Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Another Round of SAGA


The dark ages skirmish game SAGA made its second appearance in as many weeks. Once again we had two players per side and beefed up the forces to six points each, or twelve points per side. We followed the rules a little more closely in how to set up armies, and how to set up the game from laying out terrain as well as putting down units and the like. Andy's also blogged about our second game, just today actually.

My warlord, leading from the front...again

All four of the basic armies were represented with me playing the Normans, allied with Tom's Vikings against Andy's Welsh and Ken's Anglo-Danes. After setting up and rolling for initiative it became pretty clear that my ally was on the extreme left flank and both opposing armies were pretty much on my half of the table. I wanted to play the Normans because they're a mounted force and there was a brand new battle-board I had to familiarize myself with. Next game I'm going to try and play either Welsh or Anglo-Dane to get a feel for those as well.


It was a dense, target-rich environment as my heavy cavalry charged in, warlord leading the way. The game itself took a bit longer than last time, but we had more points on the table too. We could've shaved some of that time off fairly easily as well, so next time I expect some smooth sailing.

This was my most devastating charge of the game...looking for 3+


The middle of the table just devolved into brutal chaos, it was quite the quagmire actually. Characteristically I had my warlord in the thickest center of it. Not surprisingly, he died about halfway through the game. Maybe I should re-think the whole "lead from the front" strategy?

The late Duke Yuengling of Yorvic


Although my force was wiped out, almost to a man my ally was barely even scratched. Here his forces, which have been maneuvering and wheeling for most of the game prepare to mop up the survivors from my own efforts. Sadly, we did not see the game to completion. It was getting late and everyone was pretty amiable about what the outcome would've been. The Vikings were strong however, and fresh troops to boot; it could have gotten interesting.


Here's the force I played for the battle. Beforehand I put two of my hearthguard-level units together to form a large, elite hitting hammer. Having some foot crossbowmen in there was kind of a bonus as well. I liked the Normans quite a bit, being all mounted took some getting used to but overall, even if my warlord did die, the game was a blast. I'm rather taken with the rules so I'll be buying a copy by the end of the week. Until then, enjoy!

12 comments:

  1. Wish we could get Yuengling west of the Mississip!

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    1. I feel for you. A few years ago we couldn't get it in my city either, but had a great friend who would bring a case in every time he came to game. Of course I didn't tell him when it did become available too quickly!

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  2. Guess I'm going to have to start painting my Vikings again.

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    1. Or Welsh, or Normans, or Anglo-Danes! We definitely have enough of everything to get you in on a game in the meantime, but yeah, your Vikings may just see the light of day yet!

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  3. I'm not especially keen on the period, and I have no opponents.. But other than that I think SAGA is a really interesting rule set. I really like the warband sizes too.. Great stuff.

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    1. Here's what I was thinking and it'd be right down your alley. Go fantasy. The core of the game is in the battle boards, and they are 'mythically' flavored, so substituting a fantasy archetype in for a Dark Age one is a very easy swap-in. For a little more work there are tons of fan-made battle boards for very specific armies but if I had to do it, I'd just use the boards as is. Plus, 15mm would work great for this.

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    2. And f I get 2 warbands finshed, I can rope Jon into playing... Hmm.
      Also: Lego?..

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  4. That was quite a bloody charge, still trying to get Ray to put on a game!

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    1. Get it going, you won't be disappointed!

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  5. Looking fun

    Tried a few games myself and currently finishing of my vikings and starting my normans. Not that Ive the time...

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    1. It's those small warband sizes that get you sucked in! Looking forward to see what you've got cooking.

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  6. And there is always the Northern Fury supplement to consider, with rules and Battle Boards for Anglo-Saxons, Scots, Bretons, and the legendary Viking cult, the Jomsvikings. I've not gotten to play any of the new forces myself, but the boards look interesting and I've got 6 points of Anglo-Saxons assembled and ready to prime (with additional minis available to expand to 8+ points as well as convert the force to Anglo-Danes)

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