Strategos: L'Art de la Guerre at the Richmond Open 2024

Trophy painted by Ren Westermeyer.

On 4 May 2024 I ran a L'Art de la Guerre Tournament at the 2024 Richmond Open.

It was a small,  3 round L'Art de la Guerre tournament. It was a semi-open format, 15mm scale, 200 points\ army lists. Any army from the Ancient, Classical, or Roman period lists in the 4th edition book ADLG book was permitted. 

The tournament was run in a round robin tournament, with 2 hour rounds. First round match ups were chosen at random, for the second and third round the opponents were chosen based on who won in the previous rounds, in order to determine a clear tournament winner.  The winner was determined by number of victories, draws, and defeats. The winner was given a trophy and earned the title "Strategos" of the Richmond Open 2024. 

1st Place / Strategos Walter Burgoyne [#55 Carthagnian] 2 wins, 1 draw

2nd Dutch Adams [#79 Classical Indian] 2 wins, 1 defeat

3rd Jeff Wiltrout [#59 Meroitic Kushite] 1 win, 2 draws

4th Michael Kelley [#109 Sassanid Persian] 1 win, 1 draw, 1 defeat

5th Paul Bellerive [#60 Classical Greek] 2 draws, 1 defeat

6th Lawrence (Alan) Wright [#39 Alexandrian Macedonian] 3 defeats

It was a fun, friendly little tournament, and I think everyone had a great time, and got three decent games of ADLG in. I will most likely run this tournament again next year, hopefully I'll get an odd number of entries so I can play as well. 😀

It has been described, tongue-in-cheek, as the "mean old man tournament" 😄, referencing  the relative age of most ADLG players but honestly, the players were all gentlemen, IMO. 

I award the Strategos trophy to Walt Burgoyne (L).

L'Art de la Guerre in 2023

 I've decide to end the year with a series of posts on the various game we played at SAG this year. 

We once had a large contingent of L'Art de la Guerre players, we even sent a team to the the team nationals years ago. But most of the club has lost interest in the game sadly. 

I'm still very interested, and I worked to try and spark more interest but all I managed was a few games with other members humoring me. I also tried running a tournament at the Your Hobby Place - Fredericksburg, and it was a bust, just myself and two others showed. 

I haven't given up all hope but I'm not optimistic that ADLG will regain its previous spot at our club. Which is a real shame, it is one of my favorite games and periods. 

The sweet trophy I designed for the 
"Strategos 2023 tourney. Sadly it will
never get used now. 

#44 Pyrrhic Greeks versus #56 Numidians

#238 Medieval Germans versus another Medieval army.

#61 Hellenistic Greeks versus #56 Numidians

#44 Pyrrhic Greeks versus #77 Sarmatians

#146 "King Arthur" Post-Roman British versus Picts!

#238 Medieval Germans versus #221 Samurai.

Army Spotlight: Paul's Hyksos Army

I decided to finally spotlight one of my own armies, the Hyksos.

Back in the mid-1990s I took 2nd place in a De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) tournament, at Capcon, a small gaming convention that was then run annually at Ohio State. The prize for 2nd place as aa full, unpainted DBA army, #8a Hyksos 1650 BC-1546 BC from the DBA 1.1 lists. At the time, I was focused on building matching DBA armies, I didn't have a foe army, and the list changed for DBA 2.0 and after so my Hyksos army lingered unpainted.  

Cut to 20 years later, when I've gotten back into miniature war gaming after a 10 year hiatus, and my new new club has finally started shifting from Flames of War, and some of the members are interested, finally in 15mm ancients. 

But not in DBA, they want to play L'Art de la Guerre, which requires more figures.  But I want to run this army, so I find some interesting terrain for a camp, buy the additional needed infantry and cannabalize some figures from an ancient Egyptian Hordes of the Things army i also have sitting aorund unpainted. I paint them all up now this represents ADLG list #13 - Hyksos  (1650-1546 BC). 

I ran it at the ADLG National Teams tournament in 2018, freshly painted. The tournament was a bit of a bust as my truck died permanently that weekend, but the Hyksos did okay, 2 losses, 1 win, and 1 tie, if I recall correctly. 

It is a tricky list to play. The chariots require a lot of open space, but the medium and light infantry work best with a lot of terrain. Overall, I'm sure I've lost more often then won with this list, but that's true of all my armies!  It's still fun to play.  I'd like a chance to play Eric's Assyrian Army, maybe that army's bad luck would give me an even chance. 😁 

The heart of the army is its light chariots, whirling about the battlefield with its archers.
About half of them are elite troops, so I painted some with red plumes and some with blue.
One of the blue chariots is one of the 'newer' model chariots, coming into vogue at the time and
represented by a New Kingdom Egyptian chariot, most often, that represents the Chariot Corps'
general, Khyan, who is generally an 'included' general.

Three Hyksos generals, including Sakir-Har and Yanassi. 

I found a cool skull-headed Sphinx building for the Hyksos camp,
and the palm trees are the two ambush markers the army needs.

Canaanite javelinmen are a mainstay of this army.  

The heart of the army are its warriors, medium swordsmen impact. 
Not much staying power against heavy foot, but still dangerous. 

I find the two stands of bowmen pretty useful for this list. 

Libyans with javelins and Aamu with slings make up the skirmishers.

I would like to add more warriors and more javelinmen,
as well as some Egyptian levies to give the list more options. 

Again, a fun list to play, and one of my more decent painting jobs. I probably need even more javelinmen and warriors for this army, it might work better fewer chariots. But I just love the look of the chariots sweeping across the board. 

The army list I usually play for this army. 

Army Spotlight: Eric's Assyrian Army

During the Pandemic Eric has been sharing pics of his many armies on Facebook, and has allowed me to share them here as well for our Army Spotlight. 😀

These are his cursed Assyrians. According to Eric, "Some of you have seen the curse in action I only roll ones with this army. It’s record is 1 and 9 despite being one of the better lists in the game. Looking back on how this army came to be I am convinced it was the devils work. Possibly an Assyrian evil deity. I bought the chariots in the flee market, it was feeding frenzy at one table where the seller only said “make me an offer you are happy with” and guys were doing just that. I got a great deal. But I only got the chariots and cavalry the infantry was gone. Mysteriously the infantry I found in my basement pile of old lead I don’t remember how I got them but here they were. I painted them up and the army could take the field. That’s when my suffering began like a monkey paw from hell the “Assyrian curse”."

With a story like that, how can they not be cursed, and how can that not be awesome? I guess Eric just needs to properly propitiate Ashur!

This list is primarily played for L'Art de la Guerre and represents list #9 - Assyrian Empire and Sargonid (745-609 BC).  It's an excellent list that does very well for its period with most players - Eric's constant 1s are truly a curse in this case!

The army on parade!  In the foreground the famous Assyrian heavy chariots, with the generals in the center, the Cimerian light cavalry bow on the left, then heavy infantry in the center, medium or heavy cavalry on the right, Egyptian and Kushite bowmen, a baggage camel camp, and light infantry bow.  

You cannot uite see, because of the spears, but Assyrian cavalry usually carries bows, mking them very useful since the hevay chariots are this army's 'hammer'. The Heavy infantry and bowmen can be deployed separately or in a mixed 1/2 swordsmen/bowmen line, giving excellent versatility.  

The Assyrian list has command +6, and tons of strategists options: Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Assurbanipal. There is no reason this army should ever lack for pips! My only quibble here is that most likely the Assyrian commanders rode chariots into battle. 

There is the heart of this force, the Heavy Chariot Impact. Heavy Chariots are classified as 'knights' in ADLG, and a force like this one is pretty powerful, which matches well the Assyrian Empire's military reputation. 

I've never played this army of Eric's but I would truly love to, though it will most likely overwhelm my own poor Hyksos are for the period!

Ad Imperii Turn 3

Ad Imperii

An L’Art de la Guerre Campaign

Turn III - FALL

Turn 3 turned out to be a tumultuous fall, with several battles and some profound shakes ups. 

In Macedonia, Paul aka Pyrrhus raised an army from his supporters, rebelling against the Spartan allied government and Sparta's proconsul. Against the odds, Pyrrhus won a bloody victory, freeing Macedonia and stepping into the contest as another rival for empire. The nascent Pyrrhic Empire ended the turn with King Pyrrhus, 2 banked talents, and a field army in its one province, Macedonia.

Jake and Chuck contemplate the fortunes of their empires.

James aka Azariôn, King of the Sarmatians (#77) left a proconsul to defend Saxony then marched with his field army to Scythia. Meanwhile, his proconsul Rassgos raised a new field army in Sarmae and invaded the Caucus. Proconsul, Achaxe and his field army and invaded Moesia, and planned to invade Byzantium but retreated when his scouts reported a Seleucid field army there. He started the turn with 5 talents, and collected 6. He spent 2 talents raising a field army and 3 talents reorganizing & paying upkeep for the 2 field armies he already had. At the end of the turn his empire controlled 8 provinces, three field armies, and held 6 talents.

Jake and Chris prepare to fight for Calabria, the key to Italy!

Jake aka Caesar of Triumvirate Rome (#82) was again extremely busy. Crassus and his field army invaded Germania from Belgica. Caesar marched his field army from Dneister into Germania Interior. In both provinces, the German tribes contested the invading armies with guerrilla warfare rather then open battle, in neither province were the Romans successful in ending revolt. Pompey invaded Hispania from Iberia through Lusitania - the Spanish contested through guerrilla warfare rather then give battle, Pompey was unable to take the city of Saguntum by assault and unable to pacify the Spanish tribes. A new proconsul, Brutus, invaded Calabria and met a Syracusan army under King Eritus invading from the south. Brutus was victorious, and Rome conquered Calabria but filed to take the city of Taras by assault. Rome began with 1 talent, and collected 8 more, while it's Gallic allies started with 1 and collected 3. Rome built a field army, and paid to maintain 3 field armies and a fleet for 6 talents total cost. Caesar's Republic ended the turn controlling 9 provinces and the city of Rome, while hoarding 3 talents and they were allied with the Gauls who controlled 2 provinces and 1 city, while hoarding 4 talents. Rome struggled to pacify Hispania, Germania, and Germania Interior while besiege Deguntum and Taras.

Romans advance on the Syracusan line.

Chris aka Eritus (competent) of Syracuse (#50) invaded Calabria from Sicily, but was defeated by Brutus in open battle there and retreated back to Sicily, with a disorganized army that needed to rest or reorganize before it could act again. Meanwhile, while his proconsul, Septuris (now competent), finally took the city of Carthage. Syracuse collected 4 talents at the start of the turn, adding to its bank of 3. It paid maintenance for two field armies for a total of 2 talents spent. At the end of the turn Syracuse still controlled 3 provinces and the cities of Syracuse and Carthage and held 5 talents in its treasury.

The Romans grind to victory against the Syracusan pikemen.

The Chuck aka King Leonidas of the Hellenistic Spartans (#61) abdicated control of the Spartan foreign policy to Ren aka the Gerousia or Sparta council of elders, so Leonidas could focus on being a general. He led his field army from Cyrenaica into Egypt where he defeated Xericxes II of the Achaemenid Persians (#64) in battle. He was left contesting for Egypt with the field army of Testicules of the Seleucids who was besieging Alexandria. His proconsul Lycurgus was defeated by Pyrrhus in Macedon and retreated into Thrace. Sparta collected 5 talents at the start of the turn and had 2 banked. Sparta spent 3 talents maintaining 2 field armies and a fleet. At the end of the turn Sparta controlled 4 provinces and the city of Athens, and its treasury held 2 talents.

Pyyrhus and his Macedonians face down the heirs of Leonidas.

Doofacus remains the figurehead of the Seleuco-Persian Empire, a Profane Alliance led in truth by a cabal of generals.

Ken aka Syphiliticus I (competent) of the Seleucids (#42) and his field army invaded Byzantium from Ionia. He left a new proconsul, Taintus the Musky, and a newly raised field army in Ionia which took the long besieged city of Pergamum. Proconsul Dildonius raised a Seleucid fleet in Judea (#103) with their funds. Proconsul Testicules continued besieging Alexandria, but ended the turn with Spartan army under Leonidas contesting Egypt with him. The Seleucids collected 4 talents and had 3 banked at the start of the turn. They spent 4 talents raising and maintaining field armies. Their ally Judea collected 2 talents and had 2 banked. They spent 2 building a fleet for the Seleucids.

Eric aka Xericxes II of the Achaemenid Persians (#64) marched from Arabia Patria into Egypt to face the invading Spartan army but Leonidas defeated him and drove him back into Arabia Patria. Brodangelas and his field army left Galatia, and marched through Pontus to conquer Parthia. The Persians collected 6 talents and held 3 talents banked. They spent 2 talents maintaining armies.

The Cabal (Ken & Eric) ended the turn controlling the Seleucids with 4 provinces, the cities of Tyre and Pergamum, and 3 talents in its treasury and ally Judea, controlling one province & Jerusalem and banked 2 talents. The Cabal equally controls Achaemenid Persia, which holds 6 provinces, the city of Babylon, and has 7 talents in its treasury.

In this campaign, Commanders in Chief gain in ability as they win battles. Six generals are now competent: King Eritus of Syracuse (#50), King Syphiliticus I of the Seleucids (#42), and proconsuls Brutus and Crassus of Triumvirate Rome (#82), King Leonidas of the Spartans (#61), and King Pyrrhus of Macedon (#44).

SAG's January

Blackstone Fortress

SAG was busy in January. We kicked off our new expansion campaign for Kings of War with the 500 points game, we continued the Ad Imperii L'Art de la Guerre campaign, and we played a lot of other games, including home-brewed mecha, Black Sails, Necromunda, Black Powder, and Blackstone Fortress.

Ren & Wayne lead their Prussians in a crushing defeat of Paul's French.

Ken's squadron for Black Seas.

Wayne's stately French man-o-war.

Wayne and Ken are the iron men commanding the wooden ships in Black Seas.

Undead monstrosities on the march in Kings of War.

Mike's indomitable ogres prepare for battle. 

A scene from Jake's home-brewed mecha game. 

The Bondswords face off against the ogres, their defeat, sadly, inevitable.

Ogres and Order of the Green Lady facing an orcish horde.

Jake, Allen, James, and Ed ponder the mecha battle.

Chris, Mike, and eric maneuver their forces in a large Kings of War game.

Order of the Green Lady fighting the Northern Alliance.

The fight for the homestead.

The Bondswords, mercenaries of the Kingdom of Men,
try to defend their favorite tavern.

The Bondswords face off against fellow Kingdom of Men army, the Svenska.

Jake's Goblins face Ren's Kingdom of Men, the Svenska. 

Goblin fleabag riders attack Svenska cavalry.

Chris and James ponder.