Friday, October 16, 2020

A Garden Party: Rome vs Later Macedon with TTS!

 


This past Saturday was a beautiful October day; sunny with highs in the mid 70's Some brief correspondence revealed that John was available for a "socially distanced" and masked outdoor game on the Patio. With such a game needing to be set up and taken down quickly, To the Strongest! was on tap once again, with the game providing an excellent excuse to put the mass of Macedonians painted in 2020 on the table at last! 

In setting up the game, I discovered that the latest TTS Army list book had what is now the third take on handling the elusive tactics of the Polybian Roman army,  called Quincunx formation. This is similar to the 2nd version, with the ability to exchange ranks, rally, and "reload" Pila all as a part of the same action, and being allowed in the ZoC of the enemy. The twist is that the Triari are now incorporated, making the Quincunx a Deep (3 hit) unit that also maneuvers as though it is a normal depth unit. To balance those advantages, the save was degraded to 7+ when the Hastati are in the front, and 6+ when the Princeps or Triarii are in front. The Triari can also detach on an easy activation. Still, the 15 point cost for a regular unit makes them pricey. 

In the event, John took the Macedonians and their phalanxes, whilst I commanded the army of the Republic. 


160 point armies, as follows:


ROME

CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

1

Left Flank Cavalry - Marcus Atilius Regulus





1

General, Mtd, Heroic

3+

Replay

6

2

1

Cavalry, Javelin

7+

2

9

2

1

Cavalry, Javelin

7+

2

9

2





24

6


CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

2

Quintius Fabius Maximus





2

General, Heroic

3+

Replay

5

2

2

Legionaries Quincunx,  Legio IV

7/6+

Pila, exchng

15

3

2

Legionaries Quincunx,  Legio V

7/6+

Pila, exchng

15

3

2

Velites - Light Infantry, Javelin

7+

3

4

1

2

Velites - Light Infantry, Javelin

7+

3

4

1

2

Army Standard



2

1

2






2

Camp



1

3





48

14



CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

3

Legio I, II, III Sempronius Longus





3

General

2+

Replay

4

2

3

Legionaries - Quincunx Legio I

7/6+

Pila, exchng

15

3

3

Legionaries - Quincunx Legio II

7/6+

Pila, exchng

15

3

3

Legionaries Quincunx Legio III

7/6+

Pila, exchng

15

3

3

Velites - Light Infantry, Javelin

7+

2

4

1

3

Velites - Light Infantry, Javelin

7+

2

4

1

3

Velites - Light Infantry, Javelin

7+

2

4

1


Hero


replay

1



Hero


replay

1



Hero


replay

1












64

14


CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

4

Right Flank Cavalry- Gaius Terrentus Varro





4

General, Mtd

2+

Replay

5

2

4

Cavalry, Javelin

7+

2

9

2

4

Cavalry, Javelin

7+

2

9

2


Hero



1






24

6

VM 40/3 = 13



MACEDON


CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

2

Left Center Infantry





2

General

2+

Replay

4

2

2

LI Bow/Sling

8+

3

4

1

2

LI Javelinmen

7+

2

4

1

2

Li Javelinmen

7+

2

4

1

2

Pike, Deep

7+

Pikes

13

3

2

Pike, Deep

7+

Pikes

13

3

2

Pike, Deep

7+

Pikes

13

3

2






2

Camp



1

3





56

14



CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

3

Right Center Infantry





3

General

2+

Replay

4

2

3

LI Bow/Sling

8+

3

4

1

3

LI Javelinmen

7+

2

4

1

3

Li Javelinmen

7+

2

4

1

3

Pike, Deep

7+

Pikes

13

3

3

Pike, Deep

7+

Pikes

13

3

3

Pike, Deep

7+

Pikes

13

3

3

Hero


Replay

1


3










56

14


CMD

Description

Save

Spec/Ammo

Pts

VM

4

Right Flank Cavalry





4

General, Mtd, Heroic

2+

Replay

6

2

4

Cavalry, Javelin, Veteran

6+

3

11

2

4

Light cavalry, Javelin

7+

2

5

1











22

5

VM 39/3 = 13



Initial Deployment. as seen from the Roman lines. 


Situation, end of Turn 1; the Romans moved first, but my right Center command balked at advancing, playing an Ace for their Group Move attempt.  


End of Move 2: My left flank cavalry chuck Javelins at the Thracian Cavalry looking down upon them from the hill, who shrugged them off with ease. My right flank cavalry is trying to maneuver to outflank the Companions, and the Legions are shifting to the right; there are 5 Quincunxes and 6 Phalanxes; not good!  The Macedonians also have an extra light Archer unit. 


End of Roman Move 3 - My velites chuck Javelins at the Macedonian lights screening the phalanxes, but barely manage to eliminate a single Archer unit. My Cavalry gain the flank of the Companions, but are very vulnerable to themselves being outflanked!


End of Macedonian Turn 3. The Roman Oblique maneuver has lead to John sending his 6th phalanx to chase down by Heavy cavalry. That shouldn't work... should it? His Companions flank my right side Cavalry and inflict a hit, but are unable to activate again to charge them in the flank a second time!


End of Roman Turn 4 - My velites have pulled back so that my Legions can attack, but those subsequent activations fail. My cavalry fall back on both wings. John looks on, suitably masked etc. I am so used to wearing a mask for hours at a time at work now that I hardly notice wearing my own. It was so sunny and warm when I was setting up the dame that I am wearing shorts, a hat against the sun,  and a T-shirt myself! 


End of Macedonian Turn 4 - The companions have eliminated my Right Flank HC, one of his phalanx has eliminated one of my Legions, but another is driven back. Of course, now I remember that I once again failed to take the break tests  for units orthogonally adjacent to a destroyed formed unit!

 
End of Macedonian Turn 5 - my poor left flank cavalry is being pursued by huis cavalry and a phalanx - not good! An out of Command Phalanx ought to be darned hard to get to move... but not for John!  :-)
My leftmost Legion followed up on the battered phalanx, injuring it again, but John's spare phalanx has turned to flank me. "What doubly difficult maneuver? Need a 4+?  No problem, mon! 


End of Macedonian Turn 6, and the game, My remaining right flank cavalry unit rides down the Companions in a flank charge, and I eliminate the one battered phalanx and then nimbly turn to face off against the phalanx to my flank,  but all of my Legions are on the verge of collapse, most of my velites have been eliminated by enemy fire, and my left flank cavalry has been eliminated. Game over, man! It wasn't as close as it looks, with John still having 6 Victory Medals left at the end of the game!


    All in all it was a solid win for John and the Macedonians. My Legions didn't perform very well, but their Javelins and pila consistently missed, and my saves for the Quincuxes were abysmal. The pre-emptive strike of the Pikes in melee (if they hit you, you can't battle back, and they always go first... although the pila cast comes before that, for all the good it did the Latins in this game. 

    We started shortly after 1 PM, and with John's help, it was all packed away by 4 PM. This was the first FTF game I have run in almost a year! We may be able to mange one in the Garage in November some time; we'll see! After that face to face games are likely to out until at least April next year. 

18 comments:

  1. Such a splendid garden party...Great looking game, and place!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Phil. It was good to play a game with an in person opponent again!

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  2. That looks like a very pleasant way to game Peter, even with the masks on. Thankfully we haven't had a community transmission in Queensland for thirty something days now and only four active cases left in hotel quarantine so we have put the masks back in the drawer for now, but it is truly amazing how quickly COVID can flare up again and people are still on alert and not taking things for granted just yet.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Lawrence. After many months of low rates of COVID in the states, we now have hot spots in several areas, and just yesterday activated the COVID action plan for the most rural hospital in the network. It is likely to be a long Fall and Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere!

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  3. Looks like a wonderful day out for you, John and the figures!
    "Setting up the dame" is one of your better typos Peter! :)
    Regards, James

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, James. I think I'll leave that typo, LOL. I am a lousy typist, and I find the text in blogger's composition mode very hard to read (too small) as well. Perhaps I should make the font larger when composing, and then shrink it down before posting! :-)

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  4. Amusing and accurate write-up, Peter. I recall drawing quite a few aces that stopped my phalanxes mid-stride but they were more annoyances than game-changers. Maybe next time I should leave the pikes at home and just bring clouds of light units with their "can't-miss" javelin tossers?

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    Replies
    1. Your light infantry was far more effective than mine, that's for sure! It all depends; in a different game. the lights can be toast pretty easily. That's one of the fun things about TTS - lots of different armies and approaches to try!

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  5. Great to see you being able to game outdoors. Brass Monkey weather here and wet too. I keep saying this but I really must try TTS :-)

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    Replies
    1. It was a fortuitous alignment of weather and opportunity. That may not happen again any time soon, or perhaps we'll get in a game in November, more likely in the open garage then!

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    2. There is nothing like a dame! Looks like great fun,even if it didn't fall your way, one of the things I like about TtS is that nothing is rock solid reliable, something can always let you down!
      Best Iain

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    3. "Nothing, in the world". I still remember seeing South Pacific in NYC with my parents when I was about age 14. A great show, except... I had to have them explain to me the central theme running through the show, namely, the anti Asian bias that made Nellie want to "wash that man right out of my hair", and Lt Cable to his death. Enough heavy stuff!

      I completely agree with your feelings about TTS!;' it's not over until it's over, because the game can throw up surprises in a hurry!

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  6. Excellent - game looks great - also the weather! It took me a couple of passes through the photos before I spotted the subliminal square markings - very nicely done.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tony! For in person games, the subtle grid is great. For remote games, the bigger and bolder the better! :-)

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  7. Excellent looking game, and a much better use of an outdoor space!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lee, although the Empress would surely disagree with you on the usage of that space! :-)

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  8. Great looking game TtS is a nice simple set of rules that you always get a result from, which I like - even when it feels like the winning side was actually losing! Lots of people posting al fresco games from their back gardens in the last three months - perhaps its a trend that will continue post Covid (whenever that mythical time eventuates...)

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps; it was nice outside, but would have been a bit less work on my usual permanent table. Of course, the weather has to work out right for something like this - no rain, not to hot or cold, etc!

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