415 Carthage (238 AD)

Gordianus won a close one today. He led off with a Double Time, moving his right 4 units and engaging my Heavy and Medium. He inflicted 2 losses on my heavy in exchange for 2 losses on one unit and losing the other unit. He scored 3 retreats on my Medium which retreated 2 hexes and probably cost me the game.

My response was a Line Command order bringing my Heavy against a full strength unsupported Aux. I scored 3 hits but no retreats and he destroyed my Heavy, forcing my only leader to stack with the Medium. But I scored several missile fire hits.

He played a Leadership Center card and brought the rest of his army forward. His Medium Cav and an Aux scored 3 hits on my remaining Medium that was in the front line, the Medium dished out some damage but did not retreat. I played a Clash of Shields, vaporizing the Aux. A Light Bow unit finished off the other damaged Aux that was adjacent to my units.

He played a Counterattack card and finished off my Medium and forcing a Light to double retreat. Both sides centers were in tatters.

I activated my light units and missile fire ripped up a lot of his units but his Mounted Charge killed one unit and forced another to retreat to the map edge.

I surrounded his Medium Cav scored only 1 hit in 3 attacks, losing my Medium Cav in exchange. He activated his Medium Cav again and killed a unit that had retreated to my map edge but I was so disorganized by this time I could not mount an effective response. So I played Darken the Skies on him and weakened a lot of his units.

He brought forward his mostly intact left wing and hid his 1 hit point Medium Cav behind it. I had lost 4 units and he had lost 3 but had several units at 1 hit point.

I was unable to score any more missile hits (had 4 attacks in a row against a 1 hit point Light unit where I rolled a Medium and a Heavy hit). His Aux on the left flank pushed forward and scored the final kill against one of my Light units.

2 solitaire, with Capelianus winning 5 - 3, and 5 - 2. The infantry were too much to handle.

We played his battle four times, and Capelianus won every time, only one game being close at 5-4, and this was only because of a succession of favorable cards from the outset. Having said this, it's an interesting conundrum, as Gordianus' infantry units can run rings around the infantry opposition. It is also a quick scenario, playable in 30 minutes. Recommended.