More 15mm Arab Conquest Swordsmen and a Few Slingers

I feel as though I'm stuck on a rat-wheel of Arabs at the moment but nevertheless have managed to complete another forty-four elements of Arab swordsmen, this time with four to a base to represent 'blade' as opposed to the earlier twenty-eight three-to-a-base elements of warband:

That's one hundred and seventy-six swordsmen completed in this batch, and two hundred and sixty in total including the warband:

Since they are the same figures as the earlier warband I won't linger on them too long, but here are a few pictures of the new recruits:

Needless to say, I was glad that there was so much variety in the figure poses with eight different poses:

I also managed to complete ten elements of slingers, which make an appearance in the Arab Conquest army list but will also be useful for the forthcoming Ghurids, which I swore I would never do until Phil from Toy Soldiers Studio https://15mm25mm.blogspot.com/ put the idea in my head and which I then found I couldn't get out:

Just a small group of twenty figures but again with a satisfying amount of variety:

That makes three hundred and eight-two figures completed for January and February so far with another thirty-seven nearing completion, which is my best start to a year ever and the momentum would have continued if I hadn't dropped an army containing two hundred early Carthaginians and their allies on its end while trying to get the A3 storage box out of the back of my car. 

They had just suffered their worst defeat ever after my gaming partner lost five 50/50 melees in a row by managing to roll nothing but ones against our opponents fives and sixes and resulting in five holes in our line, only to be followed by two more in the next round. So when I first heard the clatter of lead upon lead, my first thought was 'serves you right, you bastards', until I realised how much work would be required put them back together. Eighty shields and around sixty spears and javelins detached, numerous paint chips plus half of the wire traces I had originally painstakingly attached to the chariots broken off:

If you can imagine putting three hundred figures into an A3 box, shaking it a little, and then thumping it on its end, that is roughly the effect. 

I took me around eight hours but things now do appear to be back as they were. To be honest, it wasn't the worst experience as I again got up close and personal with the figures again.

Now on to the last of the Arab cavalry, which I hope to have completed by the end of March.

Monday Evening Midgard

 My Monday-evening gaming partner Dale has been busy assembling two armies for Midgard, a Viking and a Saxon force, in 28mm and he has finally got them to the stage where he can put on a decent-sized game of Midgard of 300 to 400 points a side.

The first game was very much a run through with two very small forces, and we ended up making so many mistakes in the second game that we essentially abandoned it, so the third encounter was our first real game. 

For this one we used a scenario from the Midgard rules called 'None Shall Pass' where the attacker has six turns to force the crossing of two bridges; a difficult task for which the attacker is allocated 300 points to the defender's 200. 

The table Dale prepared as per the scenario looked like the following, with groupings of his force arrayed around the two bridges:

I chose the Vikings comprised of six warrior and three missile units, and a Level 1 Hero with enough attributes to put a Tiger II tank to shame, and readied them for the attack:

Movement is by 'spear throw', with most foot units able to conduct two moves per turn. The first is 'free', and the second requires a command test which is passed by anything but a 1 or 2 on a D6. 

Heroes can use a 'mighty deed' to reroll a failed command test, of which they are allocated either one, two or three each turn depending upon their status. Consequently it doesn't take long to get to grips with an opponent, although I had one unit who failed several tests and started to lag behind:

Units can be assigned attributes such as increased armour, extra combat dice while at full stamina and the ability to pass discipline tests on lower rolls. I grouped my two less able warrior units together, supported by a unit of slingers and a more experienced warrior unit, and sent them against the left-hand bridge:

While the veterans attacked the right-hand bridge:

Combat is joined on the right-hand bridge while the missile troops pelt away at each other. Combat is a very bloodthirsty affair with warrior units starting with a base 12 D6 and adding additional dice for attached heroes, mighty deeds and special attributes. 

This resulted in me throwing up to 19D6s at times with a hit being recorded on a 5 or 6. Hits are compared against the defending unit's armour value, so if they have a typical armour value of three they lose a stamina point (represented by the removal of a figure) for each three hits. Charging and following-up units also get to re-roll any 1s.

The Saxons had charged my Vikings, but I survived the first round of combat and managed to push them back, while my slingers on the right flank dispersed their opposite number and were therefore able to support the warriors in combat:

At the same time I allowed myself to also get charged on the left-hand bridge, but my less resilient warriors here were pushed back:

The right flank is performing well, with the defending Saxon warriors now dispersed along with their other supporting group of bowmen:

I charge on to the bridge to disperse the last of the defenders, but they manage to hang on and even though I temporarily gain control of the structure am repulsed.

I never gain control of the left-hand bridge however, in spite of managing to surround the defenders when they follow-up on to my side:

The narrow frontage and the defender's rear support prevents me from pushing home my numerical advantage:

Six turns have been completed and the Saxons comprehensively retain control of one of the bridges, meaning a Saxon win.

The rules play well and are clear and well-written, although as Dale observed they do feel a bit beer and pretzels. When you are throwing up to twenty or more dice a side to resolve a single combat it is probably going to feel a bit like that, although it must be said there is a definite feeling of excitement as you count up all your fives and sixes.

The game took us just under two hours to play, which is not bad especially as we spent a bit of time looking things up. My attack on that left-hand bridge could have been better judged and I suspect greater familiarity with the rules may have made it a more even fight.

Dale has been having great fun building up his 28mm Dark Ages collection, which my hastily taken pictures don't do justice to. Just right for a Monday evening and we will no doubt play a few more games over the coming months.