Mad Mac's Attic: SAGA 2 and Jugulator in Newport News, Virginia

This past week, I had the pleasure of playing some Saga 2 at World's Best Comics in Newport News as part of the weekly Old Dominion Military Society's gathering. It was my first experience with the new Saga 2 rules, so I was itching to jump into the game. Thanks go out to Cotton Jim for hand-delivering the bundle pack of the new rules with the Dark Ages supplement ! Steve set up an 8 point Norman force against my 4 point Viking warband and Jim's 4 points of all-female Shieldmaiden warband. And we were off....

Mounted Normans with supporting archers readying for the attack

A unit of Jim's Viking shield-maiden archers

Hairy Vikings line up on the left flank opposite Norman crossbowmen

Opening moves as Norman cavalry go on the attack, the Vikings on the left flank attempt to rush the crossbows

Although the Norman mounted hearthguard took heavy casualties, the shield-maidens were also attritioned in the first couple of turns

Attempting to close quickly against the lighter crossbowmen, my Viking warriors accumulated fatigue and began to take casualties

Vikings moving up in support on the left flank

Ripped to shreds by the crossbows, the weakened Viking units were ripe for a counterattack by Norman warriors

The shield-maidens hold their ground but eventually lost their warlord in the face of the attacking Normans

Steve very skillfully attacked the shield-maidens on the right, while riddling the charging Vikings with crossbows on the left. Counterattacking the weakened Vikings on their left flank sealed the Norse fate in this sector. On the Viking right, the shield-maidens accounted themselves quite nicely at first, sending the Norman warlord packing to the rear. But as the game went on, Steve admirably wore the female Vikings down and ultimately took out their warlord. The Normans were successful in this engagement and sent the combined Viking force packing on this day !

I was impressed with the new, subtle, rules changes with Saga 2. It seems a slicker, more efficient game than before. I'm excited to expand my collection with these new rules.

After the Saga 2 game, we retreated upstairs to participate in a game of Jugulator, a gladiator card-driven game set in ancient Rome. There were 2 separate games going on, showcasing Steve's beautifully painted gladiator figures. It was an interesting set of rules; no dice were thrown and it was completely card-driven. I found it a challenging and exciting wargaming experience. With the card system, you really had to plan ahead on what kind of strategy to take. I was eventually throttled by my opponents, but had a fun and new experience, so it was well worth it. What a great Thursday night with the Old Dominion Military Society !