- 28mm armies, multibased on 60x60mm bases - this will enable use across different rule sets, specifically Hail Caesar, L'Art de la Guerre, and Fantastic Battles.
- Working from a fixed point of reference - of the three orders of battle recorded for the Seleukids, Andrew chose Magnesia (190 BC) as the army to build.
- Rationalising units - playing with a ration of between 1:200 and 1:250, we can break down the Seleukid army into gaming units with relative ease (and only a little fudging).
- Research - where possible, lets go back to the ancient sources to find out how different units may have looked and functioned.
Thursday 27 July 2023
Introducing ProjectSeleukid
Wednesday 26 July 2023
ProjectWürttemberg - 1st and 2nd Battalions Württemberg Jäger
Sunday 23 July 2023
Fantastic Battles - Wood Elves vs Undead (2000 points)
This week saw another 2000-point battle of Fantastic
Battles. This time, it was wood elves (Roger) against a joint host of undead
(Neil) and Night Stalkers (me). Despite better lighting than I’ve had of late,
I was too preoccupied (spoiler alert) to take enough photos for a detailed
write-up!
Roger’s elvish array included a vast number of characters
but only a couple of units of archers and rangers, relying mainly on
pointy-stabby units like war dancers, spearmen and stag-knights. My Night
Stalkers deployed with a narrow, advanced line and a fast-moving reserve of
vampire knights, bats and succubi. To my right, Neil’s undead were likewise in
two lines, but somewhat less fast. Given how small my force was, and how many
expendable units he was running, our combined break point was only 14!
The undead had terrain to negotiate before engaging with the
enemy. The unit of banshees and the dragon on the right of this picture had no
problem getting through the woods, but would continually suffer from blink
spells throughout the battle.
The impulsive ghouls started the game with disease (I guess
that’s what happens when you live off decayed flesh…) and while waiting to be
rallies were set upon by whooping loony war dancers. Although they held their
ground for two turns, when they scattered, they sent a butterfly effect-like
ripple of resolve loss through the Night Stalker lines.
Isolated in the front lines, the werewolves shied away from
charging the elvish spear line, only to be shot to pieces in a maelstrom of
elvish bow fire. Nine shooting attack
dice rolled, and nine resolve lost! With nothing left to lose, they hurled
themselves to their deaths on the elvish spears. The Death Coach found that
dragons are not too bothered by the terrifying trait, while in the background
the undead ground away at their own foes – giant bears and stag knights and
eagles and the like.
The fight on the left flank swirled back and forth. The
vampire knights held their own, but first the succubi and then the Death Coach
and giant bats were overwhelmed.
And with those losses, the Night Stalkers and undead army
was overwhelmed. I think Neil’s undead only lost a single non-expendable
company – the undead dragon – meaning it was very much my responsibility for
the collapse of the allied army. Sorry Neil… Still, great to get the armies on
the table and have a laugh!
Tuesday 18 July 2023
Famous Faces of Beerenburg, part 6
Monday 17 July 2023
Project Beerenburg - More muscle for the trade wars
He is a 3d sculpt from Dark Realms, sold as an ogre executioner. I have him printed oversize - as big as possible to fit in my army box.
I've also prepared a second company of mounted burghers to stiffen the resolve and double the punch of the exisiting company.
Sunday 16 July 2023
The Uneasy League vs the Unholy Alliance - 2000 point game of Fantastic Battles
Further along the battle lines, the vampires' dire wolves charged the verminkin ninjas, the verminkin giant rat wheel managed to charge the terrifying Death Coach, and the ghouls impulsively leapt into the elite Vermin Guard unit.
On the hill of the far flank, the goblins had spent their time reforming their lines and trying work out which characters were supposed to be doing what in their grand mess of a battle plan.
However, the battle was in the balance as both sides neared their breaking point. The goblins had one melee phase to break some more units, as the following turn there was a statistically overwhelming likelihood that the shooting phase would break two units equalling eight companies.
And in the end, the melee phase was enough. The giant and spider-riders broke the verminkin grenadiers, and the bat-riders scattered some skirmishing light infantry. The fight went out of the rat-man coalition and their armies collapsed 22/22 against my breakpoint of 13/21.
Sunday 9 July 2023
28mm Fantastic Battles - Beerenburgers bring bows to a pike-fight
Under withering bow fire, the ogres broke and fled, beginning to spread their panic around the landsknecht ranks.
The line of pikemen finally clashed with the halfling bowmen. They were mighty warriors, but badly bloodied by the earlier archery. At this point I remembered that I had a rat swarm to bring on. It emerged, but nowhere near where it would have been useful!