I finally got a chance to try out Aetius and Arthur, the new Saga variant covering the end of the Western Roman Empire and rise of the Barbarian tribes, sometimes called the Invasions period. My friend Rick played the Britons, lead by a charismatic leader with a small bodyguard retinue of loyal Companions. His warband included a 6 man Hearthguard unit, a Warrior unit and Levy with slings. I played Euric the Bold, my Visigoth warlord, who fielded a force of 2 Hearthguard and 2 Warrior units. The scenario objective was to take the enemy side of the river while repelling them from doing the same.
The two forces form up on either side of the river. The bridges are the only way to cross and promise to see tense fighting in the upcoming conflict. One Visigoth Warrior unit (bottom R) leads off the battle by charging into the Briton Levy on the first turn.
The Visigoth vanguard Warrior unit pushes back the Levy slingers, then slams into a Warrior unit that moved up the right flank, killing 5 of them. These units would class again, with the Visigoths wiping out the all but a single Levy soldier.
The Visigoth Warriors on the left flank bridge rush headlong into the Hearthguard of the Britons. With their Warlord Galvanizing their efforts, the Britons push the Goths back across the bridge.
The Warlord of the Britons, along with his 2 Hearthguard Companions, cross the bridge and single handedly eliminate the Visigoth Warriors, though he lost his bodyguards in the process. Spurned on, the Briton Hearthguard unit crosses the bridge and threatens a unit of Visigoth Hearthguard.
Euric the Bold reforms his Hearthguard near the other bridge, refusing the engage the larger Briton unit piecemeal with his smaller units.
The Britons soon assault the Visigoth position. The defenders hold the bridge and inflict heavy casualties on the Britons, forcing them back across the bridge.
The Briton Warlord moves up to encourage his men, then leads the charge across the bridge himself. The Visigoth Hearthguard on the bridge falls to the onslaught.
Euric the Bold sees an opportunity, and leads his men back onto the bridge to assault the Briton Warlord.
Euric and his men slay the Warlord of the Britons and all who stand with him.
Altogether, I really enjoyed the new Saga factions. I often found that I had too many options for my Goths, which made for a really interesting game. I also found the Goths to be pretty vicious, with lots of ways to gain extra attack dice each turn. I think the Britons seemed a bit harder to master, they had some cool abilities, but were harder to implement.
