King of the Britons & his bard

Maredudd ab Owain, King of the Britons, is a Hero for the Welsh faction in SAGA. Maredudd was plagued by Viking raiders during his reign. In 987, Godfrey Haroldson raided Anglesey, killing thousands and taking  a thousand more as captives. Maredudd was said to have paid a huge ransom to free his people.  So you might say he was bit of a Welsh Moses!  If the ransom story is true, he was an remarkable fellow.  

"Say Anything," the 987AD version.

The King was a challenge to paint. The detail was very fine and the cloak was quite flat.  For a time, I hit a wall and had to set him aside.  It didn't help that I recognized the scowl on the King's face. I saw that look every time I helped work on my dad's car and handed him the wrong tool.  Despite the difficulties in painting up my father, I did get to the finish line and that's enough on some days.

Last bit, Gripping Beast wagons for SAGA!  

"These damn nags follow me where ever I go! "

We've started a new campaign of Maurice with 8 players. The campaign rules are what make Maurice special, and there is a great deal of variety in the 8 armies in this campaign.  I'm looking forward to fielding my Turks again, and playing The Sultan.  To get in character, I read The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire.  It was a decent read and I'll try to avoid making the mistakes of Sultan's past.  I'm quite sure I can top them with new, better ones!

Rally 'round the Raven - Saga AAR

Hugh and I got to set up a Viking vs. Welsh smackdown.  The Viking way in Saga is to go for the jugular whereas the Welsh are shooty, hit-and-run bunch.

I knew I'd have difficulty in this match-up so I decided to try out a new tactic.  In the Raven's Shadow supplement, Saga introduced "Rally Round the Banner."  You can add a War Banner to any one unit.  The banner allows the unit to rest other than the first activation and remove a fatigue.  It's a double-edged sword.   You'll need to use an activation ability or die for the rest.  Activating multiple times in a turn means that unit will use up your Saga dice and find itself alone in the face of the enemy. Also, the banner figure does not generate attack dice.

My Viking warband was Warlord plus 1 unit Hearthguard -12 figs with a War Banner, 3 units of Warriors with 8 figs each.  The risk is that the first time Hugh kills a unit, I'll be down a Saga dice.  It's a quick strike force with a Mike Tyson punch in the form of the hearthguard with the banner.  If my right hook doesn't drop the Welsh quickly, I'll die in a hail of javelins.  Hugh's Welsh warband was Warlord plus 1 unit of Levy -12 figures, 1 unit of Hearthguard-8 figs each, 3 units of Warriors-8 figs each.

GAME 1:  "Clash of Warlords." I won terrain initiative and dropped a hill in the middle of the board. Hugh tried but couldn't get his 2 woods on the table and that spelled trouble for the Welsh.  I've never played a game of Saga with so little terrain.  Could the hand of Odin have been at work?

My warriors screened the hearthguard from javelin fire.  The Welsh javelins were deadly in the early game and I could see I wouldn't have the luxury of waiting for everyone to line up "just so" before going in.

Hugh was forming the dreaded fishhook formation and he intended to bait his hook with my Vikings!

I split my Saga dice between activating the hearthguard 3 times (plus a free activation with "We Obey") and the abilities Thor (melee 2x in a turn) and Ulllr (reroll attack dice that miss).  With this combo, my hearthguard wiped out a unit of Welsh warriors, rested, and in the next activation, wiped out a unit of Welsh hearthguard.

My 6 surviving hearthguard descended on the Welsh warlord.  6 on 1 is not a fair fight and the brave Welsh warlord went down fighting.  A quick victory to the Vikings...skol, Vikings!

GAME 2:  "Clash of Warlords" again with the same warbands.  This time, Odin was off cavorting and the Welsh dropped 2 woods in the middle of the table.  I asked Hugh if he was creating a Dark Age Agincourt. All we needed was a muddy field in the center and a charge.  Being the Vikings, I had no choice but to go up the gut and deliver.

Hugh's dicing was better in this game.  He played "The Rising Out" to activate 4 units to pitch javelins.  My warband was melting in the face of sustained missile fire and I had to go all in with my hearthguard.  I needed to chew through the Welsh hearthguard to open a path to their warlord. When my 12 hearthguard hit Hugh's 8 hearthguard, there was a tremendous crash that ended with his men wiped out and nearly all of mine!  I couldn't deliver the killer punch and was left to look about the battlefield for any chance to pull my coals from the fire!

Desperate, I sent my warlord after his.  I bumbled and pushed his warriors back to within Very Short distance of his warlord.  This allowed his warriors to sacrifice themselves and soak up hits that my warlord delivered on his warlord. My Viking warlord went down in personal combat and the game went to the Welsh.

There is some debate on the Saga forums about the usefulness of "Rally Round the Banner."  After two tries, I'd say it's moderately risky with a moderate opportunity for payout.  If you go for the kill and fail, you've probably lost the game.  Still, I think it's useful tool for the Vikings.

All in all, a great day of gaming and a good showing by the Welsh.

Welsh warband finished!

Bang a gong, I'm done!  With the arrival of the LBMS shield transfers, I finally wrapped up this project. Here's a final post up of the crew. Everybody say "Javelins!"

8 Hearthguard and 2 Warlords:

24 Warriors:

24 Levies:

I'd been eyeing the Welsh for my next warband when my friend Hugh asked if I'd paint his on commission.    With unpaid work days coming down the pike, I'm looking to take on a few commissions.  Instead of moping around the house on my unpaid days, I'll do what I love most and paint!

Advert Alert. If you're interested in a Saga warband and looking for a painter, I could be your man. Ring me up in email (in my profile) and you'll find I offer a bit more for a bit less than the standard 28mm rate.  I can do the same in 15mm as well.

Welsh Pony & their warrior riders

In Saga, these mounted Welsh warriors will ride into javelin range, throw, and ride away.  Hit and run horse will be very annoying for anyone facing them, I'm sure.  It will be extra annoying for warbands that don't have mounted  forces.

The Gripping Beast Welsh ponies are adorable.  I liked them enough that I read up on the breed.  The Welsh Mountain Pony predates the arrival of the Romans. They were a hardy breed on account of the harsh climate, limited shelter and sparse food. The ponies are able to thrive on minimal forage. The breed has a small head with large eyes, sloped shoulders, short back and strong hindquarters.  They're known for stamina, soundness, and intelligence.  Other horse breeds might mock the Mountain Pony for their appearance but for the fact that the Welsh are their intellectual superior.

Welsh mounted warriors with shield transfers by LBMS.  You may notice, the Welsh do love their capes!

And if that isn't enough horseflesh for you, how about the Welsh hearthguard?

One last morsel of Welsh eye candy!  Neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh!

Pony is a member of MENSA, the rider is not

Welsh warlord and hearthguard

I drove to The Source on Sunday to get in a game of Saga.  Freezing rain made for treacherous driving, so my buddy Hugh had to turn around. Just like that, game off.  The silver lining in the snow filled cloud was I spend the rest of the day painting.  It was either that or axe through a door, poke my head through and yell "Here's Jooohny!"  My family was having none of my cabin fever antics, so, off to the painting table.

This Welsh warband is built with both a foot and mounted warlord.  You can only run one warlord per warband in Saga but by painting up both, you can choose which to run depending on the scenario. Since this batch is the hearthguard and warlords, I put the pedal to the floor for colors and stripes.  We are the 1%. Look upon our clothes and weep, levies and warriors!  

You've probably noticed that I've hit a road bump with the Welsh.  The LBMS shield transfers are still in the mail, probably looping endlessly around the globe.  In the meantime, as I finish each batch of shield-armed Welsh, I have to stop at the white shield stage and move to another bunch.  Posting up nearly finished figures is a bit like a date ending with a kiss at the front door.  Nice, but perhaps not all you'd hoped for.  Sadly, it'll have to do for now!
 
I still haven't got the hang of the work in progress posts.  By keeping my cellphone handy, I remember  to take a picture from time to time.  That's good!  With each batch of figures, my work surface gets messier and that detracts from the pictures.  That's bad!  If you think my painting surface looks messy, you should see my hands.

When in doubt, grab some bark

A few of you have asked if I'm done with 15mm.  To that, I thought I'd show rather than tell!

SYW Russian battery

I hope it's warm and beautiful wherever you are.  Birds singing, flowers blooming, and green grass.  I remember those days; the days before I moved to Winterfell.  Right now, we're getting another 6"! 

Looking out my back door.  

Welsh warriors & backstory

With every new project, I like to read up on the armies and era I'm painting.  Saga has given me the perfect opportunity to dig into the Dark Ages, where my knowledge is a bit thin. Admitting that up front, here's a quick overview of the Dark Age Welsh.

A Welsh army was generally made up of lords, retainers and locally raised free men over the age of 14.  Welsh warriors dressed in linen shirts and pants, covered by a wool cloak down to the knees. Hair was kept short and mustaches were common.  Their primary weapons were the spear, axe and bow.  Spearmen could operate in close or loose order as the situation demanded. Javelins were common and a circular shield was often employed. Welsh bows were made of elm and fired at close range as an ambush weapon.  The Welsh longbow would not make an appearance for some hundreds of years.

The Welsh tended to rely on agility and cunning rather than armor.  They relied on ambushes and raids, utilizing the rough and hilly terrain covering much of Wales.  Battle was preferred on marshy or broken ground, which favored the Welsh's mobility.  Their initial charge was a headlong assault accompanied by a storm of javelins.  This might be followed by feigned flight to lead an enemy into a trap, a common tactic for lightly armed and agile troops. Spirits were raised with battle cries and war trumpets. The initial charge was fierce but if it did not break the enemy, the warriors often lost heart.

Based purely on looks, there's slim chance these fine fellows will lose heart on the tabletop battlefield.  Gripping Beast did a fine job with the sculpts.  Short hair, mustaches, woolen cloaks, spears, axes, bows and circular shields.  Check, check, check and check.  Nicely done!  

Over the weekend, I grabbed 3 lines of triad paints by Reaper Miniatures.  They just might be the paints I'm looking for.  Big plus that they come in dropper bottles!  After I get a chance to put them to use, I'll post up on how they compare to Vallejo.

And if that isn't enough to bring you back, it's on to the adorable Welsh ponies and riders.  I'm very pleased to say that Gripping Beast did an outstanding job casting the Welsh horse. Short, stout and almost cuddly!

Coming soon to a Saga event near you