For Want of a Nail - Saga Tournament AAR

This past weekend I attended a Saga tournament at the invite of a friend. I haven't touched Saga in years, so I dusted off my Normans to see how they would do.

The theme was Vikings and Invasions, and saw warbands from the Anglo-Danes, Welsh, Normans, Saxons, Franks, and Picts clashing over three rounds.

I brought a mounted Warlord, 12 Hearthguard, 16 Warriors, and 12 Levy.

 

Round 1's scenario was Clash of Warlords against a Frankish warband consisting of only Warriors armed with hand weapons, divvied out into units of varying sizes.

The game was rather bloody, with both sides beating each other down over six turns. While my Normans had the advantage in ranged-weapons and mounts, the Frankish battleboard could give even smaller units some massive combat advantages.

I did manage to win the game, 12-8.

My second game was against a Welsh warband in the Capture scenario, where both warbands attempt to control three points in the center of the battlefield.

The Welsh warband consisted of some mounted Hearthguard, generic Warriors, and some ranged-weapons Levy.

This game came down to a couple early gambits between the Welsh and Norman Warlords. Unfortunately the Welsh pulled out ahead and I found a good part of my warband wiped out by the end of turn 2. I realized that this would quickly lead to an exponential victory point gain for my opponent and decided to concede, losing the game 1-19.

 

 

The last round was the Conquest scenario against a Pictish warband. This scenario is a combination of the Clash of Warlords and Capture scenarios, where both sides aim to cause as much damage as possible while gaining extra points by staying close to the center objective.

The Picts had a chariot-mounted Warlord, a small mounted units of Hearthguard, some Warriors, and a few units of Levy armed with a variety of ranged weapons; most worryingly, a unit of 12 Levy with crossbows, which could be incredibly deadly to all of my units. 

Sadly, this was another game that I did not do well in. Like the Welsh, the Picts are a slippery warband that likes to move around and avoid direct conflict, which the Norman warband doesn't have many answers for. After losing half my warband in the early rounds (especially needing to avoid the ranged Levy horde hanging out in the field), I decided to charge into the mass of the Picts rather then spend the rest of the scenario running away. This resulted in another lopsided loss of 3-17.

So a rather poor showing overall! Some of it I chalk up to unfamiliarity with the rules (the last time I played Saga was back in 2021 and apparently there's been a version 2.5 reprint) as well as some bad matchups with warbands. 

A Year In Gaming - 2024

A very Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Happy Holidays to everyone else!

Once again, another year has passed, which gives me a chance to look back at my involvement in the hobby

As always, we start with the games played:

• 'O' Group - 1
• Downsync - 1
• General d'Armee - 2
• Pickett's Charge - 1
• Pike & Shotte - 1
• Rapid Fire Reloaded - 2
• Wars of Such Magnitude - 1

Wow! Nine games in total. That's a somewhat dismal showing compared to previous years. 

Reflecting on this, the lack of games comes from several factors. This has been an incredibly busy year for me personally. Some major trips and life changes (like getting married!) meant I had to juggle my schedule and put gaming on the back burner. I also don't have the same regularity of gaming that I had while I was back in New Jersey. With Ted's hosting and the SJGA's monthly meetings, I was pretty much guaranteed three to five games per month. And Cold Barrage was the only convention I was able to attend. 

I do have a hope to increase these numbers, either by getting involved more locally or setting up a gaming space. 

My painting numbers are somewhat more comforting:

• 6mm Monsters - 21
• 6mm Infantry - 76
• 15mm Vehicles - 3
• 15mm Vehicle - 4
• 15mm Infantry - 340
• 15mm Equipment - 7
• 15mm Cavalry - 6
• 15mm Artillery - 8

15mm continues to dominate as my go-to scale, mostly thanks to the Napoleonic and WWII projects. 6mm sneaks in thanks to Starship Troopers: Sector Sweep.

And no 28mm at all this year! I think that's a first ever since I started tracking my painting progress back in 2017.

To round out the post, here's a look at the games I played. I'm looking forward to more gaming in 2025!

'O' Group 

Downsync

General d'Armee

Pickett's Charge

Pike & Shotte

Rapid Fire Reloaded

Wars of Such Magnitude

Painting Update - Napoleonics, Starship Troopers, WWII

 Here's what I've been painting as we approach the end of the year.

Arachnid swarms in Sector Sweep act as five warriors bases moving together. When a Warrior is killed, the swarm splits up. 

Here's another French line battalion for the 1813 project. 

And more French! Here's a pair of 25mm anti-tank guns for O Group. 

Painting Update - Starship Troopers, Quar

Work continues as we approach the end of the year.

Here are some Arachnid models for the Starship Troopers project; some example Warriors and a trio of "Tiger Bugs", which come from the expanded universe. 

I should note that these models, as well as the infantry from my previous painting post, are designs from Wakes Emporium and printed by FilamentResinHunter. I picked up two of the starter kits, which has enough models for a two-player game.

I've gone back to my 15mm Quar project. I finished an HMG squad, a snyper team, and a cavalry squad.

Also completed are some vehicles to supplement the Crusader infantry company; a Baeliog heavy tractor, an Ailthean light tractor, and a Krassyl "contraption". 

The Rodes Goes Ever On - Wars of Such Magnitude AAR

Hey, check it out; I played a game!

Kelly recently hosted a game at his home for the Army of Central Maryland group. Rocky was having us refight Chancellorsville using his rules, "Wars of Such Magnitude".

Scott and I played as the Union, while Kelly was commanding the Confederates. 

Both sides were given some pre-game deployment options. I had II and IV Corps (Couch and Meade) on the Union right flank, with III, XI, and XII Corps (Sickles, Howard and Slocum) on the left flank. The plan was that the left would hold its positions, as their brigades were less reliable. Couch and Meade, with larger, steadier brigades, would be the attackers. Scott took command on the left, while I commanded the right.

Kelly opted to follow Lee's plan for the day, splitting his forces between Lee (attacking the Union left) and Jackson (attacking the Union right).

Seemingly out of nowhere I had a number of Confederate divisions attacking Couch's flank, which was out in the open. Luckily Meade managed to get his divisions moving towards the steam. Couch couldn't seem to get off his ottoman, so most of his brigades sat still. 

Seeing that the terrain had split Lee's approaching troops, Scott decided that the best defense was a good artillery barrage. He quickly reorganized his guns into better firing positions.

Kelly did realize that he had been moving Rodes' divisions a little too quickly, and so moved them back down the road they were approaching from. A good sport, and what likely saved the Union's right flank; I don't think I could have handled that concentration of Confederate brigades.

Scott's troops continued to hammer the approaching rebels. You can see a couple divisions moving to block Kelly's troops moving toward the gap in the Union line. 

Here's an overhead shot of the game around midway through. You can see the gap between the two Union forces that Scott is working to fill. If Kelly's troops managed to break through, that would be free to cause havoc in the rear of the Union lines. 

Over on the Union right, Couch's troops managed to finally get moving, aiming to push the Confederates from the hills in front of their position. 

Meade received an order to swing his divisions along the intersection towards the Orange Turnpike, aiming to push back A.P. Hill's troops. 

Scott's "unreliable" continued to do remarkably well, going so far as to begin rolling up Lee's own flank!

In the last few turns, both sides were relatively battered. Meade desperately tried to get his brigades to stop moving forward as Hill continued falling back in good order. The fighting eventually petered out with both sides unwilling to advance into the others' lines. 

Over on the side side, it was looking fairly grim for Lee and his troops. Scott's forces continued their wrap-around while fresh troops moved up the road.

We called the game there as a decent Union victory.

After-game discussion touched on how to produced a more historical result. Since Scott and I were free of Hooker's indecisiveness and could see how Kelly's troops were approaching, we were able to counter and fight off what had been Lee's masterstroke tactical plan. 

Blinds may be an option, forcing the Union players to react to divisions that don't actually show up. For example, had Kelly deployed his entire force together while I thought I was attacking Jackson's historical flanking maneuver, only to end up punching at shadows, then Scott's troops would have been sorely outnumber while I desperately counter-marched to his aid. 

Regardless, I enjoyed trying out Rocky's rule and I look forward to trying them again.