Round 2, AC10 Lautulae (315 BC)
Samnite, Mark: 5 Banners Won, 30 Blocks Lost
Roman, Todd: 6 Banners Won, 23 Blocks Lost
Very tight battle - thin margins on both sides as Samnite Warriors and Roman Medium Cavalry tangled on the Samnite Right/Roman Left early. The score stood at 2 Warriors vs 1 MC and 1 Auxilia, when the Samnite Lights took over the action, being able to attack both wings for several turns. The Roman right held up in the end, but was pushed right to the tipping point.
The game turned on a Spartacus play by the Samnites. A solid roll, activating four units, though not being able to involve the lone Samnite leader proved costly, as only one hit on the Roman heavies resulted from the 9d. The battle backs were more potent, halving the Samnite Mediums and completely removing the Auxilia. The following Roman play pitted the same heavies against the 2 block Samnite mediums, and first strike made its appearance. Only a 2nd hit on the heavies, who then recovered and wiped out both the mediums and a supporting full block Samnite Heavy.
It looked grave for the Samnites at 3-5 with weakened lights on the baseline, but the Light-themed cards were bountiful in the Samnite hand, and Move-Fire-Move was both a defensive and offensive play. The Lights on the Samnite right were able to make safe distance, while those on the left pelted the Roman right.
It was the last single-block Roman MC that eventually enabled the Romans to prevail. It survived 4d of ranged attacks and a 2d leader supported battle back, before the final clash was set up: the 1-block MC and 2-block HI squaring off against a 4-block Samnite HI. 2 hits from the MC, before it was finally cleared from the board by the battle back, followed by the game ending roll by the Roman HI.
