So after recovering from the last game and a vigorous discussion of Bloodbowl star players and how Games Workshop is ruining everything (ADLG may be the best game in town, but its not the only game). It was time for the peoples crusade to hit the table again. This time vs....
..... a gawd. Eight Knights! That's what we wanted to see, least we know the factors for the levy are terrible in this match up and it wont be a surprise (see last entry for my 'Surprise Factors' moment involving cavalry). Baring Pike, War Wagons and Elephants, Knights don't really fear much in ADLG. The certainly don't fear angry peasants with sticks!
Speaking of war wagons, there are two in the list. These bad boys have been equipped with blades so can charge into their opponents willy nilly (normal warwagons can't do this.) There is a command of heavy spear, with a rock hard unit in the middle. Armour, Elite and included General. Two heavy spear crossbow. I don't hate these units. It allows the bow to get out amongst the battle with no fear of being run down easily.
Crap load of impetuous foot. Four Knights, also impetuous for some harder hitting power. Wanted to rejig the list, but didn't in the 90 minutes between games. Partially cause didn't have another General miniature on me to pull the the included medium knight impetuous General out of his unit.
This is what the levy want to see! Foot! Just need to get a little lucky on the dice and off to the races! Hoping to send 10 levy vs these five dudes.
Sometimes I really need to think more. That steep hill that allows the Italians to anchor their line... I put that there.
West to East Italians. Heavy spear with a handy steep hill to anchor their line (sigh). Eight impact knights, two war-wagons on the road to nowhere (que music), and some 1/2 crossbow 1/2 heavy spear facing the flank. Maybe the are looking for someone coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the East
For the good guys. Levy, lot of. Knights, not enough of. Medium foot, reasonable of.
Italians mosey on down. They want their knights to hit the levy or medium foot, and the war wagons to get in the way of the Crusader knights. Simple. The Eastern field was hiding two People's Crusade levy! Scary stuff.
The crusade! Move forward!
Wave attack to commence soon. On contact we are even money (+1 Heavy spear vs +1 impact for the levy). If the levy win, then it becomes an even fight. Heavy spear -1 disorder, levy loose impact. If the levy loose then they are down two and that is bad. However, furious charge means an additional hit for the levy and each spear man has to kill two levy to pay for himself. The elite dude has to kill three, and I has so many levy. Would be great if that sodding great steep hill wasn't there and the levy could use their long line advantage...
Italian heavy spear don't see the need to move any further forward and are waiting for their friendly knights to engage. There is a bit of a jam with three knights and the war wagons, but am sure the Italians know what they are doing.
Levy advance, drop off second rank and get ready! Knights advance. Impetuous medium foot advance through the field quite calmly, even though they have been triggered to charge by the Italian light foot....errr...whoops? I could have shoe'd them off with one medium foot charge, but that would have caused this group to be in four pieces instead of three. I must have had a shed load of pips to move two groups normal, and one short. Still. This is bad form and I suck.
Up close view of me cheating.
Feck. This really is uncalled for. I have to know my own special rules. Its not like impetuous is an uncommon feature of my army.
Nuffle punishes me by allowing a light foot to hurt one of my dudes on the end of the line.
The Italian turn was so boring I decided to not take a photo of it.... not that I forgot or anything...
Instead a close up of my attack on the war wagon. One medium foot and two lights vs one wagon, and one medium foot vs the other.
I often wonder if one of the advantages of the war wagon is confusing your opponent with all its rules!
THIS time I remembered the mediums were triggered. Dispatching two of the mediums to chase them off. Sending another four mediums after the Italians in the East, and the last two charged the war wagons! Then was a small rules check to see what the lights could do, they can engage, as long as a 'heavier' unit has engaged first. Knights charged Knights.
The Italian Knights seem to be a touch confused and three of them are trapped in a horseshoe of their own troops.
I think in his effort to get the War Wagons into the knights the Italians have managed to get a little jammed up.
The wagons have now been caught by foot and there is more foot coming at them.
The knight fight is even, three on three (well two on two with support). the other Italian knights are not in the fight yet, so this is a win for the Peoples Crusade!
Italian turn, and this time they get a photo! Italian knights in the centre, seeing the war wagons about to get chopped into so much kindling, turn around. They will punish these medium foot for the war wagon destroying ways.
Fun fact with wargons. Phasing player gets to chose the fighting partners. So in my turn it's a -1 disordered war wagon fighting a + 1 medium foot, with General + 1 and a support +1. That a +4 my way. In the Italian turn the war wagon gets to beat up on the light foot! It becomes a 0 war wagon (War wagons are +1 vs light foot, dropping to 0 for disorder) vs a 0 light foot with support. So only +1 in my favour. Fighting war wagons is weird. However, still chop the blighter up.
In other fun news the Peoples crusade get a turn, don't have the pips to order the medium foot to charge in the Far East, this is were the joy of impetuous comes in. Little guys are so keen to go the stabby that they charge in all be themselves. The get a - 1 for this, but the still have support so are up, and the 1/2 troop type of the Italians fight as mediocre. Goes very badly for the two Italian units.
In the Center the Knight general uses his pips to stop his knight command from charging into the wall of Italian knights to the North. I want to hold off until the war wagon is dead and can bring a vast superiority of numbers to bear. Levy engage in the West, its even money in all fights but vs the elite, armoured general included dude, which we loose. We win two of the other four, all very statistical.
Highlighted a few levy. this is another issue with this army that I seem to encounter. Random levy just left behind who just sit there doing nothing for turns. Am sure better general wouldn't allow this.
Battle is heating up! Four levy rout this turn as knight charges and heavy spear keep chopping away, though some good news as a one knight charge stalls doing no damage! Thats a win for levy. In the Centre the Italians take a risk. One knight conforms to the Crusader knight general, the others get ready to slam into the medium foot. Why risky? If the conforming knight dies in one round, going to leave you nastily exposed. Crusader knight is up +2 (general and support) and elite, so needs to win be three on the dice roll. So maybe not high risk. Red splatch indicates the outcome of the roll..... In the far East the 1/2 Italian troop routs and four medium foot break out their camp supplies and get comfy, they are out of this battle and happy to sing kum ba ya.
Overall, this is going okayish for the levy. Hits have been done and the second wave is correctly positioned. I don't really have a plan for the Papal Guard (the uber heavy spearmen unit), but am hoping he Italians break before I need to worry about it.
Its a devastating turn for the Italians. Two of their knight units get flanked charged and routed and the war wagon falls. They no longer have a centre. They also seem to be struggling to beat levy in combat with fully armoured knights. Second rank of levy go in in the West and draw both combats, not good for the levy, but the Italians are close to breaking.
Thats one knight vs three knights and three medium foot. He does have his General there to shout encouragement and remind him of his duty.
Papal Guard routs the levy it was fighting. The little guy held on for turns against a far superior opponent. I don't believe Peoples Crusade does medals, we are all equal in Gods eyes, but these guys deserve an extra serve of.... well whatever they serve the unwashed masses. The long knight charges a medium foot up in the North East, routs him on contact. The knight accepts he is not long for this world, when a miracle happens. The Italians surrender! They were only one pip off breaking last turn and they took two hit in the centre, one on a knight.... by a levy... (giggle).
Victory to the good guys! Unwashed masses meals all round! Double serve!
So what went right. Think the biggest factor here was the Italian traffic jam. Combined with how poorly the knights did in combat (yes they blew straight through the first levy, however, that was it!). They only managed to rout two levy units all game.
I can't explain why I put the steep hill where I did. It doesn't make any sense. I gave my opponent a wall to anchor his line on. Just not thinking. Otherwise I am okay with how I played. I still don't move the levy as effectively as needed and waste pips, or just leave guys behind. I am wondering if a shorter line might be better served? Still toying with the idea of splitting up the knights so you just can't avoid them.
Not going to mention the cheating, we all make mistakes... am only human!