MT20 Epic scenarios

I am happy to report the results of the MT20 final. Congratulations to Nemo and thanks for two very 'epic' games, both emphatic wins for the French.

Scenario: EPIC Eggmühl

Game 1:RiverWanderer (Allies): 8 banners
Nemo2333 (French): 17 banners
After the initial French attack, Austrians pulled back on their left, presaging their generally defensive game. French attacks were initially held back across the board but the Austrians got into trouble pursuing depleted French units on the Austrian right and began to fail under renewed pressure, French cavalry gaining the ascendency around the towns. A fumbled square decision sped the game towards the French victory.
 

Game 2:Nemo2333 (Allies): 9 banners
RiverWanderer (French): 17 banners
French opened with Force March against the Austrian left, with Bring Forward Reserves allowing a cavalry screen to be established early. Austrians were soon falling back as the French continued to drive forward against them. By contrast, caution was the French watchword on the opposite flank, at least until the closing moments when a rash advance to close combat received severe punishment at the hands of the dice gods, losing the French a banner.  On the Austrian side, the possibility of losing a critical banner at Unterlaiching was now the only concern; time to desert the hill, yielding two banners to the French to end the game with the aggregate advantage.

Log files:
 



 

So the Final match is posted,
Nemo2333 vs RiverWanderer
Scenario: EPIC Eggmühl

Good luck to you both gentlemen

Semi-Final Round 1:
Nemo2333 (French)- 13
Gonzo (Allied)- 6

Semi-Final Round 2:
Nemo2333 (Allied)- 13
Gonzo (French)- 7

Chris couldn't play the Semi-Finals, and Joe didn't want to take a forfeit win, so Nemo is stepping into the Semi-Final spot. They are organising a match

Any word on this one ?

Chris, could you contact me please?
If I don't hear back from you by Friday, I think the Semi-Finals slot will have to pass to the next highest scoring French player.

Semi-Final Round 2:-

RiverWanderer (Allies): 13 banners
Mark McG (French): 9 banners

French opened with an attack on the British left, which was gradually pushed back. In the centre, the French sallied forth with a Bayonet Charge which gave less than the hoped-for results. The British responsed with a stern volley from Fire & Hold, and the attack was blunted. Not to be denied, reinforcements were promptly Force Marched from the French right, as survivors were retreated. Now, ahead in the race for the finish, the British charged after the retreating French units; taking one but meeting the oncoming French hoard, this time with cavalry support.

Meanwhile, as both sides traded blows and banners in the centre, the French were being gradually pushed back on their left. Reinforcements were funnelled there too, from both sides. Suddenly, Miranda de Azan was vulnerable and a British push (helped by two Infantry Leader Forwards) forced the garrison out and took the town. Now, the French had to push a British unit out of a town hex to keep in the game. Their best chance was a two dice cavalry attack against an unsupported unit but luck did not smile on the plan.

Thanks for Mark for another good game.

Semi-Final Round 1:-

Mark McG (Allies) 9 banners, 56 blocks lost
RiverWanderer (French) 13 banners, 51 blocks lost

French got off to a good start, snagging two banners in the opening volleys and holding firm against the British riposte. However, their foray against Arapilles was less successful and they were lucky not to be punished more severely. With the French weakening in the centre, the British smelt blood and charged forward. This was a critical moment and the lacklustre results saw advantage swing back to the French defenders, with cavalry on hand to pin down the British advance. Grenadier Guards threatened to overrun and mop weaker French units but was stalled just in time. Elsewhere, British cavalry hovered ominously but again, French ranged fire was able to keep them at bay.

The climax came with a second French assault against Arapiles. A weakened Foot Artillery unit was swept away and the town occupied by a full strength French line with Thomieres in command. The British had to push them out and, contrary to French hopes, had just the card to do it.... Light infantry fell back to volley the town, at full strength thanks to a well-timed Superb Infantry Training. A follow-up close-combat attack ensured that the French unit was destroyed, buying time and a banner. Elsewhere however, the French were well positioned against exposed British units and the dice fell into place to seal a French win.


An exciting game, especially in the centre but it is fair to say that the French had a following wind this time.

Thanks to Mark.

Semi-Final draw is up

Round 7 - Aspern-Essling

RiverWanderer (Allies) 16 banners, 71 blocks lost
mantra (French) 12 banners, 64 block lost

An opening attack on Aspern was soon repelled by a French Rally, Austrians pulling back sharply to avoid further losses. This flank then remained relatively quiet whilst Austrian attention switched to Essling. There, the sides traded volleys until a gradual Austrian advance eventually yielded the Long Garden to Austrian hands, aided by their Grenadiers with "Bring Forward Reinforcements".

Meanwhile, the battle for Essling itself raged back and forth, both Young and Old Guard committed and the Austrians playing a cat and mouse game, wary of the French cavalry massing in the centre. Eventually, Essling was emptied after the French pulled back to deal with the Austrian threat from the woods near the Long Garden. A French attack should have closed the gap again and allowed time to regain Essling but the dice faltered, with the Old Guard falling and the other attackers left vulnerable. The Austrians then had three attacks with favourable odds; good dice rolls yielded three banners to close the Austrian victory.

Thanks to Chris for standing in and for a good game that was tense until the final moments.

Round 6 EPIC07 Bussaco (27 September 1810)

Mark McG (Allies) 13 banners, 64 blocks lost
Redcurrant (French) 8 banners, 68 blocks lost

I am surprised to have won this, and the block count attests to the fierceness of the battle. Hardly an Allied unit was left unscathed, and the rear was filled with 1 block units. I led throughout the match, but every turn was hard, lots of tough decisions, and the rack was a bit of a desert. Huge number of cards in hand, at one point 6 Command and 9 Tactician cards.

Just lucky to win really, and the score could easily have been better for the French with a few average rolls.

not easy finding a die server these days, so I used the method which of us last played Chris doesn't play him now.
Draw is;
Riverwanderer vs mantra (Aspern-Essling)
Mark McG vs RedCurrant (Busacco)

OK by me. Toss a virtual coin for which champion each of us faces off to?

substitutes might be the way to go

there are probably just 2 matches required
Riverwanderer (Aspern-Essling)
Mark McG (Busacco)
Greg already indicated he was happy to pass, and his match wouldn't be needed if either Mark or I reach 87 Banners

so Mark, do you want Andre or Chris? both at GMT +9
or maybe I should ask that the other way round..

I can act as a stand in as well if you want Mark. Andre can take one, and I can take the other and we can go from there. Maybe the 3rd game isn't even needed due to the point spread. It would certainly speed things up

@Mark McG - I notice an error crept into the table with my Mockern result. I achieved 1 banner less: 13 banners in that game, not 14.

Mark

RiverWanderer wrote: 2) Completely remove the games with the retiring player, at least amongst the players who benefitted / lost out, and use that result instead.

I like the approach - the issue is that the games which will be taken out are to different amount of points. So we would need to take here not SUM of VPs but % of banners scored out of the ones possible. This is unusual tie-breaker, but I think one of the most fair.

The perfect play would be of course to play those games - but it would prolong the tournament significantly.

A couple of ideas occur to me in the search for a more satisfying method...

1) Some sort of elimination play-off, if it can be fairly reduced to 1 game between each of the affected players.

or

2) Completely remove the games with the retiring player, at least amongst the players who benefitted / lost out, and use that result instead.

Mark

I offer my services for VIRIDOVILAS who dropped out of the game , i think it will be more honest to conduct a battle and get a result .Write to me by mail when you can conduct a battle, if you agree with my proposal .
andrej.smorodnikov@mail.ru
RedCurrrenT

Hah! Not certain I have the stamina to play up to 4 more, so not horribly sad I missed the cut! That said, the six battles I did play were a blast and enjoyed the competition. Thanks Mark for herding the cats and everyone for the fun times! Good luck to the lucky 4!

So there is one game outstanding, which has no bearing on the Semi-Finals, and 3 forfeit games, which I gave the Allied players full banner score based on a forfeit result. I did experiment with giving those player the average score of the other Allied results, but there are difficulties with that.

Bit awkward having unfinished matches that determine the results, and I'm not convinced this is the best way, and there are 4 Allied players that could claim a place in the Semi-Finals. So if another method exists, please let me know.

Round 7 EPIC04 Aspern-Essling (21 May 1809)

mk20336 (Austrian): 16 banners, 53 blocks lost
malty666 (French): 9 banners, 54 blocks lost

Played in two sessions. Main action was around Aspern - very bloody skirmish with Austrian in the end prevailing (although that was not obvious for long time). The dice was with me today - two leader check were successful for me. Essling and neighborhood did not see much action.

Thanks to Justin for flexible game arrangement!

Rnd 4
Hawkmoon (fr) 6 banners 68 blocks lost---RedCurenT (All) 15 banners 36 blocks lost

Justin and I are at 6-6 in our Aspern-Essling scenario. We hope to finish it by the deadline.

Max (Viridovilas) has retired from this tournament, which creates something of a scoring dilemma.
If I could ask that the remaining 3 matches get played ASAP, since the outcome of those matches might throw a bit of clarity on the finalists