The First SAGA

This week Mick and myself played our first game of SAGA. As I lacked the models for two sides my Greeks got pressed into action and we played Vikings vs Anglo-Danish.

Two 4 point forces and Battle Boards

The setup

SAGA uses Battle Boards which are different for each faction, these add a board game style element to the game as you use them to activate your units and special abilities. In what is becoming a running theme I got involved in the game and forgot to take many photos. As I hadn't had a chance to complete my Byzantine infantry fully this wasn't a massive loss.

The game itself was very enjoyable with the controlling of the Battle Board being key to becoming a SAGA expert. Some abilities can be used in your opponents turn and you also have choices to make during your opponents combat turn so you are always making decisions even when it isn't your go. In fact the Spanish have abilities they can activate so they can move in the opponents turn.

I am sure we will be playing many more games and I need to pick up some cavalry and a few more infantry to build a 6 point force.

I have also cracked on with the terrain finishing off the test hill.

Once this one was done then I started on the rest of the terrain with the alteration of adding a proper lip to the hills base to help protect it from damage.

I also took delivery of some 45mm round bases to build some heavy and light cover terrain pieces to add to the flat terrain pieces.

This will allow me to use the same base for woods, heavy & light cover terrain areas.
With this being a bank holiday weekend then I should be able to make some progress with these before having to go back to work.

Woodland SAGA

With the last of the Kin ( for the moment ) painted up last week I was looking for the next project to begin and I read this blog post and it made me have another think about the terrain I have. At present I am using cut up carpet for wood bases and some curved hills. The hills are well made but not having a flat top means they are not ideal for KoW. With this in mind I ordered some bits from ebay and set about making a test wood base.

The idea being that the trees can be removed to accommodate the units as they use the wood and the flocking ties in with the bases of the Twilight Kin. The base is just 3mm MDF with some painted sand and flock stuck on. This will then have some more PVA glue sprayed on to help the bits stay in place.
I have a game planned for this Thursday so I will give the trail piece a run out and see how it stands up to a game.

I have also this week been looking at the SAGA  rules as another games to get into, having a skirmish game means less models to paint before you get playing. This should be handy as my hopefully regular opponent has limited time to get figures ready. The rules are centered on the use of Battle Boards which contain a number of abilities that need to be powered up by dice in order to use. Each faction has its own board and abilities so they all have a unique style.

I have been painting up some eastern European infantry to use as Byzantines and got some pictures of of before and after the Army Painter quickshade, it really does work wonders.

We should be having a SAGA test game on Thursday to see if we like the rules, if not then these chaps could be the start of another KoW army.

Last of the Twilight Kin

This week I completed the last of the Twilight Kin units for my army having decided to add a couple of Dragon Breath units as an alternative to the more static Bolt Throwers.

These will give a unit with better mobility though lesser range ( just 12" ) that can also be used as a chaff unit.

Having seen the Ratkin breath weapon units in action I think these should be a good alternative ranged unit.

I also got to play another game against the Rats ( thanks Mick ) and again after a tight battle came away victorious. I think at the 1500 point mark the Rats are a good match-up for the Kin. Once again due to a mixture of poor camera work and getting wrapped up in the game I managed to come away with only a couple pictures.

The Rats opted for a more extended deployment which meant that the more concentrated Kin managed to pick off the opposition more quickly and despite heavy loses they captured two tokens to the Rats zero.

I have also started painting the Fireforge medieval Russians that I picked up at a show last month with a view to making either another KoW army or perhaps a medieval skirmish force.

The box has 25 miniatures in it so I will be doing eight each of archers, spearmen, & axes and then a leader with sword.

Tactical Musings

This week I played my second & third games of KoW and the Kin once again emerged victorious. These games represented the second game for my brother and the first game for my friend Mick.
As I forgot to take any photos of the first game and didn't get many good shots of the second I thought I would pen some thoughts on the discussion I had with my brother about if the Kin are overpowered or the Rats under powered.
The Rat list was :
2 * Warrior Horde - 1 with healing brew
2 * Troop Shock Troops
2 * Clawshots
2 * Brutes - 1 Blessing of Gods, 1 Caterpillar
1 * Vermintide
2 * Weapon Team
1 * Mutant Rat-fiend
1 * War Chief - Wings
1 * Warlock - Inspiring
1 * Horde Naid Ensnarers
1 * Regiment Naiad Heartpiercers
1 * Troop  Naiad Heartpiercers
1 * Troop Riverguard
1 * Naiad Envoy - Lute

As this was a scratch force put together to make up the points we ignored the rules for allies and allowed the Naiads to be counted as being from the Ratkin faction. My list was the 2500 point list I posted earlier. The Rat list seemed to be reasonably balanced with some good melee options and a reasonable amount of shooting.
My reading and watching of material for KoW has suggested two things to me, having a good setup helps considerably and the concept of unit swapping must be kept in mind. This concept to me means always being willing to sacrifice a unit if it means you may get an enemy unit into a position to hit it with one of your better units. Having chaff units ( cheap & expendable ) helps with this especially if the chaff can project a threat so they cannot be ignored. At first glance the Rats have only the Vermintide as chaff but the Clawshots & Weapon Teams are both cheap and project a threat so could be used to draw a charge.

If we look at the setup for the last game then I think I would have done things a little differently, we decided to play push and Stu chose sides after I setup the terrain.

Long Shot

The Rats setup with there left flank consisting of almost all their shooting units, this was partly due to the Dragon Lord being put down and then the Clawshots being put down to face her.

Left

In the center the Naiad Ensnarer Horde, was joined by a Warrior Horde and the Shock Troops along with one Weapon Team.

Center

On the right this left the Brutes, Vermintide, Mutant Rat, Warrior Horde and the second Weapon Team.

Right

On the left the lack of melee troops led the shooters to not push forward with much vigor, perhaps they would have been better placed in the center to encourage the Kin to move forward more quickly or be shot in place. Even though the Heartpiercers only have an 18" range that would have been enough to out-range the Kin infantry. I would also have had the Shock Troops behind or on the flank of the Warrior Horde which could have tied up the Reaper Guard who instead took the charge and removed both units. Pushing the Ensnarers through the wood to make use of the Pathfinder they come with was a good move, as the cover also helped to mitigate their low defence value.
On the right I would have again had the Warrior horde to the fore along with the Weapon Team and Vermintide to draw the charge and then used the Brutes & Fiend to counter attack.

With the way that movement works unless you can force or induce the enemy to move into charge range without being able to charge then you would for preference leave only hindered charges open.

This gives you the best chance of surviving the initial onslaught and being able to get a counter charge in.

As with any new game it takes some time to understand the rules and how to play within the bounds that they set.