Irregular Wars Wargaming

I was really happy to be able to host Tim for his first game of  Fantastic Battles  on Sunday. Living up to the concept of being able to play any army, regardless of your personal fantasies, I led the black-power-packing, lace-pulp ratmen of the  Grand Duchy of Cheddar , against a slimy 15mm army consisting of squid- and fish-men. We played 800 points which I hope made for a very decent learning game. From the photo's top left, the Squidmen deployed a unit of three companies of fishmen riding giant spiders, a unit of two companies of fishmen riding land sharks, two squidmen units each of two companies (archers in front, spearmen behind), a unit of two companies of squids with heavy weapons, a two-company unit of fishmen spears, and another three-company unit of landsharks. Facing them, from lower left to right were a three company unit of pike and shot, a single company of dragoons, a steamtank, one battery of artillery, the guard unit composed of three companies of polea...

I'm so delighted to say that we have some pretty impressive outcomes from the wee competition we ran in March . I asked people to post a review of Fantastic Battles  in a blog or on Amazon, Wargame Vault or Board Game Geek to be in for a chance to win one of three commissioned artworks by Orestix Ermeides, or a 15mm Battle Valor fantasy starter army donated by Jeff Gatlin of Shieldwall Gaming Club in Ohio. Mike opted for a Tolkien-inspired scene showing a shiledwall of Lamedonians, one of the fiefs of Gondor, being charged by oliphants of Harad. He's only just and blown the whole thing up, ready to adorn his gaming space! Michael had Orestix bring his 15mm army of slug-riding, tech-weilding 'Orts' to life.  Pete went for another classic scene from Tolkein - a vignette of the Battle of the Five Armies.  He too as gone and had a print made which is now in the process of being framed. The framer in the picture, wasn't technically asked if he'd like to be in this b...

  I'm pleased to be able to showcase a new 800 point army for Fantastic Battles , the Grand Duchy of Cheddar. This is actually the fourth iteration of the Ducal army - and the original figures were painted about 10 years ago. Originally based for skirmishing games, it was rebased and provided with background fluff for HotT , and then expanded (models and fluff) and rebased for Kings of War . The most recent rebasing and expansion brings it into line for Fantastic Battles .  The figures are a combination of Pendraken and Kallistra with a scratch-built airship. It is nominally 10mm, but I feel the rats are too hulking at that scale and work far better in 15mm. The toughest bit about working on such an old army was trying to match the bases (I'd like to think my technique has moved on a little over the years). Grand Duke Philip flanked by his two brigadiers. The Blue Guards. Grenadiers Regiment of Foote with more shot than pikes. Regiment of Foote with more pikes than shot. Drago...

I was delighted to be able to play another (well-ventelated) in-person game of Fantastic Battles this week with Andrew and Jim. They presented an uneasy alliance of ratfolk (1000 points) and men (500 points), while I controlled a much more respectful federation of wyld elves (1000 points) and halflings (500 points).   Above you can see the initial deployment ahead of Mishaps. The humans occupied the right end of their line and the ratfolk held the left. On my side of the table, the halflings were deployed in the right-most third, with the wyld elves across the left and centre.  The ratfolk deployed a large unit of assassins commanded by a rogue as an ambush in some rough ground on my extreme right, while the Wyld Hunt - also led be a rogue - were likewise deployed in ambush in some fields on the extreme right of the human lines. Rolling for mishaps was largely uneventful with a couple of diseased units on either side and the elven stag riders being slightly late (deployed furt...

This fourth Wargames Foundry chariot is the final unit I needed to bring my Fantastic Battles Trojan army to 1000 points for a battle scheduled for next week. I still have four bases of archers lined up to paint which will bring me to 195 points (so close!) for l'Art de la Guerre . This is the first time I've done a skewbald horse as part of a chariot team. I like him well enough, but given the colour scheme of the bull hide chariot 'skin', it looks like the skewbald pony is running for his life!   

  Continuing with phase 2 of ProjectTROY, we have a second Trojan captain to marshal the ranks and a unit of javelin-armed light infantry. These will count as an irregular unit of foresters with thrown weapons and the doughty trait on Fantastic Battles , two bases of LMI javelineers in l'Art de la Guerre , or a small unit of light infantry with javelins in Hail Caesar . All figures this time from a single pack of Wargames Foundry Sea Peoples, but with a variety of shields from the ProjectTROY armoury.

Continuing the momentum (all that it is!) I have now completed a third unit of heavy spearmen with integrated missile weapons for my 28mm Trojan army. This time it consists of two bases Redoubt spearmen and slingers, Foundry leader (behind a Redoubt shield). and a Newline standard bearer carrying a CP Models standard with the Egyptian top cup off replaced by a 6mm horse! They all works pretty well together. In Fantastic Battles they will be used as a small two-company unit, in Hail Caesar I could also use them as a small unit, and in l'Art de la Guerre of course they will simply be two bases of heavy spearmen. I was going with an orange and black colour scheme, not only is it the colours of my parish GAC, but also the colours of an unreliable command within my 6mm Minoan army which is no longer usable with the  l'Art de la Guerre  4th edition lists.  Sadly I haven't worked out how to use the camera on my new phone yet, so none of the colours look quite right on screen!...

  Kicking off the much more ill-defined phase 2 of ProjectTROY we have another character - Redoubt's Helen of Troy dressed in the iconic open-fronted Bronze Age Aegean style - whom I'll be using as a Trojan priestess. Saffron-gatherer, Thera Snake Goddess - Knossos Ladies in blue - Knossos Goddess of the Grain - Mycenae