A Punic Punch-up - Midgard AAR

Introduction

Somewhere in Iberia a Carthaginian force scouting to find the main Roman army, come into contact with a Roman force.  Hanno Barberella the Carthaginian general decides to attack.  The force rosters can be found here. 

Starting positions, Carthaginians at the top.

Turn One

The Numidian Skirmishers are all moved one Spear Throw (ST) and all pass their Command tests to take a second move.  

The first Veteran infantry unit moves once, but fails it's Command test so Nailem the Crucifier, a level 2 Hero) spends a mighty deed to move them again.  The second Veteran unit passes it's Command test and moves a second time straightaway.  Nailem moves up with them.  

One unit of Libyan infantry moves twice, but the second unit is impeded by rough terrain and failing it's Command test gets caught up.  One unit of Scutarii makes it's second move ok but the second fails so Iniesta Pardinus the level 1 Hero, spends a Mighty Deed to get them moving a second time.  Finally Hanno and the Elephant unit move up.  

No one is in missile range so we move onto Defender movement.  Two of the Roman Velites units make two moves but the third fails it's Command test.  Minimus Disastrus the level 1 Roman Hero, spends a Mighty Deed to get them to maintain the skirmisher line but they fail again.  That may prove costly as the Numidian Skirmishers already outnumber the Roman Velites and they have maintained a cohesive skirmish line. 

The Allied Celtic unit make their first move but fail their Command test to move again.

Hampered by the failure of the Velites to move fowards the Roman battle line has only moved forward 1ST.

As none of the units are in Shooting range let alone Melee range that's the end of the Turn.

The forces advance.

Turn 2 

Starting positions Turn 2.

The first two Numidian units move twice having passed their Command test to enable the second move.  The third unit failed it's Command test so Iniesta Pardinus has to spend a Mighty Deed shouting at them to get moving which they do.  The fourth unit of Numidians passes their test and the Roman Velites now have a wave of Numidian racing towards them.

The Veterans now move, the first unit has no problem moving twice, the second unit requires Nailem the Crucifier to spend a Mighty Deed and kick them up the arse to get in line and move.

The first unit of Scutarii moves up then fails it's Command test to move again.  Hanno bellows at them expending a Mighty Deed and they fail to move.  Annoyed he tries again, nothing happens.  Refusing to give up he tries a third time and amazingly the Scutarii take no heed remaining where they are. (That's what happens with mercenaries or when you roll three 1s in succession)!  Taking their lead from their compatriots the second unit also only manage one move forward.

The Libyan spearmen move up one ST and the unit stuck in the rough ground manage to get free and move up.  Hanno and the Elephant unit now move up.  

With the Carthaginian movement complete they can now look to shoot.  The Roman Velites are in range of the Numidian Skirmishers' javelins and they unleash!  The first unit throws its javelins and as they score a single hit it has no effect.  The second unit does better hitting three times which matches the Velites Armour rating and they lose a point of stamina.  They pass their Command test though.  Unit 3 only scores a single hit as does Unit 4 which was rolling half dice as their target was outside the Killing Zone. 

The javelins start to fly.

It's now time for the Roman response.  Two units of Velites move to get the Numidians in their Killing Zone.  The Roman general Maximus Disastrus, advances his entire battle line foward 1ST.  The Velites now get their turn to shoot at the Numidians.  Unit 1 hits three times and the Numidians lose a point of Stamina, but hold their position passing their Command test.  Unit 2 only rolls 1/2 their dice as they are at half Stamina and they miss completely.  The third Velite unit hits three times with Minimus expending a Mighty Deed to give an extra dice, causing the Numidians to lose a Stamina point.  They fail their Command test and retreat 1/2 a ST, but pass their second Command test.   

The Shooting phase all done.

There's no units in Melee and no units left to shoot so that's the end of Turn Two.  The Romans have come out on top after the first exchange of missiles. 

Turn 3

Starting positions Turn 3.

Hanno starts cracking the whip!  The Libyan infantry finally get a move on advancing 2 STs down the flank.  The rest of his forces can only move 1 ST as the Numidians are still in place slugging it out with the Velites.  Talking of which, two units move to be at optimum Killing Zone range of the damaged Roman Velites.  They now let loose another barrage of Javelins at their Roman skirmisher counterparts.  

Hanno expends a Mighty Deed to add an extra dice and unit 2 shoots at the Romans.  Three hits and that matches the Velites' Armour value resulting in another loss of Stamina and the unit is destroyed with the first loss of Reputation of the game to the Romans.  Unit 3 shoots at Velite unit 3 boosted by an extra dice from Iniesta expending a Mighty Deed.  Three of the four dice rolled are hits and the Roman skirmishers lose a Stamina point and retreat a 1/2 ST but no more as they pass their Command test.  Buoyed by seeing this success Nailem spends two Mighty Deeds to add two dice to Unit 1's dice pool.  They're wasted though as they only score 1 hit.  That's it for the Attacker's movement and Shooting.

The first Roman unit to move is the impetuous Celts who charge into a unit of Libyan spearmen.  Sensing his Velites are being ground down Maximus decides to advance his whole battle line.  He has to expend a Mighty Deed to get one unit of Hastati to move a second time, but otherwise the whole Roman force advances on the Carthage line.  Two units of Numidian Skirmishers find themselves in trouble as a unit of Princeps and a unit of Hastati heads straight for them.  However, they have the Evade trait and both pass their Command test and pass back though the Scutarii to safety. 

Only one unit of Velites is in a position to shoot and Medius Disastrus, (the Roman level 2 hero) expends two Mighty Deeds to help them.  That give them a healthy die pool of 8D6 but they only score two hits which does nothing.  

Turn 3 shooting.

It's time for the first Melee of the game with the  Celts against the Libyans. The Celts throw their javelins as they charge home and this plus their Impetus trait gives them 14 die against 12 for the Libyans.  They score seven hits against 4.  The Libyans have a Supporting Unit and get 2D6 saves but don't score the required 5 or 6.  The Libyan Armour is 3 so they lose 2 Stamina points.  The Celts is 3 and they lose one.  Having lost the combat the Libyans retreat 1/2 a ST and the Celts Pursue maintaining contact.  

Those impetus Celts strike the Carthage line

Turn 3 ends at the point of full contact across the battle line.  It's going to all kick off next turn. 

The Triarii await.

Turn 4

Starting positions Turn 4.

The Carthaginians can now close with the  hated Romans.  Iniesta Pardinus the Lynx leads his Scutarii into a charge against the Roman Princeps and Hastati.  Nailem gets one unit of his Veteran Spearmen into contact with some Roman Velites who successfully use their Evade trait and pass back through the Roman line, with the Veterans clattering into the Princeps instead.  His other unit has to negotiate some difficult terrain first, they fail the first attempt but "encouraged" by the Hero they pass and advance on the Roman left.  Spying the Roman Hero, Medius, he charges forwards gaining a Reputation Token into the bargain and initiates a Single Combat.  Hanno now regroups his Numidian Skirmishers and moves them forward to screen his advance and be behind his heavy infantry screen.  The last unit to move are the Libyan infantry who he swings behind the Celts in combat with their sister unit. There's no shooting from the Carthaginians this phase. 

Onto the Melee Combat phase.   The Carthage Veteran Heavy Infantry score 5 hits to 4 against the Hastati, resulting in a Stamina point lost to each with the Roman unit losing the combat and retreating.  The Carthaginans pursue the retreating Romans remaining in contact.

The 2nd Heavy Infantry unit does better hitting seven times against two.  The Romans are hammered for a loss of two Stamina and retreat 1/2 ST pursued by the veterans.  They retreat into a unit of Velites but fortunately for the Romans both units pass their Command tests. 

It's now time for the single combat between Nailem the Crucifier of Carthage and Medius Disastrus.  Nailem adds an extra dice by expending a Mighty Deed and Minimus spends two Mighty Deeds to gain two extra dice.  As they both have the Battle Smiter trait they also get an extra dice for this.  They both score two hits, drawing the combat and both gaining a Reputation token.  

In the centre the Scutarii slam into the Roman line led by the Hero, Iniesta Pardinus the Lynx.  The Scutarii score 6 hits against 7 with both units losing 2 Stamina.  Even worse a 1 is rolled on on the Risk to Heroes and Iniesta falls, but he uses his trait Favour of the Gods to take an extra Mighty Deed and reroll.  His deities favour him and he rises from the floor, losing a Reputation Token.  The Scutarii are forced to retreat which  causes them to come into contact with a unit of skirmishers, but both units pass their Command test.  The Roman Princeps follow up to maintain the pressure.

The second Scutarii unit find themselves up against a unit of Princeps with the Hero Minimus attached.  He expends a Mighty Deed to add an extra die, but the Scutarii score 5 hits against 4. And rolling 2D6 for Risk to Heroes a 1 is scored and he falls!  He dies a Famous Death though so there's no loss to Reputation. The Princeps are on the back foot, retreating 1/2 ST and pursued every step by the savage Iberians. 

The final combat continues the struggle between the Libyan spearmen and the Celts. The Libyans strike hard for a maximum six hits against 5 taking two Stamina points from the Celts while losing one of their own which they manage to discard with a Support Save roll.

That's it for the Carthaginians.  

The Roman Velites unit that had lost a point of Stamina passes it's Command Test and lines up on a unit of Libyan spearmen.  They only hit once however which does nothing. 

The combatants must be tiring as the Celtic attack on the Libyans causes one hit each drawing the combat and staying locked together.

The damaged Princeps unit in the centre of the line successfully uses the Replacements trait to swap places with a fresh unit of Triarii.  The Triarii get straight into action and in the resulting combat both sides score five hits taking a point of Stamina from each other.  Another drawn combat. 

The Hastati in the centre press on forcing a unit of Numidian skirmishers to Evade and they crash into the 2nd Scutarii unit who they had been fighting earlier in the turn.  It's another five hits each and each unit are now reduced to one Stamina. 

On the Roman left the engaged Princeps unit fail their Replacements manoeuvre with the supporting Triarii and must slug it out.  It's five hits to three in the Carthaginians favour, but the supporting Triarii roll two saves.   With the loss of one Stamina each, it's a drawn combat so they hold their ground. 

Back to the heroic single combat.  Nailem hits twice in response to one from Medius.  The Roman loses a point of Stamina, while Nailem gains a Reputation Token.  It looks like they'll be fighting a third round.

The last units to fight are the African Veterans and the Hastati on the far edge of the battle line.  The result is a four hit to three hit victory for the Romans who push the Veterans back, but like their enemy they take a loss of one Stamina point.  

That's the end of the turn with the Romans on 8 Reputation against 10 for Carthage.

The battle lines at the end of Turn 4.

Turn 5

Turn 5 starting positions

Hanno orders a unit of fresh Numidians to move into Killing Zone range of some Roman Velites.  A second unit of Numidians pass their Command Test and move up to allow passage for Hanno and the Elephant.  The Elephant moves up 1ST and Hanno moves twice to position himself behind his Veteran Spearmen and influence their combat.  Next to move are a unit of Libyan spearmen who crash into the flank of the Celts on the Roman right wing. Another unit of Numidians move to join the battle line and that's the Carthaginian movement done.

Only one unit of Numidians are in a position to shoot.  They only roll one hit though so there's no effect. 

Onto the Attacker Melee Combat phase.  First to fight are the two units of Libyan spearmen against the Celts.  In a convincing display the Libyans roll a maximum six hits and the Celts none.  At Armour 3 and already having lost two stamina points that's the Celts done for, with a loss of two Reputation Tokens to the Romans

The end for the Celts.

Moving into the centre, a unit of Scutarii led by the Level 1 Hero, Iniesta Pardinus the Lynx, pile into the Roman Hastati.  He expends a Mighty Deed as well.  The Scutarii score two hits, the Romans one.  It's not enough to do anything apart from force the Roman unit to retreat 1/2 ST, pursued by the Spanish. 

The second unit of Scutarii are in combat with a relatively fresh unit of Roman Triarii. They fail to hit, but the Romans hit four times inflicting a loss of a stamina point on the Spanish and driving them back.  The combat in the middle is now a solid line again.  

The Carthaginian Veteran spearmen now press home their attack on the Roman Princeps, who are down to their last Stamina point and fighting at half effectiveness.   It's four hits to two in the Carthaginians favour and that exceeds the Romans' Armour so they lose their last Stamina Point.  The unit is destroyed with another three Reputation Tokens taken from the Romans,  They have only three left now.

It's the third and last round of single combat between Nailem and Medius.   Both Heroes expend their two mighty deeds to give 4D6 each.  They hit twice each so the Combat is drawn, but as this is the third round of combat, both Heroes gain a Reputation Token and lose a point of Stamina.  That is fatal for Medius and the Romans lose two Reputation Tokens.

A disaster - a Medius Disastrus!

The final attack by the Carthaginians is the Veteran spearmen on the Hastati.  The Veterans hit a maximum of six times, the Hastati 5.  It's a Pyrrhic victory for the Carthaginian unit as in destroying the Roman unit they are destroyed themselves.  However, the loss of three more Reputation Tokens takes the Romans to -1 and means the Romans have lost.  With eight Reputation Tokens left it's a Mighty Victory to Carthage 

Destroy myself to destroy the enemy.

Conclusion

What a thoroughly enjoyable game Midgard is.  It's a good balance between detail and simplicity allowing for the game to progress along smoothly.  I must confess that I didn't even read the rules that closely before playing.  I'd watched the videos that James Morris and Richard Clarke put out, and studied the quick reference sheet when I added the page numbers to it.  My game was slower as I did have to look up some stuff, but I'm confident my next game will be much quicker.

This was the first run out for my Newline Designs 10mm Punic Wars collection.  I'd painted them back in 2018 and based them on a mix of single and double bases to use with Warhammer Ancient Battles influenced by the Minihammer ethos.  I then stuck them onto 20mm square card bases intending to use them for Warmaster.  They still didn't see any action.  When Midgard came out it just all came together.  I left them as they were and just used 3 bases to give 2 ranks with a 6cm frontage which worked perfectly with the lovely little measuring stick from Warbases.

I'll stay with a 6cm frontage as that works well with the small table I have (this game was played on a  3ft by 2ft 7 inches area).  However, I think they will look much better as 3 or 4 lines deep, so I will pick up some more figures to enable this.  I already have more infantry and cavalry units ready to go so Hanno, Nailem, Iniesta and the boys will be in action again early next year.