Help needed on Spear heavy armies

[arnimlueck]

while many other debate the pros and cons of DBMM 1.1 I still have a DBMM 1.0 task to complete.

Beginning of February 2010 there is a DBMM 1.0 tournament and I want to field a Greek hoplite style army. There are two issues to master:

1) I have not finished painting the minis. Solution: continue painting day and night until the night before the tournament. Use spray varnish latest 3:30 in the morning before the first game.
>> ok - solved

2) I have not used spear heavy armies in DBMM 1.0 since some frustrating experiment at the very beginning. Training time is appr. zero. Solution: ask the experts!
>> Who has used hoplites in DBMM 1.0 and can share some insights?

[LawrenceG]

See, e.g.

http://dbmm.org.uk/forums/index.php?topic=482.0

and there are probably some other spear reports on there.

I've also had (some) good results with Kyrenean Greeks.

Basically deploy the spears about 3 deep and point them at the enemy weakness if you can.

I would say get plenty of non-impetuous support troops to go with the spears -  at least 8 each decent auxilia (preferably (S))  and Cv(O) plus some Ps.

Try to use a high aggression army if possible, to deploy second.  And use 3 large commands so you can soak up the inevitable casualties from things that quick-kill you.

I've not tried regular spear.

Good luck.

[arnimlueck]

Thanks for pointing me to that thread!
Good approach

[Barritus]

Some more ideas if you're confident and have the figures...

- Take an Early Hoplite Greek army of Asia, Sicily or Italy (I think they're the ones). This is a version with Irr Sp (I) hoplites, but also some useful numbers of Cv (O) and Ps (O), and make sure you get the baggage as well. Take three similar commands and employ Wall of Carp (sic) tactics. Rely on low aggression to make you the defender, and make aggressive use of terrain to break up enemy position and support Sp from woods with overlaps.

- Use stratagems boldly. My impression is that a lot of people still don't anticipate their opponents' use of strategems. Always take Scouts, and consider using other stratagems like Exaggerated Numbers and Ambush to confuse your opponents.

- Be aggressive on the table. No matter what you face, push forwards to get into combat. Deploy the hoplites in three ranks (maybe four) and push forward into combat. Keep the baggage and general safe, and your hoplites will be able endure massive casualties while taking your opponent down. (Advice perhaps not encouraged when facing warband armies - but most armies aren't warband-based!) Brawling tactics can be a lot of fun when you have the numbers.