Saga - The Welsh Vs. The Irish

A Saga punch-up, and a rare one at that because only two warbands were involved!  With Red’s Vikings backing out at the 11^th hour we played a scenario or two that weren’t The Crows Feast.  My Welsh had to content themselves with trying to stop Luke’s Irish firstly from transporting goods to market, and secondly from sacking a village.

In the first attempt I didn’t do very well in The Escort scenario.  My cunning use of my 8-strong heathguard as a tactical column worked nicely in isolating and wiping out Lukes mounted heathguard in a hail of javelins, but I then failed to remember my own weakness to missile fire and my own horsemen went the same way against the Irish warriors.  In fact the only troops to survive to the end on each side were the two warlords and the levys, who picked on everyone else with their bows and slings.  My hearthguard killed off the warriors and tried the same javelin and charge trick on the Irish warlord, but he bulked up with Saga powers and I bounced off to be whittled down by the slings.  My warriors and warlord succeeded in stopping the other block of Irish heathguard, but at the cost of all of my warriors, and while my Warlord was triumphantly sacking a bunch of sheep (a big moment for him), the goats and the cart were heading in the opposite direction under cover of the Irish warlord and no amount of desperate welsh sprinting could catch them up – victory to Luke.

Trying to stop the escort, Welsh in the foreground, with the red-cloaks of the heathguard to the left.

The second scenario we went for was the Homeland one, and I ended up defending my three buildings with 4 points of troops against Lukes 6 points.  This was less entertaining because I ran out the victor rather easily; leaving us thinking that perhaps we’d missed something.  My 8 strong heathguard looked near invincible in their house while, with the enemy divided trying to take all the buildings, my Warlord and warriors sallied out to attack the Irish flank.  I lost one of the houses and the 8 warriors inside, but it cost Luke his mounted heathguard, his wolfhounds, and his big axe men, and his warlord was left alone to face my second bunch of 8 warriors who chopped him up and claimed victory for the Welsh.

Luke's Irish sneaking up on a house/

My warlord and warriors sally out.

Mounted Irish heathguard.

Bonus scenery - a sheperd and his flock, obviously glad not to be the objective of the Welsh warlord this time round.