Legio XII Victrix!

After a long rest I got my favourites out to fight last night against Ryan's Macedonian Successors, Ryan is only starting the army and it is unpainted, but I was happy enough to loan him some cavalry and play the game. The army will look very good when it is finished because I have seen his work on his Kings of War armies and they are exceptional, we have a lot of good painters at the club and it is always a pleasure to play against them or with them.

Anyway, Ryan I knew would have three large pike phalanx's some cavalry and not a lot else, the Romans being ultra flexible I went for one veteran cohort and two regular cohorts, these were supported by some horse archers, Lanciarii and Contarii cavalry, my plan being to sweep away the enemy skirmishers and get on the flanks, hopefully before the main lines clashed.

As the armies faced each other I noticed Ryan was being very cautious, this being only his second or third game it was natural, I think he underestimated his pikes against my legionaries, which of course suited me. In one fell swoop my light cavalry and light infantry got rid of two skirmish units and managed to dodge the retaliation charges. In my haste I had put the light infantry into a very dodgy situation and should have lost them, but Ryan was harbouring his Companion cavalry and they managed to easily outrun a phalanx which tried to catch them. A lucky escape as it is an excellent unit and not one to be taken lightly, they have already earned several Phalera.

The armies face off.

 I now took advantage of the confusion in the Macedonian ranks and pushed Cohort I on to a small hill while the veterans edged ever closer to the enemy generals phalanx, I had to kill or capture him you see. On the left I wasn't quite ready but we came to blows, sadly my Contarii were beaten before the Lanciarii could intervene and although Cohort III were at first successful, numbers turned the tide they fled and were caught, as were the Contarii. All was not lost as on the other side the light cavalry took out the last enemy skirmish command and Cohort I wiped out the pikes who had charged at them uphill, this had been a titanic struggle but the hill helped turn the fight. I now threw my veterans in led by the Emperor, I had hoped for a better result but only managed a draw in the first clash, however, even having the numbers against them they only had to stand for one more turn as the phalanx now had Roman cavalry behind and another cohort on the flank, both readying for a charge. The emperor graciously received the Macedonian's sword.

My left about to get trounced.

A great little game and one which will be a lot tougher in the future as Ryan gets to grips with his army and the rules, for me I will have to sort those phalanx's out a bit better and try and give my legionaries a bit of an edge. After the first turn Ryan also failed to win the initiative throughout the game which didn't help him, and at times I made some very good saving rolls, although I also had a couple of duds trying to convert hits to kills.

I found one figure with a chip of paint knocked off, he has now been repaired but if I remember correctly this army was sprayed with anti-shine, so once the WWII stuff is done the Legion will be getting a new varnish, yes I am mad but hey that's wargaming. I also took my new iPad along last night instead of my camera, I think next time I will take the camera.

It was a good night at the club and War and Conquest is perfect because you can get a game finished by packing up time and still have a bit of time for a chat. Elsewhere we had Bolt Action, Battleground Europe, On Her Majesties Name and the usual Bloodbowl and boardgame, a good night.