Do I need more pike?

[AlanYork]

As I'm getting married next year and will finally be "responsible" (well it had to happen sometime, I am 42 after all!!) I am having one last big buy of wargame figures before matrimonial poverty sets in lol.

At present I have just one ancient army but it's massive...Macedonians. I have the lot, there isn't a single Hellenistic army I can't do . In the army there are 8 bases of silver shield pikes (elites), 8 bases of white shield pikes (elites or average depending on how I structure the army) and 12 bases of bronze shields (ordinary, I use them to provide my line phalangites)

I usually field a Later Seleucid army, complete with cataphracts and elephants and have 2 BGs each of 8 elite pike and 1 BG of 12 average pike, organised as above.

How do you guys feel about the structure? The right balance of 8s and 12s, elites and ordinaries? Could you conceive of a circumstance where it might be handy to have another BG of phalangites or to soup the 8s up to 12s? Or is that sufficient? We've just started playing 800 points as we get to grips with the rules a bit more.

As an aside I'm told it's recommended to field cataphract BGs in 6s, 2 ranks of 3. I can't do this as I have 4 Essex cataphracts and 4 Old Glory ones. Well ok, I suppose I could, but it just looks awful, the figures look ok in seperate BGs but don't look right one behind the other, so I'm inclined to stick to 2 BGs of 4. Am I slightly handicapping myself on the grounds of aesthetics here?

[rbodleyscott]

Do I need more pikes?

The answer is always yes (if you have any at all).

[madmike111]

Pikes are good, using logical then, more pikes are better. Pick up the extra ones.

[stenic]

I usually field a Later Seleucid army, complete with cataphracts and elephants and have 2 BGs each of 8 elite pike and 1 BG of 12 average pike, organised as above.

As an aside I'm told it's recommended to field cataphract BGs in 6s, 2 ranks of 3. I can't do this as I have 4 Essex cataphracts and 4 Old Glory ones. Well ok, I suppose I could, but it just looks awful, the figures look ok in seperate BGs but don't look right one behind the other, so I'm inclined to stick to 2 BGs of 4. Am I slightly handicapping myself on the grounds of aesthetics here?

Doesn't the list limit the better pike to 1 BG of 8, and they are superior rather than elite ?

As for the Cats 2 BGs of 4 works ok in low point games (650) but 6s are much less brittle and work well in 800+ AP games. Just buy more figures so you can pick and chose After all, it it your final blowout !!

Steve P

[CrazyHarborc]

Have you searched around for sales? Do you have an army/armies selected for creating "someday"? Then there's all those pikes you don't have yet......Pikes are our friends.

Hints I learned the hard way. When moving to your new home....do NOT let your spouse carry boxes containing your future warriors. In fact unless your spouse is a gamer, it is wise to not let them get a look at ALL the unpainted and or ALL the painted/ready to use troops. Beware the words "what will "we" do with all these toy soldiers". Words to remember as an answer........."They are already paid for".

Start practicing NOW to keep your hobby goodies out of the reach of tiny little hands. Six feet up off the floor is usually high enough out of reach.......Until they are about 2 and a half years old.

[Redpossum]

Have you searched around for sales? Do you have an army/armies selected for creating "someday"? Then there's all those pikes you don't have yet......Pikes are our friends.

Hints I learned the hard way. When moving to your new home....do NOT let your spouse carry boxes containing your future warriors. In fact unless your spouse is a gamer, it is wise to not let them get a look at ALL the unpainted and or ALL the painted/ready to use troops. Beware the words "what will "we" do with all these toy soldiers". Words to remember as an answer........."They are already paid for".

Start practicing NOW to keep your hobby goodies out of the reach of tiny little hands. Six feet up off the floor is usually high enough out of reach.......Until they are about 2 and a half years old.

Massively important. Miniatures are LEAD, and infants are much much more vulnerable to lead poisoning than adults. Adults usually recover very well; infants usually suffer permanent brain damage. I am not suggesting there is any danger in having them in the house, just in letting little hands put them in little mouths and chew on them. And you know how kids are, for the first 3 years, everything they get their hands on goes right in the mouth

Just keep the minis and materials out of reach, clean up your work area thoroughly and dispose of waste in an outside trashcan, not one inside the house.

Oh and the last paragraph of the post above is not a joke. Kids are attracted to anything out of reach, and become resourceful enough to access a high shelf at an appallingly early age

[AlanYork]

I usually field a Later Seleucid army, complete with cataphracts and elephants and have 2 BGs each of 8 elite pike and 1 BG of 12 average pike, organised as above.

As an aside I'm told it's recommended to field cataphract BGs in 6s, 2 ranks of 3. I can't do this as I have 4 Essex cataphracts and 4 Old Glory ones. Well ok, I suppose I could, but it just looks awful, the figures look ok in seperate BGs but don't look right one behind the other, so I'm inclined to stick to 2 BGs of 4. Am I slightly handicapping myself on the grounds of aesthetics here?

Doesn't the list limit the better pike to 1 BG of 8, and they are superior rather than elite ?

As for the Cats 2 BGs of 4 works ok in low point games (650) but 6s are much less brittle and work well in 800+ AP games. Just buy more figures so you can pick and chose After all, it it your final blowout !!

Steve P

Sorry, I was using elite as a general term for "better", not in the FoG sense of the word. Actually the Later Seleucid list permits up to 16 Argyraspid (Superior) pike in BGs of 8 - 12.

As for the kids thing that other posters mentioned, at 42 I have no intention of starting a family and my fiancee is in complete accordance with me thankfully. However that doesn't detract from the wisdom of the words.