Jim graciously allowed me to act as flank commander this Cold Wars, and I certainly did learn quite a few lessons! First off, the MW (only) changes to axes are devastating. Going from a +2/+2 in one rank to a +3/+3 in 1.5 ranks is a massive difference. I learned that the hard way confronting the many axe wielding Vikings and Scots. They were troops that needed to be watched very carefully, although Veteran Long Spears were still able to see them off.

The second thing I learned is that cavalry is remarkable dicey. At one point a unit of FMC was held off by a loose order foot unit. At another point a unit of SC won and disordered an identical unit. Maybe I should try to play armies with two religions so I can get two priests? (just kidding!)

Against Tony's Vikings, there was so much terrain spaced all over the board, that it was difficult to formulate a good attacking plan. Luckily, Tony managed to roll 4 "1"'s in a row for morale, and his left flank just melted back into the woods from which they came. Still, the virtue of an infantry army is numbers, and he wasted no time gamely plugging the gap with fresh Vikings, bravely fighting back to a win, despite an incredible shellacking.

I think that my own cavalry charge lost that game, as the Fatamid left should have been content to just to pin down the Viking right, and wait for the bogged down Fatamid Infantry to catch up. Even so, there were several breakthroughs in the line, with the HC mainly folding under the effort of engaging axe wielding Norse. Still, this was a good game all around, with a lot of ups, downs, and "I can't believe that happened."

The game versus Ian was rather more one-sided. The terrain right from the start was pretty much the worst imaginable for a cavalry army--much worse than the game against Tony. On top of that, Iain had a sizable amount of bow armed HI and LAI (some double armed with Various or Axe). I really underestimated the power of this (most bow armed troops in AW are pansy UI types). The armoured archers were able to move into position fearlessly and shred any cavalry that came near. This time I held back the cavalry charge until several Scots units were in our deployment area (two slowly trudging through the woods, another shot its counterpart to pieces and crossed the wall unopposed) until I charged. I did send the general in with the charge to allow the frenzy roll, and the only combat that the cavalry was able to win was the frenzied charge. This action did cost me the general, however,

as he was shot to pieces charging in, and then hacked down in the subsequent melee. (Another lesson, attach extra stands to any general who might get up close and personal.) In fairness though, I was vying with Tony for the most number of consecutive "1"'s that game. A ripple morale effect from seeing a routed SC unit caused multiple "retreat, disordered" results on that flank--meaning that the flank was just never able to concentrate its forces for a good, sweeping charge. Still, by mid-game it was pretty clear that both flanks and the center were losing, with no space to maneuver...it was just going to be one of those games.

So in short, infantry is very, very efficient-much more so than cavalry can be without all the trimmings (wedge, frenzy, Full mail +). And is much cheaper to boot. Double armed or well-supported infantry is doubly dangerous, and seemed to be the theme of the tournament.

Having had a few days to think about it, next time the Fatimids need to take Roads and Clear as our choices for terrain. Place the clear terrain down first in an attempt to at least get our deployment area cleared, and then use roads as a kind of "eraser" to clear areas through the rough, forest, and walls that were so prevalent. Additionally, having seen how devastating the nearly pure wall of terrain was versus cavalry, it might have been best to opt for a flank march. Risky, but it would have been worth it to get to an open section of the board. I know Jim, I know…why didn't I think of that at Cold Wars? Honestly, I was quite surprised at not only the type of army which we faced, but also the difficulty we had landing a clean blow. I plan to take this experience with me to Historicon, where I should be able to unleash the Greeks. Catch you all there!