Welcome to my third and final part of the Commands & Colors Medieval and Commands & Colors: Ancients series. In my effort to compare the two series, I have focused my first two publications on major changes (here) and minor changes and subtleties (here). But enough of looking into the rules and paragraphs–what better way to see the difference in game flow than to play actual scenarios in both systems?
Ok, you might ask which scenarios would be fitting for such a comparative play. Well, C&C Medieval has a very good answer for this. The first three scenarios in the rulebook take place in the 5th century, during the the Roman Empire’s wars with the Huns. On one hand, they chronologically fall under the Ancients umbrella. However, from the tactics and weapons perspective, this is definitely the early Medieval epoch. The three scenarios are Utus River (447 AD) and Catalaunian Fields (451 AD) Parts 1 & 2. For our test, we used Utus River–a perfect choice to compare both systems.
The Scenario – Utus River (447 AD)
Before reporting the gameplay, let’s stop for a moment to try to understand what this battle was about. The main reason for the battle was the Eastern Roman Empire refusing to pay tribute to the Huns. Of course, such disrespect could not be left unchecked, and soon, Atilla’s army invaded the Balkans. After months of raiding, finally a pitched battle was fought between what few forces the Romans could muster and the Eastern horde. The Byzantines lost, but according to sources, the losses were so high on both sides that in the end a peace treaty was signed, returning things to the Status Quo–the Eastern Roman Empire would resume paying tribute to the Huns while the Huns shifted their focus, looking instead toward the weaker Western Roman Empire.
This is one of the longest C&C: Medieval scenarios, finishing at 9 banners. So in order to defeat your opponent, you would have to utterly rout him, defeating at least half of the enemy units. Let us see how both systems will reflect it!
The gameplay – C&C: Medieval
We decided to start with Medieval. I was given the Huns, while Marcin led the Byzantine army. Unlike other Medieval scenarios in the 6th century, here we have a very large proportion of infantry with classical placement of cavalry mainly on the wings. The photo-session report is below:
Initial setup of our forces. The Huns are more numerous, but the Romans have some good assets handy too.
I decided to start with an unusual opening play in C&C: Medieval: infantry attack!
Then I concentrated the majority of my Persian forces on the left wing–a Redeployment Inspired Action was very helpful there. And Cry Havoc was a great follow-up!
My push on the left wing continues…Marcin tries to counter-attack, but the number of 1-block units in his army grows dangerously.
At the verge of collapse–my two 1-block units target five 1-blocks on the Roman side. First Strike/Ambush would be deadly here…
…but there was no miraculous saving of the Byzantine army, and after losing the whole wing, the Roman army was routed, losing 4 to 9.
The gameplay – C&C: Ancients
Next, we changed the system, and set up the scenario again. In order to play Utus River in C&C: Ancients, we had to account for the narrower board–9×13 hexes instead of Medieval’s 11×13. But only two units (Roman cavalry) had to start off the map, so that was a minor issue. Of course, all cavalry were 3-block units, Heavy Infantry had 5 dice in close combat, etc. Let’s see how it unfolds.
Initial disposition of forces–seems like a completely different scenario. And it will be!
Surprise, surprise! Roman heavy infantry attacks in the center and is the king of the battlefield!
But the Sassanid counter-attack leaves no doubt–the fight will be fierce, even to the last man.
And then a key round comes, with a Mounted Charge for the Huns and three enemy units killed outright.
The final situation: tons of fallen units and an almost clean battlefield.
SUMMARY
As described in previous articles in the series, infantry is cannon-fodder for cavalry in Medieval. The underestimated Redeploy was crucial there, as it allowed for concentration of the best Hunnic units on one wing. Conversely, the Ancients version of the battle focused mainly on the center and foot-unit clashes–the Heavy Infantry was again king of the battlefield. What was very telling was the score–both games were won by the Huns, and Medieval gave close to zero chance for the Romans to put-up a decent fight. The Romans did have at least a small chance of victory in Ancients, and the reason was simple–much more cavalry on the Hun side, which is unstoppable in Medieval but not Ancients.
That concludes my series of articles comparing Commands & Colors: Medieval and Commands & Colors: Ancients. I hope you found it a valuable source of information and also a fun read–especially the test described in this article.
Thank You!
The BoardGames Chronicle
https://theboardgameschronicle.com/
Articles in this Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Author: The Boardgames Chronicle
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