LawrenceG1,
The Wb/Bd and Irr KnX don't manoeuvre very well so if defending you may wish to take size 2 difficult goings and try to get them in the enemy half of the table so you know where he is going to be.
The idea I was thinking on was just that, trying to force my opponent into deploying his troops where I want them, heavy troops/cavalry in the open areas vs my command 2 and 3. The command 1 would occupy the DG and delay/harass/control it by denying the enemy space. This would allow me to use my main force to safely fight the enemy I want in the location I want.
Rough going may be a better option in hindsight, I think I will try that also.
Many thanks again, I will try some things out and provide some feedback soon.
Concretedust.
G'day Concretedust
I like your idea of trying as much as possible to exploit the terrain. Back in the days of DBM I had a lot of fun with Hellenistic Greek Aitolians, with massed Ps. For that army, I considered terrain to be my fifth command, as I could get a lot of it and in open competitions few opponents designed armies to deal with such an unusual army. By contrast I know there are some players who put very little thought into what terrain to use or where to attempt to place it.
It's a little trickier with DBMM as there isn't quite as much terrain available as was the case with DBM, although if you place it carefully you can still give your opponent a major headache.
In my experience the best use of terrain starts with careful design of the army. As Lawrence pointed out, Ax will only move slowly through Difficult Going. Ps, by contrast, can move through it using group moves, so they can take the initiative there. You may, for example, wish to consider replacing the Ax (O) with Ps (S), and leading with them through difficult terrain, while the Ax (S) follow in column. I'm also concerned that Command 3 (a) has a bit of everything, but not much of anything, (b) has impetuous troops that move at two different speeds (the Bd (F) and Wb (O)), and (c) has troops that move at five different speeds. This means either you'll have trouble moving everything, or some troops will be forced to move slower than their maximum, costing you maneuverability. I'd humbly submit that it might be worth swapping the scythed chariots for more Irr Kn (I). Having said that, a regular C-in-C whose sub-generals are irregular can choose to swap PIP dice with the nearest irregular sub if he's within 400 paces. As your C-in-C is likely only to be moving straight forward, he might be able to get away with swapping PIPs with Command 3's general if the C-in-C gets the higher PIP dice.
Anyway, moving on to terrain, your army is Aggression 3, so on average you're more likely to be the invader than the defender. So it's probably best to concentrate on invader terrain options. To me, this army appears fairly unmaneuverable; your big danger is your opponent getting troops around your flank. Therefore, you may want to consider placing terrain which will cover a flank, such as a river or a large piece of difficult going. The latter has the advantage of being terrain your Ps and Ax can play in.
I think this may also apply if you're defending. However, with the extra terrain available for defenders, you can take extra smaller pieces with the idea of covering your own flanks, so as to discourage your opponent from trying to flank march.
The other thing to consider is that your Pk are vulnerable even to rough going. There's not much you can do about this - unfortunately you can't rely on opponents being honourable enough to give you good going where you want it. However, one little thing you
can do is to nominate your own table edge for your terrain dice. Thus, if your opponent is tempted to place terrain designed to annoy your phalanx, you've maximised your chance that it will fall harmlessly near your own table edge.
Anyway, good luck, and let us know how the games went.
