OT2017 Round 2

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OT2017 Round 2

Two very lopsided games determined majorly by luck.

Game 1 Results

Athenian reinforcements did not manage to get into play. The Spartans push the centre while the Athenian orderly retreat just to surprise the Spartans by rushing back into action. But the shock is not enough and the following mounted charge wrecks havoc in the Athenian rangs. After that its just a chase.

Athenian: mk20336 - 2 banners
Spartan: Carthage - 6 banners



Game 2 Results

The Athenian ambush comes into play immediately and starts to harass the Spartan left. It shifts to the right after the Spartan prepare to turn the ambush around focusing only on the reinforcements. The ambush manages to considerably hurt the Spartan right but pays by almost getting completely decimated. The Athenian main force ends the game by double timing into two remote infantry units.

Athenian: Carthage - 6 banners
Spartan: mk20336 - 3 banners

Round 2 - Olpae

One very tight and exciting game, one grossly lopsided game determined by dice.

Game 1
BrentS (Athens) 6
christhibault (Sparta) 5

A great game. Athens never drew a Leadership card for the Ambush and so was stuck on the defensive. I never had left flank orders until the last card I drew (and how timely and decisive that I did). I withdrew my right flank from the superior Spartan hoplites. In the centre I advanced a sacrificial Auxilia to entice the Spartans forward and they took the bait, allowing me to use consecutive Order Mounted (magic here) and Mounted Charge to get a banner advantage. This didn't last long and the Spartan hoplites smashed into my flank and put the banner count to 5-4 in their favour. I was left with just a 1, 2 and 3 block unit on my left, still with no orders for that flank and it was looking bad. The Spartans advanced to finish me there and I finally drew an Order 3 Left.....just enough to get my 2 block Medium Infantry up, attach a leader to him and destroy an Auxilia and Spartan hoplite for a narrow victory. Great game by Chris and I love battles like this with surprise end-game swings. One of my banners was a leader check so as I said to Chris, I'd consider that one a tie!

Game 2
christhibault (Athens) 0
BrentS (Sparta) 6

This was a disappointing sequel to the first close match as the dice all fell my way, and embarrassingly so. The Athenians had a Leadership card to spring the ambush on their second turn but their first attack on the rear of the Spartan hoplites resulted in 4-die / 4 hit battle back and 1 die leader check double banner. A failed Mounted Charge for the Athenians and the Spartans drove into the Athenian left flank and destroyed it for a quick, highly skewed result.

I quite enjoy this battle, but I'm not too sure about its value as a tournament scenario. There's enough chance in Ancients as it is but the added random element of whether or not one side draws the card necessary to get additional units into play can create a pretty skewed matchup across two legs. Our games would seem to give the lie to this (Athens won the game they didn't get their reinforcements and lost the one where they did) but I think these results were outliers.

Brent.

BrentS wrote: Round 2 - Olpae

I quite enjoy this battle, but I'm not too sure about its value as a tournament scenario. There's enough chance in Ancients as it is but the added random element of whether or not one side draws the card necessary to get additional units into play can create a pretty skewed matchup across two legs. Our games would seem to give the lie to this (Athens won the game they didn't get their reinforcements and lost the one where they did) but I think these results were outliers.

Brent.

Guess we shall see how it goes, but the lack of certainty around the reinforcements is a 2 edged sword. The Athenians have no guarantee of getting them, but if they get the card can plan ahead. The Spartans always have to plan against the eventuality of the Athenian reinforcements, not knowing if they are coming or not.

In a game of random cards and dice, this Special Rule is a fairly steady conundrum.

Mark-McG wrote:

BrentS wrote: Round 2 - Olpae

I quite enjoy this battle, but I'm not too sure about its value as a tournament scenario. There's enough chance in Ancients as it is but the added random element of whether or not one side draws the card necessary to get additional units into play can create a pretty skewed matchup across two legs. Our games would seem to give the lie to this (Athens won the game they didn't get their reinforcements and lost the one where they did) but I think these results were outliers.

Brent.

Guess we shall see how it goes, but the lack of certainty around the reinforcements is a 2 edged sword. The Athenians have no guarantee of getting them, but if they get the card can plan ahead. The Spartans always have to plan against the eventuality of the Athenian reinforcements, not knowing if they are coming or not.

In a game of random cards and dice, this Special Rule is a fairly steady conundrum.

I had similar feelign as Brent. Not being able to activate reinforcements for the whole first game, while Caspar playing Athenians in second was able to do it in first turn, was a major balance shift.

Olpae Game 1

In Game 1 Stonewall won 6-3 as the Spartans against Gottoman as the Athenians. The Spartans moved together on the left side of the board. Initial Athenian missile fire reduced an auxilia to 2 blocks, which fled to the center of the board.

Then the Athenian left launched a Double Time into the center of the board, destroying that auxilia, but the Spartans trapped and destroyed a hoplite and drove their forces back. The Athenian leader survived an escape through a Spartan hoplite.

The Athenian right and Spartan left joined the slugfest in the center of the board. The Athenians killed a 4-block and a 5-block hoplite. The Spartan hoplites killed 2 more hoplites, a leader, a medium cavalry, and an auxilia for the win.

Olpae Game 2

In Game 2 Stonewall won 6-4 as the Athenians against Gottoman as the Spartans. The Athenians opened by bombarding with missile fire.

The Spartan 5-block hoplites moved forward and grouped with their other units on the left side of the board. The Athenians played an Any Section Leadership Card, brought the ambush in mostly on the Athenian side of the Spartan line, but trapping the light that was near the left edge of the board, destroyed the light, and damaged the auxilia and a hoplite.

The Spartan 5-block hoplites hit back and killed 2 hoplites and a leader. But the significant Athenian numbers on the left side of the board (Athenian right) enabled the Athenians to hit with 2 more hoplites, a medium cavalry, and an auxilia, resulting in the destruction of the auxilia and two 5-block hoplites, and the reduction of the last 5-block hoplite to 2 blocks and its flight to the edge of the board with the leader.

Then the Athenians used a Spartacus card to move units from the right and left to the center of the board and formed a line of 3 hoplites with 2 leaders, and 1 auxilia, which then Double Timed into the center Spartan line, destroying an auxilia, and almost destroying a second auxilia. The Spartans struck back, destroying a hoplite, and almost destroying a second hoplite. The Athenians then defeated the Spartan infantry for the win by destroying a weakened hoplite.

Oplae Game 1
Mark McG (Athens) 6
KenW (Sparta) 2

Spartan dice blew this... once the Athenian ambush came on in the centre, the Spartans reversed to crush it. Using a Mounted charge they should have destroyed them, but instead the Spartans missed everywhere, and the Athenians destroyed. Dumb luck the winner on this one.



Oplae Game 2
Mark McG (Sparta) 6
KenW (Athens) 2

A similar story but in reverse. The Athenian ambush was much better placed than mine, but rolled badly. The Spartan Right steamrolled the Athenian left, and in a messy melee on the Left, the Spartans had the best of the dice.




My admiration to Ken for taking a nasty dicing with true fortitude.

Oplae Game 1
Armada01 (Sparta) 6
Scipio1zama (Athens) 5

Athenian ambush force entered the fray on Turn 1 causing havoc in the Spartan lines. Only good cards and rolls enabled the Spartans to gain the win by eliminating the majority of the ambush force and the Athenian right flank.

Will attempt to get log file from Mike.
Mike also forgot to start a logfile so we don't have one for this game.

Tony

Game 1- EZPickins (Athens) 4 vs PCScipio42 (Sparta) 6

Sparta raced out to a 3-0 lead as Athens was lacking the proper section card to spring the ambush. A well played Clash card enabled Athens to kill 2 units to make it 3-2. Sparta regrouped and the banner count was 5-4 when Athens was able to play the section card to enable the ambush. Athens had a chance to kill a lone Spartan leader but whiffed on 4 dice and was unable to kill the light Spartan unit in range. Sparta got the banner they needed to win on the very next turn. Final score 6-4 Sparta. Good, fun game!