4th March - Saga vs The Youngest

It's been a while so Arwen and I decided to get another game of Saga in. She took her Irish (easy choice for her only having the one faction) and I decided on my Vikings this time. She set up the table while I was at work and we decided just to play the standard Kill the Warchief scenario.

The Vikings while late to get their battle line set were the first to get rolling across the battlefield, with an even advance toward the Irish lines. The Irishmen then began to head toward the Norse line with warriors on both flanks hurling javelins as the surged forward though only a single warrior fell to their cowardly javelins. Meanwhile the Irish Houndmaster distracted by the baying on his charges mistakenly coursed them forward into a solid block of Viking Hirdmen who quite quickly and efficiently took out most of the dogs.

A certain capricious Norse god showed his presence on the battlefield as the remaining Irish wolfhounds disappeared from the battlefield. While the rest of the line held steady the Viking warriors on the flank charged forward to avenge their fallen comrade and drove the Irish unit back killing a few of the men. Rather than counter charge the Irish chose to hold their line and hurled more javelins across the intervening ground at the Viking's and again their efforts only resulted in a single fallen Norse warrior.

Enraged by the annoyance of the Irish missiles the Viking warriors surged ahead again and again driving the Irish warriors back and then charging in again until finally they stood alone winded but surrounded by bloody corpses. Not learning the lesson just taught on the other flank the Irish warriors once again tried to fell the Vikings from a safe distance and again failing to have any real effect. The overextended Viking warriors were then subjected to multiple charges from the Irish, while they did managed to drive off both of the Curaidh. This forced the Irish warchief to order his hearthguard into combat with the brave men who finally fell to the constant Irish attack, but I'm certain they all found their way to the halls of Valhalla.

Finally running out of patience the Viking warriors on the other flank charge into the Irish, but these men prove to be the equal of the Norsemen and manage to drive off their foes. The Irish take advantage of the relative quiet of the Viking line and take a moment to refresh themselves before throwing themselves back into the fray.

The Norse warriors throw themselves at the Irish defense but are again broken like waves on the rocks by the seemingly giant Irish warriors. Taking heart from their consistent defeat of the Viking warrior unit the Irishmen begin a charge of their own. Only a single Viking man remains on his feet but finally they found their strength and managed to drive back a tattered Irish unit even as they themselves fell.

Loki again worked his magic deciding to honour the remaining man's bravery and prowess and the tattered Irish unit across from him are whisked away. The lone man is called back behind the safety of the Hirdmen line as the Vikings prepare to withdraw from the field. With the light fading the Irish warband decides to attempt to save face for their thus far rather cowardly and poor efforts in the days fighting, though again it falls to the warriors as the warchief and his hearthguard stay as far from the Viking lines as they can and still claim to be on the field. The Irish warriors begin their run across the field hurling javelins dropping a couple of Viking men before smashing into their waiting shieldwall breaking it and driving them back and with a last surge of momentum following it up with a second charge finishing of the Norse unit.

Such a close game with only four victory points between us. Her last ditch gamble in the closing turn definitely rewarded her with the draw and good on her for it. Every time we play her tactics just get better and better. Hopefully we'll get another game in soon.

4th December - 3rd December Saga vs The Youngest

We've been quite a busy household over the last month but Arwen and I managed to squeeze in a game of Saga yesterday. While I couldn't find the newer rules for her Irish we did find an updated version of one of the scenarios we hadn't got on the table as of yet and decided to give it a whirl. It's basically a pure victory points scenario where the warchief cannot die, however each wound that would have killed them equals one victory point and either the first person to get more than ten points difference or the most points after six turns is the winner.

I played the Vikings this game and took three points of Hearthguard (one of which I ran as Beserkers, the other two as one solid unit of Hirdman) and the remaining three points were Warriors. Arwen took her usual two points of Hearthguard (one unit of six and her two Curaidh) and the rest of her points as Warriors with one unit being her Wolfhounds.

The other main point of difference in this scenario is that the Warchiefs both start in the centre of the table basically having begun the fight without their men.

The viking Bondi quickly moved to support their Chieftain running straight up the field of battle to assist him in his struggle. While they moved up at the double the more experienced members of the viking warband advanced up at a more cautious pace waiting to see which way the Irish would respond. Finally a second Bondi unit moved in to protect the flank from the distant Irish Warhounds.

Suddenly hidden Irish patriots began to hurl javelins at the Berserker unit as they skirted the woods then as quickly as they appeared the 'Sons of Dana' melted back into the forest leaving one fur clad Northman lying on the battlefield. This was followed by the Irish Hearthguard advancing up to their warchief and while several of their javelins found the leader of the Viking warband only one managed to penetrate the grizzled warriors defences.

The Berserkers foaming at the mouth after seeing such an unmanly ranged attack on their war leader charge the Irish chief screaming to 'Frigg' and 'Thor' but the Irishman proves to be quite the warrior in his own right, not only managing to deflect the mighty blows from the Vikings but also killing them all with his own mighty swings. This moved the Viking leader to anger and he moved in on his counterpart himself wounding the man and driving him back.

Again a hail of Javelins strike out toward the Norse warchief but this time not a single missile finds it's target. Meanwhile one of the Curaidh engages the supporting Bondi unit but the Irish champion is fought to a stalemate.

The Viking Hirdmen surge forward and land some forceful blows on the Irish warchief driving the man back and scoring some brutal hits upon him. Emboldened by the success of their veteran counterparts the Bondi charge forward chasing down the Irish Curaidh and cut down the man sending a wave of dismay through the nearby Irish units. Sensing a chance to buckle the Irish line further the Viking warchief leads the remaining Hirdmen into combat with the Irish Hearthguard but one of the men manages to survive the onslaught preventing panic from spreading any further though the ranks.

The Irish respond with a devastating hail of javelins into the unit of Bondi responsible for the Curaidh's death catching the warriors completely unprepared leaving only two men on their feet (combination of Eagle Eye, Fir-Bolg and Bansidh Whispers).

 Seeing his front line in tatters the Viking warchief orders an advance from his reserve units to reform the shield wall. The Hirdman push onto the Irish warchief again, but again the man proves himself to possess the true Blood of Kings and they are unable to land a blow on the man and are pushed back.

Seeing the Hirdman slowly reforming a fresh unit of Irish warriors falls upon them and drive them back further, although it is only one man who limps away.

Three waves of Viking warriors charge the Irish warchief but again the man proves impossible to hit and all of them are forced back while the seemingly paragon warrior is again untouched by their weapons and the bodies of his enemies begin to pile at his feet.

Again the deadly Irish javelins fall upon a unit of Bondi, this time the freshly committed reserves who are left with only three men after the brutally devastating attack (another three power combination).

Seeing the tide begin to turn on them the Vikings begin to pull back from the field leaving the seemingly untouchable Irish warchief in possession on the battlefield but knowing that overall he had been outmatched by the Viking force on this day.

It was a great scenario to play, the undying warchiefs simply meant you were more willing to throw them around which made for some pretty exciting combats. Thankfully my one good turn of damage was enough to win me the game seven points to one, though if the battle boards had been kinder to us both who knows how it would have ended up. I think next time we play this scenario I'll have to watch out for the deadly three combination targeting my warchief rather than my warriors though which will make things a lot more interesting.

I haven't made a lot of progress painting wise over the last couple of weeks, but I think I can now safely say were Christmas ready and I've got three weeks off over the holiday period so I'm hoping to make a bit of a dint in the painting queue again from here on out.

13th September - Finished Saga Milites Christi Warband

It took me a few days longer than I was planning but these things will happen. I've painted them up as Hospitallers mostly due to my liking of the colour scheme than any other reasons. I've had them on the table one already before they were properly finished in a quick game against Toby's Anglo-Saxons (not an overly historic match up I know but thanks to the Saga rules one that was quite playable).

I blundered with them slightly at the start of the game as I have only played with the Vikings before under the rule set but by about turn three I felt like I had at least a basic understanding of the way they function and I'm looking forward to getting them out again. I did find one small hiccup with my warband setup seeing as I'm limited to a number of crossbow men equal to the hearthguard in the force, but I've ordered some more foot warriors and I'm considering a couple more units of mounted hearthguard for flexibility.

Warlord and Banner Bearer

Hearthguard

Heathguard

Warriors

Warriors

Warriors with Crossbow

Current Warband (Six Points)

Not too sure what I'm going get under a brush next. I'm thinking about entering the Clash of Kings next year at Cancon so I'll have to finished off a few more bits and pieces for my Abyssal Dwarves some time soon, but I'm not sure if I wanna to knock over a few random bits and pieces before I get stuck back into them.

23rd August - Finished Pagan Priest for Saga and WIP Frostgrave Cultists

I actually finished this guy off last week, but it's taken a while to get decent photos and to organise myself to get them uploaded. I picked him up from War and Peace a few months back when The Youngest grabbed herself some Irish Levies and a Christian Priest for herself. It was a nice little mini to paint and I'm happy with the way he's turned out. On a side note finding a nice spot for the photos has resulted in about half a days labor in weeding the garden but I guess there's a price to pay for everything :).

 I've made a start on my Frostgrave Cultist plastic box set I picked up back when the expansion was "Nickstarted". I've had them and the original soldiers box glued for a while now, I just felt like it was time to get some out of the way and I've been feeling like trying to get in a game of Frostgrave again. I've had two brief sessions on them so far, but I'm thinking I'll do a bit of a push on them tomorrow.

I'm sticking with a darker colour scheme with these guys, though I'm thinking a few splashes of orange on the tunics just to contrast against the rest of the uniforms. I've also been slowly assembling my Military Order force for Saga Crescent and Cross, though that was stalled when I ran out of glue the other day. I've since fixed that issue and grabbed a banner man for the force as well so I'll be back to drilling out hands for spears any day now :).

11th August - 9th August Saga vs The Youngest

I got a game of Saga in with The Youngest on Tuesday night. We'd been trying to get it in for a while now but with my work and her assignments we had to reschedule a few times. She wanted to play a six point game after buying herself some levies (not that they've made it out of the blister yet but who hasn't got a painting pile at home :) ), so we pulled The Wife's warriors out for levies and I handed over a warrior group to make up her last point.

The forces were as follows:

Vikings

Warchief

2 units of 4 Hirdmen (Hearthguard)

1 unit of 4 Beserkers (Hearthguard)

2 units of 8 Bondi (Warriors)

1 unit of 12 Viking Archers (Levies)

Irish

Warchief

2 Curaidh (Champions)

1 unit of 6 Fianna (Hearthguard)

2 units of 8 Bonnachts (Warriors)

1 unit of 8 Dogs and Handler

1 unit of 12 Kerns (Levies)

We rolled up and got the Sacred Ground scenario. You have three terrain elements spread across the table and earn VP at the end of your opponents turn based on how many and which type of troop you have within the areas.

The Youngest won initiative and began deployment, so thanks to her larger spread of units I managed to win the first turn.

The Viking line steadily advanced toward the Irish sacred ground with a unit of Hearthguard rushing the main stone circle atop the nearby hill and a Warrior unit rushing into the forest. The Irish centre advanced led by their Warchief and his Curaidh. While none of the warband themselves made it to their hallowed places, some of the hidden 'Sons of Dana' managed to take out two of the Viking invaders in the forest.

Emboldened by the lack of Irish resistance the Vikings continue to advance in a steady line with more of the force reaching the objectives. This finally prompted a response from the Irish with their wolfhounds tearing into a unit of Viking warriors pushing the Norsemen back. Another volley from more hidden 'Sons of Dana' fell among the Viking Hearthguard but they were unable to drop a single armoured man. Finally the Kern's took up a holding position on the far hill.

The regrouped Bondi charged back into Irish dogs and their handler with calls to 'Frigg', taking their revenge and leaving the handler to calm his two remaining animals. The Viking Archers meanwhile open fire on the distant Kern killing three of the men. On the forest flank a group of Hirdmen slammed into the flank of unit of Bonnachts but the luck of the Irish came through on the day (five rolls of six on her rolls preventing all the wounds) and the veteran Viking unit was pushed back lacking one of their number. The 'Sons of Dana' open fire again from amongst the standing stones but this time they manage to fell one of the mailed warriors. The Bonnachts fired up after their victory over the Hirdmen crash into the Bondi trying to drive them from the sacred woods but the dug in Norse drive them back.


The Archers take their toll on the Kerns leaving another two men dying on the hilltop. The Bondi slam into the Bonnachts seeking 'Valhalla' with cries to 'Frigg' for the strength to swing their weapons..... but again the luck of the Irish shines through with none of the Irish men falling despite an abundance of heavy blows and the Vikings are driven back into the forest. With a bellowed warcry and a call to arms the Viking Warchief smashed into the Fianna with a unit of Hirdmen at his side. Killing two of the Irishmen and driving them out of the stone circle and off the hill. Again the 'Sons of Dana' take their toll on the Viking invaders dropping yet another Hirdman. The Fianna valiantly try to retake their sacred site but the ferocity of the Viking Warchief throws them back one more time although one of the brave Hirdman fell to their swords protecting his chief.

 The Viking Archers take a heavy toll on the Kerns with this volley killing five more Irishmen.The lone Hirdman attempts to take out the nearby Curaidh but despite his best efforts the Irishman's resilience keeps him not only on his feet but managing to drive the veteran back. Down at the forest the Hirdmen attack the Bonnacht again killing four Irish warriors at the cost of one of their own pushing the natives back out of the contested objective. A second group of Bonnachts move forward to strengthen the assault on the forest. While the Fianna pull their javelins out and leave the final Hirdman dead on the top of the hill.

Seeing the Warchief alone on the hill the Berserker's move up to support the lone Viking chief. With few targets left the remaining Kerns manage to avoid the Viking arrows. The remaining Hirdmen burst from the forest and smash into the Bonnachts' flank driving the startled Irish warriors back. The 'Sons of Dana' reappear in the forest killing one more Viking warrior. The smaller unit of Bonnacht make an attempt to push the Hirdmen out but despite a brave attempt a single man is left to pull back and mourn the rest of his squad. Seeing an opening the Curaidh attacks the Viking Warchief a series of ferocious attacks proves that the man truly sprang from the 'Seed of Ireland' but again the Warchief is saved by a loyal retainer this time a Berserker.




Finally getting the order they had been waiting for the Bondi once again charge in to the warhounds finishing them off, while at the same time the Kerns are finally cleared from the hill by the Viking Archers. Sensing the day slipping from them the Irishmen begin a last ditch attempt to re-secure their sacred ground pushing everything they have left forward to challenge the Viking invaders.





The Viking's hastily spread across the field pushing to get a presence in all the Irish sites, forming shield walls ready to throw back the Irishmen's last ditch effort. Yet another Viking warrior falls to the hidden 'Sons of Dana'. The Bonnacht giving up on melee pull their javelins and hurl them toward the Hirdmen, but they manage to avoid any casualties. Fired up by their lack of ranged success the enraged Irish soldiers charge the Viking veterans but this proves to be a mistake with half of them falling to the Norse weaponry and the rest being pushed back to the very edge of the forest. Finally one of the brave Curaidh charges the Berserkers killing them all but finally succumbing to his many wounds.

The game ended with a Viking victory but it was close all the way to the end of turn eight. I have to say The Youngest is definitely becoming quite the tactician.

On the painting front I've just got the basing left to go on the Legion of Everblight box, so with any luck I'll have them finished off tomorrow before I work.

4th July - Saga vs The Youngest

It's been a while and I felt like pulling out Saga so The Youngest and I decided to get a game in between her Irish and my Vikings. She set up the table yesterday and we got down to business this afternoon. Her favourite scenario is The Battle of the Warchiefs so that's what we decided to play.



The Youngest won the deployment roll, but I managed to win initiative and the battle was underway.






Hearing the hounds baying through the woods the warriors on the flank held their position waiting to see if the beasts appeared. Meanwhile the rest of the warband moved forward with the right flank of warriors moving at a rapid place to get into position. The Irish warband responded with their own advance with the warhounds bursting from the woods but falling just short of the Viking Beserkers.


The warriors took the opportunity to smash into the side of the Irish beasts killing two of them in the initial melee then following it up with a second attack killing another three beasts without sustaining a single casualty of their own and forcing the beasts back into the woods. The rest of the Viking warband held the line waiting to see how the Irish responded and looking for weak points in their line to get their chance at the enemy warchief. Some hidden Irishmen in the nearby rough ground attacked the Viking Beserkers with a hail of sling stones but the lightly clad warriors easily avoided the attacks.

On the right flank a band of Irish warriors moved forward harrying the Viking warriors killing one man with their Javelins.





On the other flank one of the Irish Champions charged the warriors standing upon the fallen warhounds and while three Viking men fell the brave Irish man was taken down and two of the Norsemen awoke to find themselves at the gates of Valhalla due to their valiant efforts.





He was quickly avenged however as the trailing Irish  Hearthguard swiftly connected with the bloodied warriors, killing the remnants of the tattered unit though at the cost of two of their own.

The dogs were suddenly silent as the Norse trickster Loki appeared and led them off to their doom. Meanwhile the Viking Warchief and his attending Hearthguard peel off in an attempt to close with his Irish counterpart and bring this skirmish to a close. Seeing their Warchief head over the Viking warriors close with the Irish unit but they are driven off.

The hidden Irish patriots attempt to kill some more Norse warriors but they are unable to bring down a single man. However fueled by their success in holding against the Viking assault the Irish Warriors hurl their javelins again felling the remaining men.

Finally the leash is removed from the Beserkers and they rush to close with the nearby Irish Hearthguard. But the Irish defense proves to be too high for the crazy Norsemen and after some intense fighting a single Beserker is left to stagger away leaving the Irish Hearthguard out of breath but undamaged. On the other flank the Hearthguard move to clear out the Warriors but the Viking assault seemed to be faltering and a half strength Viking unit was pushed back with killing a single Irish warrior.

Again the hidden Sons of Ireland send out an ineffective attack but once again the Warriors and two solid streams of javelins leave the men dead on the ground and the Warchief exposed. On the other flank the Irish hearthguard move up and finish off the last Beserker.




Seeing his men all taken down around him the Viking Warchief decides to go down fighting and charged into the Irish warriors. The fighting is fierce but he is forced to pull back as all his blows somehow managed to only hit the Irishmen exactly where their flimsy armour was. The mighty Viking Warchief was then peppered with stream after stream of Irish sling and javelin fire but their was no way he was going to fall to such a cowardly method of fighting. Realising this the Irish warchief sent his champion in to confront the lone Viking while pulling back slightly for safety himself the cowardly dog. The Champion closed with the Norse Warchief and while he did manage to connect with the giant warrior he succumbed to the Vikings fierce attacks.

Staring at the retreating form of the Irish Chieftain the Viking shook himself off and ran after the cowardly man deciding to bring him down, avenge his warband and send the rest of the Irish dogs slinking back to their kennels. He managed to chase him down and with a quick cry to Frigg for endurance the two opposing warchiefs clashed. The fighting was intense but the superior warrior won the day with the Irishman only managing to nick the Norseman while his blows fell heavily and true bringing the head of the Irish clan to his end and winning the day for the Vikings.

That was one of the most enjoyable games The Youngest and I have had to date. It was neck and neck the first few turns and I was pretty certain I was out of the running after my woeful fourth turn especially when she answered it rather strongly taking me down to the single man. Great game and hopefully we can squeeze in another game of something before she heads back to school next week.

I have got those Hordes models together so I'll get a quick update up tomorrow just showing the progress and if I get time I'll get The Wife's Retribution models together as well.