Well, last night I had my first game of v2.1, fielding late Komnenan Byzantines (1203) against Dave’s Italian Lombards. (My somewhat idiosyncratic list was simply an excuse to field some of the oldest figures I hadn’t used in years.)
I was the defender, and although there was a fair bit of terrain it ended up all around the edges of the table and had little effect on the game. The most significant pieces were a 1FE size Rocky Flat near the left edge of the table and a 1FE size Vineyard near the right edge of the table, both roughly on the centreline. Weather and time of day both played no role in the game.
I deployed first. On my left was the C-in-C with a 32ME command. Behind the RF and ready to march around it was a column of 4 Irr LH (F) Skythikon. In the RF were 4 Irr Ax (O) Serbs. Next to them in the open were 4 more Skythikon, followed by 4 Reg Bw (I) archers in a single rank. Behind them in column were 6 Reg Kn (F) Kavallarioi and the C-in-C. In the centre was a smaller command of 18ME under a Sub. Continuing the line were 4 more archers. Behind them were 4 Reg Bd (O) Varangians. Behind them were the Sub with 2 more Kavallarioi. Over on the right was a second Sub with a command of 24ME. Still continuing the line were 6 Reg LH (S) Vardariotai. Behind them were 4 Reg Kn (O) Latinikon with the Kn (F) Sub. Finally, in the vineyard in column were 4 more Serbs.
Dave deployed four commands. On his left, facing my Latinikon command were East Frankish Imperial allies with a line of about 6 Irr Kn (F) and a reserve line of Kn (I) and Cv (O). In the centre were two Lombard commands, one with about 6 Kn (F) and a small reserve of Bw (I) and Ps (O). The other command in the centre had about 3 Kn (F) and a larger reserve of about 20 Sp (I). Finally, over on Dave’s right, facing my C-in-C, was another command with about 6 Kn (F), this time deploying behind a block of Bw (I) and Ps (O). Thus, Dave had nearly twice as many Kn as me, although mine were all regulars and all under regular generals. Mine were also hiding behind a largely expendable line of infantry and LH. Plus I had reasonably maneuverable blocks of light troops to threaten his flanks.
My plan, therefore, was to advance across the line, use the Bw and LH to break up the Lombard and Imperial Kn and pick off casualties with selective counter-attacks, and support the front line with flank attacks.
I moved first, and with reasonable PIPs was able to advance the whole army to a point just outside archery range. The Skythikon behind the RF began to march around it.
Dave’s first bound PIPs, however, were a disaster. The Imperials were unreliable, and the command on his right wing also scored only one PIP. Dave used it to move the Kn forward to contact the infantry block in front of them. The Kn in the two centre commands both advanced once, into missile range, and Dave saved some PIPs to try to activate the Imperials. My single ranked archers then managed to destroy two elements of Kn from the one command.
My next bound’s PIPs were also pretty dismal, but were still sufficient for my needs. I left the right wing command to stay where it was – too far away to activate the Imperials but close enough to prevent them from maneuvering. In the centre I only needed to deploy the Kavallarioi into line. On the left, though, 4 PIPs were enough to allow two Skythikon elements to hit the end of Dave’s advanced Kn line, while the Serbs and the Skythikon column continued their advances through and around the RF. The C-in-C used his PIP to deploy his Kavallarioi from column into line. My centre command’s archers knocked over another Kn, and the Skythikon were likewise victorious, leaving Dave’s line of Kn looking rather tattered.
In Dave’s next bound the Imperials again politely declined to take part in the battle. On the opposite flank 6 PIPs allowed the infantry to advance and the Kn creep up behind them. In the centre Dave sent the remaining Kn into my Bw and LH. Lombard archery caused one of the victorious Skythikon elements to flee, but the Kn overran four Bw elements from my left and centre commands. This would have been enough to activate the Imperials, only one Kn also died in combat (killed by a Bw (I) which had already shot down another element).
As I’d planned, the loss of so many archers opened large gaps in my line for the Kavallarioi to counter-attack through. In the centre the sub-general attacked one end of the Lombard Kn line, with a Bw element swinging into the flank. Next to the general, several Kavallarioi from the C-in-C’s command charged in. And at the other end of the line, held by a Lombard sub-general, I was able to swing a Skythikon element into the rear and another to an overlap position. The Skythikon circling the RF moved to a point just beyond the flank of the Lombard right wing command, while the Serbs charged out of the RF and into the Bw and Ps. The resulting combat phase was carnage for the Lombards, with the general and two more Kn destroyed. This was enough to break one of the centre Lombard commands, and the transmitted 2ME penalty broke the other centre command. And, obviously, having a couple of commands break was enough to convince the Imperials to change sides.
My losses were only the four Bw (I), so the result was a decisive 25-0 to me. Thanks to Dave for a game which must have been very frustrating for him. Pretty much nothing went right for him.
By contrast, things worked for me better than I could have hoped. I was sort of hoping that the Bw might score a couple of lucky kills, but their effort in shooting down three Kn before they could make contact, and then killing one more in close combat, was impressive. Obviously, things would have been a lot tighter if the Imperials had been available, but I think I had reasonable hopes that the Serbs on that wing would help the Vardariotai against the Kn. Plus, in the centre I could also afford to be profligate with the infantry against the Kn. I remember the late Komnenans being a popular convention army in DBM days (although with slightly different content). Perhaps it’s also not so bad in DBMM either.
So, in summary, a bit of a non-event of an introduction to v2.1 - I don't think there was anything about this game which was affected by the new rules - but an enjoyable game all the same.
