Mutatawwi'a for SAGA

...and perhaps my warband for the US Grand Melee next year?  We'll soon see! This was an impromptu project that started when we came up a bit short with Arab warbands in our Crescent and Cross campaign.  My friend John gave me a good deal on his unpainted Artizan Design Moors and that was all it took.  If you're considering Dark Age Arabs, have a look at Artizan's line as these are superb.

I used Artizan's Black Guard for my fanatics on foot and the Hasham Guard for my mounted.  In my version of the Mutts, only the hearthguard (fanatics) take the black.  This way, you can quickly pick out my hearthguard in a game. I used bluish grays for cold highlights over black.  I also worked up a couple of linen banners.  While linen is pain to paint,  I do like the textured look of it, frayed and all.

It was a bit tricky to find warriors on camels and I eventually went with Gripping Beast models. Camels are a powerful option in this faction as they cause horse mounted enemies to lose half their dice in melee. Camels can go into uneven terrain and not get fatigued like other mounted. Clever fellows, the camels!  The Mutts can add a Hero of the Crusades, Abdullah ibn Yassin for a point.  He generates 2 SAGA dice, and adds dice each time you sacrifice a model from your warband.  I tried him a couple times and decided he's a keeper.  I painted up mounted and foot versions of both the priest and the warlord. Choices are what make SAGA fun!

I'm happy with how the cow hide shields turned out on these Artizans.

Gripping Beast warriors archers finish out the warband. Even though I'm not a fan of archers in this faction, I think there might be a place for them with a different style of play.

I got a bit carried away painting this bunch as I never settled on a single build.  In the end, I'm pleased with how my first Arabs turned out. The Mutts are a bit tricky to run and I proved it by losing my first 5 games with them. Since then, I've notched 5 consecutive victories. In a melee-centric game, the Mutts can be quite powerful once you get the hang of them. If the Vikings are your current favorites in SAGA, you'll love running the Mutts!