Irregular Wars Wargaming

Taking the my 28mm Bacchae out to stretch their legs, I headed down to Lisburn Gaming Club last week to take on Roger's 28mm Alexandrian Macedonians in a pseudo-historical clash of (metaphorical) giants! In a typically Alexander move, Alexander (top of the picture) massed his cavalry on his right and took command of one of the units of elite companions himself. The second unit, led by a captain, were overly enthusiastic and deployed far forward of the rest of their lines. A unit of Thracians led by a rogue were late, deploying behind the wood, while the main phalanx also deployed a little forward. The hypaspists on the Macedonian left, and the various small units of archers interspersed around the infantry (mostly) maintained their lines. Dionysos had an easier time with mishaps; only the nymphs were stricken with disease. On the Bacchic left, a unit of leopards were deployed slightly forward in ambush in the woods. Next came an elephant in front of the yakshi maiden guard, a horde...

This week Jim and I got in a game of Fantastic Battles  using our bigger toys - 28mm armies on 60mm bases and a 6x4 table. I took my Baccahe out for another spin - actually there first pitched battle at full strength (1000 points), and Jim controlled an army of Swamp Orcs built from miniatures collected over 40 years and painted and based (or sabotted) as an Orctober project - possibly over the last two Orctobers... The battlefield was littered with rough terrain fields, a swamp, and a couple of woods. I knew that Jim was taking the Ambush strategy, so weighted my left flank for some early game shenanigans in the woods - completely forgetting that the ambush could have been in the fields to my right. Thankfully, my hunch was correct, and a two-company elite unit of angry orcses popped up inside the woods, about 2.5bw in front of my waiting satyrs. During mishaps, the orcs were clearly keeping bad company resulting in a couple of large units suffering from various orcy diseases. One...

Tim hosted me for a further playtest of the Fantastic Battles siege rules this week, using his great 3D printed castle and our 28mm armies - 500 points of Tim's dwarves, defending against 1,000 points of my Bacchae. We had to proxy in cut cardboard rectangles for siege equipment, but here you can see the tiny defending force surrounded by the much more plentiful Bacchae. The dwarvern fort was built of heavy fortifications and sported towers with integrated archers. The Bacchae had three sets of ladders (carried by satyrs in the lower part of the photo), a siege tower pushed by maenads (at the top), a mine (off camera away to the top left), and had paid off a traitor inside the fort. While the mine reached the dwarf walls, they were too sturdily built and it failed to bring them down. Bakchos was luckier with the traitor though who, good to his word, ensured the gates were left wide open. The elite part of the Bacchae - the Indian contingent and erotes chariots - surged towards the...

The Bacchae are an army I have long wanted, but never had to opportunity to build. The flexibility of Fantastic Battles  almost feels like it was designed to facilitate just such an army. Themed around the thiasos, or procession of Dionysos, this force has drawn it's inspiration from the broad palette of ancient literary and visual sources. I kept the units as wild as possible (no hoplites etc) without it becoming a bland swathe of brown as I wanted it to have a timeless feel, so it would feel just as natural fighting against Trojans, or an army of medieval knights. The army uses berserk as a racial trope to represent the intoxicating leadership of Bakchos. They were trialled with the stimulants trait as a racial trope, but I find it easier to remember who can do what this way!  The characters in the army are an exotic bunch. From left to right: a company of dryad magic-users (entangle); Pan, a magic-user (curse); Bakchos/Dionysos, the mage-lord (confusion); and two captains, ...

Hold it now and watch the hoodwink As I make you stop, think You'll think you're looking at Aquaman I summon fish to the dish, although I like the Chalet Swiss I like the sushi 'cause it's never touched a frying pan Yeah well, it's been running through my head for some reason... And sure, have ever truer words been spoken? Now that is a question.  It has been a busy and tricky last few weeks, but I have finally been able to finish up my 28mm Eureka maenads for my Fantastic Battles  Bacchic army. These ladies form will form the largest melee unit in the army, formed of four irregular companies with berserk (racial trope), doughty, furious charge and stimulants.

The Bacchae took the field for the first time this week, facing off against Joel's nasty orcses. Joel had been part of the original Fantastic Battle playtesting group but hasn't not played since. We played a 750 point game on a simplified battlefield (just two large woods on an otherwise oven field) to get re-acquainted with the mechanics.  The Bacchae's stimulant racial trope proved interesting, with the centaurs completely uncontrollable, the maenads and one unit of satyrs becoming berserk and proud, and the other gaining +1 melee and +1 movement. The orcs more-or-less avoided any mishaps during deployment (just a little disease, but what do you expect from orcs), while both the centaurs and the goat-chariot deployed late on my side of the table. The table was a tad narrow, so we deployed closer than we should have. That meant that units closed faster than they normally would and reduced the benefits of both my shooting and my many magic-users. Bakchos (mage-lord with le...