Routing, not shown: AS/VII LG: c,h. AS/XIV RC: a
In Pursuit: AS/XV Ex RC (w/ 4 hits)
There were only four votes this time out -- shades of the bad old days of the first couple of moves, when I wasn't sure whether this was going to fly or not. And although no one agreed in the details (of course) its obvious that Megacles needs to push hard if Pyrrhus is even have a mathematical possibility of winning.
The two tactical questions raised by the votes were what to do with the leftmost HC and whether to use any orders to recover.
The HC could either attack the nearby routed cohort, which nets 5 RPs at the cost of a poor position, or move to rejoin the rest of the HC in attacking the Roman right. I prefer the former, taking the guaranteed rout points. If there's no Momentum (50% chance) then no order was wasted; if there is Momentum, Megacles can always retrieve him if necessary. But the actual voting went the other way 2:1, so the HC will plow into the flank of the sole remaining AS/VII cohort.
Only one voter mentioned using recovery, which I again think is just wasting an order. Megacles should be attacking while he has the chance:
Routing, not shown: AS/VII LG: c,h. AS/XIV RC: a
In Pursuit: AS/XV Ex RC (w/ 4 hits)
What a mess. From north to south of the final position of the four moving HCs:
The HC attacking the routed cohort eliminates it in Pre-Shock TQ Check, then advances next to the velite, which attempts a Reaction Facing Change but fails and routs itself.
The HC moving next to the AS/VII cohort routs it during Reaction Facing Change, which precludes pursuit.
The HC attacking two easternmost AS/XIX cohorts routs one of them during RFC and the other during combat. Pursuit finishes off the routed cohort and the HC advances one more hex to its final position.
The HC attacking two AS/XIX cohorts to the west runs into trouble as the flanked defender succeeds in RFC -- and will now be DS during shock! But the Pre-Shock checks rout that unit and the other cohort, attacked from the rear, routs during Shock. The HC pursues, but the routed unit rolls '0' for a Pre-Shock check and inflicts two more hits on the HC as it dies. Reaction fire as the HC advances into the ZOC of the nearby cohort puts another hit on the HC, and it routs!
The HC rout is ugly, as the unit has enough MPs to exit the map at the end of this turn. But otherwise the Epirotes are in fine shape:
Current Rout Point totals:
| Side | Current | Limit | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romans | 192 | 185 | 104% | |
| Epirotes | 143 | 120 | 119% |
Megacles's general good fortune continues with a Momentum attempt dr of '2'. Laevinus forgoes the Trump (for reasons already discussed and as per the majority of the votes). On to Momentum