Battle Of Edgehill 1642 - The Action

This is the second post on our recent refight of the Battle of Edgehill, the first, last week covered the set up for the game, orbats, rules etc with a video run through of the table set up, if you missed it, click the link below,

https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/2019/10/battle-of-edgehill-1642-part-1-set-up.html

I will let the pictures tell most of the story, apologies for the number of pics but I think it explains things better than paragraph after paragraph of prose.

The Battle plan of both sides was pretty much the same as the actual battle, the Royalist would launch both wings of Cavalry forward at their opposing Parliamentary wings (after engaging the Dragoons on the Roundhead flanks with similar troops), send the infantry forward and try and break into the rebel lines in the hope that Rupert and the boys would be back before tea to round things off nicely for the King.

Above we see Prince Rupert leading forward his Cavalry with his own and Prince Maurices units in the fore, orders Advance to HC (Hand to Hand Combat). No point messing about with Royalist Cavalry, get it forward and get it into contact.

The Royalist left started the same, Wilmots Cavalry, less in numbers and in quality started the escalation of walk, to trot, to canter, to gallop as they advanced on the Cavalry to their fore.

This photo looking down the table with the Royalists on the right, shows the early part of the Battle perfectly, you can see Wilmot to the fore, one move away from contact,  The Parliamentary Guns opening up as the Kings front line advances, and in the distance Ruperts headlong rush into that flank.

Wilmots and Fieldings front lines meet North of Brixfield Farm.

Whilst on the other flank Ruperts Cavalry charge home after their opponents chose to stand and fire, but under the pressure of the Gallopers charge they fired their pistols before the Cavaliers were in range. Also seen is Maurice and his Regt their opponents have trotted into contact.

Wilmots Horse have the upper hand, one Parliamentary unit routs after losing 50 % of its strength whilst the other is narrowly beaten and is pushed back.

Rupert and Maurice on the other hand break both units they fight and immediately pursue their beaten adversaries.

The front lines are much closer now and musketry ripples up and down the lines. In the centre a poor morale check on one of Fieldings Regiments of Foot, under fire from Roundhead Artillery causes that brigade to pause it's advance.

Most of the Royalists have a larger proportion of Pike to Shot than the Parliament so rather than try and beat the odds in a firefight the tactic is to close to Hand to Hand combat.

On the Royalist left the Cavalry battle has bogged down, the followers of the King have the advantage but some poor dice means it's no push over. Rupert and the boys however are off the table (hence no photo). Maurice found that the unit it broke stopped directly in front of the second line leaving the Parliament in a disorganised mass of two units which the young Prince just roads straight through.

Rupert had a slightly harder fight as their opponents in the second line stood to meet them, but stood vs Elite Gallopers is always going to be a loss. So 4 Regiments of Royalist Horse leave the table in pursuit, leaving only Lord Byron and his unit on the field.

The Battle along the front line is fierce with no clear advantage to either side, both armies have Raw units and the morale of these units can be brittle, above one of Meldrums Foot units routs from contact, similar scenes are happening on both sides up and down the line.

The King surveys the action protected by his Gentleman Pensioners.

In the centre Parliamentary firepower is keeping the Royalist troops at bay who are desperately trying to reorganize the lines to get moving forward again.

But Belasyses Foot Regiments are making better headway on the Royalist right looking to make contact the next turn.

A good view along the lines at the mid point of the Battle.

The infantry contest between Meldrum for Parliament and Wentworth for the King continues to ebb and flow.

A momentary set back in the centre for the Roundheads as a Raw unit in the front line gives way, but there are no dramas as Ballards Foot step up to take their place.

Things are going the Kings way on their right, after a cross of Pike the Royalists Infantry are victorious and rout their foe, but the sight of the retreating troops was too much for the last Royalist Cavalry unit on that flank who charged headlong into a Pursuit with a unit they hadn't even been in contact with., typical !

But the blunders weren't restricted to one side, a Raw unit belonging to Essex decided it would be a good idea to chase after a unit of Royalist Foot to it's fore as it routed, it ended in tears when they crashed into another Royalist unit, this second one was Trained and had an abundance of Pike. The Essex men routed back the way they came, lesson learned.

After plenty of drawn or narrowly won melees Wilmots Cavalry throw a double 1 for morale and they rout, leaving only 1 Royalist Cavalry unit left on the table.

Leading to one of the more amusing moment when the Parliamentary Cavalry literally trotted of in pursuit of the vanquished foe (who are travelling 6" a turn faster) safe to say that they gave up the chase pretty sharpish.

The empty right flank looked tempting to Stapleton and his Cuirass who started to move out from their position in the reserve.

Guess who just got back today ? Rupert and the boys are back in town !

Finally the Royalist centre got it's act together, the Kings Lifeguard of Foot had formed up, rallying the remnants of Fieldings units behind it and the rest of Bryon and Gerrards Foot alongside them, the drums sounded and the flags waved as the second line advanced towards Essex and his troops.

Pressure was also mounting on the Parliament left, another unit broke in melee, Maurice had returned with his Cavalry and the Firelocks and Dragoons from that flank were now in range of the Thistle Farm.

As night closed in the Royalist second line charged as one at Essex and Ballard.

One of the smaller Royalist units were repelled by the fire on the way in but all the other units hit home, Gerrards Foot above was about to win it's third melee of the day.

The Lifeguard also won it's melee and the whole of the Parliament left was being pushed back, at that point the Parliament called it a day.

The other flank was pretty much in stalemate, two units had fought each other twice to a stand still draw during the game. What tipped it's Parliaments way on that flank was the last unit of Royalist Cavalry deciding to chase after a shattered Roundhead unit (the one that pursued Wilmot). Fine idea but it left the whole of that flank under threat from Stapletons Cuirass who were now free to roam around unopposed. This forced the Royalist Foot behind Byron to form a defensive line 90 degrees to the main attack to protect against the threat of the Armoured Cavalry.

The Lord Generals Foot above hold the remnants of the Parliament lines. So the Kings Men have the day but fall short of a decisive victory much like the real battle. We had pretty much recreated history. The Parliamentary Cavalry of Fielding performed better than on the day but Rupert was unstoppable. The fighting was fierce and ended up, as on the day with the Royalist right pushing the Parliament back whilst falling back themselves on their left.

Many people asked about the fate of Sir Edmund Verney, Royalist Standard Bearer, those supporters of the King (like myself) will be glad to know that this Noble Gentleman survived the Battle, having charged with the Kings Lifeguard. He still retains both hands and is appearing in twice weekly piano recitals at Radway Church.

So thats the ECW collection away for a couple of years  ! Next up Italian Wars.

[Hackaday] This Mallet Has Backwards Dovetails… That’s Impossible!

This Mallet Has Backwards Dovetails… That’s Impossible!

Resident Evil 2 Remake | Review

Resident Evil 2 Remake - Review




The best remake of mine is playing the 2002 remake of the first Resident Evil on GameCube with its perfectly refreshed visuals, totally new areas to explore, and unnerving new monsters. Now, in 2019, Capcom has given me another experience I'll recollect for quite a while: this ground-up remake of Resident Evil 2 is an extremely fun, exceptionally frightening experience because of its totally new and modern graphics, controls, and some brilliant quality-of-life upgrades. The two playable characters' stories aren't as different as I've expected, yet I enjoyed every gory moment of my return to Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield's shoes. 

Reliving familiar frights can often make for a less than exciting horror experience. But, with the remake of Resident Evil 2, Capcom shows respect for the original while additionally putting forth an admirable attempt to give the macabre atmosphere and tense gameplay a recognizable upgrade. In doing as such, this revamp of the classic survival horror game shows that the series can still offer an terrifying experience like no other.

Resident Evil 2 takes place in the zombie-infected Raccoon City. The story follows rookie cop Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who is searching for her brother, Resident Evil protagonist Chris Redfield. Leon is drawn into the path of a mysterious femme fatale. Claire takes responsibility and tries to protect a kid. Their stories intersects - players experience one story, then play the other character's perspective—making an tapestry of one night's event in Raccoon City.

Resident Evil 2 is terrifying, and in an effective way that few other games manage to accomplish. The game is astonishing in the manner in which it fills players with fear, building anxiety with splendid sound design, cunningly placed jump scares, and overwhelming darkness. Players spend vast majority of the game fumbling through the dark, often running low on supplies and constantly having to deal with variety of undead horrors like zombies, lickers, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Even standard zombies are a threat this time around, making each experience tense and meaningful.

Out of all the freaky monsters in Resident Evil 2, the scariest is by far the Mr. X Tyrant. Mr. X's appearance in the first Resident Evil 2 earned him a frightful reputation, but in the remake, he's a true force to be reckoned with. Whenever he shows up, Mr. X relentlessly stalks players, following them room to room like a slasher movie villain. Hearing his relentless footsteps getting louder and louder, knowing there is nothing you can do to stop him, fills you with a true sense of dread. With Mr. X breathing down their neck, Resident Evil 2 players will understand the horror movie trope of people tripping or committing mistakes when running from the villain isn't as outlandish as it appears. Players will fumble with their inventory as they attempt to rapidly solve puzzles before Mr. X arrives, or they may make a wrong turn and end to up at a dead-end, leaving them no choice but to confront the hulking monstrosity head-on.

Both Claire and Leon have two different versions of the campaign, and subsequent to completing the first run for the one, you'll be incited to begin a follow-up with the other. Called Second Scenarios, they allow you to see the larger story from a different perspective. Both scenarios are completely isolated from another, and decisions in that won't affect the other, however what makes these second runs a bit worthwhile are some experiences and sub-plots that don't happen in the first. It's an exceptionally fascinating approach to encounter the story, and with four versions of the campaign between the two leads - with the initial two averaging 11-14 hours - you always uncover new details and events that were absent in the previous playthroughs.

Resident Evil 2's more serious tone is additionally improved by the upgraded, fantastically atmospheric presentation, which gives familiar details from the classic game to a greater extent an articulated look and feel. Moving away from the static camera angles of the original, everything has been redesigned in light of over-the-shoulder gameplay, giving to a greater extent an unmistakable and obtrusive feeling of fear while exploring, This is increased significantly more by the flawless audio and visual design of the game, giving a creepy, isolating vibe all throughout the game. In number of cases, you'll just have the light of your flashlight as you walk the dark hallways of the bloody and ruined police headquarters, with the ambient rain and distant monsters sounds ramping up the tension. You feel safe in RE2, even when you really are.

Now, talking about the zombies, I must say these are the most terrifying and at the same time most perfect zombies I've ever seen in a game. And rather than pixelated characters running from pre-rendered background to pre-rendered background, Resident Evil 2 is a completely 3D, over-the-shoulder affair with atmospheric lightning effect, noteworthy facial animations, and the most terrifying looking zombies I've ever seen in a game. They're juicier than ever and I love the way in which they lurch around and respond when you blow off very specific chunks of their heads and hands cordiality of the satisfyingly detailed dismemberment system.

As always, inventory and ammunation management is still a key part of Resident Evil 2's gameplay. This is a real survival horror, where it generally appears as though you're barely scratching by with enough ammunition and medification. You can't carry all that you find with you, so what you should store and what you should carry is a fight continuously being waged in your mind.


The Verdict

Capcom did a fabulous job of resurrecting all the best parts of the classic Resident Evil 2 and making them look, sound, and play like a 2019 game. It's simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, toping some of the series' best entries. But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it bets everything on the pure survival horror experience, unquestionably grasping its frightening tone and rarely letting up until the story's conclusion. The only disappointment you will find is the two characters stories' which aren't different enough to 

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DE: Powerful Builds For Your HQ

You know you're in some shit if someone points.

This one is going to be a short one since we're going to be primarily focused on the use of HQs.  One thing's for damn sure:  I feel that we have some fantastic melee HQ options for the price.

Here are some my favorites so far:

• Archon, Labyrinthine Cunning, Writ of the Living Muse = 72 base
• Archon, Hatred Eternal, Djin Blade = 76 base
• Archon, Famed Savagery, Djin Blade = 76 base
• Succubus, Blood Dancer, Adrenalight, Triptych Whip = 54 base
• Succubus, Hyper-swift Reflexes, Adrenalight, Blood Glaive = 54 base
• Succubus, Precision Blows, Adrenalight, Triptych Whip = 54 base
• Haeomculus, Diabolical Soothsayer, Vexator Mask = 75 base

Let's start with the Archons.  You've all probably seen me take the Archon with Cunning and Writ of the Living Muse in my lists.  That's because it's one of the most powerful Warlords in the game for the points IMO.  Cunning is absolutely fantastic at regenerating CPs whenever a CP is spent for both you and your opponents.  For DE, I find that some of our Strategems are a little costly, especially that Agents of Vect counterspell that costs 3 just by itself.  With Cunning, you can do some really crazy recycling that can help you sustain the longer gameplan:

For example:

• You don't want a 2-cost Strategem to go off so you throw out Agents of Vect.
• Before you even put AoV down, you roll 2 dice for his Strategem for Cunning.
• Next, you AoV and since you just spent 3 CP, you roll 3 more dice to see if you get any back from Cunning.
• Agents of Vect then takes effect, hopefuly blocking his Strategem.
• In this example right here, you're probably going to get back a CP from just playing the game regularly.

When you play Black Heart, you almost have to bring Writ of the Living Muse.  It's one of the best buff batteries in the entire game and enhances the damage potential of every single Black Heart unit within 6".  Everything within this distance gets re-roll 1s to Hit and Wound that that is a huge damage amplifier, especially on things like Dark Lances and Disintegrators when you absolutely need to hit with your more expensive damaging weapons.  Living Muse simply gives you consistent damage and that's exactly what you need to turn your very good shooting up a notch to exceptional.

As for melee Archons, I see two main options here:  Both of which have the Djin Blade of course which is just an upscaled Huskblade.  Hatred Eternal gives you more consistent results via re-roll all wounds in melee but the Famed Savagery Archon from Flayed Skull gives you great burst damage.  With Famed Savagery, you have 8 S5 AP-3 D3 attacks that hits on 2s with re-roll 1s.  Personally, if I was to pick one of the two, I would go for more consistent damage with the Hatred Eternal Warlord trait.  There are bonus points in the fact that Hatred Eternal is a generic WL trait and thus doesn't lock you to any particular Obssession.  As for arming the Archons further, always seek out the Blaster first since you have a fantastic BS2+ and Blasters are amazing with their S8 AP-4 D6 damage from 18" (24" for Obsidian Rose).

I whip my hair back and forth.

The Succubus went from one of the most overcosted units in the entire game to arguably the most cost-efficient melee blender in the game.  I'll start off by listing the Blood Dancer variant that comes with 9 attacks hitting on 2s, re-rolling 1s, and each Hit roll of a 6 turns into 3 Hits instead of 1.  On the regular, she can throw out something like 14 attacks with an Agonizer (Poison 4+ AP-2 1D) and that's just obscene.  Against single wound models, she is almost guaranteed to wipe out entire squads by herself.  She just reminds me of the Blenderlord that I ran for Vampire Counts back in the days of Fantasy.  To make things even more exciting, once you hit Turn 3+, you can activate these multiple hits on a 5+ instead of 6 because of the PFP chart.  The only downside here is that she's a Succubus and she just explodes if anyone swings back at her because she only has a 4++/6+++ with T3 and 5 wounds.  Regardless, LO_OK at her points cost!  For 54 points, she's an absolute steal.  I can't help but hear this garbage ass song whenever she enters combat.

Other variants of the Succubus are also really strong; such as the Blood Glaive Succubus with 5 attacks with Adrenalight dealing S6 AP-3 D3 damage attacks.  I've seen this particular variant built two ways really; with either the Red Grief specific WL trait of 3++ or with Stimm Addict with Grave Lotus and Adrenalight.  This gives her 5 attacks at S7 which is now a serious threat to virtually all targets including light vehicles.  Again, 54 points of awesome.

Another variant I want to introduce you to someone who might be our best duelist.  She has 9 attacks with the Whip just like the Blender because she's from Cult of Strife (for +1 attack), however instead of Blood Dancer, she has the Precision Blows WL trait.  When you're hitting with 8-9 attacks every turn, you're going to be looking for 6s that can just do straight mortal wounds in addition to the regular wounds inflicted with an Agonizer.  That's very good.  For all these Succubus, I highly recommend taking a Blast Pistol on the Blood Glaive Succy to take advantage of her superior BS2+.  Funny enough, the Precision Blows Succubus can still do mortal wounds to Vehicles and Titans.

Never trust someone with 5-6, 7? arms.

Lastly, we have the Haemonculus that you will probably see most frequently if you're planning to take Coven units and Alliance of Agony for 1 CP.  This is because Diabolical Soothsayer essentially pays for itself immediately and you can get 2 more CP if you roll well (D3 in total).  Sure, you also get that once a game re-roll for your Warlord, but no one really cares about that because you also gain access to the Vexator Mask.  This thing is actually pretty hilarious.  You can basically take this Haemonculus and just charge into something to tie it up because they cannot use Overwatch on you.  You can then charge your Wyches into them for free without any fear of OW fire.  To make things even more enjoyable, the mask also gives an enemy unit with 6" of the Haemonculus ASL essentially, making them strike last after all other units have gone int the Fight phase.  That's just funny considering the amount of melee boss HQs we have in the Codex.

What are some of your favorite HQs to bring?  I know I've been extra boring with the Black Heart Archon, but hey, it's been working so why not!

Op Compass Game 8 - Don't Wake The Sergeant

After a few games clearing forts it was time to get back in the open desert, pack away those almost indestructible Matildas and break out the wafer thin armoured early Cruiser Tanks. Here is the scenario / orbat and AAR of Game 8 of our  Op Compass Campaign.

A9 Cruiser Tanks

If you want more information on the Campaign I have set up a separate page which is updated regularly with updates on rules along with links to all the previous games,

https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/opcompass-1940-resource-page.html

The games are based on an excellent book by Robert Avery which is available from The Toofatlardies, there is a direct link to purchase the book on the Resource Page.We use 28mm figures with this scenario taking place on an 12 x 6 table using a home brew set of rules, based on Iron Ivans Disposable Hero's.

A10 Cruiser Tank

Historical Background 

The Italian troops in the area had been bottled up in Sidi Barrani and the British paused to reorganise before making their attacks on the afternoon of the 10th December 1940. The defenders crumbled quickly and by night fall the last defenders of the town were pinned back to the sea.

Our game represents an attack by the Cruiser Tanks of 6 RTR against this final line of Italian troops. The original attack happened during the hours of darkness, I have decided to run the game under normal daylight rules.

Table Set Up and Terrain 

The photo above shows the table, we are playing on the full 12 x 6 layout. A flat area of desert with some undulating sand dunes and some areas of Scrub, a track runs down one edge of the table. I added two buildings post photo one in the far top right of the table and a second to the left of the green hill.

The following Special Rules are in force (see Resource Page for full details)

Bad Going
Breakdown 

Italian Prisoners - when Italian Infantry become pinned roll 1d6, on a 5 or 6 the unit surrenders, add +2 to the die roll per additional pin. Once surrendered the unit will March towards the British entry point, it must be accompanied by a British Unit (within 9") until it leaves the table. 1 Tank can safely escort or hold 20 Figures of Italians. Once the prisoners leave the table the vehicles can resume normal duties.

Italian Artillery Crew Morale - they do not take morale tests and fight to the last man.

Dunes - all the hills are soft sand, any bad going rolls made on the hills are subject to a one shift on the dice. I.e. a roll of 3 and 4 on two d6 would not normally bog a vehicle down but a dune, the 3 is modified to a 4 to make it a double 4.

Italian Prisoners (marked with white counter) March towards the British 

British Briefing 

With the fall of the forts it's a case of mopping up the last bits of resistance in the area, Intel suggests there are some small Infantry units supported by a decent amount of Artillery. Be careful, your tanks are thinly armoured and not that reliable !

Squadron HQ 1 x A10 Cruiser Tank and 1 x A10 CS Tank
1st Troop - 3 x A9 Cruiser Tanks 
2nd Troop 3 x A10 Cruiser Tanks 

You have a two fold objective, One, destroy all the Italian Guns (Artillery and Anti Tank) and two, capture (alive) the Italian Captain who is sound asleep in the house at the opposite end of the table.

All units enter the table on the track, in column from the bottom left hand corner of the table (as viewed in the photo above).

A9 tank "Amos" in the dunes

Italian Briefing 

The lakes of Northern Italy seem a distant dream now and you long for home as this war goes from bad to worse.

You are in Command of a group of mixed Guns supported by some infantry units. Morale in the foot soldiers remains very low and you know they could break at any point. The pride in the Artillery units gives you some confidence but this is going to be a long day.

The Commander sleeps soundly whilst his driver waits outside.

Your Mission is to do as much damage as you can to the advancing enemy whilst keeping your Commander safe.

1 x HQ 2 Figures with Staff Car 
4 x 10 man Infantry Squads each with 1 Sgt with SMG and 9 Rifles 
2 x 47mm Anti Tank Guns and crew
2 x 65mm Infantry Guns and crew
2 x 75mm Fields Gun and crew

Free set up, all units begin the game hidden.

Italian Anti Tank Gun

How did we get on

The Italians set up with some infantry in the forward house, the oasis and the long sand dune, the final squad was guarding the Commander, the first three to act as Art observers. The Artillery was set up by the Commanders house whilst the Anti Tank Guns were both on the long sand dune. The Infantry Guns were split, One near the Oasis and one in the far top left palm grove.

Italian Infantry spotting for the guns

In what was going to be the first of many mechanical issues for the British one of the A10s broke down on the turn of the first event card.

A couple of A9s quickly located one of the Italian Squads.

Some sustained MG fire from the two tanks persuaded the Infantry to surrender and it was round 1 to the British.

It wasn't all plain sailing for the Brits as Italian Guns rained shells down on the advancing tanks.

Things got a little hairy for the prisoners (and the A9s) when some random Artillery rounds landed close by.

It wasn't long before the Italian Artillery hit home as a 75mm shell landed on the roof of one of the A10s.

One of the A9s located some Italian Infantry at the last minute hidden by the Oasis and was safe in the knowledge that they only had rifles.

What they didn't see was the Anti Tank Gun hidden in the dunes behind the Infantry.

The first line of the Italian positions were clear after the Infantry in the house surrendered and the remaining 6 British Tanks advanced towards their objectives.

The CS Tank remained near the base line, it's ranged capability allowed it to both support the attack with its 3 inch Howitzer and remain near the base line to escort the prisoners away.

The Brits approached the last Italian positions and we were in for an exciting conclusion.

The slower moving A10 Tanks ended up in a cross fire from the Anti Tank Guns on the dunes around the Commanders house, the Infantry Gun in the Palm Grove and the indirect Artillery. It didn't end well for the British who lost two tanks in quick succession (see first photo), One A10 was lost to an Artillery round which went off under it's right side track turning it over, the other from an Infantry Gun shell in its side (boy those Cruisers are thinly armoured)

It wasn't all Team Italy though and the remaining Anti Tank Guns were taken out by the British machine guns.

It was desperate stuff, the Italians only had one spotter left for two Artillery pieces and as a last ditch defensive move one of the 75mm guns exposed itself to the machine guns so it could fire over open sights. 

Just at that moment the above A9 set off to get a better shooting position at the gun, only it didn't move, years ground and engine smoked but it was completely broken.

The British had three tanks left now but the A10 CS was about 10 feet in table distance from the action and the other remaining A10 was bogged down near it's destroyed friends which just left 1 A9, the ever dependable "Arnold".

In a rather unfortunate twist of fate as the final A9 advanced towards it's final objective an Event Card draw came up, it was a breakdown, the British roll for how bad it was, a 6 was rolled, total mechanical break down and a very rare total victory for the Italian Forces.

So a 4 point victory for the Italians narrowing the scores for the campaign to a single game span, British 18 Italian 14.

Another extremely close game, both sides had chances to win. On table now is our traditional WW1 Mesopotamia game, expect some more Compass early in the new year.