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Sunday, June 15, 2014

Hammer of the Gods - SAGA AAR

Thursday, I capped off a bad day of work with a great night of gaming. Eric Hagen was looking to run his Vikings warband.  I was looking to meet Eric and see his new battleboard in person. As evidenced by his brushwork and board, Eric is a rare talent. He's also a stand up gamer and Vikingologist to boot!
We played a modified Homeland scenario.  My Normans had to keep the Vikings out of our hovels by game's end (turn 6).  The dragon's head prows and angry warriors strongly suggested our Viking guests weren't here for trade.
The raid begins.
How many dice do my sheep get? 
If you're looking for a monastery, there's one just a bit down the river.
The berserkers yell "give me sheep or give me death!"

Moving first, Eric spotted the chewy middle of my deployment. Norman archers are good shooters but poor in melee.  Side by side, the Vikings went into them with a warlord and hearthguard. Stacking dice and abilities, they blew the archers out of the starting block. Decimated, they never fired a shot in the game.
Does anyone else think we're deployed a bit too far forward? 
A proper ass kicking...
I opened with 2 rounds of shooting with my crossbowmen hiding in a hovel.  Having no luck with that, I charged my mounted Norman warriors with a stacked battleboard.  It paid no dividends and the Normans bounced off the Viking shieldwall.  The survivors were hunted down, pulled from their horses and killed by the Vikings in their next turn.
I'd shoot my crossbow, but there are no windows sir!  
Another  drubbing
Down SAGA dice and figures early in the game, I used my mobility to concentrate on Eric's right flank. I had some success, taking out Viking warriors and hearthguard.  Up in SAGA dice, I was feeling better about my chances.



Me wearing my only Dark Age gear, a Viking shirt!  
Eric wasn't idle while my Normans swept his longboats.  He double moved warriors into a Norman hovel and sent his berserkers to cover the entrance. And here I thought I'd barred the door!  I rallied my surviving figures for a late push to kick the Vikings out.   

The berserkers saw the party and crashed it with predictably bloody results.  The Norman warlord needed only a Plus One invitation for the push on the hovel!  

While the Norman warband underperformed much of the night, my warlord was a killing machine. Even with his hot hand and sword, it was going to be tough to root Viking warriors out of a building.

On the last turn, my Norman charge came up short and the Vikings notched a win. It was a heck of a game and I'm looking forward to many more. Eric's account of the match is up on his Google + account here.  He's got loads of lovely painting and armies posted, so do check it out!
I need to use the loo! It'll only be a minute.
To the victor, a great local mead. Cheers!  

48 comments:

  1. Amazing write up of a seemingly epic batle. I always love to look at expertly painted armies fighting over nice terrain.

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    1. Thanks Moiterei, that goes for both of us!

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  2. That looks fantastic Monty, figures, terrain, and the boats are the cherry on top. How many points?

    FMB

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    1. Marcus! My Normans and I were awed. I think that was why we had a slow start. We were doing 6 points each. The sheep were free for the Normans!

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    2. Lucky! Usually I have to trade wood or stone for mine ;)

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    3. LOL, great comeback, I do love Settlers!

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  3. Eric clearly doesn't muck about when putting a table together - that's some serious terrain. So if you're reading, Eric, kudos! What is it about Minnesota and talented hobbyists anyway? Is it the fact you're snowed in for six months a year?

    I can commiserate with you over your defeat, Monty, but I hope you don't expect too much sympathy from me for Normans - they're not my favourite invaders!

    Thanks for an entertaining read!

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    1. Lol, it was 7 months this year Evan. And thanks!

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  4. A good looking battle and beer- what else can you ask for!

    Thanks again for the game Monty. I will definitely be getting another battle with you soon.

    Eric

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    1. Greatly looking forward to a rematch, Eric, with Norse Gael!

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  5. Good grief that's a beautiful game, lovely work boys!

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  6. What better way to erase a bad day of work than with a ... defeat!

    Fantastic looking game, enjoyable BatRep, and great photos! A defeat on the gaming table is much better than a bad (or good) day at work, right?

    Really great stuff!

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    1. I completely agree. Great way to end a night!

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  7. Well written and presented report, Monty. I enjoyed it very much. Eric, beautiful board and figures, and a well played game..

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    1. Thanks Brent for your heavy lifting over the weekend for the SAGA round robin at ReCon. I think we lit a bit of a fire for SAGA. Here's to more great gaming!

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  8. Lovely figures, but man - that water! Amazing piece of work/terrain. Great looking game too - lots of action.

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    1. It is even better in person! Now if I can just play up to the quality of Eric's board...that would be something.

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  9. That's what we call a great report! Beautiful pictures, terrain and armies!

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  10. Hi Monty,

    thanks for the report, really great painting and scenery, congratulations for the British troopers, the camos are top !
    well done Mate!

    Gillies " suits";-)

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    1. Thanks Gillies, and I love your punchline!

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  11. Great report and my word what a fabulous looking board, I swear that water is real!

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    1. Thanks Michael, it is a superb effect. Next time, I have to ask what it was!

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  12. Fantastic looking game Monty! You need to have your friend write up a tutorial on that water effect as it's brilliant! Those ships are great too!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks Christopher, and 'll pass on the suggestion.

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  13. Stunning gaming board, love the whater effect !

    Greate looking game and AAR !

    Best regards Michael

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  14. What an incredible table to play on. Boats and miniatures are also amazing. Looks like a fantastic game.
    cheers

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    1. Thanks Kiwi, it was a treat! It was so beautiful that I was a bit distracted from keeping the Vikings out of the hovels.

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  15. A great AAR and an awesome looking board.
    Many thanks for sharing it, Monty.

    Cheers
    Stefan

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    1. Thanks Bark! The amazing thing is the board is stored at a Fantasy Flight Game Center. It's quite generous for Eric to do heavy lifting and let others use it.

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  17. I know I'm just repeating every other comment, but WOW! What an amazing table and figures. Your game report was excellent too, top stuff all round. I play both Normans and Vikings, so it was particularly interesting for me :-)

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    1. Thanks Red! I do think Normans v Vikings is a great matchp, and one I'll return to again. Looking forward to the rematch!

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  18. Lovely minis, lovely table and a great report!

    Hope you had fun, although I would have thought you would have paid better attention to my ramblings on how Vikings played! ;-)

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    1. Thanks Burkhard and you've given me very good advice on how to play both the Vikings and Normans. Some students pick things up in the first pass, others need to relearn their lessons!

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    2. Ok, but expect you to do better next time I do, young Padawan! :-P

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  19. Wow, what an amazing looking game! The water effect and the boats are most impressive.

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    1. It's a great combo...boats, waves and warriors.

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  20. Sorry for your defeat :)
    I liked water effect. What is it?

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    1. Artar! Eric said he used Mod Podge. I've never done it myself but I can vouch for how good it looks.

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  21. i hate you
    now i want this rule

    very good article !
    things i hope to find in magazine

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  22. Thanks for the compliments everybody. I can't wait to get some sails on those ships. I also planto have a village and some docks done soon for my water front. :)

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  23. ....so Monty's Gaels came come and storm my little houses. ~grin~

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  24. Good stuff! and I have the good fortune of being able to play both of these guys locally. What more motivation do I need to get my Vikings done? :-) Looking forward to getting my axes bloody!

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  25. Pretty crackin' terrain and scenery Monty!

    Great Bat Rep too.

    Darrell.

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