Saga Normans

I managed to finish my 4 point Norman warband for Saga last week. It was all ready for a game with Mr M at the club on Thursday, but I was struck down by a migraine and had to stay at home instead. Very disappointing, especially as it turned out Mr M was going to surprise me with a Scot warband I hadn't played against before! Still, there will be other times.

So here is a picture of my boys arrayed for battle:

Plastic knights from Conquest Games, metal crossbowmen from Crusader Miniatures

My chosen 4 points consists of 8 warriors with crossbows and 12 mounted knights. The knights I plan to use in two units of 6 to combine versatility with striking power. Ever since the first time I tried that with my Vikings I have always been ready to sacrifice a saga die for fewer, but larger, elite units.

So with the Normans ready, I set up a test game against my Vikings.

The idea was to test a combined arms approach with the Normans. The crossbows would fire on the Vikings as they advanced and then retreat back, allowing the knights to charge a weakened foe.

The Vikings were to use their standard tactic of "CHARGE!"

Of course, it didn't quite work out like this...

NORMAN TURN 1

Norman Turn 1 Battleboard selection

The Normans got some poor dice, so could not use their better shooting abilities. In addition, they were out of range of the Vikings. So they opted to move the warriors forward, fire and then move back again. The extra dice were used to boost their attack dice. Unfortunately the general had deployed too far back to give them the benefit of his free activation.

End of Norman Turn 1

The Normans only managed to inflict a single casualty on the Vikings. What's more, when I look at the picture again I see the crossbows are missing a fatigue. The shoot have two as they moved, shot and moved again.

VIKING TURN ONE

VikingTurn 1 Battleboard selection

I mulled over the Viking turn for longer than usual. I was toying with hurling the hearthguard the length of the board, but then they would have no abilities to use in the melee and I also saw the distance was far enough that the Normans could probably use their fatigue gained through movement to slow them enough to prevent contact! So I opted for a surprisingly restrained first turn moving them forward in a steady line, while keeping a couple of abilities back to use against Norman shooting and an unlikely early charge.

A tentative advance

NORMAN TURN 2

Norman Turn 2 Battleboard selection

Slightly better, but not a lot. I managed to get the two dice I needed for a 'fatigue-free' shooting. But the extra volume of fire did little. It was at this point that I started to wonder if I should have kept the knights in smaller units as I would have been happy to roll more dice to try and get the rather tricky to roll shooting abilities...

A couple more dead Vikings. Nothing else!

VIKING TURN 3

Pain...

This was when it all kicked off. The heathguard rumbled forward and used a free activation form the warlord. They managed to roll enough dice for the 'Activation Pool' ability to get 7 on the board when they were done.

So, due to their dispersed formation, two of the Norman crossbowmen were not able to contribute to the melee. I did have some kind of idea they were shielding the knights, but to be honest that was a bit stupid of me... So the white dice on the left were what the Normans had to roll. Needing 4+ (Normally 5+ but a viking ability reduced their own armour).

The Vikings on the other hand started with two dice each for being hearthguard (the red ones). You'll notice there are only 4 figures, but I had removed one to power the Valhalla ability by the time I took this picture.The black dice are what they gained from their abilities. 19 in total. And they only needed 2+ to hit. Normally 4+ but crossbowmen lose a point of armour and the Vikings also spent the Norman fatigue marker to reduce it again. The two saga dice pictured are to remind me that the Vikings could also re-roll all their misses (again from an ability)!

So no surprises in the next picture...:

SMASH!

In fairness to them, I think the Normans gave a good account of themselves by taking out two of the Viking hearthguard!

NORMAN TURN 3

It was at this point I noticed a significant tactical error... Just out of shot at the bottom of the above picture was the Viking warlord. He had advanced with the hearthguard and was now sitting by himself within 12 inches of the mounted Norman warlord. So, if activated, the Norman leader had no option but to charge his foe. But of course, he could take his pals with him...

Norman Turn 3 Battleboard selection

Not where you want to be when you don't have a horse.

So the inevitable happened and the Normans rode into battle and trampled the Viking warlord, thereby winning the scenario. It was a bit of a letdown when you make a mistake like this in an actual game, but it also reminded me how fast the Normans can be.

The Bitter End

So what did I learn from this? Well, I think I might want to consider returning the hearthguard to 3 units of 4 and see how it affects the dice I get to use. I also really want to get some bowmen levies as they have access to an ability which lets them fire at double range, something the crossbows can't do. I still like the idea of massed fire with my Normans.

So with that in mind I think I want to set the game up for another go!

Saga challenge complete!

Phew! That was a bit of work. I needed to prepare my 4 point Viking warband for a game this Thursday and was only able to work on it from Saturday... Due to using multipart plastics for most of the figures, it meant I effectively lost all of Saturday to gluing them together!

So that left me with Sunday, Monday night, Tuesday afternoon and tonight to finish them all! Well, you'l be happy to know I succeeded and, while not the best painted figures, they'll do for my purposes and I'd rather have them done for gaming than still be trying to paint the buckles on their belts!

Before I introduce you to them, I should say thanks to Pete who gave me the plastics, thereby saving me a small wad of cash and proving he is one of the most generous and kind natured wargamers I know! Well, either that or he really did hate the figures as much as he said... Thanks, mate!

Anyhow, on with the show....

8 Warriors (Plastics from Wargames Factory) 1 point. 

Warlord. Made up of two spare plastic warriors, but I may upgrade to a more 'warlordy' figure at some point.

8 Warriors (Plastics from Wargames Factory) 1 point. 

8 Hearthguard (Metal figures from Black Tree) 2 points

The whole motley crew. I'm content with that for a couple of day's work...

Side view to display my clumsily painted shield designs!

So that's it. I'm hoping they will do me proud on Thursday... The next question will be what to chose for the next 2 points worth. I'm thinking berserkers and another Hearthguard unit...

But for now it's on to the Normans....

Saga

I've been shamefully absent from my blog for ages now and thought it was time for an update on what I've been up to. The title pretty much gives it away!

I had played Saga a few times at the club I go to, always as the Vikings and usually against the Skraelings. This was fine and I enjoyed the games a lot, but I didn't have the overwhelming passion for it that I do now. The reason for this is probably that the Viking battleboard is fairly simple and the Skraeling one tends to focus on using the enemy's abilities against them, so I wasn't getting a real feel for the way other factions played and the interesting challenges this provided. (If you don't know about the battleboards used in Saga, click here for a useful overview.)

Enter the Welsh...

One evening I played 2 three way games and in the second I got to try the Welsh. This totally changed the way I saw the game. The Viking abilities are all about getting stuck in and timing attacks so they are backed up with some good effects. The Welsh on the other hand are sneaky ****s who disrupt enemy movement and stay out of reach whilst peppering their foe with javelins. So much more my style!

I suddenly found that I absolutely loved this game. I immediately texted a friend to see if he would sell me his copy as part of a clear out he was having and he was happy to oblige. We played a couple of games one day and  found I liked the Normans almost as much as I liked the Welsh...

Norman Knights holding a hill and awaiting a Viking onslaught!

While the Welsh are notoriously 'unfair' fighters, the Normans love to soften up the enemy with bow fire before smashing them with heroic cavalry charges. Hurrah!

Vikings advance towards the protection of the woods

What is excellent about the system, in my opinion, is how the abilities of each faction act to make each of them unique and all this information is gathered on an easy to read board without the need to flick though a book for charts, tables or lists of abilities. The core rules themselves are really quite simple and effective, to the extent that you may read them and think 'what's the point of cavalry, they don't get anything except a move bonus and an armour penalty from shooting?'. But when this is combined with the abilities on the board which reflect how the various factions fought, you end up with a game of considerable depth and interest to it: Norman cavalry are deeply scary when they charge into you, whereas Welsh mounted are used to conduct hit and run missile attacks while staying out of reach of foot troops. It is a rare thing that I play a skirmish game and feel I have a great deal of options and tough decisions to make, but this is something Saga does very well indeed.

The downside of this is that it becomes really hard to resist wanting to try a new army when you read what their abilities are. So far I am working on Vikings and Normans, but have plans to collect Welsh, Anglo-Dane, Breton, Jomsviking and possibly Scot armies as well... Oh and for those of you who are wondering, no I am not doing it in 15mm. I have found a game which has made me break this promise to myself, mainly because I want to play against other people's warbands at the club.

So do give Saga a go if you get the chance. Don't expect a 'historical simulation' if that is your thing, but if you like games where your decisions really matter and are rewarding to play, you might just find yourself with a new gaming addiction!

(PS: I'm going to be selling things on eBay to fund my new Saga habit!)