Which Greeks? Choosing my next Clash of Spears faction

If you’ve read my previous posts, you already know that so far the Clash of Spears campaign isn’t going very well for me, at least in terms of victories.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying it very much and it’s given me a reason to get together with people I love hanging out with (you know who you are!). I’ve done more gaming in the past month than in the previous 10 combined. And the campaign motivates me to build and paint troops.

To me, those factors alone move me into the win column in the campaign, regardless of the combat results.

You see, I’m all about the narrative. I game first and foremost to have an enjoyable experience. And that’s usually dependent on who I’m playing against. I’m fortunate that there are very few people at the local shop that I don’t enjoy playing against.

But there is a competitive side to me as well. That is, after all, why I play games.

I enjoy the camaraderie, the painting and modeling, and the research that goes into creating an army. But it’s nice to see my (usually) fully-painted, historically accurate (or at least historically plausible) army enjoy success on the field of battle. And lately, that’s been eluding me.

As I learn more about Clash and the math behind the game, I’m sure those victories will come. But, can I help that process along by looking beyond just the “rule of cool” and making army and troop choices based not just on what I like, but what is most effective? I think I can, while at the same time not losing what appeals to me most about gaming.

For example, I prefer skirmishing missile troops rather than “formation” troops. Just a personal preference. I’d rather bleed you from a thousand cuts than grind you underfoot.

In Clash, the skirmish specialist trait allows you the potential to have a free reaction when charged by the enemy, so it is possible to rush to within throwing range of an enemy, launch a volley of javelins, and be ready to scamper away when the foes charge on their turn. 

The chances to activate the unit are based on its grit value (basically leadership). Skirmish specialist troops with a grit of 5 are cheap, but going forward I’m looking to build armies around skirmishers with a grit of 4. Fewer models for the points, but a much greater chance of reacting when I want them to, so I suspect they’ll be much more effective overall. 

(Math break: Skirmish specialist lets you attempt a free reaction, rolling one die and needing to score your grit or higher. For grit 5, that is of course a 33% chance. If you spend a command point, you get to roll two dice and only one success of 5+ is needed. That is a 55% chance. For skirmishers with grit 4, those chances increase to 50% and 75% if you spend a command point and roll two dice. That is a significant statistical increase and, in my opinion, is well worth the additional cost. Extra troops are nice, but if they don't reliably activate when you need them to they are useless. And, at least with my luck, my skirmishers tend to charge too close and then get butchered when they fail to react and withdraw.)

That means looking at the army lists, and realizing that the Carthaginians I’ve chosen, while being my historical and modeling preference, possibly aren’t best suited to my style of play. The only skirmishers they have that are civis (common troops) are grit 5.

The Pyrrhic Greek force I was going to build next (because elephants) has the same issue. But looking at the lists, the Greeks of Magna Graecia list includes an option for grit 4 skirmishers (peltasts) that cost only 13 points compared to 8 for the grit 5 javelin men (psiloi). In addition, they come with a shield which makes them more resistant to casualties in combat.

Because of that, I'm going to pivot and build a force of Greeks from the city of Taras. Fortunately, all of the Victrix Greek troops I recently acquired will fit a Magna Graecia army as well as a Pyrrhic one.

The skirmishers will be assembled as peltasts instead of javelin men. Slingers and archers (both regular and Cretan) are covered. The various hoplites will all be useful.

I like cavalry units for their versatility and mobility. One drawback to the Greeks in Italy list is that I can field either heavily armored cavalry or unarmored cavalry, but not both at the same time. I can work with that. Oh, and no elephants. Sigh. (No real worries, my Carthaginians can still use elephants!)

Now I am researching the history, customs, and arms of the Greeks in Italy. And, I learned that those Greeks actually allied with Pyrrhus so I might still include some Epirote hoplites in my army…

I'm not in a hurry. I have yet to complete the units that I need for the Carthaginian force I am fielding in the campaign. I also have the rest of my Celt-Iberians to paint. So don't expect to see posts of painted Greeks here immediately.

I'm just thinking ahead to my next project, and sharing a little of the thought process I used in its selection. Perhaps I'll build the Greeks of Taras for the next Clash campaign or tournament.

'Til next time!