The results of the Ranged Army Battle Report have been criticized on the grounds that Nate did not use good strategy. This allegation really upset Nate because it's exactly what I predicted people would say and it meant he had to pay me $20.
In any case, we wanted to try a game with the same armies, but giving him the flexibility to be more aggressive when needed instead of dancing around trying to get optimal coverage of the control points with his archers.
As before, Nate and I played this game with the beta version of the special abilities. In particular,
The Valley of Honor features two control terrain points in the center, each guarded by a hindering terrain and a blocking terrain.
Once again, Nate deployed his archers in the center, only this time he placed the Ravens in front so that the units with Hail of Arrows were in back. The strategy of screening the archers with close combat units slowed him down and provided no protect from my striker sorties, so he abandoned that idea and instead put his sorties on either side where they could be used to take control terrain. A Terracotta Patrol and the two Fireburst-throwing Mythic Arrows were placed on the right, and the other Terracotta Patrol plus the Rushing Blades fast sortie was positioned on the left.
I placed the Titi Testudo on Nate's left with the Hammer of Bellona and the Line of Steel on his right with the Hammer of Discipline. In the middle I placed my two artillery units, Gulug's Gauls, and the Sniper-wielding Shanyu's Dirk.
For the first time ever, I won the dice-off and took the ambush turn.
During my ambush turn I moved my archers forward up the middle.
Nate decided to take the initiative on the control points, and used Hustle to push both his Terracotta Patrols onto them. This consumed 4 order points.
To protect the right-hand terra cotta, Nate moved up both of the Mythic Arrows. (He was really looking forward to doing 6 points of Fireburst damage to something.)
On the other side he moved up Rushing Blades.
It was now my turn. I moved the Flamma Coniciens up a small amount so it could shoot the right side Terracotta Patrol.
The attack was 6 dice to 1, with Fire Arrow and Fragile increasing the damage by 2. I did 5 damage.
A Fireburst from the Flamma Coniciens killed the terra cottas, netting me one victory point.
I had used 5 order points and had 3 left. Because of the blocking terrain on the left side, I would have to move the Sagitarii Column up in order to get line-of-sight on the terra cottas holding that point, and I would not have enough order points left to shoot. Instead, I Hustled the Hammer of Discipline into base contact so I could attack.
In this situation, I had a 44% chance of killing the unit, and a 69% chance of reducing it to a single figure. Instead, I rolled poorly and did only 3 damage.
Nate used two order points to move his Mythic Arrows into range of the Hammer of Discipline.
Two Fireburst attacks reduced the Hammer to a single figure (incidentally splashing the Terracotta Patrol twice). The Mythic Arrows have ranged combat capability, but using them to shoot the Hammer would be 2 dice to 2. Therefore, Nate instead attacked with the Terracotta Patrol, 4 dice to 2. The Hammer was killed easily, but the back damage finished off the terra cottas, giving us each one victory point and clearing the control terrain.
Nate had 3 order points left. He moved one of his Raven Division archers forward.
With his last order point, he moved the Rushing Blades closer to the left control point. The Flamma Coniciens can kill that unit instantly, but because of the blocking terrain, it was safe for the time being.
The problem Nate had with moving up his archers is that I had a killer artillery unit in the middle of the board; however, he had four artillery units and I only had two. If he could get me to commit my archers so that he could kill or cripple them, then his numerical advantage would tell. Balanced against this was the fact I still had two striker sorties and a pair of turtles to deploy during the end game.
I decided to take the risk and moved the Flamma Coniciens into range to shoot the forward Raven Division.
Thanks to Fire Arrow, the first attack did 4 damage.
I pushed to attack again and did 5 damage.
A final Fireburst attack killed the Ravens, giving me 2 victory points. The score was now 4 to 1 in my favor.
With my final order point, I moved the Hammer of Bellona forward to compete with the Rushing Blades for the left control point.
Retribution was coming. Nate used four order points to push the two Mythic Arrows onto the right control point. This not only allowed him to throw 6 points of damage into the middle of the board, it gave him the control terrain.
With two more order points, he Fireburst the Flamma Coniciens twice, reducing it to only 5 figures. Then he moved his other Raven Division forward to get into position for controlling the middle with archery.
I had to take down Nate's Fireburst capabilities. I used one order point to Fireburst the far Mythic Arrows for 3 damage from the Flamma Coniciens, then used two order points to move the Sagitarii Column forward so it had line-of-sight on both Mythic Arrows.
A shot from the Sagitarii Column against the Mythic Arrows would be 8 dice to 3. I needed 4 hits to kill the far unit, and it's kind of sad because I rolled really well and did 8 damage.
The near Mythic Arrows still had 7 hit points. I pushed to shoot them with the Sagitarii Column. This time, when I really needed a good roll, I only did 5 damage.
With my last order point, I moved Gulug's Gauls forward so they could get into the fight. Note that the blocking terrain keeps the Mythic Arrows from using Fireburst against the Gauls.
Nate now gained 3 victory points from the control terrain, making the score 5 to 4 in my favor.
It was time to get rid of my archers. He used two order points to move the Raven Division to where it could shoot both of the Roman artillery units.
The Ravens first shot the Sagitarii Column, 9 dice to 4. The expected damage for this attack was 5, but Nate rolled well and did 7 damage (thanks to a Deadly critical hit), dropping the Column to only 4 figures.
Nate then pushed the Ravens to shoot the Flamma Coniciens. This was 9 dice to 3, and he did 4 damage. (Note: even though the Ravens have Deadly, this roll was not a critical hit because the second 6 resulted from a Good Fortune roll.) The Flammas had been reduced to a single figure.
Nate now used Fireburst from the Mythic Arrows to do 2 damage to the Sagitarii Column. An attack on the Flamma Coniciens would have given him a kill, but even with only 4 figures, the Sagitarii Column can bring 8 range dice to bear, making it a serious threat. Knocking it down it to two figures cut its power considerably.
Nate now had three full-strength artillery formations, and my two were almost dead.
With his last order point, Nate moved the Rushing Blades onto the left control point. He now had uncontested control on both sides of the board.
Now, it's worth noting at this point that the forward Raven Division was already dead. Even with only 4 range dice, against a defenseless opponent the Sagitarii Column could expect to do 2 damage. Thanks to the Bully ability, Gulug's Gauls was guaranteed to do 9 damage when it attacked, and it was in range to strike. Nonetheless, Nate had severely crippled my ranged capability and felt the sacrifice was worth it.
Still, I had to kill the Ravens. I used 1 order point to regroup the Sagitarii Column to shoot, and 2 order points to shoot the Ravens. I did 4 damage.
The Gulug's Gauls now pushed to get into base contact with the Raven Division.
Bully adds 2 to the result of each attack die when the opponent has no ready defense icons. The sortie had 9 attack dice and the Ravens had no defense, so the minimum damage was 9, a guaranteed kill. We rolled the dice anyway, however, just so you could see the awesome effect Bully has on an attack roll.
The death of the Raven Division gave me 7 victory points to Nate's 4.
I had 2 order points left. I used them to Hustle the Hammer of Bellona onto the left control point where it based the Rushing Blades.
The Hammer of Bellona has Charger, so after moving it can attack without using any order points. The attack was 7 dice to 2. I did 6 damage and Nate did 1 damage back. Because of the Berserker ability, this cause the Rushing Blades to suffer an additional point of damage, dropping it to a single figure.
Nate started his turn with 3 victory points from the right control terrain. His first action was to Fireburst the Sagitarii Column with the Mythic Arrows, killing the Column and gaining 2 victory points. Nate now led 9 points to 7.
With the Sagitarii Column dead, it was now time to kill Gulug's Gauls. Nate moved the Elite Phoenix Division forward to get within shooting distance of the Gauls.
The first shot did 3 damage.
The second shot did 4 damage, killing the unit. Nate now had 11 victory points, a 4-point lead.
Nate had one order point left. He could have attacked the Hammer of Bellona with the Rushing Blades, but if he succeeded in doing any damage, the Berserker backlash would kill the Blades, giving me 2 victory points for the kill and 3 for the control terrain at the beginning of my next turn. It made more sense, therefore, to simply pass and let me take my turn.
I started my turn by attacking the Rushing Blades with the Hammer of Bellona. The attack was 7 dice to 0, and I killed the unit easily, gaining 2 victory points, making the score 11 to 9 in Nate's favor.
I used five more order points to move the Line of Steel into position to threaten the right control point. It took 8 movement steps to get there (4 order points, pushing), then Artificer to heal the unit back to full (1 order point).
A Fireburst from the Flamma Coniciens reduced the Mythic Arrows to a single figure. This meant it would be no threat to the Line of Steel, but unfortunately it would still own the control point and have sufficient power to kill the Flamma Coniciens on the next turn.
With my final order point, I moved my Shanyu's Dirk Sniper unit up a little bit closer to the action.
Nate collected 3 victory points for the right control terrain, then used Fireburst from the Mythic Arrows to kill the Flamma Coniciens, bringing his total score to 16 against my 9.
It was critical at this point to take out the Hammer of Bellona.
Nate regrouped the Elite Phoenix Division to get maximum movement and then pushed to get it line of sight on the Gauls.
It's important to note that the position of the blocking terrain forced Nate to go extra distance in order to make the shot. In a battlefield without properly-positioned blocking terrain, the archers gain an extra boost because they don't need to spend extra order points to get into position.
Nate spent his last two order points to shoot the Gauls, doing 7 damage and raising his victory point score to 17.
The Line of Steel has very little offensive capability, but against a unit with only 1 hit point, that doesn't matter. I moved the Line of Steel into base contact with the Mythic Arrows, incidentally contesting the right control point, and regrouped to attack.
Because of Intuition, I had a 92% chance of killing the Mythic Arrows. I missed anyway.
This was a disaster, because it was going to cost me 3 more order points to kill this stupid sortie. I pushed to attack again (2 order points), then used Artificer to heal from the push.
The victory point for killing the Mythic Arrows narrowed the score to 17-10 in Nate's favor, but more important it gave me the right control point. It had, however, taken me 8 order points to accomplish this, so my turn was over.
Nate now had two artillery units and I had two turtle units and a Sniper sortie. My units were slow and two of them had very little offensive capability. On the other hand, it is very hard for an artillery unit to do significant damage to a turtle.
Nate proceeded to prove this latter point. He used two order points to shoot the Line of Steel with the Elite Phoenix Division and did 1 damage.
Pushing to shoot again did no damage. Since the first point of damage had been absorbed by a two-peg Shield Golem, this meant the Line of Steel was effectively unhurt.
The Elite Phoenix Division had been used up for the turn. It was time to bring Way of the Bow into the picture. Nate used the remaining 4 order points to push the Principle of Archery into position to shoot the Line of Steel.
I got 3 victory points for the right control terrain, so the score was now 17 to 12.
The Principle of Archery was a serious threat. Because it has Way of the Bow, defense dice have only a minimal impact. I needed to take that ability out of the picture. Since under the new rules you can't use Way of the Bow if you have to move first, the solution was simple: I regrouped the Line of Steel for movement and based the Principle of Archery with it.
I had 5 order points left. I used 4 to push the Titi Testudo closer to the left control point.
With my last order point I brought the Shanyu's Dirk forward until it was just out of range of the Elite Phoenix Division.
Nate broke away with the Principle of Archery so he could shoot. (There was no breakaway attack because the Line of Steel was configured for movement and defense only.)
Nate now shot the Line of Steel and did no damage.
Rather than waste more order points on fruitless attacks, Nate regrouped the Elite Phoenix Division for movement and defense, then moved it onto the left control point.
I spent 4 order points to push the Titi Testudo onto the left control point and base the Elite Phoenix Division. Since I needed order points to keep the Line of Steel in contact with the Principle of Archery, I couldn't afford to regroup for attack, do a close combat attack, and then regroup back for defense. So, I simply issued an Armored Rush to do 2 damage.
Two more order points enabled me to base the Principle of Archery again.
The Elite Phoenix Division had managed to get into range of the Shanyu's Dirk when it moved onto the control point, so I used my final order point to do a Sniper attack, taking out a figure with one move and one defense icon.
Nate figured that the Titi Testudo was going to finish off the Elite Phoenix Division next turn, when I would have enough order points to regroup for a full-strength attack, so he had to get away. He regrouped for movement and defense, then pulled away. This triggered a breakaway attack, 4 dice to 3. The most likely outcome was that he would take 2 damage. Instead, I took 2 damage and he took only 1.
Nate used all 4 movement points so he could get out of range of a counterattack by the Titi Testudo. This also put him in position to shoot Shanyu's Dirk.
Since Shanyu's Dirk has Elusive, this cost 3 order points (bringing the total for the turn to 6). The attack was 3 dice to 2, and it missed.
With his last 2 order points, Nate moved the Principle of Archery over so it could shoot the Titi Testudo. The Testudo unit was so weakened that a Way of the Bow shot might be enough to kill it.
I got 3 victory points for the left control terrain, bringing me to within 2 points of Nate, 17 to 15. I now regrouped the Line of Steel to turn it 180 degrees, at the same time setting it up so it had one attack die. Then I moved it to base both of Nate's artillery units, getting the Elite Phoenix Division on its bad side.
I had used 3 order points so far.
Since the Elite Phoenix Division was able to shoot my Sniper unit, I could shoot back. A fourth order point enabled me to kill one more figure on the Elite Phoenix Division.
Sniper is now a regular ranged combat order, not a special ranged combat order, so I pushed to snipe again.
With my last 2 order points I attacked with the Line of Steel. Because I was attacking through a bad side, the attack roll was 1 die to none.
The Elite Phoenix Division had been reduced to two figures.
It was Nate's turn again. He decided he had to take out the Shanyu's Dirk. He used 1 order point to regroup the Principle of Archery and 2 order points to move it away from the Line of Steel.
It took 3 more order points to shoot the snipers, but Nate killed it easily.
Nate now had 18 victory points to my 15. If he killed either of my remaining units, he would have 21 points. This was important, because it meant I could not use my Line of Steel to take the right control point. I had to keep the pressure on the Principle of Archery or he could use Way of the Bow to kill me and win.
Just in case, Nate used his last two order points to push the Principle of Archery. He did two damage, reducing the unit to 7 hit points.
I started the turn with 3 more victory points, tying the score at 18 each.
I used one order point to regroup the Line of Steel for maximum attack, then two order points to finish off the Elite Phoenix Division. This put me ahead 20 points to 18.
I had to get back into base contact with the Principle of Archery to keep it from using Way of the Bow. I pushed the Line of Steel to regroup it for movement, then based Nate's artillery unit to hamstring it. With my last order point I used Artificer to heal from the push.
By any rational standard, this had been a close game. Both of us were within spitting distance of winning and both of us had lost almost all of our units. Nate had one unit that could attack at high strength. I had two units that were well-defended, but attacked at fairly low strength. It was therefore a matter of die rolls. Whoever get the best die rolls in the next two turns was going to win.
Nate regrouped the Principle of Archery and moved it onto the left control point to contest it.
The first shot did 2 damage. I removed one figure and injured Titus Petronius. This reduced my defense dice from 12 to 10.
The second shot missed completely.
It was now my turn. Rather than risk further damage to Titus, I moved the Line of Steel to base the Principle of Archery from the back and regrouped it for attack.
The attack was 3 dice to 0, and did 2 damage.
I had 3 order points left. I used 2 to base the Principle of Archery with Titi Testudo.
I used my last order point to do an Armored Rush, doing 2 damage to the Principle of Archery. It now had only 5 figures left.
If Nate stayed where he was, he was dead next turn. I could apply 2 automatic damage from the Armored Rush, and two attacks from the Line of Steel had a 92% chance of doing the necessary 3 damage. If that failed, a close combat attack from the Titi Testudo was still possible. There was, however, no way to escape from his current position without snapping to the hindering terrain and going off the control point.
We decided the best approach would be to try a desperate final artillery attack. He regrouped and then broke away, triggering an attack from the Line of Steel.
This did 3 damage, leaving him with two figures. The final shot was 4 dice to 10 and did no damage.
There was now no way Nate could stop an Armored Rush attack from killing his last unit on my next turn. The game was over.
This was an interesting game because it was the first time I got to demonstrate what happens when you use artillery against turtle units. Against a massive archery barrage a single turtle will wear down quickly, but when you get to the end game and there are fewer units on the board, the archers simply can't do enough damage to make a difference.
Once again, I hope this illustrates the importance of well-placed blocking terrain: if you want close combat to make a difference, you can't afford to design your battlefield so that archery has all the advantages. In addition, I hope it gives people ideas for new ways to use units and new strategies for playing.
And I really am sorry about the lighting in the photographs. The curtains in the dining room are really pretty, but when it comes to stopping sunlight they're as useless as an artillery unit trying to kill a formation of Shield Golems.