Offmap: AS/XV Ex RC (w/ 4 hits)
The voting:
Option | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Activate Philocles, attack the RC | 9 | |
| Activate Socrates, move left to support the HC | 1 | |
| Activate Socrates, get the SK out of the way | 2 |
I think twelve votes is a new record. Thanks, everyone!
Even better (because it makes my job easier), the decision is clearly to use Philocles to attack the RC. That's a conclusion I agree with.
Moving Socrates isn't bad, but we can come back to him later in the turn.
The tally does conceal a few variations, mostly dealing with attacking the routed unit or not. Doing so is "money in the bank," but then you can't guarantee a flank attack on the RC, who can do a Reaction Facing Change.
One voter cleverly got around this by having an LC missile attack the routed RC on its way to the orderly RC's flank. It's a brilliant suggestion, but the two Tarentine LC's with Philocles have no missiles! Of course, there's no way to tell that, even on the new-style maps.
Perhaps the LC in the RC's ZOC should have tried a Reaction Facing Change when the RC advanced next to it last turn. The RC would then be prevented from RFCing itself (by the LC's ZOC), meaning only one unit would suffice to attack it with superiority. But I didn't do that -- an oversight on my part.
(Another mistake last turn was to have the LC perform RFC. RC is attack superior to LC whatever the relative facing, so it wasn't worth the chance of complete rout -- which occurred -- just to save a column shift on the Shock Chart. Mea culpa.)
On a completely different tack, one bold voter wanted to have one of the LC's charge two of the damaged RC's on the other side of the river. I figure there's about a 10-20% chance of winning that combat, but it's too risky for my blood, and most folks seemed concentrated on erasing the RC south of the river.
Offmap: AS/XV Ex RC (w/ 4 hits)
I hope that the new map style will help everyone figure out what's where, particularly on the Epirote right, where there are SK, LI, LI/VE, and LG all intermixed. Though they still don't help much for the "who has missiles?" problem. Click on the map to see the key. The color scheme used won't work for general use, because you can't tell one side's LI from the other's, but it works fine for these Romans vs Macedonians-style battles.
Philocles first moves the rightmost cavalry to the RC's flank. Why the elaborate manuever? Simple: if the Romans try RFC, the Epirote LC in Roman ZOC will be available for moving.
Figuring they don't have much to lose -- they're likely to rout from a flank attack anyway -- the Roman cavalry do try RFC, and fail with a dr=8. It routs two hexes away.
Philocles and his LC then the advances next to the routed RC and are marked for Shock.
Philocles uses his third order to attempt to rally the routed LC. He fails with a dr=5, and the LC moves eight hexes towards the map edge (it's now off the above graphic, though not eliminated yet).
The routed RC fails its Pre-Shock TQ check and is eliminated. Both LCs advance into the hex they were attacking.
The Rout Point totals are now Romans 40 (limit 185), Epirotes 28 (limit 120).
Leaders waiting to be activated now are: Cassius (3), Drusus (3), Laevinus (5), Socrates (3), Leonatus (4), and Megacles (4). No momentum is possible, due to Pyrrhus's earlier trump.
So, it's now the Roman turn. Who should activate, Cassius or Drusus, and what should that leader do?
Remember, Cassius is more than two hexes away from any Roman line, so he won't be eligible for a LC. (Though an active player trump might allow Laevinus to go; he could then move Cassius to a line....)