The quest to prepare for the 2025 tournament continues….

It may strike you odd that I’m actually putting some thought into the 2025 competition? Preparing for a tournament is not quite the done thing you say? Where is our storybook hero, apple cheeked and manly, up against the über geeks with their spread sheets and meta? Well, “To the Strongest” tourneys are generally not like that. Personal glory and cheap tricks are not the order of the day. ( although the odd card sharp has been expelled from the throng!)

Wargaming is indeed in a golden age with great rules and miniatures that would make a grown man blub ( too unmanly in Cardiff Dice Studz of course). I learned my gaming skills, what they are, in the 90s when you left a weekend tournament a physical, and sometimes, a moral wreck! Tournaments taught me only two things really well, survive so that you are not first to pack up and secondly, remember it’s a “ game” of toy soldiers. To earn a reputation worth having, one must forget the bribery, fawning, tantrums and deceit of the ungentlemanly and that meant Late Romans: solid and dependable, building on my Spanish list of heavy infantry that can shoot.

First game and I got down to action against Big Will from Weston who had come to a similar conclusion as regards choice of army but had bested me with the firepower. Instead of attached supports, Will had gone for whole units of bow behind admittedly lower quality legions.

To my delight none of my old skill seemed to have deserted me. I immediately attacked Will’s centre on a ridge! My legions reeled back askance. The bow fire was taking a toll. Where was my artillery? Safely behind rough terrain that it just couldn’t negotiate!

Oh to see Cardiff on a Saturday morning! The players in their Lidl sponsored garb, the ripple of applause emanating from the Cardiff City stadium, the old buffers outside the bus- station and the call to prayer whining out from a local minaret! How one’s mind wanders when you are on the end of a right royal drubbing. I recounted my loss to my sensei Mr Lane who was in fine form against Big Don.

Game two and it was a historical match with a Gothic horde!

You may think it odd that nerves should hit at this point but behind the massed light cavalry were hard- hitting nobles. The favourable matches can be scaring simply because you don’t know if you are going to survive them!

The ordeal was soon passed. I moved away from the table lest people thought I was an interloper! My archery had unhorsed the steppe light cavalry and my legions had halted the charges of the heavy horse. My nerves had eased and I looked around for a drink.

Oh the ignomy! My Norman opponent had brought the same packs of cards as me! A close game and played with one of my “ tens” left in its box! I didn’t mind by now; my opponent seemed a decent sort and I’d learnt a lot!

Firstly, a solid infantry core is still favourite. Cavalry aren’t overly good in my honest opinion. Mine seldom turned into battle winners, not even the cataphracts. Artillery are always a welcome addition. One brigand suggested two pieces of artillery and a light infantry general spanning both squares to enhance their activation! Surely that would be below me????

List choosing by the end of next week.

Thank you for joining me

Doug