Two Rounds of Colline Gate

by on May 17, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: CC:Ancients

After finishing First Timers, Patch and I went to our usual round of Commands & Colors: Ancients. Up this time was Colline Gate from Expansion #3. This is basically the end of the fight between Sulla and Marius (who is already dead), and both sides are close in numbers, though Sulla has Mediums instead of Auxiliaries. Its a smaller battle, and only goes to five banners.

I had the Samnites first, and started with Move-Fire-Move, doing two blocks to a Medium and one to a LS (it had to retreat into the wall behind the Romans). Patch Ordered Three Center to get his line together, and I Move-Fire-Moved again, but didn’t do any damage this time. We both Ordered Center to get a solid line, and Patch Ordered Mediums to get us into contact on his left, doing to blocks to an Aux in return for one on his Medium.

I did a Coordinated Attack (all ranged fire) with no effect, and Patch engaged the flank more heavily with Leadership any Section, knocking out the weak Aux, and traded blocks with another and his weak Medium. I Ordered Mediums to strike back and move my MC on the other flank. The MC drove off a Medium and LS, but in the main area I lost two blocks for no gain. Patch Ordered Two Center to trade blocks (including making Pontius’ MC lose a block by retreating to the base line on two banners). Ordered Mounted got my MC in motion again, and I finished off an Aux and forced Sulla back with a loss on momentum, while doing a block to his LS.

Patch engaged his left flank again with Leadership any Section, knocking out two Aux and a MC. With my right gone, I Ordered Three Left, routing a LS, forcing his MC to evade with losses, but took four blocks myself. Patch Ordered Three Center to finish off a weak Aux. 2-5

For the second round we both started with a few turns of ranged fire which didn’t do more than force an Aux to retreat and take a single block. Patch moved forward with Order Three Center, and I countered with Order Four Left to come into contact with his LS, who evaded after taking a block, and his Aux took another block from further ranged fire. Patch Ordered Three Right, driving off a Medium with two losses. I Ordered Two Center to do two blocks to a Medium, retreating with one loss afterward.

Mounted Charge got his two MC in contact with my main line, and Patch took out both of my MC and Crassus and damaged two Mediums at a cost of one of his blocks. Order Three Left forced Patch back, but did no damage. Out Flanked let him finish off two Mediums. 0-5

Afterword

It’s a short, quick battle, and I can recommend it on that basis. Also, both sides are fairly similar, though Sulla’s Mediums give the red Romans a lot more punch, especially with the Marius’ Legions rule giving them missile capability.

Like anything short and quick, the dice will tend to dominate how things go. Patch had some brutal rolling in the second game, and once again Mounted Charge largely decided the battle. Losing Crassus just made sure that I was dangerously close to a loss, and I had to spend time getting Sulla back into action (both leaders start with the MC).

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Two Rounds of Vercellae

by on March 6, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: CC:Ancients

After a very short Endless Struggle, Patch and I did our usual round of Commands & Colors: Ancients. Up this time was the Battle of Vercellae from Expansion #2. This is the final wrap up of the Cimbrian War, and is pretty much the denouement of First Man in Rome, so I’m in generally familiar territory. It’s a large battle, with the Germanic army largely bunched up in the center (four deep in places!).

I had the Germans first, and did nothing with my opening ranged attacks, while Patch Ordered his Lights forward, and got one hit on an Aux. I Darkened the Sky, and got three hits, driving back an Aux. Patch moved up his left, and a Line Command got my entire mass moving, and finished off a Light, and drove off another. Patch Ordered Lights, and forced two units back with ranged fire. I Ordered Three Right to send in the cavalry, which had so far only avoided retreating off the map from ranged fire because of my leader. However, I merely traded two blocks on a LB for two on a MC.

Patch Ordered Two Left to send in his cavalry, knocking out the weak MC, doing two blocks to another, and forcing my leader back in return for one block. I came back with Order Two Right, and knocked out one MC and finished off his LB. Patch Ordered Mounted (all one MC…) and lost his last MC after driving off my weak one and doing a block to the one with my leader. Order Three Center let my main mass start getting into action, knocking out an Aux, and forcing a Light to evade with a loss. Leadership Any Section let Patch counterattack, nearly taking out two Warriors, but he lost a Med and took 3 hits on another in return. Order Three Center let me protect one of the Warriors (and Beorix) while finishing off his Medium. Then momentum finished off an evading Light. 8-1

For the second round, Patch opened with Two Units Left, which thankfully got no hits in ranged combat. He tried again with Three Units next turn, and got a hit on an Aux. I Ordered Mediums to deploy more of a line forward. Patch Out Flanked and wiped out a MC and did a block to a Med in return for one hit on a MC. I Double-Timed my right into the barbarian flank, forcing two LBs to evade after taking a block, and knocking out an Aux for one hit on my damaged Aux. Patch Counter Attacked, and wound Warriors through his packed formation, doing a block each to a Med and the damaged Aux, in return for two hits on a Warrior. I reshuffled the Aux out of the way with Leadership Any Section, and a First Strike kept one of my Mediums from doing anything after taking a hit, but I knocked out two Warriors while taking two hits on a Medium.

And then Patch used a Line Command for his big mass, which stayed out of contact, but finished off Sulla’s Medium and drove the remnants of my right back with banner hits. A Coordinated Attack got a hit on a Light and let me reposition slightly. Inspired Left Leadership deployed his flank a bit, but got no hits in all ranged combat. Order Three Right got my remaining Mediums and Sulla back to the barbarian line, and I knocked out a Warrior, forcing Beorix back, while momentum got a hit on a Light.

Another Line Command let Patch advance a bit more and cause ranged hits to two units while knocking out Sulla’s new Medium at a cost of two blocks each on two Warriors. Order Two Right let Sulla join the last Medium on the flank and force a Light to evade. Patch Ordered Lights, but did no more than force Sulla to retreat a hex. I Ordered Three Center, and knocked out an Aux, but lost one of mine in return. Patch Ordered Four Center, and knocked out a weak Medium, but took two blocks to a Warrior in the process. I Ordered Mediums, taking out a Warrior while taking one hit, and a pair of our MCs reduced each other to one block.

Patch then sent in a Mounted Charge, finishing off that MC, picked off a 3-block Medium and forced a LB to evade with a hit. I used Line Command on the remnants of my left flank, and reduced two units to one block each while taking a block on a Medium. Patch Ordered Three Right and finished off a Medium. 6-8

Afterword

The first battle started slow for me, but as soon as I got into close combat my dice were unbelievably good, and Patch went down before he could do much. The barbarians only get four cards, and by the end of the game two of them were basically junk, but the rest of my hand let me do what I wanted.

The second game dragged out a lot more, and is probably a lot more typical of the scenario.The Romans have good tools, including a six-card hand, though Patch’s two Line Commands and Mounted Charge helped him out a lot. We’re still getting used to Marian infantry, and I only remembered mid-turn at one point that one of my Mediums had a shot. All our leaders got a good workout in the second game, and Sulla especially gave better than he got.

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Two Rounds of Aquae Sextiae

by on February 2, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: CC:Ancients

Back in November, Patch and I went back to C&C:A after our latest SFB adventure. Up this time was the Battle of Aquae Sextiae from Expansion #2. This is the climatic battle of The First Man in Rome, so the situation was familiar to me. The Germanic tribes have an army stretching across the entire board, with plenty of Warriors and Auxilia, and filled out with some LC. The Romans are largely Mediums on a line of hills, with some LB in front. There’s also an ‘ambush’ force off board which can come in on the German base line with play of a Leadership or Order Lights card.

I had the Germans for the first game, and unfortunately I forgot to record a log. The game started as you might expect, and my initial archery was a bust. But once I got to close combat, really good dice quickly gave me a lead, and then finished off the game with one Roman flank and the center in big trouble. 6-2

Patch started the second game with Order One (Heavy), and gambled a LC against a MC (with a hill, and the MC being far back, not a bad gamble). I Ordered Three Left to surround and eliminate him. Order Two Right eliminated my MC on a lucky two-banner roll, and he still didn’t have the distance to take it. I Ordered Lights to bring in Marcellus on my left, but couldn’t do any damage.

Line Command split the German army in two, with his right going to confront the ambush while everything else moved up. Marcellus lost three blocks in two units, but did five in return. A second Order Lights let me start shuffling Marcellus out of the corner, and he lost his Lights to a bad retreat, but knocked out an Aux and MC in return for a block on an Aux. Patch Ordered Three Center and knocked out a Light trapped in front of the main line.

I Double Timed the bulk of the Mediums down the hill into his center, knocking out an Aux and doing two blocks to another, but took five blocks on two Mediums in the process. Then Patch Double Timed, and forced my (now) 1-block Med back onto the hills, losing a Warrior in the process. Worse, while he finished off the other wounded Medium, an attack on an intact one did two hits… and took four hits in return. 6-4

Afterword

Sadly, it’s been a little too long, and I don’t remember any detail of that first game. I do remember my dice went super hot any time I attacked in close combat, and the Romans just collapsed under that. The second go was not so uneven on the dice, but I still got quite lucky. I used a First Strike with the 1-block Medium, but it turned out not to be needed, as Patch couldn’t hit.

The scenario certainly has interest. The Romans are facing a large force, and the hills help and hinder them. On the other hand the Marius Legions rule give them some extra ranged ability, if they can get the chance to use it. As ever, the ‘ambush’ trope has trouble in this system, as they’re at least as likely to run into problems retreating. Two Order Lights in my hand helped here, but the Line Command ended with them largely cut off anyway.

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Two Rounds of Scirthaea

by on September 24, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: CC:Ancients

After finishing up Bertoldo the Brave, Patch and I went to our between-games round of Commands & Colors: Ancients. Up this time was the Battle of Scirthaea from Expansion #2. The Romans have a compact force with a lot of Mediums, while the slave revolt has a more strung-out line with a lot of Warrior units.

I had Salvius’ slave army first, and had a decent hand despite being down two cards (4 to 6). I Out Flanked to send the MC into flank of the Roman army, trading one block each with a Light. Patch used Line Command to move up, driving off the MC and doing another hit to the weak one. I used my own Line Command to get closer and come into contact on my left, driving off a Light. Patch Counter Attacked to destroy an Aux, while taking to blocks on one of his. Order Mediums let me destroy a Medium, and do two blocks to a Light, but two of my Warriors took hits and retreated.

With both of our lines now fractured, Patch played Order Mediums to pick on the center, picking off a Warrior, forcing another to retreat to the baseline after taking two hits, and destroying a Medium, killing Salvius. However, he lost two blocks each on three mediums and lost one of his leaders. I Ordered Three Center, bringing up the retreated Warrior to destroy two weakened Mediums, and then trading one hit each on our intact Mediums. Patch Ordered Two Center to do one block to a Medium, and I Ordered Three Right, destroying an Aux while taking one block, and forcing a one-block Light back to the baseline. Inspired Center Leadership got about half of Patch’s army moving, and finished off a Warrior and Medium. 5-6

Patch started the second game with Order One (Heavies, and there aren’t any in this scenario) to trade two hits to a Light to one on his MC. I Ordered Three Left to get at his MC but merely lost my MC for my trouble. Patch advanced with Order Four Left, and I Coordinated Attack to take a hit on an Aux after again failing to affect his MC. He advanced some more with Order Two Left, and I issued a Line Command to force an Aux to retreat and finally knocked out his MC.

Patch Counter Attacked, coming into contact on both flanks, forcing back an Aux while doing three hits to another, but took two hits on each of a Warrior and Aux. I Counter Attacked in turn, finishing off the Aux, forcing the Warrior to retreat after another hit, but taking a hit on a Medium in turn, while on the other flank, I reduced an Aux to one block, killing Athenion, taking two blocks on a Medium in turn. Leadership Any Section let Patch get his center into action, finishing off a weak Aux, and doing a block each to four Mediums, but taking two blocks each on three units in turn. Losing the Aux broke my line, but Line Command still covered the majority of my units, closing the gap and finishing off two weak units. 6-2

Afterword

With only four cards, the performance of the slave army is going to depend a lot on what they draw. They’re also a bit more fragile with the reliance on Warriors, which can quickly see them at a dice disadvantage. However, the two-hex move into combat, and especially, momentum combat helps a lot here and helped me make the first game very close.

Both of these were surprisingly fast fights, with three leaders going down, two of them to two-die rolls when a unit merely took a loss. The biggest delay is that both armies set up fairly far back, so coming to grips would have been a lot slower without the multiple Line Commands.

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Two Rounds of Arausio

by on June 4, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: CC:Ancients

The latest between-other-games round of Commands & Colors: Ancients with Patch was the Battle of Arausio from Expansion #2. Historically, this was a major defeat for Rome, and the scenario gives them one less card, less cavalry, and the barbarians can get an extra banner by occupying the Roman camp.

Patch had the Romans first, and he initiated battle as a LC took on a Warrior to do a hit for no loss. I countered by Ordering Lights, but got no hits in ranged combat. Patch moved up with a Line Command, and knocked out a LC when it was unable to retreat. So, I used Line Command to dive off a Light and LC with a hit each (if I’d been smart, I’d have reversed that order to trap the LC). Patch Double Timed to bring his Mediums into contact, knocking out a Medium and doing two hits to an Aux in return for two hits each on two Mediums.

I Ordered Four Center to wrap around the Mediums, and knock two out, with Caepio fleeing to one of the Heavies in reserve, while I took three hits on two units. Inspired Center Leadership, and took out two Warriors with Caepio’s Heavies, only losing a block to a First Strike. Three Units Left let me finish off a Medium, but I took two blocks in return. Patch rearranged a couple units, and Order Two Center let me trade two blocks with him. Patch Counter Attacked,  destroying a Medium and MC with Caepio. I Ordered Mediums to drive off an Aux with a loss and destroy a LC. Patch used Line Command on… Caepio (no one was adjacent) to destroy another Warrior. 4-7

In the second game, I led off with Line Command, which let me deploy a bit better, and Patch Counter Attacked, getting us nearly in contact after the first turn. Move-Fire-Move let me adjust the flanks, and do a block each to two Lights. Inspired Light Leadership brought Patch onto my flank, killing a Light and doing a block to another, while I did two blocks to a Warrior and another to an Aux.

Order Three Left let me finish off the weak Warrior, while taking a block on a Medium. A Coordinated Attack did nothing, and I Ordered Lights to do one block to a Warrior, while taking two blocks on an Aux. Patch Double Timed his Warriors into my center, destroying a Medium and Aux, and taking two blocks each on two Warriors. Inspired Center Leadership let me do three blocks across two units for no losses, while Patch Ordered Mediums to reengage the Warriors with Boiorix’s MC backing them up. He did four blocks across two Mediums, but lost three Warriors and two blocks on another in return.

I Ordered Three Center to finish off another Warrior, and Patch Ordered Two Center to finish off a Medium, but lost two blocks on a MC in return. Order Three Center let me move the Heavies up, and let Caepio join one of them, doing hits to an Aux and Warrior while forcing them to retreat. Patch Counter Attacked to force a Heavy to retreat, and I declared a Mounted Charge to do one block to a Light. Darken the Sky drove off my MC and did two hits to a Heavy. Coordinated Attack let me knock out an Aux, and do a hit to a MC while I took one hit on a Medium. Patch Ordered Three Center to pick off the weak Heavy, but instead First Strike finished off a Warrior. 7-4

Afterword

This scenario doesn’t want to follow the historical action other than the Romans are likely to aggressively move forward to attack. But there’s nothing to really punish that, and in neither game did the action ever get close to the camp.

Still, it’s a nice scenario, that plays fast for a seven-banner limit. Patch had pretty hot dice the first time, while both of our dice were pretty cold until the end in the second game.

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