The most morphable army for the Ancients period

[ShadowbendStudios]

Hello everyone;
I'm coming to you all today with a specific question. What do you think the most morphable army is for the Field of Glory Ancients rules. Here is why I am asking.

I have a friend who I game with. He is very interested in FoG and we have played a few games together using my figures and some foam core cut out bases. I am one of those old school wargamers.... "damn the mortgage, I need more armies!!!" but he is on a very limited budget and can afford one army to play over a broad time period.

So, what do you think the most morphable army would be for him. Keep in mind also that we are rather flexible with regard to accuracy. The individual figures don't need to be exactly, precisely perfect (at least for his army... mine on the other hand... well, we won't go there)

Thank you in advance for any suggestions, recommendations and assistance.

Take care,
Skip

[benos]

I would definitly suggest a nomad army for that (generic nomads can be used for Huns, various chinese nomads, mongols, khazars, etc and used historically against Romans, Chinese, byzantines, arabs, medevials, samurai) and if you are not too subjective could cover skythians as well matching up against macedonians, persians babylonians and similar.
In fact the only books some kind of nomad army doesn't appear in are Blood and gold and storm of arrows.

Ben

[Fluffy]

There are 2 approaches I know for this:

1. If you want your army to look sort of historical, I would advise you choose a period that gives you lots of variation, medieval European, Chinese and Alexandrian and/or Successors come to mind.

2. (I started by doing this) If you just want your troops to look like the right troop type, you go about collecting troop types, i.e. have a 12 bow and use them for any army, have 12 spear and use them for any army and so forth (collect the troop types you like using first).
For 2. start with an army that has variation within the list, Carthage, Alexandrian and Late Imperial Roman come to mind.

[ethan]

I think there are three heavily morhpable groups:

- Medievals are a solid base for a number of armies.

- Islamics are another base that can support a lot of different stuff

- Hellenistics

The Hellenistics have the disadvantage that the armies are the most similar to each other.

[ravenflight]

I believe you have to be more specific. What kind of army does your friend like to use? Do they like 'Heavy Foot' armies? Does he like 'shooting cavalry armies'.

Morphing armies are:

Early Greek types - you can start with Alexandrian Pike and have several options open to you with small investments. For example, you can start with a stock 'Alexandrian Imperial' style army. Lots of pike, some Medium foot, some Companions and some lights. You now have an army. Add some more (Poor) Pike, and you have a Ptolemaic. Add a few scythed chariots and you have a Seleucid. Add a few more medium foot and you have a Lysimachid army. Add some Catephracts (Make them very heavily armoured cavalry instead of Cataphracts and you can use them as either) and you have a Pontic (I think) army. Add some Indian bowmen with the Catephracts and you have a Bactrian Army. You're now starting to have the makings of an Achemenid army. Add some Hoplites and you have an Early period pike army. With the makings of the Achemenids and Hoplites you can make Cyrus' army.

Having said that, the same could be said for the Medievals. Bunch of spearmen, bunch of knights and they could be anyone. Add archers and you've got a HYW army. etc etc.

Having said that, nothing beats Dark Ages. No difference between any of the troops except table manners, and even that is in dispute.

Ultimately, I'd be urging the 'don't worry about the facts' mentality. I'm on a limited budget and I'll happily use my Vikings as dismounted Norman Knights. Sure, they are round shields instead of teardrop, but I'm not going to pay the piper just so people don't say 'oh, they aren't Nomans'.

[philqw78]

Arab and Nomad types probably cover the widest area with the largest time span if you do not wish to be too accurate.
Horse archers especially can be very generic. I have 4 BG that are used almost every time I play as they are so, average/normal/non-distinct. Can't even think of a word to describe them they are so unnoticeable.


I could field more than 30 x 800pt armies simultaneously. Except I need these 4 BG of LH in a lot of them

[nikgaukroger]

IIRC Dave Allen's plastics have held the title of most morphable army at times

[IanP]

I would endorse what everyone else has said.

To summarise:
Hellenic
Generic Dark Ages *
Generic Nomad *
Generic Islamic
Generic Medieval *

Note, * for a more consistent feel you probably need to follow an “early” or “later” period theme.

In addition, as has been touched on, there is also what I think of as the “mix and match” approach. For instance, a selection of Numidians, Spanish and Gauls can mix in with a number of Carthaginian, Greek and Roman armies.
A combination of these approaches would be units from early Medieval and Islamic to produce Crusader and Sicilian armies, or Nomads and Frankish knights to bulk out a Byzantine list.

[Skullzgrinda]

I agree with those who mentioned steppe armies.

You can go a long way with cavalry with spangenhelm and a lance, and bare headed light horse. Saka, Sarmatians, Alans, Huns, Byzantines, Avars, Bulgars, Cumans, Turks, Central Asians, even Mongols . . .

As your friend is budget conscious and really just striving for the silhouette, 10mm might be an attractive option too - less expense and less detail. Sarmatians would be a good start.

If your friend is not oriented towards horse armies and prefers foot, spangenhelm and a round shield for foot and cavalry if he inclines towards Dark Ages armies, spangenhelm and kite shields if he inclines towards feudal and early Medieval.

Brown guys in white loincloths with spears and leather shields will work for about 2/3rds of the armies in Swifter Than Eagles, and 1/2 of the armies in Blood and Gold.

Your friend should play more games. None of the advice above is any good should he prove to be enamored of Macedonian type pike armies where nothing but the proper castings will give the right appearance, ditto something like Indians or Samurai. When he discovers the army he loves, he will be less interested in a generic army.

In direct answer to your specific question though, I think a healthy mix of Sarmatian cavalry and light horse is the most morphable army, covering the greatest span of time.

[davesaunders23]

IIRC Dave Allen's plastics have held the title of most morphable army at times

HEHEHE...very amused.

dave