Round 4 Falkirk (Phase 1)
Jim Dauphinais (Jacobite): 7 banners, 31 blocks lost
Gonzo (Government): 5 banners, 39 blocks lost
For Gonzo and I this scenario turned into a marathon that took over four hours to play.
PART 1: Highlanders Charge into the Government Left
Gonzo (Government) opened with a Forward Card, which he used reposition some of its infantry and leaders to improve its infantry line. I suspect he did not have a Cavalry Charge card for he was setup on the left by the scenario to use it if he had one.
For good or bad, I (Jacobite) played a Counterattack Card combined with a Unit Initiative Combat Card to send my three front right wing Highlanders into a charge against the three cavalry units on his left. He stood with one unit with a leader, but retired and reformed with the other two cavalry units. We each lost a block.
He hit back with a Line Command bolstered by a Leader Initiative Combat card. This allowed him to have two of his left wing cavalry units, each with an attached leader, counterattack two of my front right wing Highlanders. It was ineffective other than causing one of my Highlanders to retreat a space thanks to me blocking a three flag result with a Clan Resolve Combat Card.
I came back with a Probe Right bolstered by yet another Unit Initiative Combat Card to have all three of my front right wing Highlanders once again attack. They broke through Gonzo's left wing line between his cavalry and his infantry ultimately causing Gonzo to lose one block each of cavalry, regulars and Militia in exchange for 2 of my Highlander blocks.
Gonzo then played a Rally Command Card with a great dice roll giving him back three infantry blocks and one player's choice block. With the associated orders that was granted for each rallied unit, he was then able to eliminate one of my front right wing highlanders and cause the other two highlanders to lose a block and retreat. Thus, he was able to fully restore his losses, eliminate one of my Highlanders, leave my other two front right wing Highlanders each down by a block and essentially drive me back. That was critical play that reversed the initial outcome on his left.
Given the foregoing, I started slowly moving my two remaining right wing highlanders back toward my lines. However it was too late. Gonzo played an Advance Left bolstered by a Cavalry Strike & Run Combat Card. With that, he sent two of his left wing cavalry units, each with an attached leader, to attack by two remaining wounded front right wing Highlanders. He ended up eliminating another one of my Highlanders and caused the other to retreat back further. In hindsight, I should kept my Highlanders engaged rather than pulling them back since it is very hard for them to get away from cavalry.
At this point, my remaining front right wing Highlander continued to fall back as it was now very close to my back right wing infantry line.
With a Scout Card, Gonzo then tried to run down the Duke of Perth, in my back line between my right and center, with one of his cavalry units that had an attached leader. The gamble failed leaving this cavalry unit alone just two hexes from back right and center infantry lines.
I jumped on this by playing a Leadership Combat Card on the nearby Nairn which ordered Nairn, the Duke, a regular (the token French expeditionary force to Scotland), a Lowlander and two Highlanders (the one that had survived the earlier part of the battle and a new one that was in my back right wing). It looked like the cavalry unit was going to safely get away with a retreat of two spaces without a loss, but then a HORROR OF HORRORS STRUCK. The full strength cavalry unit with an attached leader FAILED A SIX DICE RALLY ATTEMPT! To add salt to the wound, GONZO'S LEADER THEN ALSO FAILED HIS FOLLOW UP RALLY ATTEMPT! In an instant, a full strength cavalry unit with an attached leader was transformed into two Jacobite victory banners.
With that tragedy, he pulled his other front left wing cavalry unit back to his rear ending the first, and most exciting, part of the battle with the banner count tied at 2:2.
PART 2: Positioning and a Highland Charge in the Center
During the ensuing short lull in the battle, he stretched his lines toward his left, while I shifted my center and left front Highlander line to my right to setup a charge path clear of the ravine for the future play of a Highland Charge Combat Card that was in my hand.
I then played the card announcing that they [the Highlanders] were screaming now! Four of my front center Highlanders then went charging with a right slip three hexes into Gonzo's center line of regulars (with a Battle and Pursuit Combat Card sitting in my hand ready to go). However, Gonzo played an Ambush card against my strongest attack (by Clan Chief MacPherson) spoiling my most likely future chance of using my Battle & Pursuit Combat Card. When all was done with the initial charge, Gonzo had lost a regular unit and plus six regular blocks to my loss of just one Highlander block. Score: 3:2 Jacobite.
Gonzo came back hard with an Assault Center Command Card assisted by the play of two Reform Combat Cards. In the ensuing combat, he caused three of my Highlanders to retreat and I also lost three Highlander blocks at the cost of only one regular block to Gonzo. This said, I got lucky and passed all of Highlander Rally rolls.
I then played Infantry Attack Command Card to then pull back one of my two wounded Highlander units while continuing the attack the Government Center/Right with the two Highlanders that were still at full strength. Gonzo was able to safely pull out a weakened unit with a Infantry Retire & Reform Combat Card. As a result, my attacks failed with one of the two attacking Highlanders losing two blocks and retreating with no losses for Gonzo.
Gonzo then played a For King or Country Command Card with a fantastic dice roll of three player's choice, one infantry and one cavalry. I was able to play a First Strike Card, but he nevertheless was able to cause the last of my attacking Highlander that was at full strength to lose two blocks, retreat and then be eliminated for failure to Rally.
Thanks to the play of his For King or Country Card, I drew a Move Back & Reform Combat Card. I immediately played it to rapidly pull back my three surviving Highlander units that had attacked in the center. This concluded the second part of the battle with the banner score tied 3:3.
PART 3: The Great Lull
At this point, both sides were quite spent. We both took quite a bit of time to reposition our units.
I established a strong line near my baseline with three fresh Highlanders in the left center of my front line ready to strike and Lowlanders boosted by leaders making up most of the rest of my front line. I also refused by left flank with my Lowlanders. Finally, I kept my wounded Highlanders behind my front lines hoping for a Rally Command Card to bring them back into the game.
Gonzo refused his left flank with his remaining cavalry and tried to position his regulars and single Highlander for an eventual move on my line.
Note that the opposing lines remained four hexes apart -- outside the range of infantry fire, but close enough for a Highland Charge card to hit the Government line hard.
Many, many cards were spent by both sides for the above repositioning and to try to build a good hand to resume an attack.
The banner score remained tied at 3:3.
PART 4: The Highlanders Charge Again!
I finally drew the Higland Charge Combat Card again and sent three full strength Highlanders (including one with an attached Leader) into the center of his line again just to the left of the ravine. Note I was still holding a Battle and Pursuit Combat Card from earlier in my hand ready to go. I also had in my hand a Move Back & Reform Combat Card. Other than only being able to get three Highlanders rather than four going, I was in nearly an ideal position to launch a Highland Charge.
Gonzo was able to make a good play of a Hold the Line Combat Card. Nevertheless, the initial charge cost Gonzo six Regulars blocks in exchange for me only losing three Highlander blocks.
Gonzo struck back with an Infantry Attack Command Card. In response to his counterattacks, I was able to play a First Strike Card. He hit me with a Infantry Melee Bonus Card, but I was able to cancel the three resulting flags with a Clan Resolve Card. I lost one Highlander Unit in exchange for Gonzo losing only a single Regular block.
Given the outcome, I decided to play my Move Back & Reform Combat Card to rapidly pull my two remaining Highlanders back to my lines and out of trouble.
This concluded the fourth part of the battle with the banner score at 4:3 Government.
PART 5: The Government Advances
At this point, Gonzo decide to start playing Line Command Cards to close the range between the lines to three hexes so he could start bringing ranged fire to bear. Unfortunately for him, I was sitting on both a Counterattack Command Card and a Line Command Card of my own as well as an Infantry Training Combat Card. After several card exchanges, I got the better of him in the attrition that resulted from the fire fight and I was able to pull the right side of my line, which included a couple of Highlanders, a Regular with a leader and a Lowlander with a leader, forward to begin to envelope the left side of his front line. However, ultimately, the banner score remained 4:3 Government.
PART 6: A Desperate Gamble
At this point, Gonzo was desperate to try to translate his victory banner advantage into a victory before I wore him down further with attrition. So, he played yet For King or Country Card yet again. Unfortunately, his dice roll was very poor -- three cavalry and one infantry with only one of his two remaining cavalry units close enough to my line to use the dice roll. He nevertheless decided to go through with what he got and had a leader led cavalry unit and his one Highlander (also with an attached leader) hit my one Regular, which also had an attached leader. This also left him with the possibility to hit my leader boosted Lowlanders through subsequent Bonus Melee. The attack failed with him losing two cavalry blocks and a Highlander block to my loss of only two Lowlander blocks. More importantly, his advance had left open paths for me to eventually get to his other wounded units if I could make the right card plays. This said, the banner score at this point remained at 4:3 Government.
PART 7: The Final Charge
Once again, his play of the For King or Country Command Card gave me a gift. I once again drew a Highland Charge Combat Card. I immediately played it.
He was able to play a Rally Check Bonus to save one Regular, but I was able to play a Bonus Melle Combat Card. The net result of the initial charge was he lost a cavalry unit and several blocks from other units in exchange for my loss of a couple of blocks. The banner score was now tied at 4:4.
Gonzo had a Counterattack Command Card, but he couldn't use it since I played a Combat Card (Highland Charge) in lieu of a Command Card. Counterattack may not be used on such Combat Card plays (see page 22 of the rules). As a result, the best card he had to play was a Recon in Force Card. With it, he attempted some ranged fire and one melee. The melee eliminated one of my wounded Highlander units. The banner score was now 5:4 Government.
I came back with a Forward Command Card supported by an Infantry Movement Bonus Combat Card that I played on one of my Highlanders. With these two card plays and the current position of my Highlander units, I could now strike at several of his lone leaders and units that were down to one block. This was enough as I eliminated one of his Regulars and a leader. Game over, 7:5 Jacobite.
While it took an incredibly long amount of time to play, it was nevertheless a great game.
Gonzo played well despite his loss as it was very close until then end.
This scenario is a bit tough on the Government due to the lack of Artillery units and Volley Fire coupled with Jacobite abundance with respect to Highlanders and leaders. The only advantage the Government has is with respect to leader supported cavalry, which can cause problems for wounded Jacobite Highlanders if the Jacobite player does not have a Move Back & Reform Combat Card in his hand.