MT04 Vikings

C&C Medieval Mini-Tournament
The Great Heathen Army 
Scenarios
...

MT04 Vikings

So I've updated the tournament to 12 players, which may mean the scenario has changed slightly.

another reshuffle, now 14 players.

Round 3 - Basing- 22 January 871

RiverWanderer (Saxons) - 5 banners won, 27 blocks lost
alecrespi (Vikings) - 4 banners won, 21 blocks lost

Both sides consolidated their lines whilst light troops on the flanks, especially the Saxons,  started harassing those enemy within range. The end of this phase saw the sides within striking distance of each other and the Vikings well-supplied with leadership tokens after a flurry of scout cards.

The Saxons  made the first attack, advancing their line against the Viking left and pressing on in the face of strong Viking counter-attacks. The organisation of both sides started to dissolve, with Saxons pursuing vulnerable Vikings on the far Viking left, others trying to avoid the strong Viking centre and a sole archer unit continuing to harass the Viking right. For their part, the Vikings were positioning for a Clash of Shields. It came eventually against the Saxon right. Unlucky rolls frustrated the attack and the Vikings, depleted from ranged combat and the first round of melee, found themselves the worse, giving the Saxons a little respite.

Now in the final phase, both sides were pursuing vulnerable units against their opponent's baseline on the left of the board. In this way, each closed to the final banner. At the end, a desperate Foot Onslaught by the few remaining good Saxon centre units got to the final banner on what was surely their last chance.

Thanks to Ale for a close fought game and an exciting start to the tournament. 

 

Round 2 - VIK03 Ashdown 871

mk20336 (Saxons) 5 banners won, 18 blocks lost
alecrespi (Vikings) 2 banners won, 22 blocks lost

The game developed pretty historically with Saxons obliterating gradually Vikings left and the game deciding - with couple of wild rolls - in the center. Those Vikings scenarios play completely different from usual Medieval, you need to gradually build your position and the numbers of dice rolled are not so high. A welcome change from cavalry set-ups which can be decided after 3 cards play.

And thanks to Ale for playing on short notice!

 

Round 4 - Marton (Meretum) 871

RiverWanderer (Saxons) 6 banners won, 25 blocks lost
Mark McG (Vikings) 4 banners won, 31 blocks lost

Saxons formed up for ranged fire opportunities and to receive the Viking attack which came in waves. The first wave came against the Saxon right and ended with a banner each, the second added a further banner to each side. The Vikings now reorganised and attacked the opposite end of the Saxon line, soon eliminating a third Saxon unit.  Skirmishing on the Viking right concluded with both sides nursing depleted units and Alfred sheltering in a wood with an Auxiliary unit. 

Next came another Viking Foot Onslaught against the Saxon centre. A First Strike ensured some Viking casualties but could not prevent a fourth loss, as a depleted Medium Infantry unit fell. However, the attacking Viking units were now depleted and vulnerable;  a successful Saxon riposte evened the banner score to 4-4.

The Viking leader immediately brought up another Auxiliary to attack with a surviving Medium in the centre. With luck, the Vikings might have won here, or at least set up for a win on the next turn. However, their attack dice failed and the Saxon battle back instead won a fifth banner. Finally, a Saxon Clash of Shields claimed victory on the second of two combats.

Thanks to Mark McG for a good game and these interesting scenarios.

 










 

Round 1 - VIK02 Reading 871

mk20336 (Saxons) 8 banners won, 25 blocks lost
EZPickins (Vikings) 5 banners won, 35 blocks lost

The battle, as historically, was fought in two phases. First my Saxons attacking units in front of the walls, then Warriors from the city joining the fray. I had good cards - Line command x2 - and that really helped to put a lot of pressure for forward Viking's formations, preventing the reinforcements from coming.

We of course had some wild rolls as well as very poor ones. The number of dice rarely reached 5 so the game was longer than the Ancients version would take. In the end, the Saxon numbers prevailed as most of Danes did not manage to join in time.

Thanks to John for enjoyable game!

 

Round 7 - VIK01 Englefield 870

Renaud (Saxon) 1 banner, 21 blocks lost
Mark McG (Viking) 4 banners, 16 blocks lost

The scattered Viking force went across the river piecemeal to attack around the flanks of the Saxon line on the hill. Excellent Viking cards allowed some sustained attacks that the Saxons rarely matched, but as the block count shows, it was pretty close thoughout the game, and it all could have gone very wrong on the final turn if the dice had been different.

This scenario was intended as an intro, and it's inclusion in the tournament was as a stopgap. With just 4 Command cards each and an entire section that has little use, it is challenging with poor cards. First Viking win of the tournament!
 

A question came around Auxilia using First Strike, how many dice should they use, 2 or 3?

After a little research, I've decided 3 based on the FAQ for Heavy Chariots in Ancients
www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/the-g...8-command-cards.html

I'm less certain about Ambush and how many dice are used, since Ambush seems more like an attack than a battleback. However, using the logic of the Heavy Chariot FAQ, it seems like 3 dice + 2 more dice is the best answer.

Round 5 -  VIK07 Cynwit 878

Mark B/RiverWanderer (Saxon) 6 banners, 8 blocks lost
Steve T (Viking) 0 banners, 17 blocks lost

Saxons came off the hill, bearing down on Ubba's fragmented centre. The Vikings took the opportunity of a couple of retreats to start forming up but this created a weak-point directly in front of Ubba.  After taking some fire on their left flank, a Saxon Boar's Snout sliced through the retreated Auxlia, sent Ubba to Valhala and threatened the Raven. The now leaderless Vikings fought back with a Foot Onslaught, but it only dented the lead Saxon units, and at a cost of the Raven.  Inspired Leadership Foot Onslaught allowed the Saxons to finish off with a strong attack on the Viking right, claiming two more Viking units and the victory.

The cards gave the Saxons momentum from the start to demonstrate the historical narrative, which the Vikings were unable to hinder. The special rule taking away Viking stature sped the demise of the Raven, shortening the game still further. Thanks to Steve who got to play just two cards with four to choose from, in a very short game.