Scipio1zama – Persians – 5 banners - won
Starlock – Greeks – 3 banners
The Greeks started nicely with a Line Command, moving forward all their forces on the right and in the center. The Persians came back with a Move-Fire-Move and got hits on 3 different Greek Hoplites. A bad roll with Spartacus only activated one Greek Hoplite, who plunged into the river and exchanged hits with a Persian LB. Before long there were several Greek Hoplites in the River, and the Persians played a Line Command and racked up 5 hits. The Greeks used Counterattack, but in that battle, hits were evenly exchanged and the Greeks were getting torn up. The Persians attacked on the flank and each side lost a Light Bow. On the next Persian turn, another Line Command meant difficult times for the Greeks, and 3 of their Hoplites were destroyed. But they still had some fight left in them, and a Greek Outflanked card saw the demise of a Persian Light Bow and an Auxilia. A Persian Medium Troops card seemed to portend the death knell for the Greeks, but three close combat attacks (including one bonus close combat) against 1- and 2-block Hoplites resulted in not a single hit. A final attack did yield a single hit – against a 3-block Hoplite. So the Greeks get another chance, with a Hoplite & leader Xanthippus attacking a 1-block Auxilia in a fortified camp – and the roll is Blue, Red, sword (ignored in camp) and banner (ignored in camp). The Greeks also missed against another 1-block Persian light unit. Finally, two Persian MI, each with a leader, blocked Xanthippus’ retreat and eliminated his hoplite for the 5th banner and Persian win. Ben & I both agreed it was a fun game – his first wargame, he told me, and he really enjoyed it.
I certainly had some luck with the cards AND the dice.