Normans Ride Out

This morning I played Russell's Vikings at Saga. I was using my Normans. I had 3 points of Hearthguard in 2 units of 6, 2 units of warriors one with crossbows and 1 the Gall Gail mercenaries and lastly a unit of levies with bows. I played Russel a few months back using my Last Romans. The Normans have a different play style and many more charge with bonus dice abilities.

 My levy, warlord and crossbows deploy and wait for the vikings to show up. Everyone has to deploy M away from another unit. The crossbows take up comfortable positions in the house, they break out the wine and settle in for a long time. No one ever disturbed them

Here are Russells brand new unit of shield maidens. These are very nice models from Brother Vinnie in Russia. They even resemble the actresses from the Vikings show.

In the background are the Berserkers.








The other Vikings form into assault columns to make sure they don't impinge on each other's personal space.

Russell has split his levies into 2 units of 6.














 Here are my knights on the left and right respectively

 Here are my new unit of Sons of Death

 My Levy welcome Russell's shield maidens to the game by shooting them and inflicting a casualty. The rest of the Normans roll forwards.

Russell consolidates his forces behind the hill making sure he stays L away from the crossbow men in the house.

 The Normans advance forwards

 The Viking levy start running towards the rest of their forces from behind the steep hill

 The Sons of Death race forwards and engage the Viking Hearthguard. Fatigue and saga abilities are spent in profusion and when the dice rolling stop, 8 heathguard lie cooling in the grass and 5 mercenaries are also stretched in the grass.

 The SODs then turn round and the three survivors smash into the Berserkers. In a spectacular display of mutually assured destruction, both sides are wiped out. When the dice stop rolling I think both sides were stunned at the carnage.

The Vikings are in real trouble they are down 3 points of their army

A unit of Norman Knights trot forward and charge the Viking Warlord

 It turns out their lances were made out of rubber and the Viking Warlord enraged at being offered a glass of wine kills 5 of the knights and the survivor retreats.










The Shield Maidens attack the surviving knight and lose 2 of their number for their impudence. Maybe they liked the flowers and wine the knight offered them.

The second unit of knight has swept in and seen off the Viking Warlord, leaving the vikings with an exhaused unit of warriors and 2 small units of levy.