Conclusions from Zaragoza and SRB

Hello all,

After the tournament in Zaragoza I have reached a few newbie TM conclusions over m Sub-Roman Brits. The orgnal thread with my sketchy battle reports can be found here: http://www.fanaticus.org/discussion/...ead.php?t=4429

The list is this one: 1 Kn, 2 Cv, 1 LH, 7 Sp, 1 Ps

It is extremely similar to Greek lists like the Tessalians, except that it contains a Kn and slightly smaller proportion of BGo/Support troops. I think these conclusions will apply to them as well (and since I am planning a theban army it should be useful! :P ). The basic design of the army is the same.


1) Against Bd do NOT send your Sp to take the brunt of the fighting. They act well to _support_ you assault troops but they should NOT be your assault troops. I had already discovered this in previous games against EIR, and in the tournament I confirmed this. What you need to do is send your Cv+Kn to deal with the enemy heavy foot. The Sp support the mounted units to prevent overlaps, and play the "I am recoiled repeatedly but come for more" game with the enemy Bd. They will not kill, but are unlikely to be killed themselves. This plan worked well in the tournament, llowing me to win a game against EIR easily.

2) Spears are great as flank guards since they are at least equivalent in hitting power to the enemy usual flankers in the open. They are not very bobile, but 2 Sp can secure a flank from a static position more often than not using their ZOC along with your main battle line. The rest of the Spears are free to collaborate in the centre.

3) Warbands + BGo = bad stuff for you. They are a dangerous foe for the Sp. The best way to deal with them is to deploy 2-3 Sp at an angle, so they cannot simply charge straight at your line. Try to deal with them far from BGo, so that you can get a mounted element to help fast. When I did it, it worked like a charm. In a game against Carthos I ignored this and the 2 Wb elements made a victory show along the battlefield in a domino effect that spelled my doom.

4) Dividing the army in 2 blocks with half the infantry and half the cavalry seems to work well. Yopu do that and advance from the flanks towards the centre. Then you send the mounted from one of the groups to the other to create your assault force. the other 3-4 spears and 0-1 Ps play defensively while you get local superiority in a part of the battlefield. Worked well against Al's macedonians, where I refused combat against his Pk

5) NEVER place your Kn general in a flank. It does not fo anything useful there and will probably end up surrouinded by faster moving units and killed after a pair of impetuous combats. His target is the enemy infantry in the open or to put the enemy BGo troops in a check: if they leave the BGo they are charged by the Kn. Against enemy Cv and LH his usefulness gets greatly diminished. Better to move it along with your spear line if you prepare one. Avoid ZOCs covering his flanks with more expendable troops like Cv or Sp.

6) NEVER fight in BGo. This is a GGo army. Even the Ps is a GGo troop in this force (support sp from the back or cover the BGo as a recon unit with a ZOC. try to fight far away from BGo to avoid giving the enemy an advantage or allowing his BGo units to ZOC your troops. You only get disadvantages in BGo, while the enemy is likely to have some capable troops lurking there. It is quite a suicide for you to fight in BGo. It is better to prepare your line and wait than to cross BGo with your GGo troops. Put the BGo in ZOC and attack elsewhere.

7) In general, this army needs open spaces. The traditional phalanx is not necessarily the best formation for this army, since the Cv in the centre can be quite a powerful force against certain foes. In this aspect, it seems to work more like a medieval army.

There you go. A few pointers from a newbie.

Cheers,

Xavi