The League of Ancients (Melbourne, Australia) is hosting an ADLG tournament! They play at an RSL and beers are available from 10am every day. I mean I would have gone anyway, but this little bonus guarantees my attendance.
Lists are to be chosen from pre-493 AD, but are otherwise unrestricted. So with that in mind I turned up to the League of Ancients to get some practice in.
The baddies. There is a lot of hardness in this army. Heavy Cavalry impact, elephants and pike with an Elite Pike General! Am not sold on the elephant with the pike. Pike tend not to be overly scared of cavalry. I suppose it helps vs the occasional chariot problem? Medium foot command, here I like the elephant (as much as I can like elephants) as this command doesn't have a lot of 'kick' the elephant provides some furious charge and anti mounted which medium sword REALLY need!
The good guys! I tend towards less complex lists. This... this is not that. Mixed units, Javelinmen, medium cavalry and a partridge in a pear tree. I have been against mixed units. Expensive and don't fight well, mixed units drop a quality level when it comes to the stabby part of combat. The theory is the mediocre is worth a -.5 modifier in combat (ish), if the mixed unit can get a hit in before the stabby, then technically the mixed unit is better by +.5 (disordering the enemy unit by -1 with the bow shot). Add in that mounted REALLY don't like bows being pointed at them and maybe I have been too hasty disregarding the mixed unit.
I have a secret love of javelinmen and wish I could use them better. They are also anti elephant, though I struggle to get
them to fight the elephant, there always seems to be another foot unit keen to have a go at the javelinmen.
Two heavy chariots as my small hammer. Don't judge me by my size! (insert full yoda reference here)
Assyrians elect to attack and you can see some fields and a gentle hill with some fields on it. Was not expecting two elephants. Not sure how I feel about it. I do like how the elephants are fielded in the second rank, more options to redeploy the big barftards.
I often don't take a pick of the first bound. So little happens, so save space and just update on the movements with some witty text.
Of course this back fires when something actually happens. In this case the Seleucid charged the Assyrian light horse, who rolled short and couldn't get through friendly troops, so wheeled a little. This allowed the nasty Seleucid to roll long and catch him! Even though I thought I was being so clever and keeping more than two UD away.
The rout (death) zone for the Assyrian light horse clips two light foot and the chariot, just. The Seleucid is +2 (rear and javelin) the Assyrian does not die!
The Assyrians are grateful to be able to save their light horse, but has created a little bit of a traffic jam in the East. In the West the Assyrians are driving their cavalry through a field. Am sure there is a Warfare rule book somewhere that says "Mounted, Field, Bad"
+2 up, but needed to win on the dice by 1 (for a total of 3 and a dead Assyrian light horse plus three disorder markers). Worth the risk. It didn't pay off and the Seleucid paid with his life. However, it has created a traffic jam and the Assyrians have some issues to sort out.
Bowfire! Seleucid advance. Interestingly the elephant in the West goes East and not towards the cavalry in the field. Centre elephant also heads off East... maybe there are peanuts in the East?
MORE BOWFIRE. In the West the mixed bow is firing at +3 (+2 once you take into account Medium foots protection) this is a good war. More importantly, the Assyrians have got their cavalry out of the field and are happy shooting away. In the East the lights are taking toll on the Assyrian mixed bow, but has cost the life of one of the Seleucid light foot.
Lights have good odds against bow, but its not great odds and with only two cohesion only takes a slight bump in the bell curve to see your light infantry turned all porcupine like and scurrying home.
In the West the Assyrians rain of bow fire continues to reign supreme! The Seleucid flank may fall to bow fire. In the East the Companions come charging in. The Assyrians didn't have their heavy chariot forward enough and the Seleucid heavy cavalry general hits the mixed units ZoC first. This goes about as well as could be expected and the mixed Assyrian routs.
Assyrians turn to charge. The Centre and the East are lost, tis just a matter of time, but the West are the West is where the Assyrians have a chance to win this war! Starts out well with shooting taking out the medium foot in the field which routs through their mates, routing them as well! Combat... well combat was less impressive. The Assyrian General joined in the party and was +3 up! ..... and drew. Stoopid dice. Next to him you have an elite Assyrian vs medium foot, so up +0.5 he lost.... Generals battle it out for a draw in the centre and a lone charito is taking on the Companions in the East.
So that is how you get bowfire to work, you just need LOTS of it.
Light infantry fire is slowly taking its toll on the Assyrian medium cavalry in the West, with luck they wont be hanging around for much longer. In the centre the pike line hits.... the pike General puts three hits on a damaged Assyrian sword and just like that, the Assyrian centre is in REAL trouble. Seleucid general leaves combat, confident on the pike to carry the day. In the West the Elephant charges in! Supported Medium only takes the one hit (thank gawd for support) and the General led Assyrian Medium routs his opponent!
I don't like elephants. I don't like them on a plane (seems self evident why that is a bad idea), I don't like them on a train, I do not like elephants.
13 points of stampy being held up by seven points of medium foot. The elephant is not even that big a chance to win the combat due to 'support' on medium foot.
In the West the Elephant is taken down in a three way elephant BBQ BYO plate. Stampy has a 50/50 to rampage through something important... and doesn't. This flank now belongs to the Assyrians! Which is good cause the centre belongs to the Seleucid. The East, hmm the East is a little bit more of a crap shoot, or it will be until the pike can swing around and make it more Seleucid.
Seleucid turn. The West is a mass of Assyrians being held up by an elephant and a damaged Thorakti wearing armour. The fun part is the two light foot in the West hunting an Assyrian cavalry. This is a 0 v 0 fight so as soon as the Seleucids win the dice roll the Medium Cavalry routs!
Not marked, but if you look closely in the field to the West you can see a Seleucid light infantry flank charging the mixed medium foot unit. This is balsy, but the Seleucids situation is actually getting pretty dire. The Assyrians have lost their centre, but have only lost four units so far. So the Seleucids are taking some calculated risks to even up the scoreboard.
The Elite, Armoured, Supported, CREAM of Assyrian heavy infantry is hard flanked in the centre and destroyed. The centre is being held by a mixed heavy sword command being held together by a general constantly screaming DONT BREAK just behind them. There is a Heavy Chariot floating around, but he is soon to be outnumbered. In the East the Seleucid charged.... into the field as well. This isn't as damming as I thought. The cavalry is down -1, but is elite and armoured and you only need one win to even the odds. The rest of the Assyrian cavalry held cause... I think I was too scared to risk the evasion dice and was a little stunned at the whole cavalry in the field thing.
The dice they can TURN. A quick rally and the Assyrians put the Seleucids on the back foot!
The Assyrians send two units to sack the camp. A less kinder interpretation is that the medium cavalry is running for its life from two light foot.... The Assyrians bring up some support in the field to CRUSH the Seleucid light foot! +2 up! 1 v 6 on the die and the Assyrians take two hits. No matter! The Assyrians hard flank the sole remaining Thorakti the Elite Heavy foot is up +2... nothing happens. I am a mite.... disappointed.
The Assyrians no longer have a centre, they do have a heavy chariot general guarding the camp. In the East it all goes the Assyrians way!
Grumble... stoopid light troops... grumble... dice hate me... don't know why I play this game.
In the West the Seleucid general joins the fight! Yup and general joining an light foot to make the dice even (technically the light is 0.5 better off due to mediocre rating of mixed unit) you can't argue with success as he routs the Assyrians! The Seleucid Pike General is steaming over to assist the flank, but is probably a turn to late.
There is no centre to report on.
In the East the Seleucid General withdraws from combat COWARD! While the cavalry trade further on.
After taking two hits in a row, the Assyrian medium cavalry is living a charmed life. It can now go sack the camp and not be shot at any more.
Of course sacking the camp would require pips and the so called Brilliant Assyrian General is against having too many of those. Instead a light horse is dispatched to burn the women and children. The Seleucids are now broken! But I would never let that detail stop me adding to my Ivory collection as the Assyrians flank charge the elephant and crush it with on mighty swing!
Victory to the good guys!
I like this Assyrian list, I think I could get into mixed units. I don't like elephants. Nothing new there.
I think my biggest mistake was simply not engaging in the centre and East. Should have turned around and walked away, buying one of two turns. Probably sacrificing the mixed unit that ended up out of place. With two more turns could have collapsed the Western flank and suddenly the pike fight is a whole lot more fun. A strategic withdrawal was my best bet here.
Otherwise,happy with the game. Lets see how the Assyrians do against mass polearm in the next battle!