Clubnight: Impetvs Batrep @ The Cavs vs Andy

 Andy took me on at Impetus last Thursday, at our club, the Chch Cavaliers. This was his second outing against me with Imeptus and, since he'd got some of his own painted up, I used Jason's Germans and loaned Andy some of my Romans. This meant I could try some of the sneaky ambush tactics that I had been egging on Jason to try. The ensuing battle is in no way to be taken as an endorsement for how to play warbands though. I think my version of their tactics was not out of character for such an army - but was unduly wasteful, especially of all that VD 3 Cav Jason provided me!

Before we played I took the traditional wander of the club:

Bikewrench in his recurring match up vs SKM

There were not a huge amount of games going on. Two FOW games, a few WHFB and FordyKay, some of the regular Bloodbowl and a couple of Warmachine. I'd have expected twice what we had there - in all categories. Too cold outside to make it in? Perhaps, there were a LOT of spectators that night though.

Bloodbowl - these guys usually have a few games on.

Fordykay

Warmachine.

One of the Warmachine guys saw me taking pics and sheepishly stated they were battling it out on the high seas!

WHFB

There weren't many figs in this WHFB game - the early impact of the new GW pricing and retailer policies? I kid.

Back to Impetus though. Andy was up first and his Romans aggressively streamed toward me. That is smart play, while the Roman Refused Flank (RRF) seems a logical ploy, I find they do better when you go after the enemy with some of those VBU 3 Skirmishers and then bloody their nose with your Auxilia (Andy took HEAPs of these). Anyway, it is just so much fun to lead with a Sarmatian charge. I pushed back on the right flank and we met with an almighty crunch. The warbands had the better of it though. Andy seemed unconcerned with the prospect of ambushers, nor with the fact that two small woods were obvious places to spring them (nobody was fooled by my attempted misdirection in asking Jason to remind me how hill LOS works).

 Turn 2 sees the total waste of Jason's lovely cavalry. Just look at them, sitting there while the Sarmatians rock up. On reflection, I could have counter-charged (since I was on opportunity) but them's the breaks. That cav battle in the centre becomes a long drawn out battle of attrition. Sarmatians are very good troops. At least I have won it on the right flak, but now I have to contend with all that terrain, while I try to wheel around the line. Meanwhile, the bulk of the Roman steamroller plows up the centre.

 Turn 3 sees me get to spring my ambushes. I had Andy's forces right where I wanted them, even to getting flank charges. However, I fail to win the combat on the left - so no auto-kill for me and didn't quite manage the full flank charge there in the centre wood, though at least those guys win! There to the left of the pic you can see my cavalry accumulating a huge pile of dice and counters...as a lesser number of Sarmatian Auxilia drag them down kicking and screaming.

 Turn 4. I break through to the left and have no enemies to the right but just can't seem to get to grips at either end of the line. Meanwhile, the Sarmatians keep on keeping on, while the Germanic Cav wither away before them... and the Roman warmachine approaches. I feel I am killing more of him than he is of me though. Andy keeps saying he has no plan and is playing for fun.

Turn 5. Like a sucker, I bought that line, hook and sinker. I've killed a lot of Andy's boys but he gobbled up a large unit, some skirmishers and all my cavalry. I had no idea of my break point (its Jason's army). Jason works it out and tells me that it is "just one more loss from breaking." I realise at this point that this is what Jason tells me every sing time we play. In fact, he probably has no idea of the army's break point, nor how to calculate it (I kid again) and just agrees that a lot has died so he'll pretend the army is nearly broken! I get to work, since I do know the Romans also have only a unit to go before they die. The Auxilia aren't worth much (and Andy has HEAPS of these) but the Sarmatians (which I got eventually) were. Unfortunately, the Roman life-support machine - ie the legionaries sitting comfortably in the second line are untouched as usual. At this point, Jason actually works out the break point - and I find out that I am already broken! Great game Andy, tense, aggressively played, and you definitely determined the course of that battle while I sort of flailed about randomly. I see potential in these Germans though.....

Meanwhile, an Imperial campaign begins: to root out Rebel spies in a Galaxy Far Far Away.