The Dark Ages in London 2013
Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons
Game 4 Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons
The 4th game moved into a Swiss draw - somewhat unexpectedly pitching my untries, 2-draws, 1-win army against Saga Guru Tom Frankland and his Anglo Saxons - another army for which I had never seen the battle board. This was a straight "Kill the enemy Warlord" game
I'd set up my army as follows
There was no science to this, it just seemed quite simple and straightforwards
It turns out that the Anglo-Saxons need to Do Stuff in Big Units, and do it All At The Same Time. Thats what makes them rather cool
The Anglo-Saxons were, unsurprisingly, set up in a lot of big units. They were teed up to be quite defensive or so it seemed, so being Vikings, my army moved forward relatively coherently
A magical light fell across the table, as if the game was now illuminated by the spectral glow of Eric the Priapic's shaggy-haired goat-scrotum! The whole mob lot of them inched forwards, occupying the hill and with the Warlord carefully positioned as a sort of sweeper. The Beserkers and Hearthguard were also waiting to strike
Viking Warfare
My rolls were a bit light on the "Z" thingies (6's) so I was forced into a sort of cautious, steady battle plan, choosing Ullr and Valhalla so I could get extra dice and re-roll melee failed hits to try and ablate the huge enemy units one at a time, trying to trade 12 of the enemy for 8 of mine a unit for unit - no real change to be honest.
What's happening here then?
The Vikings are operating to a sort of American Football theory, pushing out screening Warrior units on the right whilst concentrating a blitz down the left aiming to try and engage the enemy Warlord with a series of consecutive attacks before the enemy army can redeploy
This initial attack wasn't particularly successful, with my opponent trading attack dice for more saves, and leaving my 8-strong unit rather frayed as the enemy they had attacked remained frustratingly intact.
By now I was keen on making a bee-line for the enemy Warlord who was lurking at the back, trying to leave many of the enemy units out of the game. This saw the Hearthguard wheeled up to try their luck on the already heavily degraded enemy warrior unit.
The enemy fell back, still alive - just - but a gap was opening up in front of the enemy Warlord. Hoping to prevent the rest of the enemy army from covering it, the rest of my forces inched forwards to occupy the enemy's attention
Deeply Disturbing
By now many men had fallen under the baleful influence of Eric the Priapic's hairy tongue-piercings! . But, the lack of knowledge of the enemy battle board now suddenly came back to bite me with a vengeance - using a near-perfect combination of dice the entire Anglo-Saxon army stepped forward, twice, in unison, and charged into my rather surprised Warriors!
What's happening here then?
The Vikings who were just supposed to be blocking the enemy have all gotten too close, allowing the Anglo Saxons an opportunity to hit them all at the same time. My attack on the left has also by now probably been left underpowered by the allocation of some of my SAGA dice to push my Warriors forwards. This is not looking good
With all the combat advantages in the book the Anglo-Saxon shieldwall went way beyond "standing firm" and instead moved deep into "inflicting a right proper drubbing" on the astonished Vikings, who were almost entirely wiped out in one amazing round of combat! The Warlord was left almost alone surveying a scene of utter carnage and devastation, and I was just thankful that casualty markers were not needed in this game, as otherwise I might have had to sell my car in order to complete this particular game
This was it - a Hail Mary moment. Stacking up the battle board in the usual manner the Vikings geared themselves for a death or glory moment
What's happening here then?
The Vikings have one last chance to get their plan back on track, reverting to the blitz and stacking all their hopes, and dice on a single axis of attack.
The target was obvious - a large-ish Anglo-Saxon unit with the enemy Warlord next to it. The tools were to hand - my own Warlord, and the Beserkers…
A Little Bit Weird
Morale was now at the bottom of Eric the Priapic's Swedish nasal hair! The Beserkers were first in, and they did the business properly - being wiped out whist wiping out the enemy, and, perhaps crucially, leaving 2 fatigues on the enemy Warlord…
This opportunity was immediately followed by some Warlord on Warlord action as the two great leaders traded fierce blows with their mighty broadswords as their armies (well, Tom's army - mine was mostly back in the box by now) looked on in awe and admiration…
But, despite the rash of fatigue markers, my Warlord could not land a decisive blow on the enemy Warlord, and was in fact pushed back having lost the combat by a narrow margin
Then, inevitably, thousands upon thousands of hairy Anglo-Saxon Warriors, led by their own Warlord, swamped my great leader and hacked him down
The result was a crushing defeat
Read on for the post match summaries from the Generals involved, as well as another episode of legendary expert analysis from Hannibal
Post Match Summary from the Vikings Commander
This was a game in which I think I lost the will to live, and then my men lost the ability to live - it was as if I had been wandering around a huge storeroom, looking for a reference code to take to the register, but the code was nowhere to be found on the box, and in deed at times I wondered if I had any idea whether I was trying to assemble an army, or just to get them out of the box ?
The Anglo-Saxons were surely most fortunate in their application of dice to battle board here, and who was I to know that in retrospect the correct approach would be to attack the enemy piecemeal - in precisely what illustration-only military manual is that particular gem supposed to be hidden?
I presently feel as if a particularly large Allen key has been inserted somewhere where the sun doesn't shine, and take my word for it, in Scandinavia when the sun doesn't shine it is the herald of a long midwinter night which can go on for months - so the key has been inserted extremely securely indeed.
What next - well, a partial success over the weekend, but a sad place to end the game day for the Vikings
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
Following a defeat such as this your livestock will sicken, your crops will wither, your dogs will roam wild, your daughters will be sold into slavery and your wives will lie in other men's beds - and still you will probably feel better about all of this than you do after being on the recieving end of such a spanking as this.
The enemy cut you down like dogs, and left your footless carcass lying out for the crows, so you may never be able walk to the underworld. But how much of this is down to your own incompetence - the battle board of the enemy is the key trick, and the all-for-one advance was something they had unleashed in every single turn of the game before the final one anyway, so it cannot have come as much of a surprise ?
Yet again you fail at the reconnaissance stage of the battle, and that dear friend is not down to dice of misfortune, it is down to lack of foresight on your part - and your part is where the guilt therefore lies
Furthermore you then added to this catastrophe with yet another mistake - making a plan to concentrate resources in one area, and then deviating from the plan just for the sake of a rather random shuffle forwards on the part of troops who had no real reason or role in the battle. Taking your eye off the ball cost you dear and you my dear Viking chum deserve nothing more than to be smote asunder and de-assembled. I will send you to Vahalla, and there you will wait in shame until I arrive, so that you can serve me Odin's meat and mead
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Game 4 Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons
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