Crescent & Cross Campaign in full swing!

Story so far...

So far our campaign has seen the big battle  of Kerak (Deus Vult -rules) - see report here and two rounds of Saga: Cross & Crescent. See summary reports of the games below. Some pondering on Saracen factions potential included...

Escort -scenario 4.3.2015

First Saga: C&C campaign game was against Sami's Milites Christi. My job was to escort Saladin's sister to safety through the battlefield. Luckily she was disguised in one of the three baggage elements...

I wanted to try a somewhat special build: Kili Arslan (1 point) as a WL and a unit of Turcomans. My idea was to maximize the effect of several Saracens abilities that roll 2 D6; Kili Arslan can always modify one of the results and this can be combined with "Visions" -ability from the board. Also threw in 4 naftas (1 point). I didn't take any HQ, since my army was small enough as it was.

Unfortunately I soon learned  (in the game = too late), that I need the crescent symbol (equals 4-5 on D6) to trigger these abilities AND to activate my levies (one foot unit and turcomans). So not really that good build / logic, at least in a 6 point game.

I deployed my army in two parts: most of my army and one of the baggages in the left flank, one baggage (with the hidden sister) a bit more in the middle and the last baggage with a warrior unit and 2 naftas in the extreme right.

Sami's army composition was also very special I'd say: he put 12 HG into one death star unit, starting the game with only 5 Saga dice generated.

Situation after two or so rounds

Rounds 1-3

I started the game and soon realized that Sami's death star can reach my soft levies too fast... In a slight panic I moved my warriors with 2 naftas to screen them. This was a mistake, I lost that unit and the expensive naftas to Sami's charge. The "middle baggage" with Saladin's sister started to move towards right, because she very soon realized, that my left flank won't hold against Sami's HG Death Star!
My WL was also trapped - he couldn't escape, due to WL's Pride -rule.

This all lead to my left flank troops selling their lives dearly, twindling Sami's HG DS to half strenght. Only the baggage and fast turcomans escaped to the right...

Two baggages and one warrior unit with 2 naftas making their way towards safety...

 With only one unit of light turcopoles standing in their way... soon to be toasted!

Rounds 4-6

I played delaying tactics in the middle and right flank, while two of my baggages proceeded towards Sami's table edge.

My Turcomans moved to protect the rear of my baggages...

...and ended up heroically selling their lives against Sami's enraged WL. Just after they had shot to dead his two last HG knights!


The end game was truly exciting and as often happens, some rules mistakes were made...

Three critical errors were made:

1. Sami's turcopoles moved outside the gaming are, which lead to the situation, where my warriors with Nafta couldn't reach them (see pics above)
2. When Sami then charged my warriors with Turcopoles, he used several combat boosting abilities, which Turcopoles are not allowed to use.
3. I wasn't aware, that all of my baggages would have generated Saga-dice - I had to cope with just few Saga dice due to Sami been slaughtered most of my units.

Due to these errors Sami won the game or I actually conceded, because I thought I couldn't generate any Saga dice anymore.  Later on the game was judged as a draw by our chief of campaign Aleksis.

Fictive end situation: Sami's WL capturing Saladins (very beautiful) sister. Luckily this really never happened, as this was a substitute and the real deal escaped to safety!

I can also say, that Milites Christi is a one powerful battle board, very much so after they've reached Piety of 2 or more...

MORAL VICTORY TO SARACENS!!!

Report of my second game against Juha's Milites Christi 

OK, learned my lesson from the first game. Also had a lunch meeting with Kalle to gather experiences on Saracen tactics, that so far hadn't proven very effective...

One conclusion from this brainstorming was: don't leave home without camel riding Bedouins.

Fortunately my next opponent was Juha with his beautiful Milites Christi warband with 2 large units of knights (6+6), foot sergeants, crossbowmen and finally turcopoles as dogs of war.
I think I won the game in the deployment: I played the classic refused flank- covered by 2 forests, while Juha deployed his hard hitting knights diagonally to the opposite corner, effectively leaving them out of the first couple of rounds...

Rounds 1-3

I was lucky to get the first round and moved swiftly with my Bedouins to pepper Juha's turcopoles with javelins, since I felt they were the only true element, that could counter my hit-and-run tactics. Juha learned soon NOT TO use bedouin's fatique to bolster his armour...

After the softening by javelins my saracen mounted warriors charged turcopole flank and they were annihilated by the end of round 1.

Round 2. saw the mounted warriors charging the crossbowmen in the building (almost by accident), only 2 warriors survived and they tactically moved behind the building... Saracen trick was planned. In the meanwhile my first warrior unit with nafta scorched Juha's on foot sergeants exhausting them in the process.

Situation after round 2 (about) from two angles.

Rounds 4-6

Juha's knights finally realized, that in order to win they'd need to get into the fight and fast. They moved towards the saracens and to the well laid trap within the two forests... in the meanwhile my foot warriors and warlord finished the remaining sergeants and the retreated away from the crossbows... hit and run!

Couple of next rounds saw Milites Christi Brothers moving through deadly hail of arrows, javelins and NAFTA! Burn baby burn! The succeeded in annihilating the last two mounted saracens and to engage the exhausted Bedouins, but soon MC Warlord Raynald found himself alone with just few crossbowmen shivering from terror in the rooftop. All brothers lay dead in the field after an agonizing death by nafta and other projectiles.

CRUSHING VICTORY TO SARACENS!

Second lesson learned: don't leave home without Nafta-dudes, especially when facing cavalry heavy armies... err... that's all christian factions!

Thirdish game: introducing Saga: Cross & Crescent to Alberto

I've gotten to know Alberto, since our kids go to the same kindergarten. Alberto was visiting and wondered my rather extensive collection of war gaming miniatures. So it was rather easy to lure him to play Spanish in our C&C campaign (now you can guess where is he from).

Alberto chose to take an all cavalry army with 8 + 4 elites (HG) and 8 + 8 mounted warriors (we played a 5 point game).

We only managed to play 3 rounds and then my wife claimed the table for her guests :-(

Anyway, it was interesting to familiarize myself with the Spanish battle board, which can be really annoying...

My game started with a rather typical approach: most of my army was sneaking around the building and of course one unit with 2 nafta-dudes entered the building to create a bubble of fiery death around it. So my Bedouins once again had to be active element in my army. They rushed forward around the hill on the left and skewered two elites from Alberto's smaller unit, then they retreated.

I guess my psychological war worked a bit too well, Alberto reacted by charging the bedouins (with two moves) with the unit of his elite knights, only two nomads survived, even if their camels had halved the attacks of the knights. Knights were now rather tired with two fatiques.

Next round saw me getting lot of Saga dice and Alberto paralyzing three of my units with his ability, damn! It was time to act with the nafta-dudes: they moved out of the building preparing their lethal weapons... BUT Alberto had of course the next spanish trick on his board: he activated his unit of 8 warriors... for a moment I froze in terror, and then sighed in relief: I also had a trick up my (loose) sleeve: it's called the Saracen trick: it forced that cavalry unit to move towards my nearest cavalry unit or cancel the activation and get 2 fatique. So he obeyed and moved towards my bedouins deep in my side and beautifully finished them of with javelins. The joy of those Spaniards was very short lived, as were they were as well... my round continued...  My warrior unit with nafta moved in and scorched most of them and one of themselves. Pictures below are from right after this moment

Next round Alberto tried to charge my other warrior unit (that had moved to screen the unit with nafta), but I sloved them down by using one of their fatique. So they activated again and charged.
My warriors died, but managed to take couple of the knights with them.

Then we had to call it a day. After a quick count of slaughter points, it was concluded: a DRAW.