BHGS CHALLENGE DBM 15mm Results

2nd Place after a tiring weekends gaming at Oxford Brookes University Wheatley Campus.

This was my joint best competition result ever being placed 2nd and also equalling my highest competition score of 86 achieved at Roll Call in 2014. Averaging 21.5 out of 32 and only 7 victory points behind Dave Madigan.

Congratulations to Dave Madigan who lead from the first round and had an almost unassailable lead from the third round. I checked the scores after the third round and is was mathematically possible for Dave, Chris and myself to have all ended up on 88 points with positions then being decided on count back.  Irrespective of this I am still very pleased with my 2nd place and yet again learnt some more things about a game I have been playing for 20 years.

Thanks to the BHGS for organising and running the event and to John Graham-Leigh for checking the lists.

We should note that John Calvert bought his grandson Dan to his first ever DBM competition, with Dan playing on the Saturday and John on the Sunday. Hopefully we will see more of Dan in the future.

My army list, pictures and brief game reports are below the results tables along with some pictures of other players games.

The full DBM results for each round and final scores.

BHGS Challenge Oxford 20th-21st June 2015
1st Round
Player	Army	Team	Score	Posn
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	Mikland	0	12
Table 1 V
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	Reigate	32	1
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	Reigate	18	3
Table 2 V
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	Coltishall Cowards	14	8
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	Terrapins	30	2
Table 3 V
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	Coltishall Cowards	2	11
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	Coltishall Cowards	18	3
Table 4 V
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	Terrapins	14	8
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	Coltishall Cowards	17	6
Table 5 V
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	Merc	15	7
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	Essex Warriors	18	3
Table 6 V
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	MKWS	14	8

2nd Round
Player	Army	Score	Total	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	16	48	1
Table 1 V
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	16	46	2
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	16	34	5
Table 2 V
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	16	34	5
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	19	37	4
Table 3 V
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	13	30	9
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	16	31	8
Table 4 V
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	16	30	9
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	2	16	11
Table 5 V
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	30	44	3
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	32	34	5
Table 6 V
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	0	0	12

3rd Round
Player	Army	Score	Total	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	31	79	1
Table 1 V
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	1	45	7
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	13	59	3
Table 2 V
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	19	56	4
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	19	53	5
Table 3 V
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	13	44	8
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	31	65	2
Table 4 V
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	1	35	10
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	18	48	6
Table 5 V
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	14	44	8
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	16	32	11
Table 6 V
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	16	16	12

4th Round
Player	Army	Score	Total	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	14	93	1
Table 1 V
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	18	83	3
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	16	75	4
Table 2 V
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	16	69	6
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	30	86	2
Table 3 V
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	2	50	9
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	30	75	4
Table 4 V
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	2	46	10
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	13	57	7
Table 5 V
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	19	35	12
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	19	54	8
Table 6 V
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	13	45	11

POSITIONS AFTER ROUND 1
Player	Army	Score	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	32	1
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	30	2
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	18	3
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	18	3
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	18	3
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	17	6
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	15	7
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	14	8
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	14	8
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	14	8
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	2	11
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	0	12

POSITIONS AFTER ROUND 2
Player	Army	Total	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	48	1
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	46	2
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	44	3
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	37	4
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	34	5
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	34	5
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	34	5
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	31	8
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	30	9
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	30	9
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	16	11
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	0	12

POSITIONS AFTER ROUND 3
Player	Army	Total	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	79	1
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	65	2
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	59	3
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	56	4
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	53	5
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	48	6
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	45	7
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	44	8
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	44	8
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	35	10
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	32	11
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	16	12

FINAL POSITIONS AFTER ROUND 4
Player	Army	Total	Posn
Dave Madigan	4/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD M	93	1
Drew Jarman	3/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD MM	86	2
Chris Smith	4/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD M	83	3
Jer Morgan	2/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC MM	75	4
Darrell Pearce	2/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC M	75	4
Kevin Everard	2/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD MM	69	6
Andy Brooker	3/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD M	57	7
John Brooker	3/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD MM	54	8
Gareth Evans	3/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD M	50	9
Duncan Thompson	2/80 Hunnic, 408 AD M	46	10
John Vaughan	1/43 Skythian, 313 BC MM	45	11
Dan Skinner [Sa] John Calvert [Su]	2/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC MM	35	12

As promised some breakdowns of my four games and some pictures.

My Samanid Army was organised as
C1 23/21/7 Reg CinC
C2/23/21.5/7.5 Reg Sub
C3 4/4/2 Reg Sub [PIP Dump]
C4 15/12.5/4.5 Irr Dailami Ally
65/59/29.5

Game 1 v Darrell's Polybian Romans

C1 21/19/6.5 Reg CinC

C2 18/16/5.5 Reg Sub

C3 8/6/2.5 Reg Sub [PIP Dump]

C4 18/15/5/5.5 Irr Spanish Ally

59/57/28.5

I invaded! Result 18-14 winning draw to me after a lot of inconsequential pushing and shoving between our allies with my slowly getting the better of the Spanish.

Some pictures of other Round 1 games

Game 2 v Andy's Abbassid Arabs

C1 20/19/6.5 Reg CinC

C2 20/17/6 Reg Sub

C3 20/19/6.5 Reg Sub

C4 2/2/1 Reg Sub [PIP Dump]

62/57/28.5

I defended. Result 19-13 winning draw to me as I managed to separate out his supporting infantry from his cavalry which enabled me to use my superior quality and numbers to slowly overwhelm his Arabs.

Some pictures of other round 2 games

Game 3 v Jer's Polybian Romans

C1 21/18.5/6.5 Reg CinC

C2 20/18.5/6.5 Reg Sub

C3 7/6.5/2.5 Reg Sub [PIP Dump]

C4 15/12.5/4.5 Irr Spanish Ally

63/56/28

I defended. Result 19-13 winning draw as my Buyid ally went through his Spanish ally like a hot knife through butter. Jer is one of the best DBM players in the UK and this still manages to intimidate me by just being at the table. I am getting better against him and every time we play I learn things from him. Jer's clever placement of Dunes meant it interfered with my initial command radius until I managed to relocate my CinC so the dunes were not in the way on my far right.

Some pictures of other round 3 games

Game 4 v Gareth's Communal Italian

C1 20/1.5/7.5 Reg CinC

C2 25/21.5/7.5 Reg Sub

C3 24/21.5/7.5 Reg Sub

69/64.5/32.5

I defended. Result 30-2 crushing victory as Gareth deployed on a narrow frontage with a line of steep hills protecting his open left flank but I managed to get a large area of rough going in the centre which forced him to deploy his army either side of it with only limited light troops available to defend the RGo. I deployed my Buyid ally opposite this RGo and pushed forward as quickly as possible. My heavy infantry faced his own infantry with my mounted wings deployed to each flank with the objective of slowing his advance on his right flank whilst I pushed in his centre.

Because this was the last game and there was a slight possibility of me getting a podium place I didn't manage to take any pictures of the other games as I was concentrating on my own game.

I have used this army at five tournaments during the last year and have had generally good results. As promised here's is my full army list.

Challenge DBM 2015 List 400 AP v3.3 [V6Final]

3/43 Khurasanian [MM list] Samanid 927 AD – 999 AD [963 AD]

Dry. Ag 1. Rv, H[S], H[G], Rd, O, E, RGo, BUA, D

[Rv, DH, RH, GH, Rd, O, E, R or SF, G, BUAf, D or G, Oa]

Command 1

1 x CinC Reg Cv S 30 AP

5 x Ghulam Reg Cv S 50 AP

1 x Bedouin Arabs Irr LH O 5 AP

8 x Khurosani armoured spearmen Reg Sp O 40 AP

4 x Khurosani infantry archers Reg Ps O 8 AP [Ps may support Sp]

4 x Khurosani infantry archers Reg Bw O 20 AP

23/21/7 [153 AP] [25%=5.5]

Command 2

1 x Sub-general Reg Cv S 30 AP

5 x Khurosani noble cavalry Irr Cv S 45 AP

6 x Khurosani skirmishers Irr LH F 24 AP

1 x Bedouin Arabs Irr LH O 5 AP

6 x Dailami zupin-men Reg Ax S 27 AP

3 x Dailami archers Reg Ps O 6 AP [can support zupin-men]

1 x Kumajis or other hillmen Irr Ax O 3 AP

23/21.5/7.5 [140 AP] [25%=5.5]

Command 3

1 x Sub-general Reg Cv S 30 AP

1 x Elephants Irr El O 16 AP

2 x Kumajis or other hillmen Irr Ax O 6 AP

4/4/2 [52 AP] [25%=1]

Command 4 – Ziyarid Ally [Buyid 3/58]

1 x Ally-general Irr Ax S 9 AP

9 x Dailami Irr Ax S 36 AP

5 x Dailami archers Irr Ps O 10 AP [can support zupin-men]

15/12.5/4.5 [55 AP] [25%=3.5]

Command 5

6 x Baggage Irr Bg I 0 AP

6/0/0 [0 AP]

Army [400 AP]

65/59/29.5 to break

Minifigs Z301 European Infantry 12th Century, Hood, Sword

A quick snap of my latest painting project

Here are some pictures of Minifigs Z301 15mm Scale European Infantry, 12th Century, Hood, Sword as per their catalogue:

I found a bag of 16 figures in a big box of unpainted metal and was at a loss what to do with them. I have had them for at least 20 years, probably much longer. For such old castings they actually paint up very nicely.

I am currently painting up a Welsh Army because as usual I have lots of unpainted lead and some unused Feudal DBA armies. I was advised they could easily be mixed in with the spearmen as part of the Welsh infantry, either as Warband or Auxilia as the figures should be mixed up to represent the irregular nature of North Welsh foot. They are painted but are not yet varnished as I have not done the spearmen that will be sitting between nor actually based them up. You can see my method of painting figures from how I glue them onto long sticks for ease of holding.

Minifigs Z301

The BHGS Challenge DBM Runners & Riders

Heres the R & R for the 15mm DBM Challenge

To be held at Oxford Brookes University 20th-21st June 2015.

The lists are in chosen date order rather than list number order.

Dan Skinner               02/07 Later Achaemenid Persian, 331 BC  DBMM

John Vaughan           01/43 Skythian, 313 BC                                 DBMM

Jeremy Morgan         02/33 Polybian Roman, 202 BC                   DBMM

Darrell Pearce           02/33 Polybian Roman, 198 BC                   DBM

Kevin Everard           02/78 Late Imperial Roman, 399 AD            DBMM

Duncan Thompson   02/80 Hunnic, 408 AD                                   DBM

Andy Brooker            03/37 Abbasid Arab, 840 AD                       DBM

John Brooker            03/45 Pre-Feudal Scots, 846 AD                 DBMM

Drew Jarman             03/43 Khurasanian, 963 AD                          DBMM

Gareth Evans            03/72 Communal Italian, 1201 AD               DBM

Chris Smith               04/18 Lithuanian, 1435 AD                            DBM

Dave Madigan          04/43 Later Hungarian, 1442 AD                  DBM

For the analysts out there the stats are as follows:

DBM lists - 6

DBMM lists - 6

Book 1 - 1 list

Book 2 - 5 lists

Book 3 - 4 lists

Book 4 - 2 lists

The 1st Round draw will follow once its issued. Its an interesting field and includes three other armies I have used in other competitions in the past and there is only two armies I have never used or faced before.

Further Thoughts on Todays DBM Game

Central Asian City States

After narrowly losing against Bob's army today we spoke about his army list selection and configuration. I did suggest that it might be better served with not having a huge command of Reg/Irr Bw I as I felt it was too large and limited his deployment options. It was 26 EE including its General and the Elephant breaking on a 9.

I came up with the following idea for this army.

1 x CinC Reg Cv S 30 AP

2 x Sub Generals Reg Cv S 60 AP

18 x Chakar Irr Kn F 162 AP

12 x Scouts Irr LH F 48 AP

8 x Archers Irr Ps O 16 AP

8 x Archers Irr Bw I 24 AP

8 x Archers Reg Bw I 32 AP

12 x Spearmen Irr Hd O 12 AP

1 x Elephant Irr El O 16 AP

6 x Army Baggage Irr Bg I 0 AP

70 E/60 EE/30 B

Command 1

1 x CinC Reg Cv S

6 x Chakar Irr Kn F

1 x Elephant Irr El O

2 x Scouts Irr LH F

12 x Spearmen Irr Hd O

22 E/16 EE/5.5 D

Command 2

1 x Sub General Reg Cv S

6 x Chakar Irr Kn F

5 x Scouts Irr LH F

4 x Archers Irr Ps O

4 x Archers Irr Bw I

4 x Archers Reg Bw I

24 E/22 EE/7.5 D

Command 3

1 x Sub General Reg Cv S

6 x Chakar Irr Kn F

5 x Scouts Irr LH F

4 x Archers Irr Ps O

4 x Archers Irr Bw I

4 x Archers Reg Bw I

24 E/22 EE/7.5 D

Todays DBM Game using Later Crusaders

A Game of DBM I Played Today To Help Out!

Essex Warriors is running a DBM Tournament and there were 10 entries in two Pools. Unfortunately one of the players decided to drop out after his first game which meant the other three players were denied to chance to play their game and possibly get 32 Victory Points. They were all given 16-16 byes which meant the only player who got his game in won 32-0 and had a 16 VP advantage over the others. After talking to the organiser of the tournament I offered to run the army against the other 3 if they elected to gamble their 16 VP with the chance of getting more or less. Bob decided that since he had no chance of topping the pool that he would give it a go. Richard gave me the army list which I checked over and found out was illegally written due to a couple of issues. I did the minimum necessary to correct the list and elected to play the Joker that every player is allowed to use to reorganise their command organisation. 

Here's the List I ended up using. I must confess that its certainly not one I would have ever written but it was what I was stuck with as it was only fair on the first player that the others played basically the same army using the DBM army list version originally chosen.

Later Crusaders

CinC Irr Kn F 19 AP

2 x Sub Generals Reg Kn F [Mil Orders] 62 AP

8 x Lay Men at Arms Irr Kn F 72 AP

8 x Mil Order Knights Reg Kn F 88 AP

3 x Turcopoles Irr Cv O 21 AP

1 x Mil Order Turcopoles Reg Cv O 8 AP

8 x Mil Order Sergeants Reg Sp O 40 AP

10 x Lay Foot Sergeants Irr Sp I 30 AP

4 x Mil Order Crossbowmen Reg Bw O 20 AP

4 x mounted Mil Order Crossbowmen Reg mtd Bw O 24 AP

2 x Assassin Volunteer Cavalry Reg Cv O 16 AP

6 x Army Baggage Irr Bg I 0 AP

51 E/51 EE/25.5 Break 400 AP

Command 1

CinC Irr Kn F

8 x Lay Men at Arms Irr Kn F

10 x Lay Foot Sergeants Irr Sp I

19 E/19 EE/6.5 D

Command 2

Sub General Reg Kn F [Mil Orders]

4 x Mil Order Knights Reg Kn F

3 x Turcopoles Irr Cv O

4 x Mil Order Sergeants Reg Sp O

4 x Mil Order Crossbowmen Reg Bw O 20 AP

16 E/16 EE/5.5 D

Command 3

Sub General Reg Kn F [Mil Orders]

4 x Mil Order Knights Reg Kn F

1 x Mil Order Turcopoles Reg Cv O

2 x Assassin Volunteer Cavalry Reg Cv O

4 x Mil Order Sergeants Reg Sp O

4 x mounted Mil Order Crossbowmen Reg mtd Bw O

16 E/16 EE/ 5.5 D

Army Baggage

6 x Army Baggage Irr Bg I

The game swung back and forth with Bob Central Asian City States being PIP starved he first lost his CinC's command and then he broke one of my smaller commands of 16 EE which when added to the other losses finally took me to 26 E lost to break the entire army. The final score was 23-9 to Bob which gave him a net gain of 7 VP. We had both lost a general which will be used as a tie break at the end of the tournament pool stage.

I forgot my camera today so ended up having to use my phone to take a few pictures which are below.

Essex Warriors DBM Tournament Games Today

I finally got my second tournament game today.

Tim was using his Christian Nubians against my Samanids, 400 AP v3.2 DBM

I invaded and after deployment rolled the PIPs to get a reliable Buyid ally and a 6. This allowed me to pressure the open flanks of Tims army. I eventually managed to crush his flanks and take out sufficient elements from his CinC to win 27-5. I foolishly forgot that my Bw cant fight in two ranks v warbands which cause the premature loss of my CinC's command but it was too late to influence the outcome. My lone elephant padded around in the centre ground being avoided like it had the plague which was useful as it made the battle into two wings where I could exploit my greater command flexibility and concentrate most of my mounted troops against his right wing.