Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the New Year.  I haven't blogged in months, but I have recently made progress on several projects.  I'll be posting several articles soon on Warmachine and Bolt Action figures.

Ryan and I did get in a quick DBA game last week - Thessalians versus Ptolemaic.  Unusually, I actually won - 4 to 1.  The Thessalians were bunched up, and my Knights finally took a toll on the units. We played about four rounds of Knights pursuing deeper into enemy territory, and fortunately none of them were schwacked.

Ryan killed off my Elephant in the first turn with his Psiloi - rolled a six for his PIPs and did well on the attack.  After that, he had a rough time of it.

DBA Game Day

Our DBA group played a few games last weekend.  The following armies battled:

• Seleucid (Jeff)
• New Kingdom Egyptians (Rob)
• Ptolemaic (II/20d) (me)
• Kappadokian and Arab Conquest (Ryan)

Ryan and I played first. He used the Kappadokians for his first two matches, playing Arab Conquest once against Jeff's newly painted Seleucids.  Ryan had a pretty good winning streak, but he lost all his games today.  He ended up playing the attacker all three times when defense would have suited his force more.  

Ptolemaic vs. Kappadokian

I didn't take too many photos this time, but I did manage a shot of the final fight of our first match.  The Kappadokians had no rough to use to their advantage, and the battle turned into a slugging match.

Elephants force Kappadokian General to Recoil with no room

 My Ptolemaic force is littoral, but I ended up with the water to my back on two occasions.  My bout with the New Kingdom Egyptians featured two amphibious landings, with two Egyptian elements going after my camp.  I finally killed them both, beating the Egyptians 5 to 1.

The fight against Seleucids was very intense, with fights on both flanks and a Scythed Chariot that refused to die for many turns.  Jeff showed his tactical skill again, winning 5 to 1. You can see more photos of the army on his blog: http://littlehordes.blogspot.kr

Final Fight - Seleucids vs Ptolemaic

Of the numerous Successor states, I must say that I like the way the Ptolemaic list plays.  The combination of four Pikes and two Blades, plus an Elephant and some mounted, works pretty well.

Final Tally:

Army	Wins	Losses
New Kingdom Egyptians	1	2
Ptolemaic	2	1
Kappadokian	0	2
Seleucids	3	0
Arab Conquest	0	1

Amphibious Landing Disaster

Ryan and I got in a quick game of DBA tonight.  He played the Seleucids, and I played the Ptolemaic army.  It was quick because my amphibious landing turned into a bloodbath.

Starting as defender, the Ptolemaics have a mandatory Waterway.  Ryan's deployment roll resulted in the water being to his rear.  This should have been a prime opportunity for me.  Ryan moved first, advancing a Psiloi across the board to a hill and moving his cavalry out.

Seleucid Psiloi runs to the hills

 I reserved a Psiloi and two Blades for the amphib landing, intent on going after his Elephant which was off to one flank.

Ptolemaic Amphibious Landing near Seleucid Elephant

Having little experience playing Blades, I didn't know that Ryan's Knights, close by, could quick kill Blades.  Although the Psiloi succeeded in quick killing the Elephant and I tried to move my light horse up to support, the game quickly turned against me.  Ryan managed to engage my Light Horse with his Cavalry.  I won the first bout, as he advanced his Knights toward my Blades, who had nowhere to go.
I couldn't get my Light Horse free, and the Cavalry forced it to recoil on the next turn, right into the Psiloi.  The Light Horse was destroyed.  I tried to move my Pikes out of the way in order to advance my Knights to assist.

In just a few turns, Ryan killed off my Psiloi with his Cavalry and finished off the Blades.  In the final bout, my remaining blade faces his Knight General with overlaps on both sides.  It was mathematically just a matter of time, and my Knights couldn't arrive fast enough to help.

End Game

In any case, it was great to play a game, and I learned a few more rules the hard way.  I also finished painting a battalion of Napoleonic French Infantry.  I need to base this batch of Nap figures before moving on to my next project.  I will either tackle a long delayed effort to improve my terrain collection or work more on my Napoleonics.  I'm still contemplating purchasing the Bolt Action rules soon, too.

Ptomelaic vs. Thessalians

Ryan is testing out several armies to help him decide on his first army purchase.  He wants a cavalry heavy force supported by heavy foot (Spears or Blades).  We used elements from other armies to pit the Later Thessalians (II/5d) against the Ptolemaic (II/20c) army.  This was also the first time I had played the recently painted Blades in my Morph Collection.

The Thessalians went on the defense, and Ryan placed a minimum amount of terrain.

Initial Deployment

I used the road to move my Pikes up faster, deploying them into double rows in Turn 2.  In Turn 3, my Light Horse faced off against two Cavalry.

 I lost the fight, and the Thessalians scored an early kill.  After this fight, his cavalry advanced and engaged my General Knight.  I recoiled, luckily, and then moved backward out of his ZOC, shifting my other Knight over to support.  Instead of pressing the attack, Ryan moved his Cavalry back to support the main line.

Lines prepare to Clash

One Cavalry element flanked the Pike as the battle lines engaged.  The lead Pike was destroyed, but the rest of the fights went in the favor of the Ptolemaic army in general.  The Elephant destroyed a spear (QK) as did a Blade element.

Main Battle - first Bout

 I rolled low PIPs, but I was able to close on both Cavalry with my Knights in the next turn, and move most of the main line back into contact, providing several overlaps.  The first mounted battle resulted in a Thessalian Cav recoil, but my General destroyed his opponent.  The supported Pikes also destroyed a Spear element, ending the game.

Final Losses:  Thessalians 4 (Cv, 3-Sp) & Ptolemaic 2 (LH, Pk)

We plan to mock up a T'ang Dynasty army, Mings, and Trojans in the near future for more testing.  Meanwhile, I have started work on my DBN elements again.  It will be a few months before I finish up enough Austrians and French for a game, but I am looking forward to it.

Morph Matrix

I essentially completed my Macedonian Morph Collection today, applying the last shield decals.  Once the weather warms, I will seal the final batch of figures  and deem the project 99 percent complete.  I need a Warwagon (Tower) to finish this project to 100 percent, but I am not in a rush to do so.

Coin of Demetrios I
Source: Wikimedia Commons

I started playing DBA after the 2.2 rules were out of print, but I stumbled about the Fanaticus site and WADBAG guide, prompting me to join the Yahoo Group.  Several Fanaticus links mentioned the concept of a Morph collection as a way to expand the play value of an army.  Using the draft DBA 3.0 lists, I have been working on the elements for the last nine months or so.

My goal was to field two Successor/Hellenistic armies, considering that many of their enemies were other Successor states.

My Inventory

When I first planned out the Morph army, I intended to include Hellenistic Greek armies in the mix.  I have since changed my mind given the differences in army composition and uniform design.  With any Morph collection, you must make some compromises in terms of the accuracy and uniqueness of the painting and shield designs.  However, I decided halfway through the project to limit the scope to the various Successor armies.  I also realized that the way in which I planned the original purchases (and painting) was too coarse.  I essentially identified the maximum elements for each type and doubled the amount.  As a result, I have some overages in a few areas.  I also bought additional Pikes in order to model the Hypaspists, knowing the figures would take me over the total needed for two armies.

Element Count - 58
Knights & Cavalry - 7
Light Horse - 2
Elephant - 4
Camelry - 1
Scythed Chariot - 2
Pike - 14
Psiloi - 12
Auxilia - 10
Warband - 2
Blade - 2
Spear - 2

As DBA 3.0 changed, the draft lists have become unreliable, so I have fallen back on the 2.2 lists until 3.0 is published.  Hopefully, the army lists will not differ too much.

Opponent Matrix

In order to assess my inventory, I built an opponent matrix to map out the fights between the armies.  I found this format to be an easy way to visualize the match-ups.  Note the Civil War fights between Seleucid (19b & 19d) and Ptolemaic (20d) armies.

Successor Opponent Matrix

DBA 2.2

ARMY

16a

16b

16c

16d

17

18a

18b

18c

18d

18e

19a

19b

19c

19d

20a

20b

20c

20d

27a

27b

16a

16b

16c

16d

17

18a

18b

18c

18d

18e

19a

19b

19c

19d

20a

20b

20c

20d

27a

27b

I can also field the Alexandrian lists with this collection.

Matchup Analysis

I also created an spreadsheet listing the element totals for each match-up and compared the results.  There are 30 historical match-ups between the armies. With my current elements, I can field all options for 17 of the battles.  If the players accept limitations on some options, I can fight 28 of the battles. 

Overages

I ended up with MANY extra Psiloi slingers (6), but I will put them to good use in other armies.  I think one of the Hellenistic Greek armies contained a lot of Psiloi elements, and I painted this batch before changing my mind.  I also have extras in the following areas: 2 Pike, 2 Auxilia, 1 Cavalry, 1 Artillery, and 1 Elephant.  One of the Cavalry elements is a Thessalian force, so I plan to match it and a Psiloi piece up with my Early Spartan army, letting me field a Late Spartan force, too.

Gaps

War Wagon (Tower)

The Demetrios army list (Asiatic Early Successor II/16b) has a Warwagon (Tower) as an option.  I can field sufficient elements for a Demetrios army without it, but I would like to complete this unique element eventually.  I think scratchbuilding will be required. 

Spears

I have painted up two Spear elements for the set.  Five match-ups require more Spears than this, but only one fight (Demetrios vs. Pyrrhic (27a)) is impossible since I have other options.

Warband

To fight the Ptolemaic civil war match-up (20d vs. 20d), I need four more Warbands.  I would borrow elements from my Galatian army in a pinch...

Blades

Three later lists include imitation Legionnaires.  I painted up two stands, using Essex "Assorted Hoplites with Pilum" figures.  Two match-ups require more than this (Ptolemaic vs. Seleucid and Ptolemaic Civil War).

DBM, FOG, or DBMM?

Given the collection size, I'm tempted to see if I possess enough figures for games requiring larger forces.  Of course, I might end up painting more if I check this out, and I have other projects underway. Frankly, I need a break from painting Macedonians at this point.

Photos Coming Soon

I will post photos of the collection in the near future.