Round 1 Antioch
player 1 (Gileforn) Sassanids: 7 banners and 42 blocks lost
player 2 (gdnuke) Byzantines: 8 banners and 39 blocks lost
As the score shows, this was a very close game with opportunities to win for both sides. The cards and dice were pretty even. The Sassanids had the advantage in Mounted Charges, and each side played a Counterattack once. The Byzantines had the only First Strike, while the Sassanids made good use of a Clash of Shields to order 3 units. Each side lost a leader to a 2d leader check, but the Byzantines were able to replace their lost leader with a good Rally roll. The Sassanid leader loss was the 8th banner. The "blocks lost" count was as close as the banner count. The battle was mostly fought on the flanks, but there was action all around the battlefield. The Byzantines never got close to the Sassanids' camp. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not give credit to Andrey for being more knowledgeable on the rules (Parthian shots) and reminding me of leader checks. (When the leader block goes under the block as hits are applied, it tends to disappear from my mind as well as from the board view). So big thanks to Andrey for being a skilled opponent and a great sportsman as well. These games are always more fun when they are close and tense. Antioch was a great one!
