HISTORICON SAGA Tournament

Next to Muskets & Tomahawks my favorite miniature game is SAGA.  Weve been running many SAGA tournaments lately up and down the Mid-Atlantic.  This weekend We ran the SAGA Tournament at Historicon.  We had a fine field of 14 Warlords that wanted to test their mettle on the fields of valor.  Below is a report of their endeavors leading to final victory.....or was it?

Looks like Richard the Lion Hearted was there.

Round #1:  We used a modified version of the Battle Twilight Scenario.  I used some of the changes suggested on the Studio Tomahawk forum.  After playing several games with this revised version and seeing 7 games unfold this weekend I have reached two conclusions.  The scenario is much better balanced with the revisions, but it is not a good scenario for tournament play.  It is a bit tweaky and labor intensive to set up.   By tweaky I mean people forget to bring on their endless warband or don't score it right and then see their neighbor score it differently and need help from the judge to get it right.  That having been said, I personally like the scenario and believe that in its revised version it will probably see a lot more play.  This might help it become tournament-worthy over the next year.

Round #1:  Results.  5 Scenario victories and 2 ties.  Slaughter points were kind of low.  I attribute that to the labor intensive set up and the tweaky-ness. 

Round #2:  Second scenario was a scenario I developed based on a historical event I read about during the First Crusades at the battle of Dorylaeum (1097).  Titled, "Singulus Iunctus" or "Alone Together", two warlords both seize advantageous terrain and must hold it while trying to dislodge their opponent from his chosen piece of terrain.  I really liked this scenario because it causes both players to be aggressive but they both have to make a judgment call early on as to how much to commit to defense and how much to attack with.  The scenario was well received by all the participants. 

Round #2 Results.  5 Scenario victories and 2 ties again.  Slaughter points we up overall reflecting the aggressiveness required by the scenario.

Anglo-saxon Warlord holds his chosen ground against the Welsh in Round #2

Round #3:  The old favorite with a twist.  Clash of Warlords is what I chose for round 3.  However, I am always amazed when I see people deploy for this scenario and see them place their warlords as far away from each other as possible.  So we made a slight change to this scenario for our tournament.  The player who sets up second MUST deploy their warlord directly opposite their opponents warlord.  This seemed to work well and we had a nice third round. 

Round #3 Results:  6 scenario victories and 1 tie.  Slaughter points were also up with victors averaging about 20 slaughter points for this round.  Now that's the way to end a SAGA tournament.

Two Anglo-Saxon shield walls face off in the final round of Clash of Warlords. 

Overall Results:  Jeff Fletcher was the overall winner with his Crusaders the only army to gain three straight Scenario Victories.  Second place went to Christine Argyle and her Vikings who gave her two wins and a tie.  We had a tie for third place with four warlords gaining two wins and a loss.  But Jeff Herzog pulling out the third place based on slaughter points.  His Angl-Saxons accumulated 51 total slaughter points over the three rounds. 

Tournament Results

Name	Faction	Victory	Slaughter
Jeff F	Crusaders	15	27
Christine A	Vikings	13	47
Jeff H	Anglo-Saxon	11	51
Nick	Norse Gael	11	46
Al O	Crusaders	11	35
Kevin	Strathclyde	11	25
Chuck C	Normans	9	38
Nathan L	Norse Gael	7	45
Tom K	Anglo-Saxon	7	39
Mark P	Anglo-dane	7	33
Steve P	Anglo-Saxon	7	24
Steven A	Anglo-Saxon	7	24
Rob R	Crusaders	7	18
Ralph K	Welsh	3	25

The wrap-up.  Footsore Miniatures handed out the spoils with a 4-point Irish warband going to Jeff for first place.  Many thanks to Footsore for their generosity and support of these events.  It just so happened the US Grand Melee Champion, Jeff Wiltrout, was present at Historicon and he threw down the gauntlet for the victor of the tournament to play in a friendly post tournament game.  Jeff W. rolled out his Skraelings, "for the last time" to face off against Jeff Fletcher's Crusaders.  I am not sure why but Jeff F. decided to mix up his force and instead of fielding his tournament winning Crusader army he rolled out a "Peter the Hermit" version.  So we had Skraelings vs fanatical pilgrims.  In the end the Skraelings came out victorious. 

Once again thanks to everyone who turned out to play and I hope to see yo at the next tournament at Fall In.

1755 VICTORY TO THE FRENCH

1755 ended in a resounding victory for the French who continue to lead in their efforts to secure the North American Continent.  I wanted to wrap up 1755 with some of the late submissions before I record the results of our 1756 Campaign efforts at the Fall In convention.  It is now 1756 and we concluded the third campaign year (1755) for our World-wide Muskets and Tomahawks Campaign Game with even more players than for previous Campaign Years.  Below is a summary of how things concluded for 1755.

The French gain the 10 extra victory points for the 1755 Battle for the Wilderness bringing the totals to:

French - 224
British - 161

Here is the Map at the conclusion of 1755.

And here are the final player scores.  Remember your natural talent is based on the type of officer you have leading your force.  Promotion points can be used for actual promotion and/or one promotion point can be spent to provide you officer an additional talent rolled randomly.


French Players Player               Character's Name         Points      Total Promotion Points 1754 & 1755
Nick G              Squinting Dog*                1              0 (*Died in Battle)
Pat H                Lieut. Hillaurd                  1              0  One more round to complete
Nick N.             Lieut. Nestericue             0              0 Two more rounds to complete
Todd                 Lieut  Tee*                      0              0 (*Died in Battle)
Tristan               Egushwa                        9               2 + Natural Talent
Brian/Jim          Lieut Lipscomb               4               0  One more round to complete
Dillon                Indian Leader                 0               0 Two more rounds to complete
Tom K.              Lieut. LeBouty              10                2+Natural Talent
John M.             Niz Alemos                   16               2+Natural Talent
Leigh W.           Lieut. Templar              14                2+Natural Talent
Jim G                Lieut. de Gande            8                 2+Natural Talent
Don K.               Lieut. Regent *             12               0 (*died in battle)
Gary C.             Monge Tu II                  12               1 + a Natural Talent
Mike S.              Lieut Le Pue                 2                 0 + Natural Talent
Mark M.         Lieut DeGaul            2              0 + Natural Talent
Tom G.          Breaking Wind          6              0 (Died in Battle) 


British Players
Luke D                Lieut. Dixon               8                0 One More rounds to complete
Ranger Bob        Wolf with Two Kills    0                0 Two more rounds to complete
Roy                     Lieut. Williams           1               0  Two more rounds to complete
Jeff W.                Lieut Wiltrout            10               1+ Natural Trait
Oskar/Maanus    Lieut Goldsberry         5               1+ Natural Trait
Bill/John              Lieut Hawks                4              0   One more round to complete
Larissa                Lieut Larissa               4               0  Two more rounds to complete
John K.               Lieut McBean             2               0  Two more rounds to complete
Rich T.                Lieut. Frederickson*   6                0 (*Died in Battle)
Russell M.           Lieut. Bawls*              0                0 (*Died in Battle)
Barrie M.             Lieut. Lee-Jackson *   1               0 (*Died in Battle)
Mark O.               Lieut. Dover  II            2               1 + Natural Talent
Mike K.                Lieut. King                 6                1+ Natural Talent  
Bob C                  Lt Devonish               6                 Natural Talent
Tony B.            Lt. Gage                8              0+Natural Talent
Philip A.           Lt. N. Hobart         8              0+ Natural Talent
Willow P.         Indian Leader       10             0+Natural Talent 

Campaign Update 1755

Compagnies Franches de la Marines
 led by Capt. LeBouty (pictured center w Pistol) lie in Ambush. (Sept 1755)

As the campaign year 1755 comes to a close for our campaign using Muskets and Tomahawks I wanted to give a quick overview of the situation followed by the individual results.

On all fronts the French have turned back the three British Attacks.  In the West (Round 1 Expedition vs Ambush) the French defeated the British 30 victory points to 24.  In other words Braddocks defeat was still a defeat but not as devastating as it had been.  In the Lakes region (Round 2 Pursuit vs Rear Guard) the French 26 VP dominated the British (13 VP).  Finally the Acadia incursion (Round 3 Engagement vs Hasty Defense)  by sea has been repulsed with French securing 39 victory points and the British gaining 21 VP.  Overall results are shown below.



Results as of 4 October 1755

 

The French gain the 10 extra victory points for the 1755 Battle for the Wilderness bringing the totals to:

French - 214
British - 135


Next up are the rules and scenarios for 1756.  Individual results below.  We had several players who had a hard time getting in all three games this time.  Remember your natural talent is based on the type of officer you have leading your force.  Promotion points can be used for actual promotion and/or one promotion point can be spent to provide you officer an additional talent rolled randomly.


French Players Player               Character's Name         Points      Total Promotion Points 1754 & 1755
Nick G              Squinting Dog*                1              0 (*Died in Battle)
Pat H                Lieut. Hillaurd                  1              0  One more round to complete
Nick N.             Lieut. Nestericue             0              0 Two more rounds to complete
Todd                 Lieut  Tee*                      0              0 (*Died in Battle)
Tristan               Egushwa                        9               2 + Natural Talent
Brian/Jim          Lieut Lipscomb               4               0  One more round to complete
Dillon                Indian Leader                 0               0 Two more rounds to complete
Tom K.              Lieut. LeBouty              10                2+Natural Talent
John M.             Niz Alemos                   16               2+Natural Talent
Leigh W.           Lieut. Templar              14                2+Natural Talent
Jim G                Lieut. de Gande            8                 2+Natural Talent
Don K.               Lieut. Regent *             12               0 (*died in battle)
Gary C.             Monge Tu II                  12               1 + a Natural Talent


British Players
Luke D                Lieut. Dixon               8                0 One More rounds to complete
Ranger Bob        Wolf with Two Kills    0                0 Two more rounds to complete
Roy                     Lieut. Williams           1               0  Two more rounds to complete
Jeff W.                Lieut Wiltrout            10               1+ Natural Trait
Oskar/Maanus    Lieut Goldsberry         5               1+ Natural Trait
Bill/John              Lieut Hawks                4              0   One more round to complete
Larissa                Lieut Larissa               4               0  Two more rounds to complete
John K.               Lieut McBean             2               0  Two more rounds to complete
Rich T.                Lieut. Frederickson*   6                0 (*Died in Battle)
Russell M.           Lieut. Bawls*              0                0 (*Died in Battle)
Barrie M.             Lieut. Lee-Jackson *   1               0 (*Died in Battle)
Mark O.               Lieut. Dover  II            2               1 + Natural Talent
Mike K.                Lieut. King                 6                1+ Natural Talent  
Bob C                  Lt Devonish               6                 Natural Talent 

Campaign Update 1755

Volley Fire In the woods by British Highlanders

Results for the 1755, "Battle in the Wilderness" year of the World-wide Muskets and Tomahawk Campaign are beginning to roll in. As a refresher here is the background and basics to the 1755 campaign.

On April 14, 1755, Governors of the British Provinces met in Virginia to determine a strategy to force the French from North America. It was determined that three separate expeditions would be launched against the enemy.  Collectively these three expeditions have some similarities.  All three entailed an expeditionary effort through remote wilderness areas.  Both land expeditions ended up being ambushed.  Additionally, during this year there were efforts on both sides to erect  and improve the fortifications that protected the wilderness frontier for both sides.  This required men, supplies and significant transportation effort to bring the needed supplies to these frontier forts.  Often called the “battle for the Wilderness”, Commanders during 1755 had to make tradeoffs between escorting supplies, scouting, defending or launching an attack against an enemy expedition.  Finally there were several instances where forces had to mount a hasty defense, conduct a pursuit of fleeing enemy or conduct rear guard actions.  To reflect the nature of the conflict during 1755 five new mission objectives are created and the following tournament guidelines are provided to fight the battle of the Wilderness Campaign 1755.      

Round 1:  Expedition vs Ambush

Round 2:  Pursuit vs Rear Guard
Round 3:  Engagement vs Hasty Defense

Force Construction:  Force point totals for 1755 are to be between 225 and 230. 

Results Thus Far (as of 15 Sept 2014):  Below are the results.  We do have several players with incomplete set of rounds, but I decided to post the situation as it looks right now.  Some of these players are new and may not complete all three games before the end of the campaign year. 

French Players
Player                       Character's Name          Total Points     Character's Promotion Points
Nick G                      Squinting Dog                      1                               Died in Battle
Pat H                        Lieut. Hillaurd                      1                One more round to complete
Nick N.                     Lieut. Nestericue                 0                 Two more rounds to complete
Todd                        Lieut  T                                0                     Died in Battle
Tristan                       Egushwa                            9                     2 + Natural Talent
Brian/Jim                   Lieut Lipscomb                  4                 One more round to complete
Dillon                         Indian Leader                     0                Two more rounds to complete
Tom K.                     Lieut. LeBouty                     10                          2+Natural Talent


British Players
Luke D                     Lieut. Dixon                          8                 One More rounds to complete
Ranger Bob             Wolf with Two Kills                0                Two more rounds to complete
Roy                          Lieut. Williams                      1                 Two more rounds to complete
Jeff W.                     Lieut Wiltrout                        10                       1+ Natural Trait
Oskar/Maanus         Lieut Goldsberry                   5                        1+ Natural Trait
Bill/John                   Lieut Hawks                          4                 One more round to complete
Larissa                     Lieut Larissa                         4                 Two more rounds to complete
John K.                    Lieut McBean                        2                 Two more rounds to complete

French Allies Charging up a hill in "Pursuit"

Updated Results as of 13 Sept 2014:

1755 Round 1: Expedition vs Ambush objective.
French Points: 7 
British Points: 16 (British victory)

1755 Round 2: Pursuit vs Rear Guard Objective.
French Points: 8 (French victory)
British Points: 5
1755 Round 3: Engagement vs Hasty Defense
French Points: 10
British Points: 13 (British victory)

Here is what the campaign game overall situation looks like leading into the next round.



British have a slight lead in the 1755 results.

Pictures of our M&T Games Day at Barrage 2014:




Early Morning. All four tables set up.
  I'm in the red shirt running the demo in the distance.

Two players playing the demo.

Table 2 starts the Expedition vs Ambush Scenario.

A unit of Goreham's Rangers (with Pursuit Obj) fires on French Regulars serving
 as a Rear Guard.

British Regulars open fire at French Marines
Pursuit vs Rear Guard

Everyone had a great time.  I think we've recruited a few more players to the M&T system and perhaps to the campaign.