Which ECW army best for Period Newbie?
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timmy1
- Lieutenant-General - Nashorn
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- Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:39 pm
- Location: Chelmsford, Essex, England
Which ECW army best for Period Newbie?
I have a pal who is an experienced wargamer but who has little or no knowledge of the period (but who is an experienced FoG:AM player). He is considering building an ECW army. Which one would you recommend for such a player to start using?
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Blathergut
- Field Marshal - Elefant
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- Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
Re: Which ECW army best for Period Newbie?
Early war Parliament was by far the most interest list. I still miss running those heavily armoured cuirassiers in 2paks with commanded shotte along with them! Were great for splitting up enemy fire!
The New Model army was good at fighting but not much choice all in all.
The New Model army was good at fighting but not much choice all in all.
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deadtorius
- Field Marshal - Me 410A
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- Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:41 am
Re: Which ECW army best for Period Newbie?
What armies do your other opponents have?
We started with ECW but have since morphed them into 30 YW Catholic and Protestant German. Much more variety in troop types, so we found it more interesting to play these armies.
I grudgingly have to second Blatherguts recommendation, my Early Royalists have remained almost winless against them
We started with ECW but have since morphed them into 30 YW Catholic and Protestant German. Much more variety in troop types, so we found it more interesting to play these armies.
I grudgingly have to second Blatherguts recommendation, my Early Royalists have remained almost winless against them
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kevinj
- Major-General - Tiger I
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- Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:21 am
- Location: Derbyshire, UK
Re: Which ECW army best for Period Newbie?
I think for ECW it really boils down to where your sympathies lie. I personally feel much happier as Parliamentarians. I also have Royalists but mainly to lend to an opponent!
For the Parliamentarians, for me, there's very little to choose between the 1644 Eastern Association list and New Model Army. The EAs have a few more mounted options (e.g. Carbine/Pistol Horse) but the NMA can have an extra BG of Superior foot. For a Newbie I think the Superiors will be useful to provide some extra resilience so I'd probably go for NMA. The massed average options of the Early Parliamentarian or the pikeless Northern Association option probably require more familiarity with the rules to fully exploit.
For the Royalists I'd go with the Later option, again to benefit from the Superior Foot. As with the Parliamentarians, the more obscure variants (Cornish or Rapid Raiding Force) probably need more experience.
All of that said, unless you're looking to model specific units, there is a fair amount of interchangeability in these, so you could start with one option and then easily morph it into one of the others.
For the Parliamentarians, for me, there's very little to choose between the 1644 Eastern Association list and New Model Army. The EAs have a few more mounted options (e.g. Carbine/Pistol Horse) but the NMA can have an extra BG of Superior foot. For a Newbie I think the Superiors will be useful to provide some extra resilience so I'd probably go for NMA. The massed average options of the Early Parliamentarian or the pikeless Northern Association option probably require more familiarity with the rules to fully exploit.
For the Royalists I'd go with the Later option, again to benefit from the Superior Foot. As with the Parliamentarians, the more obscure variants (Cornish or Rapid Raiding Force) probably need more experience.
All of that said, unless you're looking to model specific units, there is a fair amount of interchangeability in these, so you could start with one option and then easily morph it into one of the others.