Enemies: English, Welsh, Scots, Gaelic Alliance, Early Normans, Anglo-Normans and Irish.

The Welsh are buried in the lists at number 59, sandwiched among such stars as the Komnenan Byzantines, the First Crusade (and don’t deny that you’ve dreams to mortgage your land, travel to Rome, Constantinople and Antioch, find the spear that pierced the Lord’s side and conquer the Holy Land from the Infidel!), the Sicilian Normans and the Anglo-Normans. Among such stars, why would you pay attention to the measly Welsh? If you wanted to paint / have painted a few hundred UI long-spearmen, you say you’d go with their famous cousins, the Scots of ‘Braveheart’ fame. Well, I hear you, BUT…I’ll advance a case for the Welsh and their list, as being pound for pound, point for point, and dollar for dollar a great army list, a hidden gem in the list mound.

First, the Welsh have a colorful and rich history of fighting the Saxons, Scots, Irish, Vikings, various Norman lists, and of course, quite famously, each other. This rich history includes a wide variety of inspirational material from history to fiction that can be used to generate specific armies, scenarios, mini-campaigns and large campaigns.

Second, they have a list with rich variety and enough troop types and upgrades to keep any opponent guessing, and provide you with a lot of flexibility for the time and money spent on collecting and painting the figures.

Third, when played properly in tournaments and scenarios, they are very, very dangerous. Indeed, I have won with them more often and more easily then any other list I’ve fielded, including ALL the power-knight armies. Unbelievable, but it’s true! I swear it on Llewellyn ap Gryffedd’s grave. Of course, this may say more about my poor use of knights than skill with the Welsh, but you will see the tactical possibilities I raise later.

These three points having been raised, let me explain my outrageous claims!

Building the Welsh Host

Introduction
Part I: Picking an Army from the List
Part II: Choosing Troop Types