MT03 The '45

If the Jacobite player doesn't have the cards, the Government player can clean up his left side Lowlanders to reduce his vulnerability on the left.  He may also be able to possibly get his right wind Regulars going.  Both of these happened to me in my game.

Another factor is that the Jacobite player also has to watch out for the town hexes, which are all auto victory spaces if the Government can get into one and stay there to the start of his next turn.

In general, the forces are small on both sides making it relatively easy to get to the Clear Section Banners. As a result, things can quickly cave in for either side. The Time Pressure Banners can also factor into this.

So, I think the scenario is very sensitive to the cards the players get and likely to be over quickly.  

It seems like the scenario was designed to be a quick skirmish like the battle was historically.

this seems a bit quiet..

Round 5 - rjvonline (Jacobites) 6 (16 blocks lost) vs gotigerssc (govies) 2 (31 blocks lost)

A strange scenario with the Jacs being limited to 10 turns and no Command card draw. A stranger scenario with our rolling so few blue dice. I tactically retreated an intact unit of Highlanders and they promptly routed. My attacks were kind of piecemeal, due to the starting position and the cards I had. I really thought I was going to lose. On my right, my Lowlanders averted defeat twice when charged by the cavalry (once onca an actual Cavalry Charge). and then they actually forced the cavalry to retreat and rout at full strength. A couple of units on both sides passed their Rally rolls with 2 or even 1 block (one Gvt Regular unit did). On my 10th turn (but not the last turn because I had played a Combat leadership card in my 9th turn, which was a source of confusion), I rolled 1 die with my Lowlanders against the Gvt Highlander with 1 block, got a flag and they routed. Then I charged a Gvt Reg unit with 2 blocks and a leader with my Highlanders with also 2 blocks and a leader, and eliminated the enemy for my 5th banner. The Govt leader escaped to join another Reg unit with 2 blocks. I followed up with my Highlanders, and rolled 2 hits, eliminating the unit for my 6th and last VP, and captured/killed the leader as a bonus. Justin was disappointed he had not played scout card early on, which would have given him an extra VP.

As a side note, we somehow thought that I had won after my 5th VP, but I realized our mistake when I was writing this account, and resumed the game the next day with the Highlanders' bonus attack.

Round 3 - rjvonline (Jacobites) 5 (3 blocks lost) - ezpickins (Govt) 0 (13 blocks lost)

A 2-turn battle. I start with Line Command on my right, capture a Building and force a lowlander unit to retreat. I forget I have Infantry Melee Bonus, roll poorly against the Gvt Highlanders, and take 1 loss on the battleback. The Govt reaction costs me another 2 blocks on the same Highlander unit, but it survives and does not have to retreat. In the second turn, I start in possession of 1 building (1 VP), play Infantry attack, even with my 1-block Highland unit, and proceed to eliminate 2 Lowlander units, and nab McLeod, then my FS Regulars attack the Gvt Highlanders with Infantry Melee Bonus and destroy them. Game Over.... I had good cards and good dice in the second turn. That was enough. 

Just to head off a reminder from Mark, EZPickens and I have our game scheduled for the 9th and gottoman and I have our game scheduled for the 13th.

Jim

Round 1
toganalper (jacobites) :6 banners; 10 blocks lost
gotigerssc 2 banners; 29 blocks lost

The Jacobites tried first to attack from their right flank, but they had some cowards with them.  The government looked very willing to fight and initially were able to rally all the governmental troops, whereas Mc Donald first flea from the field and his units run away at full strenght.   But as the day progressed,  finally the Jacobites were able to secure the field with an infantry attack. The government tried to increase the damage of the JBs and win some banners with a line command but actually were routed  during the battle backs and  lost the battle on their turn.

 

Round 5 - Gonzo Joe vs JR in JR11 Falkirk (Stage 2)

Gonzo Joe (Government) - 5 banners won, 27 blocks lost

JR (Jacobite) - 6 banners won, 22 blocks lost

Wow, what a crazy game.  Joe sensed a coming storm and opened with a low-powered card to slide his left-most forces a bit toward his right, while some cavalry occupied the village on the Government left.  I in turn played Steal a March to advance ten units on my center and right.  Joe performed some light musketry before I unleashed At the Quick Step, for a further eight units, coming into contact all along the line.  Losses were moderate but we were now fully engaged.

Despite my advantage in numbers, Joe drew first blood, eliminating a frisky Highlander unit, and used his cav to keep my right flank at bay.  Joe hit me with Inspired Leadership Right along with the very cool Cavalry Strike & Run to tidy his line and pick off some Scotsmen, but I returned the favor with Counter-Attack; a battle-back cost me a unit of Regulars but I saw off two Government Regulars as well.

King & Country served Joe well, eliminating another Highlander, but I played *another* Counter-Attack, eliminating a Cavalry unit pinned against the boardedge but missing its accompanying leader.  The banner count was 3-3 but my card-cupboard was starting to look bare.

Joe dressed his lines, actually advancing a one-step cav to give it a chance to evade.  I replied with Forward, and was able to eliminate the cav (but not its leader) with ranged fire, and killed off a Regular with no room for retreat (though again, its leader survived).  I was now up 5-3.

Joe used Cavalry Charge to order a leader-led Highlander forward to eliminate a one-stepper, and moved on to inflict a couple more losses - as Joe said, not bad for horseless cavalry.  We then reached a weird point - Joe *finally* played a Scout, and killed off a two-step Highlander for his fifth banner.  Our reading of the rules said the Time Pressure banner due Joe from Scout applied at the end of the turn, so the fact he killed a unit with it prevented him from scoring his sixth and final banner.  

I was pretty desperate at this point, with just Advance Right, Advance Left, and Line Volley in my hand.  The right flank was useless, and my left flank was away from the action but I was able to use Advance Left to get two Lowlander units within long range of Joe's troops.  His forward-most boys were all down a pip or two so he didn't dare withdraw for fear of the scenario special rule demanding a Rally roll for retrograde movement.  He used Forward and Infantry Ranged Bonus to knock a step off one of my Lowlanders.  Down to my last card, I used Line Volley against a three-step unit.  By another special rule, Volley bonuses didn't apply due to heavy rain.   My first shot was three dice - two Infantry symbols.  Down to my last roll, a 3-step Lowlander rolling a single die...Infantry!  That killed the unit for my sixth and final banner.  If my math is right, I had about a 1.5% chance of winning on the last card - Joe was robbed.

This is a strange but interesting scenario.  I think I played a good hand poorly, and was bailed out by my dice in the end.  Also, we forgot to deduct a die for movement for about half the game, a mistake which favored me, in my opinion.  Joe did well with so-so cards; if that Scout had shown up a turn earlier, the win would've been his.  It was an enjoyable, tense game, but I don't think the better player won.






 

wrote:

Just to head off a reminder from Mark, EZPickens and I have our game scheduled for the 9th and gottoman and I have our game scheduled for the 13th.

Jim

I'm struck by a sudden irony. Part of my work life is collecting and summarising performance reports, getting reports from work areas about what they have achieved. Strangely, I get email like this pretty regularly, colleagues letting me know when to expect reports.

But I've only just realised I have essentially made my hobby into a version of my work!   That's frightening..

good thing I play the games as well! 

Round 4 - Greg vs JR in JR10 Falkirk (Stage 1)

Greg (Government) - 3 banners won, 30 blocks lost

JR (Jacobite) - 7 banners won, 11 blocks lost

Another strange encounter on the field of Falkirk.  This was nasty, brutish, and short.  I had two Infantry Attack cards in my opening hand, and used the first to send the three Highlanders on the right forward to engage the Sassenach cavalry.  As expected, Greg Retired & Reformed, with only one step lost.  My second Infantry Attack was considerably more successful, vaporizing Greg's Militia, killing a light cav that failed its RR roll, and also eliminating a Regular rushed over from the center as reinforcement.

From there, my Highlanders did what they do best, sticking to the high ground when they could and charging downhill at targets of opportunity.  Repeated Government attempts to dislodge them came up short - I only retreated once all game.  I managed to activate these three every turn - they gradually melted away but gave far more than they got.  I was up four banners to two with the Chief of the MacDonald Clan leading a two step unit when Greg sent two damaged Regulars after him.  My Scotsmen survived, killing one unit on a Battleback.  I finished the other on my ensuing turn, so Greg sent his remaining cavalry after me, two full-strength units.  They produced nothing but sword hits and ignorable flags; MacDonald returned fire with two flags, sending a leaderless unit to the board edge to lose two steps and then fail its Rally roll for my seventh banner.

This was ugly, but at least it was quick.  Great cards for both of us, but the dice were all my way.  These Highlanders are a real handful when they get a full head of steam.

 

Round 3 - Justin vs JR in JR9 Inverurie

Justin (Government) - 5 banners won, 10 blocks lost

JR (Jacobite) - 4 banners won, 16 blocks lost

My sweet run of great cards and dice came to an end against Justin.  My opening hand had the useful At the Quick Step along with the not-so-useful Cavalry Charge plus three left flank cards, where the Jacobites are weakest.  Quick Step brought my right into contact with Justin's center, and three flags sent a Lowlander fleeing to burn off a step as it bounced against the board edge.  These lads found their courage in the knick of time to pass their two-dice Rally roll, a moment that would ultimately decide the game.

Justin countered with Advance Center, pairing MacLeod with a Highlander unit to cut straight up the middle, retreating one of my HLs and then killing it off with the bonus melee.  However,  Highland Charge allowed me to bring four units to bear against MacLeod, cutting off his retreat path to boot.  The net result of my 16-step attack against a trapped unit?  One dead Jacobite Lowlander, four more dead Jacobite steps, and a mere one step loss for the doughty MacLeod clan.

That little catastrophe allowed Justin to use Line Command to prepare for an exit (the Government gets points for units withdrawn off the back line once four banners have been scored) and an Initiative card to continue MacLeod's killing spree.  He took down another Jacobite unit but MacLeod and his blackguards went down to a battleback on their bonus melee.  The score was nominally tied at 3-3 but I was in a pickle with four Government units waiting to walk off for the win.

Jacobite Rising helped me kill an unfortunate Government Militia unit in the center, putting me at four banners, but Justin's ensuing Line Command granted him his fifth and winning banner with the withdrawal.  Had that first Lowlander failed its Rally roll, I'd have won, but alas it was not to be.

I can't complain about this one as I've stolen a couple victories that I really had no business winning.  Justin was far more deserving, having played a patient game, and rightly put his trust in MacLeod to buy some time for the Government to set up a withdrawal.  Nifty little scenario, fast and fragile with a five banner threshold.