Just wanted to thank the organisers and my opponents for a great Doubles comp

in Burton.

 

Apologies for the long post...

 

After using elephant armies for pretty much the last two years, I had bought

some Romans and had been wanting to try them out using the Palmyran list but

with the unusual trick of a fortified BUA Isolated Tower - which I promptly

christened the Hotel Palmyra.

 

My list was :

CinC Kn(X)

4 x Kn(X), 2 x Reg Lh(S), 2 x Reg Lh(F),

2 x Reg Cv(O), 8 x Irr Bw(I) - 24ME

 

Sub-gen Kn(X) plus 2 more

8 x Irr Bw(I), 1 x Art (O) - 15ME

 

Roman Sub-gen Cv(O)

2 x Reg Cv(O), 3 x Irr Cm(O), 6 x Reg Bd(O), 6 x Reg Bw(O),

4 x Reg Ax(O), 4 x Irr Ps(O), 1 x Reg Ps(O) - 27.5ME

 

Sub-general Kn(X)

1 x Kn(X), 4 x Reg Lh(S) - 12ME

 

Baggage 8 x Irr Bge(F) 8ME

 

Firstly, my list was wrong - the small command should only have had 1 Bge and I

also shouldn't have had 1 Reg Ps(O). Small errors that didn't change any of my

matches 1 jot.

 

The general idea was to defend (Ag 1) & slap down a dune on one flank, as much

rocky hills as I could in the centre and the Hotel Palmyra on the other flank.

Then push forward with the expendable Bw(I) up front with the cataphracts

behind. My small command was my reserve. The only strategem was Scouting - which

was what my horse archers were for. When I looked at my army though, it was

tiny. One opponent believed I had an ambush simply because they believed it

surely couldn't be THAT small.

 

It was important to defend - not least because the Art(O) could only deploy from

PF....

 

1st game was a Palmyran Civil War against John Saunders & Steve Coope

 

I invaded...<sigh>!! My opponents tried to work my left flank resting on the

dunes whilst I struggled a little with poor pips, made the mistake of not going

after my opponents right flank, instead of sending reinforcements to the left.

But we timed out with my opponents just getting their 10% and me just failing to

get mine! 11-14 to them..

 

2nd game was vs Han Chinese. Hotel Palmyra made an appearance with me defending.

Cue much head-scratching & earnest discussion on how to deal with it!. I made my

standard terrain choice of a 2 FE dune, 2 roads, small BUAf, & 2 small pieces of

rough.

 

Using first move, I swapped my legionaries so that they had the right matchup &

attacked with my Romans against his Bow. Meanwhile I attacked his art(O) and,

after forgetting it defends with a combat factor of 2 eventually despatched it!

But again we timed out... just as I was starting to get the upper hand..14-11 to

me this time. Andy Parkin, I discovered, was the owner of a particularly large

piece of sand-coloured felt, perfect for a 2FE dune and he was kind enough to

lend it to me throughout the weekend and my thanks go to him for this!

 

This left me with 25 points and mid-table obscurity..

 

3rd game was vs against Hsiung Nu - Chi Chi. Stuart Whigham & Adrian Garbett.

Again, I defended, terrain fell very kindly for me, ending up in Fortress

Palmyra with the hotel on the right flank. My opponents gamely tried to attack

me through the dunes on the left flank. I've never seen so much Lh(S) in DG

before! It might have worked as originally I only had 3 camels & 3 Ps(O) - all

clumsy on that flank. But my opponents were plagued with poor pips; they also

tried to attack frontally with Lh(F) & feign flight, but never ended up in

contact, and my response attack using Lh(S) & bow did for that command. Then I

was able to rush over 4 Ax(O) into the dunes and they and the camels did for the

Lh(S) in the DG. 25-0 to me.

 

My last game was vs Selucid & Steve Bainbridge & Ian Sims. Again I defended but

this time all my terrain fell in my opponents half, dunes centre-left & the

hotel mid-table on the right, with a rocky hill in the centre.

 

I deployed Romans on the left, bow up front, with cataphracts behind centre &

right. My plan was to rush the rocky hill on the centre with my bow & the dunes

on the left with the camels. However, my opponents deployed their Wb(S) on the

other side of the hill & I quickly realised that to go against them with Bw(I)

was not a great idea...which gave my opponents the upper hand, of course. After

that it was hard-going with my Roman left trying to stave off a massed attack

with cataphracts. The Roman fought like demons and though steadily taking

casualties, obstinately hung around, the general himself, though overlapped,

fighting off a cataphract. In the centre, my opponents Wb(S) covered themselves

in glory holding off repeated Kn(X) charges. On the right, my opponent cunningly

advanced his Kn(F) wedges with a screen of Ax(S) against my bowmen, I threw my

LH(S) in to save the Bw(I) which resulted in stalemate whilst on the flank, the

Hotel was gate-crashed by an increasing number of Ax(S). They had to call

security and a steady pile of Ax(S) dead was left outside the foyer... In the

end, we timed out with both of us having suffered 10% dead with my Roman left

0.5 ME away from breaking. I needed an overlapped, disheartened Ax(O) to survive

a Kn(X) charge & remarkably, he did, much to Ian's & Steve's good-natured

chagrin! A really great game and I think I was extremely lucky to get away with

12-13.

 

It was a great event and the watching the perplexed look on opponents' faces was

rather amusing. Certainly, the tower has an psych affect out of all proportion

to its ability. Should PF be allowed in comps? I know one comment said that it

was un-historical, not appearing in any battle...its a moot point. But

certainly, it was highly entertaining for all, I think..

 

One final question: I know that an art(O) can shoot from different edges but can

it do so without movement cost - and consequent delay in firing on account of

having just moved. I believed it could be treated in the same way as

wagon-mounted art and so wasn't counted as moving when it changed shooting

facing. What does everyone else think?

 

Jon