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Wednesday 26 September 2007

Have you tried..?

Playing Age of Arthur British Kingdoms against Shieldwall Vikings?

Well....

Don't!!!!!


I did last night. I played well, tactically sound, etc, and I was given a right mullaring!! Didn't help that the bloody Teulu failed a panic test and fled off table, but by then I'd realised that you just can't hurt the Vikings. My opponent played with Norwegians and fielded 3 formed and two skirmishing hirdmen units, including 6 berserkers, a unit of bondi spear and a unit of bondi archers. He had a unit of thralls too....

I managed to draw out most of the berserkers without too much loss (lots of dead skirmishers), but let's face it. His hirdmen hit on 3 and wound on 4. I hit on 4 and wound on 5... Add to that the Hersir in every unit and the Konnagg....errr.....king chappie and...well...bloody pointless!!! In one combat, a unit of hirdmen killed 4 combrogi with berserkers, then scored 12 hits with their Hersir and ordinary attacks. I lost the combat by 9 points and I started with a rank extra!!!!!
BTW, it was a 2000pt game to give my mate a practice for the Derby Worlds tourney at the weekend. Apparently, some nasty gamers on some forum or other (not SAD WAB, of course) have been laughing at all the AoA players that are going and gleefully plotting the calamitous slaughter that will ensue when their (planned to the nth degree) BTGG and Shieldwall, etc, armies meet the AoA ones... Not what gaming's all about really is it? Where's the fun and tension of a tightly fought, tactically challenging battle..? But no...they'd rather have a spawnily-won 3000 victory points win that they can gloat about to their (virtual?) pals while planning their next beardy army list... And you wonder why I don't do tourneys??? I hope that Grahame doesn't have a hard time of it, as he (like a lot of others who go and suffer at the hands of these tossers) is not of that ilk at all....A least he's got a rock-hard army!!!!

Still, it's always good to play against Grahame...he plays very fair even when dishing out mayhem with an Army I couldn't really hurt!! He and I are gonna do the Raiding Season campaign from AoA at some point and that should be a different tale!!!! Much more balanced and great fun. (he plays Romano-Brits, BTW)

On the painting front, slower progress on the Saxons and Teulu, but then I am in tunic-painting mode now, so that takes longer. Looking good though and they will be worth the wait!!

Right, garlic bread starter has been served by the darling wife with main course not a gazillion miles behind, so I'm gonna scarper.

See ya....

5 comments:

WABit said...

Good point about competition gamers in general. I once played a guy in a camp with an all mounted Norman army (which shouldn't exactly be a walk over either) with a chap playing Indians with all the ellies etc. now, I'd never played a game with ellies and was unsure of the rules so I asked him to 'keep me right'. This he did by waiting until I had deployed all my cavalry and then telling me that you can't charge ellies with cavalry!! I guess it was my fault for not reading the rules, but hey, he didn't even smile throughout the entire game. Someone get him a doctor :o)))))

Darrell.

Lord S said...

What ho!

I once entered the 'Worlds' at Derby. Managed to lose in first game without taking a turn to a tricked-out Samurai army. His skirmishing mtd Samuari character charged across into formed crossbowmen on one side of the table on first turn of game (the tables were not quite 2' plus the 4" skirmisher move....,)therefore allowing Ninjas in bush on other side of my deployment zone to leap into formed
crossbowmen. Both duffed up poor chaps in short order causing panic test on both large mounted knights inc General's unit. Guess what? Both failed and legged it off table. Great. No-one other than unit of peasants left. Game over. No turn for me. And he gloated. So I took only sensible response and flounced off.
Needless to say, I made young Soapy play the rest of the weekend while I sulked behind the stand.
Open Competitions? I'd rather not thank you.

Please tell your chum that if it all gets too much he's welcome to drop in for tea & biscuits. You never know, might even persuade Soaps to play his games for him too!

Pip pip

Bill T said...

It's theamed games or nothing with me I'm afraid. I don't see the point in playing if your idea of fun it to just field cheezy armies. Guess thats why I don't enter open comps. That and I'm shite!

GuitarheroAndy said...

Well, the GB Hot Lead/Cold Steel days are as 'open' as I'll go these days!!! Given the choice, it's themed all the way. Mind you, I've even met a couple of tossers at WHW (in a Roman vs Barbarians event a coupla years back) you know the sort...move your models and then keep gently nudging the units forward all the while through your opponents' turns...not measuring your moves cos they are 'near enough' even though they clearly aren't and doing wheels that really aren't and are more like reforms plus a few inches move... I don't mind if folk aren't sure of rules, etc, but when they are old hands who've been playing for years and are winning anyway, but clearly want to win BIGGER, then I just wonder why I'm bothering...

Still...none of that malarky in the Morris/Jones or Gleeson/Evans or Martin G run events, eh? Top chaps and top events all round and THOSE are the ones I'll be going to in future...so I'll see you boys there!!!!

WABit said...

It's not so much the 'Open Events' but a combination of just 'how open' and idiotic overly competitive players that put me off. If you both ain't smiling whilst you're playing then something is wrong :o)

I may be at Cold steel this time around [weather permitting of course ;o)] so I should be able to sample the delights of Martin G's efforts soon. I'm expecting good things as I have never heard any negative feedback concerning the events he runs.

Darrell.