First run out: Early Visigoths vs Spartans

[grahambriggs]

We had out first game of V2 at the club last night: Early Visigoth with a Carpi ally vs Classical Greek Spartans.

The Greeks were 9x6s of drilled hoplites ( a mix from superior armoured to average protected), a BG of armoured cavalry and 5 BGs of average and poor LF.

The Goths were 3x12 average and 8 superior HF protected warband, 2x4 protected superior lancers. The Carpi added a BG of MF average warband, one of superior MF falxmen and one of LH. Also there were 4BGs of average LF.

I'll just note the main changes we identified, rather than the full AAR:

TCs only being able to control 2 BGs in a battle line had an effect on army design for the Goths: 2 12s move better than 3 8s. That meant in colse combet the Goth generals could influence more bases.

Deployment was interesting. Do you go three deep for resilince when it comes to cohesion tests? Do you use rear support too? But if you do both, you're too narrow. In the end, the warband were mostly 3 deep but unsupported and the Greeks two deep and unsupported. In V1 I'd have put the superior armoured Greeks to the front and given them rear support and generals to ride out the impact (which would be 1 base vs 1 base) then the ++ in melee tears the warband apart and you exploit the hole to take the army out. In V2 that won't necessarily work. The impact is a little more scary but the big change is only a single plus POA and hard to break 3 deep warband in melee as you need a lot of hits now to take down their morale.

Deploying the main line (both sides) 12 MU in and marching to 4MU of lights menat things kicked off sooner, so faster game plus less time to muck around with light foot. One side got the advantage here which might have lost a few attrition points in V1 but didn't here as there wasn't nough time to push units to broken.

Impact was more important. We had three warband vs hoplite fights and one lancer vs light spear cavalry. The dice were somewhat extreme but it was noticeable that more moderate dice would have had a similar effect:

12 Warband vs 2BGs of protected spear: One spear unit took the brunt, lost heavily and on a -3 dropped to fragged. The other lost 1-0 and went disrupted as this is still a -2. The spear then crumbled.

12 Warband vs protected spear (av) and superior armoured spear. Goths lost impact heavily and disrupted. The warband died in time as the Greeks are on a +. It took 1 bound longer than v1 as there was no ++ for the spartiates and so they didn't always do the 6 hits to give a minus on the test.

10 MF warband vs 6 average protected spear. Idiotic Wb lose impact and disrupt (-lots as we're in the open) then fragment in melee. So MF Wb still dodgy in open.

Protected Lancers vs armoured Light spear cav. Labncers win big on impact near table edge, so armoured cav disrupt (-4). Not real difference to v1 here.

[timmy1]

Graham

Thank you - very useful summary.

[mbsparta]

Must have been "Very-Very-Early-Visigoths" ..... hehehehe

Thanks for the report. I am awaiting my copy of V2. We are playing Macedonians vs Greeks on Saturday. Whished we had V2 to try. Although I don't think V2 would impact this game too much???

Mike B

[stecal]

"Deployment was interesting. Do you go three deep for resilince when it comes to cohesion tests?"

Maybe I am dense. What would this do for you? Is there some rules modifier I am missing?

[ShrubMiK]

Less likelihood of suffering 2 hits per base and hence a penalty of -1 on the CT

[philqw78]

and you don't end up 1 deep after a base loss is the other reason for 3 deep

[stecal]

thanks, I always go 3 deep myself. Just thought there might have been some self supporting V2 rule for being 3 deep or something.