Vengeance tastes sweet (Malchus wins another battle, barely)

That's a good-looking army.

Last Saturday I was able to get in a game for our Clash of Spears campaign. I'd already played a couple of games this turn, and fortunately won both, so I did not really need another. But Marcos had not yet played his Turn 2 game, so I accepted his challenge.

Despite my disadvantage of "impetuous," which results in a penalty during the roll to choose the scenario, I won and of course selected "Pre-battle scouting." My cavalry would give me the edge tactically in this scenario, and I would need every advantage I could get against Marcos and his Greeks.

Having determined the scenario, we set up the terrain, and the battle commenced!

The initial deployment, with the Carthaginians towards the bottom.

The Greek archers hide in the woods.

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The sun was still overhead but had begun its descent towards the horizon as Malchus trotted alongside his troops. 

They were advancing on a small settlement, seeking any sign of enemy activity. Hannibal Gisco, the overall Carthaginian commander, had been impressed with Malchus' success in the last scouting mission, and had ordered him to the front once again.

And once again, Malchus had sought reassurances from his seer, Menestar. And, as expected, the signs had again been cryptic.

"Time to face another foe,

but take care, lest he bring you woe.

Familiar he is, you've clashed before,

Pain he caused, and he seeks more.

Temper your anger, control your rage,

do not recklessly seek to engage.

Win or lose, life or death,

are yours to decide with every breath."

Malchus was annoyed at the vagaries of the prediction, but so far Menestar had been accurate in his visions. And after the battles his ramblings had made perfect sense. The challenge was to decipher them before the combat, so he could take advantage of their wisdom.

"My lord," Juba shouted as he rode up. He had been scouting ahead of the column with his Numidian cavalry. "We have sighted the enemy. They have taken positions along that line of trees behind the buildings."

Malchus strained to see. He could just make out the copse of palms that Juba had described. And yes, he saw movement among the trees.

"Whom do we face? Have you identified them yet?" Malchus asked his scout.

"Oh yes, my lord," Juba replied with a wicked grin. "Greeks, the same ones you fought at Messana!"

Malchus looked at Juba before responding with the same expression. "Excellent," he said, "Now we can teach those bastards a lesson."

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Marcos deployed his forces conservatively, in a line along a stand of forest behind the houses. From there it would be difficult for him to break past and accomplish the scouting objectives. Meanwhile, my Numidians should be able to score at least one scouting marker. Assuming then that I could withstand Marco's attacks and keep my army from breaking, that should be enough for the win.

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Malchus strode along the line behind his spearmen, He had countered the Greek's deployment with a conservative formation of his own. Apart from his Numidians, his men were in a line with the spearmen screened by the javelin men.

Juba and the Numidians had their orders. They were to race around the flanks to scout the rear, and then return. He had been absolutely clear on that. He would not allow a repeat of the last scouting mission, where the Numidians, in their overconfidence and exuberance, had allowed themselves to be picked off by the enemy missile troops. Juba knew that a repeat of that fiasco would result in dire consequences.

Speaking of missile troops, he could see a unit of archers, some slingers, and some peltasts armed with javelins. Damn. Malchus' spearmen were formidable once they got into close combat, but the would suffer losses as they advanced.

So be it, he thought. We are in Rasap's hands. Now it's time to shed some blood.

Troop positions after Turn 1. Marcos's troops are still mostly in the shadow of the woods, while the Numidians make a run for the opposite table edge.

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My Numidians accomplished their task with ease. They were threatened by the slingers, but were able to react to the enemy's activation and move out of range, forcing the slingers to use another action to close before shooting. One cavalryman fell to the stones, but no more.

At the end of the turn, the Numidians were still within range of the slingers. I definitely did not want Marcos to win initiative, knowing that he would attack them again. So I bid two command points on the initiative roll to improve my chances of winning, and it worked.

Thus, with the scouting token in hand, the horsemen raced back behind the Carthaginian lines.

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On his left, Malchus could see the Numidians make their run for the opposite side of the battlefield. Though the enemy slingers tried to stop them, the bulk of his horsemen survived and turned to race back with their prize: valuable information on the enemy deployment.

Despite losing a man, the Numidians skirt back past the slingers to safety.

The cavalry safely back behind their lines.

In the center, the enemy commander seemed content to wait and allow Malchus to make the first move. Knowing that he had the advantage since none of the enemy troops had gotten past his own lines, Malchus was content to try and wait out the foe.

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In turns two and three, Marcos passed early on, hoping I think to draw me in and then use his remaining command points to attack me when I would not be able to react. I called his bluff and passed as well, ending turns 2 and 3 very quickly. 

At this point, Marcos realized that I had the advantage since I had a scouting token, and he began to move his troops forward some.

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Finally, movement ahead! Malchus could see the enemy start to stir.

"Bostar! Send in the javelin men," he called out.

"Yes, sir, right away," Bostar responded instantly.

The Libyan tribesmen began to move forward and started launching their missiles. They had little effect on the enemy, many of whom were still in the shadows of the woods. A few of the damned archers fell, but not enough, dammit, not enough!

The foe accepted the challenge, and the Greeek archers and hoplites responded. The javelin men were soon chased away by their Greek counterparts, fleeing back towards the Carthaginian lines.

On the left, he saw Juba.

"Numidians!" Malchus cried out. "Kill those damned slingers!"

Immediately Juba ordered the horseman to attack. Time after time they threw their javelins, causing some casualties, but not enough to break the enemy unit

He'd watched enough! Malchus ordered his spearmen to advance in close order, shields forming a wall against the enemy missiles.

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I misplayed the last two turns. Marcos has an affinity for missile-armed troops. Apart from two small units of hoplites (six men each), all of his troops have missiles of some sort. The slingers and archers in particular, with their longer range, are a special threat.

I tried to engage his missile troops with my own, but I was woefully outclassed. The better range of the archers, coupled with the better shooting score of the peltasts, meant that I took a lot of casualties. Both javelin men units quickly were routed.

In my mind, I see skirmish units as ranging ahead of the main line of troops, engaging and weakening the enemy before fading back.

Perhaps it is best to keep them behind the shield wall, wait until the spearmen have (hopefully) disrupted the enemy line, and then attack with them to finish off the foe. I may have to try that next time to see how it works.

But for now, onto Turn 5...

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With their screening skirmishers gone, the spearman advance in ordered ranks.

One unit of spearmen charges into the peltasts, breaking formation. They did not kill enough Greeks to break the enemy unit.

With their screening skirmishers gone, the spearmen moved ahead. Despite their heavier armor, the spearmen on the left were unable to break the peltasts. Charged in turn by the hoplites, they broke as well, running past Malchus as they fled.

"Dogs! Curs! Bastard sons of bastard fathers!"

Despite his curses, the men would not stand and fight.

One detachment of spearmen remained to hold the rapidly disintegrating Carthaginian line, and the Numidians still posed some threat on the left. But, by the gods, things looked grim.

The sun was low in the sky at this point, the tall trees casting even longer shadows across the field. Visibility was worsening, it was obvious that despite his successes, the Greek commander had no stomach for further bloodshed.

Accepting the respite, Malchus ordered his remaining troops to fall back. Victory, no matter by how slim a margin, was sweet. Especially against a foe that had bested him in their last encounter.

More importantly, the intelligence on enemy troop dispositions would be valuable, and Hannibal Gisco would be grateful. Malchus began to ponder how he could capitalize on that gratitude.

The Numidians taunt the enemy. They only got away with it because the game ended!

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With my army falling apart at the seams, I failed my break test at the end of Turn 5. Thanks to my Zeal asset, I automatically pass the first test of the game despite the actual roll. But another turn would almost certainly cost me the game. The outcome of this game would literally rest on the end of game roll...

Marcos rolled a 6, and I rolled a 1... an odd total, so the game ended!

Troop positions at the end of the game.

Despite having accumulated more break points (3 to Marcos's 2), I achieved a minor victory because I held a scouting token.

Marcos and I each made mistakes during the game. He played very conservatively the first few turns, content to sit back. This allowed me to secure the scouting token and then keep passing, advancing the game turns towards a conclusion. A conclusion that benefited me since I held a token.

I should have not attacked his slingers with my Numidians. I got away with it, because Marcos fixated on my javelin men and spearmen and used his hoplites to attack them. Had he sent them into my Numidians, they likely would have routed, costing me the scouting token that was the key to victory.

In the center, as mentioned, I misplayed my combination of troops. I played them the way I envisioned them working, and not the way they actually work in the game. Large concentrations of enemy missile troops are a very tough nut to crack, in my opinion.

All of Marcos's missile troops consist of nine models, so he only has a dozen hoplites without a ranged attack. And 18 of those troops have a range of 12" or greater. That's a well-designed force that thrives on causing casualties at a distance and weakening the enemy for the coup de grace by the heavy hoplites.

Once he began to attack, Marcos started beating me. As I said, I doubt I could have withstood another turn of combat.

Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.

'Til next time!