As for my games they were all very good.
First up was against Gordon Malcolm using a 25mm medieval army with Behemoth General, Paladin, Warbands, Riders, Blades and Knights. I defended and terrain was 3 bits of rough in the middle (wicket strip and 2 bits of rough – bowlers footsteps) and a lake in corner. The Paladin prevented Vaughan ensorceling the Behemoth So I used the Lurkers and shooters to do for his warbands in the rough. My Flyer pinned his behemoth to break his line as he came forward then Heros Flintoff and Jones took on a blade and behemoth general, they pushed it back to further wreck Gordon's line. The turn after that my flyer flank the behemoth general and at 5vs5 against Flintoff I got the better dice. Game to me.
Second vs Tim Sharrock with his Nutcrackers Suite – Nuts on toothpicks and various other home made bits, very pretty, very imaginative and very deadly vs me. I defended and put down the cricket pitch as per above. Tim went all to his left and sent over the Sugar Plum Fairy aerial hero with flyer support. There was a small battle with my shooters/bowelers to take a flyer out but they swooped on over and in turn 2 hit Vaughan, mage general vs support aerial hero. Vaughan got stiffed by the sugar plum fairy. A loss for me then.
Game 3 vs The Old Enemy. Sebastian Rogers using 25mm Lunars and The Big Red Bat – Mage General, Dragon, behemoth, 4 Hordes and 4 Spear. I defended again and lined up in the centre whilst Seb deployed to the right and stuck his hordes in the rough. My lurkers deployed and managed to starting knocking of hordes. I swung the line left to go at Seb whilst he advanced. Seb got the `6' early and deployed the dragon. He was debating but I merely had to mention Dragons QK Mages and it was on. His Mage general set about bespelling my heroes whilst a horde of his also knocked off a lurker. The Dragon then gobbled up my Flyer whilst I managed to get the behemoth and it was looking bad for me at 11AP down. Next got Seb re-deployed hordes and sent the Dragon into my mage general to win the game… but lost on the dice so the Big Red Bat ran screaming like a girl from the table. Next go I had enough pips to get my blades into front and flank on Seb's double ranked spear and I got them to get 12AP to 11AP lost and win the game. Very close and very fun. Seb was gutted at the end of the event to realise the 3 VP would have meant he won the event. Shame.
Game 4 vs Andy Unwin and his magnificent assistant Charlotte (He had 2 dice
throwers, Gavin and Charlotte at various points over the weekend). A puffin
army in 15mm, Flyer general, flyers, 2 aerial
heros and 2 water lurkers. A remarkable number of people had a ferocious hatred
of puffins by the end of the day. A great game that actually sparked of an intense
rules check and discussion as it
determined who won in the last round. I defended and used my Grand Armee 40K,
terrain was needless to save river, swamps (wood & water), marshes and some
rough. I had a bash with my aerial hero and got a flyer but then he got mugged
by puffins. Charlotte's dice were great, even when I asked her to roll it rather
than drop it from a cm above the board she got 6s. This meant Andy ruled the
air and with my aerial hero gone the airboat were not keen to play and hid between
two bit of wood. My shooters attemped variious forays into the open to pick
of a stray flyer but after losing 1 in exchange for a Flyer I reckoned I'd lose
the attrition war being 8AP to 4AP down. So they hid in the woods. Andy went
for the Stronghold with an aerial hero and 2 supports hoping for a 6-1 or 5-1
with time running out.
This is were it got intersting and at various
points we consulted the book, the Author and the Godfather. Andy's first move
left a hero well less than 600 paces from the board edge whilst attacking the
Stronghold, I pointed this out and he took the hint and had a hero on the other
side be the main combatant with hero and flyer support. He got the combat win
but didn't double me so we stayed in contact. Next go I won the combat and he
fled with hero and flyers recoiled – The player in attack on a Stonghold
always chooses the main combatant, even in the defending players turn. His pips
were 6 so they all came back in, again he won the combat but did not double
me. Now, my
stronghold was right next to a river, the side that the combatant hero and flyer
support were, the other hero was on the other side. Last turn has just been
called because of time. I deployed lurkers in close combat in the rear of the
flyer and aerial hero, I can because to initiate combat they entered the water
but because they were in close combat to their front neither turn to face, not
even the supporting one ! So the effect is actually only to block the recoil
of the aerials. Andy now has to chose the main combatant, he picks the aerial
hero on the opposite side (less than 600paces from the
edge) as this has nothing in the rear therefore no –1 to the combat; however,
if he loses it's puffin pie for both aerial heroes (blocked & fled) and
the flyer (block), if he wins the combat but does not double me it's draw, if
he doubles me it's all over for me. See, I told you there would be some good
aerial and water games.
Anyway he lost the fight and 14AP in one single combat - let alone a single round of combat - is this a record ?
That was it for the official games but for the evening I did play Attilio using Tony's Beastmen. Attilio used a paper Beast army so it was quite quick and bloody. I then played a couple of games of the new Camelot game from Days of Wonder. A fun game with an nice quirk in that you can up and leave or join in whenever you want. This was followed by a curry in Dursley with much mirth and merryment. We played a game of mobile txt race, for the record my reply came back just over 24hrs later, so that's me out of that game.
Game 5 Sunday morning. I have felt better before, thank goodness I didn't bother with the wiskey. Played against Keith and his 25m Woolworth Trainee scheme army. Keith obviously still has issues from a period in his life and is using HOTT to overcome them. He had behemoth general, 4 warbands, 2 shooters, flyer and 2 knights. I used the England team and defended with the now standard pitch layout. Early turns saw my lurkers make a mess off his warbands but he recovered with his shooters and advance the line. My flyer tried to draw his flyer off but I got doubled and crashed in flames. His line continued and hit mine, a 6-1 saw my overlapped hero go down to the behemoth general and I was in allsorts of trouble. I tried to redress the line but couldn't drag my other hero out of the line to save him ( a behemoth about to hit his flank, he just had to remove his flyer from the overlap position) as he was trapped; I did get a knight and another blade to make it 8AP each. Keith's go and he can only manage a 1. Game turning dice roll, he could not move his Flyer to let the behemoth through and so in my go I recovered with enough pips to flank his behemoth and take it down. Game to me.
Game 6 against Ian Edwards. Once more I used
the Cricket team and Ian used a very nice Ming the Merciless army, mage general,
3 lurkers, sneaker, 4 flyers, 4 shooters. Ian defended and I attacked up one
side of a river. It could have been over in 1 turn as Ian put the Stronghold
in the rough terrain, so on turn 1 I deployed both my lurkers in combat. It
could have been magnificent…but it wasn't. Scratch the lurkers. Ian started
with flyer assault up the river whilst I advanced. Ming the mage general also
advanced on his own whilst I set to shooting the Flyers out of the sky. The
river
protected the Flyers from bespelling and Ming continued his solitary advance.
2 Flyers got wasted but hi other two did for mine. I decided to risk a hero
but got ensorcelled. Like an idiot I tried again with another hero and the same
happened, 12AP lost and game to Ian.
Game 7 vs Ian Notter with 25mm King Arthur:
3 heroes, beast, knight general, 4 knights. I defended with the cricket pitch
and Ian attack on his left flank. My lurker deployed against the beast early
but
didn't do much, my flyer then got wasted by a hero and Ian advanced his line.
Hero Lancelot got on to my mage general's flank with support but lost and was
sent to gaol. A second hero filled the gap
and dispatched the mage. Game to Ian and that left Ian in pole position if he
could win his last game.
Game 8 vs Alan Saunders. I defended against
Alan's lovely Alice in Wonderland 15mm army and used my Grand Armee 40K. I added
terrain to suit with marches and rivers, much to Alan's dismay as aerials and
water lurkers are his nemesis. Alan stayed on his side of the river and I went
and got him. I lost and airboat to carelessness when I forgot to leave enough
recoil room but other than that it was of me bring the shooters up to contest
the river bank, send them across when ready and have the aerials assault him
from the flank. I picked of his lurkers after his beast drew with my aerial
hero and that was his best shot at AP but he lost and my lurker exacted revenge
for the temerity. I then got a beast and a behomoth in the flanks and reshuffled
the deck by taking out two spear. Game to me and time to go start feeding results
into the machine for the final placings.