MT03 Round 3 - Decimus (Final Phase)
Vandals - Mike Stanley (scipio1zama) won with 5 banners; lost 13 blocks
Byzantines - Mark McGilchrist (Mark McG) lost with 4 banners; lost 20 blocks
After some pre-clash maneuvering, this game went very fast. The Byzantines lined up some bow cavalry and got off several shots, hitting one of the Vandal HC.
I used a Leadership card to launch a cavalry Charge in the center with a MC and 2 HC. I got a hit on his SHBC – he battled back and blew away my MC with 4 hits. I also got 1 hit on a MC and then managed to destroy his SHBC and get 2 hits on a second MC.
He then played a Command Center card and ordered 5 cavalry units, including 2 leaders, and in the melee that followed he destroyed both of my HC and my sole leader, Gelimer. The Byzantines were now up, 4-1, But they also had taken damage to several units.
I played a Medium troops card and ordered all four of the MC I had left, but only moved 2 of them, neglecting to move the two in the hills. One of my MC killed his 1-block HBC, then killed the leader, then killed a 1-block MBC. The other Vandal MC attacked a full-strength Byzantium MBC, which lost 2 blocks due to a retreat – it could only retreat 1 hex. Then the Vandal MC attacked the same MBC again, and got 2 more hits, killing it for the 5th and deciding banner. All this was done without a leader. I was quite flabbergasted. Thanks for the game, Mark.