The Battle of Stompfordshire - SAGA AAR

I finally got the change to play SAGA again with Tom, one of the guys who frequents Stomping Grounds. It was a demo game, with Tom playing the Vikings against my Anglo-Danes. 

We played the Clash of Warlord scenario for a simple objective - either kill the enemy warlord or score the most victory points by the end of six turns. 

Tom had the first turn, and so advanced his warriors on the left and shot with his Levy on the right, causing two casualties in my 10-strong Warrior unit. We both advanced our Hearthguard and Warlords into the town, although I had my Warlord hang back a bit. 

Tom's Warlord and his 8-strong Hearthguard unit ducked in between two houses, as his Berserkers killed my 4-strong unit of Hearthguard, with a single Berserker surviving! However, thanks to some decent dice and the Anglo-Dane's "The Push" ability, my Warrior unit managed to completely destroy Tom's Levy.

Tom's Viking's emerged from the small village, the Warlord ready to tear into the Danish warriors. 

But his own household warriors were up to the task, dispatching the Danes with only a single loss. 

Now Tom started to bring his Warriors back from the flank, my Levy giving them a hearty wave farewell. Meanwhile my own Warriors and Hearthguard try to reposition themselves.

Tom continued to bring his Warriors into the village, crossing through the small marsh. His Warlord also consolidated with his Hearthguard. That gave me the opportunity to strike against the Viking leader with my Dane-axed equipped Hearthguard. Unfortunately, a combination of Fatigue and Tom's battleboard stopped my attack, and the Viking's slaying of a single Hearthguard forced them to retreat. 

Tom's counter-attack with his own Hearthguard and Warlord decimated my remaining elite warriors. 

This left my Warlord with the last six of his Warriors facing an incoming horde of Vikings. The gods alone knew what the Levy were doing in that field.

Unfortunately, a single accumulated fatigue from trying to get the Warriors into combat brought their charge distance from M to S, bringing them up short.

Since that was the last turn of the game, we tallied our Victory Points, as neither of us managed to killed the opposing side's warlord. Tom scored 17, and I score 10 - a decisive Viking victory.

Despite the defeat, it was fun to get SAGA out on the table again (even if it did cost me a couple broken swords!) and the 4Grounds buildings look fantastic.