"Derby" Tournament List and Results

I've decided to start posting the AARs tomorrow, as I thought it would be good to show what my army list was, my results and some thoughts on them having used them in the tournament. It will also give me time to work through the photos to select the ones I want to post and to resize them.

You may recall that I was taking a Sea Peoples army. This was the composition:

4 x Troop Commander
1 x 4 Heavy Chariots (HCh, Superior, Undrilled, Light Spear)
2 x 6 Retinue Swordsmen (MF, Superior, Undrilled, Armoured, Impact Foot/Swordsmen)
1 x 6 Retinue Swordsmen (MF, Superior, Undrilled, Protected, Impact Foot/Swordsmen)
6 x 8 Swordsmen (MF, Average, Undrilled, Protected, Impact Foot/Swordsmen)
2 x 6 Skirmishers (LF, Average, Undrilled, Unprotected, Javelin, Light Spear)
794 points
12 BGs
PBI = 0

Obviously the ideal would be to use the superior troops as the main attacking force, with the average swordsmen taking on another part of the enemy army.

There are a number of weaknesses with this army:
It is vulnerable to cohesion drops and base losses from shooting on the way in - I could mitigate the effects by keeping generals and rear support units within range to give a +2 on the CT rolls
With only 2 x 6 light foot it would be difficult to screen the battle troops from enemy fire and slow down enemy advances on the flanks. The lack of shooting ability also limits the opportunity to soften up the enemy before I charge in.
I would have to rely on winning the impacts as I would likely to be down in the melee phase
A lot of my opposition would have chariots which would just love to take on my medium foot in the open, so I would need to get a lot of terrain down, but hopefully where I want it and not where my enemy does.
All the troops are undrilled, so manoeuvring them when close to the enemy (and sometimes when not close) would be very difficult).


My Results

Game 1
Guillaume Fremont (France B, lovely guy and a great opponent)
Sea Peoples
25-0 loss
Position: joint 11th (out of 12)

Game 2
Peter Card (State Your Team, great opponent)
Middle or Early Neo-Assyrian
11-9 win(ning draw)
Position for round: joint 5th
Position overall: 11th

Game 3
Rich B (Impalers)
Old Kingdom Egyptian
14-6 loss
Position for round: 8th
Position overall: 11th

Game 4
Bob Medcraft (Oxford, fantastic opponent and we had a good laugh)
Later Mycenean or Trojan (Achaian - Agamemnon, Nestor, Achilles and the rest of the boys)
16-9 loss
Position for round: 7th
Position overall: 11th


Afterthoughts on the Army

The army list I used wasn't my original plan, but one suggested by my team mate Gordon. I'd originally planned to take an inspired commander to give me the bonuses for cohesion and complex move tests. I was less worried about gaining initiative as all the terrain types available would have suitable terrain for my troops. He would also allow my to move my main strike force together as a battle line, with my sub-commanders moving the other troops.

I mentioned earlier my concern about the lack of skirmishers to screen my army. My original list had more of them and with hindsight I would have been better off if I had taken them and dropped some of the average swordsmen.

I could probably have also used another battle group of heavy chariots.

If I was to take a Sea Peoples army to another tournament (assuming 800 points), I would probably go with one of the following lists:

Inspired Commander, 2 x Troop Commander
2 x 4 Heavy Chariots
2 x 6 Retinue Swordsmen (Armoured)
1 x 6 Retinue Swordsmen (Protected - to provide rear support for the armoured guys or the heavy chariots)
4 x 8 Swordsmen
1 x 8 and 2 x 6 Skirmishers
796 points, 12 BGs, PBI = +2

or

4 x Troop Commander
2 x 4 Heavy Chariots
2 x 8 Retinue Swordsmen (Armoured)
4 x 8 Swordsmen
4 x 6 Skirmishers
796 points, 12 BGs, PBI = 0


However, my in-period preference would be to take an army with mainly drilled troops, with some archers and light chariots.