Fantasy

09 July 2024

A Civil War 4 years in the making

Legionaries of Caesar and Pompey clash!

Today Alan and I finally got to play our first Roman Civil War game: Caesar vs Pompey! The first figs were bought in 2020 after which we were disrupted by job changes, moving house, a pandemic and a bold (but correct decision) to change rules and basing. 

Alea iacta est!

After all that it was great to fill the table with 28mm figs!  Many of these figs were painted across a few seasons of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge in the intervening years. We started with two starter boxes of the Warlord Plastic Caesarian Army and added to them over the years with pretty much every manufacturer we could find: Aventine, Foundry, 1stCorps, Relic, Baueda, Debris of War and even some old Wargames Factory figs. 

From little things, big things grow

We initially chose Infamy Infamy as our rules (which were newly released at the time) but as our vision and appetites grew we switched to To The Strongest for larger, table spanning games, which we are really enjoying in other periods- mainly Dark Ages.

Tabletop Megalomaniac!

My force is that of Caesar, focusing on his veterans from the Gallic Wars and campaigns in Britannia. It also includes tribal allies to swell the ranks, especially in cavalry where Caesar was traditionally short in comparison.


Alan's force represents that of the vile (though possibly more legally justifiable) pretender Pompey and includes a range of different support units with an Eastern flavour, such as Cretan archers and Hellenic Thyreophoroi spearmen, to represent his territories and recruiting regions.

Alan's army is characterised by his amazing handpainted shields and lavish attention to detail across every unit. His ability to tell stories through his dynamic basing is quite remarkable and the pics just don't do them justice.

When asked to comment on his army, Alan simply stated "it is very impressive and invincible". He is a Commander of few words, respecting only Victory enjoyed with a cup of fine wine.

Of course that is my unit with the dreaded Ace card next to it...

Let the Bellum Civile commence!



12 comments:

  1. Thanks for your kind words, and for the opportunity to work on a 4 year wargaming project with a good friend. It was great seeing all the little guys out on the table, and to brush up on the To the Strongest! Rules. You certainly had the upper hand when we called it quits today, but I'm looking forward to the rematch!

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    1. What a blast indeed - I'm inspired now to finish a few reinforcements, refine my list and PLAY SOME GAMES! :-)

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  2. A very impressive looking table!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks Christopher - it was very satisfying to see it all come together for the fist time!

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  3. Superb looking armies and great to see them in the table

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  4. Looks a worthwhile project - an important era rarely in the spotlight. It looks terrific. Hopefully future photos of fresh battles will offer even more close ups of the troops. Will history repeat itself or have a new outcome?
    Stephen

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    1. Thanks Stephen - historical events had many twists and turns so who knows what will happen? Rest assured though, the blog history will be written by the winner!

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  5. What a truly awesome sight! Great to see the fruits of your labours on the table, well done chaps.

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  6. Excellent! So many battles to play. Also of course useable for the post-Julius troubles as well. Have fun!

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