Ride the Bull

With the trip to Devizes planned for tomorrow I thought it best to do a quick update before I overload on new things to paint. I've completed some more pieces for the Mythic Battles / Basilea Army and now I have the cavalry underway the Basilea should be ready to play in the near future.

The first man up is Gnaeus Sallustis who is a unique hero and part of the Holy Lancers formation, along with two Regiments of Knights. The formation gives all three units Elite for only 30 points which is a bargain. The model is one of the Macedonian heavy cavalry stuck onto the Reaper Bones Bronze Bull I already had. Gnaeus is tough, fast and nimble making him a good candidate for hitting flanks. Being a Large Cavalry unit means he can see over most units and his speed and nimble should open up flank charge options for him.

I also completed three more Gods namely Hecate, Helios, & Hades. I enjoyed Helios and Hades the most with the whip of Helios and shield of Hades being particular favourites.

The three of them join the others to complete two Hordes of Elohi and one Ur-Elohi. These troops add more fast moving and hard hitting capability to the Basilean army with the fact they are all Inspiring and Fearless with Iron Resolve making them hard to kill as well. The Ur-Elohi also has access to the common spells as he had Heal as a default option, potentially making the unit a very mobile caster platform.

EDIT : Quick Raiding Season update, we played the 8th turn with the scenario being Crossing the River and the result being the Normans gave my Rus a proper going over with a clear victory and all three bonus abilities going to the Normans.

Raiding Season Week #6

This week the Normans raided the Holy Ground sector so the aim of the scenario was to try and hold the terrain pieces with victory points being awarded for holding a piece at the start of your move. This means you build up the points over the course of the seven turns to work out who is the victor.
The Normans started with a wide deployment and the Rus the normal 'pagan clump', both sides fielding the same armies as last week.

Both sides occupied the closest terrain piece on the first turn with the Normans choosing a hill for their side and the Rus a forest, this left the central hill unoccupied.

The Normans opened the combat with a charge by mounted Hearthguard in the centre on the largest Rus warrior unit which was repulsed with greater casualties on the Norman side. As the Normans did not start the move on the hill ( only ended on it ) they could not claim any VP's for the hill.

The Rus then moved onto the hill with the Normans opting to make a reaction move to get the Hearthguard to safety. This left a Warrior unit in charge range of the Rus who charged in and they almost managed to wipe the Normans out. With the Norman unit being below the three man threshold the Normans also lost a SAGA dice generation.

On the Norman left the mercenary Gall-Gaedhill stood watch opposite the Rus mercenary Scouts with neither side moving forwards. On the Norman right they charged from the hill and into the Rus warrior foot causing several casualties with the Rus being forced to retreat.

The Rus then charged back and whilst they were reduced to two men the Normans also suffered enough casualties to take them down to three remaining warriors. This meant that the Normans now only generated 4 SAGA dice each turn to the Rus's 5, with the Rus being more on the defensive.

On the Rus right it was all quiet as the Normans could not generate enough dice to make a decisive advance and the Rus started to use Frozen Winter to add fatigue and Blizzard to create areas of rough terrain the Norman cavalry did not want to enter.

 On the left the Normans wiped out the last of one Rus Warrior unit and looked to go around the Rus entrenched on the central hill.

This they did but again lacked the numbers to force the Rus off the terrain so could not stop the Rus from claiming a victory.

 The key to the Rus victory was claiming the second objective early and then tieing down the Normans so they could not get a good charge off so they could build a lead on the VP's. We did  not need to play the last turn as the Normans could not catch the Rus up. They did however claim the secondary objective so get a bonus roll next battle.

This leaves the scores very close with the Normans only getting one more choice of raiding square before the need to decide if they will stay for the Defend the Barricades scenario.

This week I also completed a few more of my Mythic Battles models with Athena and Aphrodite joining the Gods, Medusa joining the monsters and a troop of Hoplites joining the throng.

The Hoplites were the last unit I needed to complete the started battle forces and Athena sports Medusa's head on her shield so it was fitting to do them both at the same time.

Raiding Season Week #5

This week the Normans raided east with the Rus guessing the correct square we set up for the Harry & Burn scenario. This scenario involves the attacker trying to burn some fields and buildings whilst the defender tries to hold them off.

The battle started with the Normans pushing forwards across the board. The Norman mercenary Gall-Gaedhill launched a charge which was repulsed in the first turn.

The Rus then pushed forwards and added some shooting casualties to the Gall-Gaedhill which left them almost wiped out.

The Normans then managed to set fire to their first building and got into position to set fire to a field as well.

The Normans then made use of their Envelopment ability to move during the Rus turn and managed to get lots of shots off but left themselves in a position to be charged. On the right the Rus Warriors managed to wipe out a Hearthguard unit but this left them on 4 men.

 On the Rus left the Normans wiped almost wiped out another Rus Warrior and where poised to sweep around the Rus rear.

The Rus then shored up the right flank with a charge into the Norman Warrior infantry and tried to move troops across to the left to meet the threat. The Norman Warlord launched a charge on the right which killed several of the Rus Warriors.

During the next move the Norman Warlord moved into a central position to threaten the secondary objective and this left him within striking distance of the Rus mercenary scouts and th Rus Warlord.

The scouts managed two rounds of fire against the Norman Warlord and he was struck down with the final javelin which spared the Rus Warlord the task of charging in to kill him off.

This meant a victory to the Rus who also held the secondary objective and due to the loss of the Warlord they also scored more slaughter points, so a good nights work for the Rus who won inside 5 rounds.

So after six rounds the Normans are leading 7 - 4 with only a maximum of three more battles to extend the lead.


This week I have also made some progress on my Mythic Battles set with the mighty Hydra being completed. I kept the process very simple with the model really only being dry brushed with various shades of green and then some details picked out.

Raiding Season Week #4

This week's campaign battle was Captured from the Cross & Crescent book. It involves one side trying to rescue it's Warlord who has been captured by the other. The game starts with the rescuer having no Warlord so they lose the extra SAGA dice generated and the We Obey free activation until they free the Warlord.
For the campaign the raiders took the part of the capturers so my Warlord was in the clutches of the Normans who needed to escort him off the opposite table edge to secure the win or wipe out my Pagan Rus. I stuck with my normal warband and the Normans fielded 3 points of mounted Warriors, 2 points of dismounted Hearthguard and the Gall-Gaedhill.

The Normans had to setup close to the road with my Rus more spread out than normal in order to cover as much of the table edge as possible. Both side took advantage of the free maneuver moves in the opening turns.

The Normans then push up the Warriors cavalry and unleashed some shooting which had no effect.

The Rus then managed to get a charge off on the right flank and killed several Norman Warriors.

This gave them an early advantage on the flank down which the prisoner was to be escorted.

On the other flank the Normans pushed forwards and took some accurate fire from the Rus scouts who managed 4 shooting casualties in two rounds of fire. In the centre the Norman Warriors combined shooting with a charge to seriously reduce the largest Rus Warrior unit for the loss of only one man.

On the right the Normans pushed for the flank and made a decent amount of lateral movement but not much forwards progress.

Back on the left the Gall-Gaedhill once again got wiped out and caused more casualties with their reflect the hits rule than with their own hits.

 The steady advance continued on the right but with only eight turns to exit the board the Normans were starting to run out of time.

The Rus then pushed up on the left to claim the secondary objective which for the fourth battle in a row was in the same place. The scouts also push forwards and tried to cause enough shooting casualties to take the Norman horse below the SAGA generation point ( 3 models or less ) but failed to kill anyone.

The Norman Hearthguard then got stuck in on the right and wiped out the Rus warrior unit on that flank so the units from the centre started to move over.

At this point the Normans realised they did not have enough time to exit the board as the Rus have an ability which can stop double activations so they would only be able to move the escort party once per turn.
They then concentrated efforts on capturing the secondary objective and in a bold charge almost wiped out the Rus holding it.

So on the right the battle ended with the Rus still in a position to intercept the Warlord.

And on the left the Normans chasing the Rus into a wood. The Slaughter points ended up 14 each which reflected how close the game was, once again the Norman dice let them down at crucial stages so it could have been a different game but I think they still would have struggled to get off.

So this leaves the campaign at 3 PP for the Rus and 7 PP for the Normans after 5 turns with 4 turns left to play for this season.

Raiding Season Week #3

Turn #4 of the Raiding Season saw the Normans & Pagan Rus clash in the North 2 square as I guessed the location of the raid correctly. This meant the game was the Capture the Relic scenario.
The Normas fielded the usual three points of mounted javelin armed Hearthguard in two units of 6, two points of mounted javelin armed Warriors in two units of 8 and the rotated back in the mercenary Gall-Gaedhill. The Pagan Rus stayed with the same force they had fielded for the first two battles.

Rus all ready to Rumble

The defining feature of the scenario is the Holic Relic being carried across the table by an NPC force which needs to be captured. The Normans won the roll off and moved first and made a rapid advance across the table. The Normans had opted to spread out across most of the table with the Rus adopting the usual closer packed deployment with the mercenary Scouts holding the wooded flank.

The Rus also pushed up across the board but it looked likely that the Normans being quicker would be able to take the first go at capturing the Relic.

This proved to be the case as the Gall-Gaedhill killed the guards and took control of the Relic and a unit of Norman Warriors pushed forwards to cover them.

Meanwhile on the flanks the Normans pushed forwards but took some shooting casualties from the  Rus Scouts.

The Normans have an ability which allows them to move all mounted units in the opponent's turn which allows them to retreat if they feel themselves to be in danger or to advance even further than the Rus foot sloggers. So as the Rus moved up to charge the Gall-Gaedhill the Norman cavalry pulled back to avoid combat but the Norman Warlord moved up to take charge of the Relic.
The Rus charge wiped out the Gall-Gaedhill but failed to gain the relic as it had already been handed over.

More shooting loses for the Norman Warriors

The Norman Warlord then launched an unexpected charge into the nearest Rus Warriors and killed enough to force the unit out of effective action. The Rus responded with a charge on the Norman Warrior unit that had covered the charge and killed five men for one in return. This left the Normans short on SAGA dice generation but in possession of the Relic.

Even more shooting loses for the Norman Warriors

At this point the Normans charged a Hearthguard unit into the only Rus unit that could have hoped to catch the Norman Warlord and despite taking several casualties in return they did enough that the Rus had no chance of catching up and securing the Relic before it was taken from the board.

Norman Warlord makes good his Escape

In the end the Normans won the scenario with a move to spare though they did suffer heavy casualties in doing so. The constricted nature of the fight did little to favour the more mobile combat that the Normans prefer.
The Norman victory means they took three Prestige Points this turn to the Rus's zero allowing them to open up a healthy lead.

It also marks the halfway point for the first Season with the Normans getting four more choices before they decide if they want to stay for the Man the Barricades scenario.