From Early to Late Carthaginian - an army expansion

 

A few weeks ago I did a piece on how I came to have an Early Carthaginian MeG army. Well the inevitable happened and it expanded out to cover a later date. Read on to find out what transpired ...

Having come up with an army I really liked and turned out to be more effective than I had expected, my thoughts turned to a later version from the Punic Wars. As the Carthaginian army of the 1st Punic War was pretty similar to the one I had created I decided to jump ahead to the 2nd Punic War.

The decision I had to make here was to go with one of Hannibal's armies, or go with one of those led by other commanders in the war such as those in Spain led by Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal. A quick check suggested that doing Hannibal army would need fewer extra figures and so that helped make up my mind. Picking up some figures cheaply that would be suitable for this army and not one in Spain was also a factor.

So a list was drawn up and the additional figures needed ordered from Xyston once again so as to match the ones I already had. Here is the list:

In some ways it has some similarities with the Early version, however, it has a bit less of a punch and its skirmishers are fewer. On the other hand it has better command and control and is a bit more flexible, and also does not rely on an ally for some of its troops so the risk of him being Hesitant is avoided. But overall probably a bit tougher to use.

In the end it actually needed a few more extra figures than I initially thought it would, but not too many.

The PBS is 8 which is pretty good and gives you a better chance of getting the battlefield you want, and the Talented general improves your chance of being able to choose whether to be the Invader or Defender which is also useful for getting the field you want. Scouting is a respectable 4 so you have a chance of Outscouting your opponent and, therefore, getting a view of where their troops are before they see yours.

The heavy cavalry part of the army is split between the Veteran Spanish cavalry and the Gallic cavalry. Neither of these are shock cavalry so are unlikely to ride anything down frontally in short order, but can skirmish a bit and in the case of the Spanish are Drilled so are pretty manoeuvrable. Shield transfers from LBMS helped with the look of this unit.

The Gauls are likely to be used as "heavy skirmishers" as the units are just 4 bases each. Two of them acting in tandem can be very effective at holding up an enemy wing if used carefully. Being smaller they can also sneak into position to charge flanks than larger units - but of course, being smaller they are more brittle. Unlike the Spanish these shields were hand painted - a bit of a chore it must be said, but I think they came out well.

The heavy infantry are led by the veteran African spearmen - in this case these are equipped with captured Roman equipment hence the big scutum style shields. Like the Sacred Band in the Early list they are Superior with long spears and the Shove characteristic which means they are pretty tough and willing to go toe-to-toe with almost anything they are likely to meet. I think the Xyston figures look the part and are a bit intimidating. Shields were done with GW contrast paint which I think gives a nice effect and is really easy - drew some Tanit symbols on with a fine pen.

Assisting the Africans are a unit of Campanian infantry. These are equipped in the same manner as Romans of the period and whilst not quite as tough as the Africans are certainly very capable and being Melee Expert can be very effective in a prolonged melee as they do not need multiple ranks to get the melee bonus unlike spearmen. Shields done with contrast paint again.

After the Africans and Campanians we move to the supporting infantry cast - those who a vital to the army, but less likely to be delivering the heavy punch. First up are the Spanish. The Later list adds a second unit of these compared to the Early one, but they are now Formed and not Tribal and so more manoeuvrable. Being loose they are effective in bad going but can be at a bit of a disadvantage in the open against true heavy infantry and good cavalry. Little Big Men Studios transfers to the fore as before.

The rest of the infantry are the inevitable Gauls. Hannibal relied on them for manpower to bulk out his army, but you do get the impression that they were seen as somewhat expendable. Like the Spanish I needed a second unit of these compared to the Early version of the army. The two units are each 9 bases to provide bulk and their job is usually to take up space and die as slowly as possible. They are tribal and so not very manoeuvrable - there is an option to make them Formed which allows them to manoeuvre easily, however, given the role they have in the army this just seems a waste of points (for points based games that is). Shield transfers from LBMS again.

The skirmisher contingent is, of course, led by Numidian cavalry and these are supported by some Libyan javelinmen. There are fewer Numidians than in the Early list I use and in games I have found that I really miss the third unit.

The javelinmen are not as powerful, but I find them very useful and players often overlooked the attrition they can cause to fighting troops which can just tip a game your way.

So there we are, the 2nd Punic War version. Personally whilst it is a nice army to use I prefer the earlier version. Could just be the way I play but I've found it more effective and a bit more fun to use. That said, it gives me another option for games which is a win however you look at it.