I chose NKE
IC, TC
4x4 Superior Light Chariots Drilled Bow
1x4 Elite Light Chariots Drilled Bow
2x6 MF Unprotected Drilled Bow
2x6 MF Protected Drilled Light Spear Swordsmen
2x12 MF Protected Undrilled Impact Foot Swordsmen
My opponent was using Mayan
IC, TC
3x8 MF Protected Average Light Spear Bow
2x6 LF Average Sling
7x6 MF Protected Superior Javelins Impact Foot Swordsmen
We used a river to deliniate the edge of the world and started 4" in from the edge of the cloth. We both chose a lot of terrain, but with the smaller table a lot didn't make it on. The large lumps are broken ground with the smaller lumps being rough going. Terrain didn't really play a large part in the battle.
The Mayans had brought a wodge of field fortifications with them though and put them in the centre of the battlefield.
Initital deployment looked like this:
I was going to put my second block of impact foot in the gap between the chariots and the egyptian foot, but with all those superior impact foot facing me I decided to deploy them on my left out of harms way. My Light Chariots faced off the average bowmen behind the fortifications so I could keep them honest whilst pushing forward on the left. My Elite chariots were on the left wing, just to the left of the warband.
Phil won the initiative and went first, pushing hard down my right wing and trying to run away on my left. I did the exact opposite... the Battlegroup on the far left failed it's CMT so had to stay put.
This theme continued in the next pair of bounds, but I turned some of my chariots to try and flank the Mayans flying down the right wing.
Some of the Mayans turned to try and plug the hole that was appearing on their left flank, even my unprotected bowmen were eyeing up a flank charge
I was readying myself for a charge on the left wing with my Superior and Elite Chariots into Superior Mayan Warband. The factors are that the Chariots are plus at impact but minus in melee. They need to make a dent...
In a fairly disastrous shooting round, three of my chariot units got shot to disrupted, despite having an IC wandering about and being superior...
On the left, Phil charged my warband so that I couldn't charge him then expand. I won the melee 6-5 and the Mayans disrupted and lost a man.
The melee went equally as well for the Mayans and they lost a further man and dropped to fragmented.
Things were starting to look OK on the right, apart from my MF who got shot to disrupted by poxy javelins...
On the left wing it was time for the chariots to prove their worth... we charged!
Impact was a mixed bag... I only scored one hit with six dice against the unit on the left and seven hits on the unit with the general. The Mayan on the left scored no hits and the one with the general got three. The unit that lost 1-0 promptly disrupted and lost a man and the unit with the general threw a fifteen and lost a man...
I had lost a chariot to bowfire in the middle, but the unit charged with the IC to help them and my chariots on the right also charged a unit of MF Average Bow.
Again, impact was mixed, I lost the impact with the chariots with the IC, but managed to survive the cohesion and death roll. On the right I won 4-3, I lost a chariot and the Average Bows lost a man and disrupted.
In the combat phase on the left, I managed to get five hits on the steady unit, but none on the disrupted unit
The steady unit lost a man, but passed their cohesion, despite having an impressive -4 on the dice roll (losing to mounted, 25%, threatened flank, taken one per two hits and lost by two or more. The general giving a +1)
But my warband in the middle broke the Mayans and pursued enthusiastically. This had rather unfortunate consequences as it prevented my Elite chariots breaking off
On the right I was fairly happy with how things were going, I moved both units to within charge range with my bowmen lurking with intent.
The Mayans failed their test to charge and went in. Needless to say, impact was less than brilliant for the egyptians...
The unit on the left fragmented and the unit on the right lost a man.
My elite chariots had broken off fragmented now the warband had moved off, so my superior chariots charged.
My warband also charged the unit of average bows behind the fortifications. This was evens in melee and evens in combat, but I re-rolled one's at impact. The impact was a draw!
On the right, in the melee phase there was an utter disaster... both units broke, taking the general off table with them and disrupting the bowmen in the process...
My warband did disrupt the bowmen being the fortifications though, although my chariots broke off a chariot light and disrupted.
My chariots broke the average bowmen on the right and pursued over the fortifications, looking at the camp longingly. The Mayans in the broken ground charged my chariots, losing a man in the process, but staying steady.
Back on the left, my elite chariots charged and drew the impact
My chariots continued their pursuit and ended up in range of some peasant sligners. What could possibly go wrong?
In the middle my chariots had been shot to fragmented, but my bowmen were offering some moral support, if nothing more substantial.
On the right my chariots broke off with the bowmen wondering whether they had the time to cause mischief to the four base unit before the steady impact foot behind them caught up...
My superior chariots charged on the far left and both of the mayan units were now disrupted. The average bow behind the fortifications were fragmented and my bowmen had deployed into a battle formation. It probably wouldn't save the chariots though.
My bowmen decided on the right they didn't have any time for some mischief and promptly scarpered. Note the disrupted chariots in the top of the picture...
In the middle my chariots broke, disrupting the bowmen. Clearly the IC was incompetent! I was grinding down the mayans on the far left, with the three man unit now fragmented.
On the right, my chariots had been shot to fragmented by the peasant slingers. Well done chaps, good effort... but I did manage to disrupt the bowmen in the middle
On the left I broke one of the mayan units, but the other bolstered to steady and I broke off. I eventually broke the bowmen in the middle and pursued them over the fortifications. This left some peasant slingers looking distinctly surrounded. Note the broken chariots in the top right corner...
The Mayans were pushing inwards on my right.
My bowmen could not afford to be charged on the left, being minus at both impact and melee. So I turned and ran.
I was also running away from the enemy on the right.
The pesky mayans expanded pinning my bowmen
My disrupted chariots, formed up and threatened the flank of the Mayan bowmen, allowing my bowmen to turn and scarper.
But the Mayan bowmen followed my Bowmen and the units behind the chariots were pressing. My warband had turned right and were again eyeing up the Mayan camp. Only some pesky slingers in the way... I'm sure I'd been here before....
My IC bolstered the chariots and the bowmen and my other warband had turned around and had visions of smashing into bowmen in the open.
The chariots turned around giving my bowmen the opportunity to escape. My warband expanded, removing any embarassment against slingers. Taking the camp would break the Mayan army, but the egyptians had lost 8/11 Attrition Points.
The bowmen decided they didn't want to face off a 12 man warband unit and turned back towards the chariots.
As my warband got inexorably closer to the camp
My chariots having clearly understood they were the sacraficial lambs that would allow the bowmen to escape were shot to disrupted.
The slingers moved close to the warband to force me to charge and hope I threw very short.
I charged the slingers and threw a six, meaning I was millimetres short of the camp. My Chariots having clearly given up were shot to fragmented and broke when charged. The IC had moved away meaning there were no tests and my warband charged the camp to break the Mayan army. The Egyptians having lost 10/11 Attrition Points.
Cracking game, the superior movement of the Egyptians was critical in that failed manoever tests for the Mayans cost them dear. The Mayans did get lucky against the Egyptian foot though where the bowmen could have caused mayhem had two steady units not broken in a single impact and melee phase.
Using the new scoring system it was 26-18 to the NKE.
