Based off of the popular Warmaster Fantasy rules, this version adds most armies from the Classica, Dark Ages, and Medieval periods. Each unit consists of three stands with a simple, but every effective command and control system that creates a unique level of chaos. Each army is led by a general and several leaders, plus a set number of units that must be in the army, leaving the remaining points up to the players to choose their forces. We use 10mm figures by Old Glory, Magistar Militum, Minifigs, and Kallistra. A 1,000 point army is certainly attainable by most gamers as the cost is not as dramatic as some periods and the 10mm scale has a much faster painting time. We find that WMA and WMM are fast playing, a lot of fun, and is certainly suitable for large groups where we occasionally use up to 2500 points per side.WMA: Rise of Rome
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Romans vs. Successors
As usual when we're looking for a quick game to set up we turn to Warmaster Ancients and this time it would be a Romans vs. Successors battle on the Roman frontier. We used some new type of gaming mat at GAJO, which while it worked beautifully for the 10mm figures, it causes a nasty reflection on the images! This was a four player, 2,000 points per side slugfest that saw the usual circus sideshow that is a Successor army with its phalanxes, imitation Romans, cataphracts, elephants, and more against the Roman legions. Both sides got off to pretty good starts, with several skirmish units getting into melees and taking each other out of the action, leaving the board for the heavies which came along shortly after. 
What followed was the legions and phalanxes trying to get in the first punch, with both sides having effective attacks that ripped huge holes in the opposing battle lines. The heavy cavalry on both sides had a difficult time finding any openings for attack, so the day belonged to the legions, phalanxes, Thorakites, and imititation Romans that fought back and forth across the center. One unit of elephants had a spectacular charge that saw them break throughh two complete Roman units while on the opposite side of the board a legion cut through the Successor right flank by destroying several units in two turns. The poor Successor missile fire was offset by a Roman infantry brigade that basically refused to move the entire game! In the end when the game was called things were still very much in doubt as both sides had pretty heavy losses, but we ran out of time and needed to pack up, which was unfortunate as things were just getting good!
The Friday Night Update is sponsored by Trenchworx.
