of Hannibal rules state, it retains its Phalanx abilities even with one figure if a Hearthguard unit.

The 3-player game on the other table. I think the warbands were all Picts. A pitched Pict battle.

Picts in and out of the woods.

A lot of Italiote missile troops decimating the Jomsviking Warriors. The remaining two-figure Phalanx Hearthguard unit staying out of harms way to retain their SAGA dice.

Jomsviking Warriors vs. Italiote Warriors with javelins in light cover. The 2D terrain does make it easier to get figures onto it, I have to admit.

End of Turn 4, and the game with several Jomsvikings unit destroyed or having reduced figures to lose their SAGA dice. Note the Tarantine Cavalry always staying out of harms way but able to close up to toss javelins.

All in all, it was another great experience with the rules and looking forward to more of the same. I also went ahead and finished up the Late Roman Heavy Cavarly - less their shields. 

They're based them as singles with flexible metal bottoms so they can be used in various game systems. Might try them out with Hail Caesar in the future, along with the rest of the warband.

Didn't notice some of the horse body halves weren't lined up exactly until after painting them. Too late to do anything with them now, but will pay more attention on the Light Cavalry set - which will likely have the same horses.

Until next time best wishes to you all and thanks for stopping by.

4-Player SAGA Age of Hannibal Game

Got my Epirote warband bloodied today in a multi-player game today. Teamed up with another Epirote warband and we faced a joint Carthaginian-Republican Roman force. I know, SAGA makes strange bedfellows sometimes. My inexperience and usual lack of forethought was exposed early on when I had failed to allocate enough activation dice for all of my units in turn 1. Compared to what I normally play, this game really needs to be given some thought before executing moves/actions. Kind of slow, but I'm enjoying it with the SAGA crew I'm a part of.

Start of turn 1. My warband nearest: Tarantine merc cavalry with javelins, Cretan merc archers, two units of Warriors with sarissa and Phalanx rule (as long as they retain their SAGA dice), Hearthguard Companion cavalry, Elephant, and Warlord.

My battle buddies force, pretty much similar to mine, except he didn't have any light cavalry.

The Roman force that opposed my warband. Early one I took out a few of his Levy javelinmen and Warriors by missile fire from my Cretan Archers and Tarantine cav.

A view of the Roman warband facing my Epirotes.

The center and right of the combined Epirote force. My buddies phalanxes facing Carthaginian elephants. They battled it out in several turns (we played 5 turns); and the two units of Carthaginian elephants were destroyed in combat. The Phalanx units were also decimated.

My Epirote center - which admittedly didn't see much action beside the two Phalanx units going head to head with the Roman Warriors and Hearthguard.

Although one of my Phalanx units destroyed the Roman Warrior unit it face, I used a SAGA ability to have my second Phalanx unit charge into the other Roman Warrior unit. The second Roman unit used a plethora of SAGA ability/reaction dice to counter the attack and ended up killing off all but one of the Phalangites. The result was my two Phalanx units being reduced to losing their SAGA dice.

Near the end of the bame after calling it a close draw. Both sides lost many units and was pretty much a slugfest. One thing I learned is that I prefer a shooty, fast moving warband over a ponderous and slow moving force. I'll likely leave home the elephant and probably the pikes the next time I field a Greek warband. I may use some Samnites as they have javelins and can move through rough terrain without hinderance. I may also try out a Gallic warband too - see how Chariots with javelins work. Javelins are great because you get a combined move and shoot for 1 activation. Warlord in chariot; two mounted units of Hearthguard (2 chariots per unit); a mounted unit of Warriors, two foot Warrior units, and a Levy unit of missile troops - the rules give them either bows or javelins so these slingers will have to be proxy figs. My buddy said that I could use these as bows as slings and bows have the same stats.

Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best.