It’s late afternoon the Friday before the Welsh Open To The Strongest tournament at Firestorm Games in Cardiff. There’s beer to be drunk and a curry to be eaten later, but now there’s just time for a warm-up game between my Venetians and Mike’s Graeco-Bactrian (GB) successors.

[Mike had obviously heard that I was a VIP player as he had taken the trouble to dress very formally for the occasion. Although not featured in many of the photographs (it’s all about the figures, man) you may note his very natty suit and tie in the background of some of them. My thanks to him for making the effort: much appreciated!]

As the GB’s two pike blocks made the centre of their line a pretty dangerous place to be, my plan was to hold back my infantry there but attack strongly on both wings.

However, as the two armies advanced towards each other, it seemed as if the GB pikemen had decided to do the same thing: his wings advanced towards me whilst his centre stayed put.

This suited me down to the ground and, moments later, my left wing knights were charging into the GB veteran ‘Companion’ cavalry, ably supported by handgunners and the Alabardiers - free to intervene here as the enemy pike were still stationery.

Likewise on the right…although, as now seems customary, the later knights there seemed to have put on their ceremonial cardboard armour rather than the real thing!

Left

Right

My lights were meanwhile clearing the other GB troops from the field with missile fire (Mike was being very unlucky with his cards) and although of the left the knights were now making heavy weather of things, on the right they had recovered and were driving forward nicely.

As for the GBs, they had started to bring their pike forward…gulp!

Left

Overview

Right

My veteran later knights on the left (my best unit) were able to rout the companion types in front of them and then, with a glorious charge, sweep sideways and take one of the GB pike phalanxes in the flank, double-disordering them in one go: I told you Mike was being very unlucky with his cards!

At the same time, the advance of the other GB pike block and the fact that missile fire had stripped them of their accompanying/protecting lights meant that it’s flank was vulnerable as well: proving to be a very lovely target for my other unit of later knights, now dressed in proper metal armour rather than the nonsense they had started the game with.

It was all going a bit horribly wrong for the brave (but doomed) GBs, and it wasn’t long before one of the pike blocks gave way giving me Mike’s last three coins and the game!

So a big win for the Venetians in their warm-up game: my thanks to Mike for being such a fun sparring partner even in the face of some appalling cards.

Onwards and outwards for the promised beer and curry, and then the tournament proper tomorrow…