Below is Part 3 in a series from David Waldorf covering a Manoeuvre: Distant Lands tournament “March Madness” style. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here. Enjoy! -Rachel

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Pregame Analysis

Tokugawa is the favorite to win this round of the tournament. They have the numbers on their side, with powerful units and powerful cards. They should be able to win with an attrition victory, or if they keep an orderly line, they could gain enough ground to win via battlefield control at nightfall. Because they set up on the south, their limited mobility will be a bit further hindered by the lake on the south side of the field.

The Qing Dynasty will have a hard time pulling off another victory, even though it should technically be easier than their win against Sweden. Their path to victory likely lies in taking and holding the hills in the southeast quadrant of the field, just across the halfway line. If they can do this while preventing Tokugawa from breaking through, they may have a chance. Alternately, if they can learn from India’s example and get their cavalry behind the Tokugawa line, they might win a battlefield control victory.

Gameplay

Tokugawa sets up first on the southern edge using a standard power dispersion, with all units on the second row except the Maeda Han, which is in the back row and prepared to follow behind the Asano Han to take their spot as soon as they get around the lake.

The Qing Dynasty sets up with their horsemen concentrated more on the western edge of their line, hoping for a chance to break through the enemy units. They have rockets available from the start, and will try to use them to get in an early attack before any of the Shogunate’s units can even reach them. At start, the field looks like this:

The contest gets underway, and both sides used forced marches to bring their units to the center of the field quickly. First contact comes between the Matsumae Han (Tokugawa) and the Han Bannermen. The Matsumae Han make a successful attack, and the Han Bannermen choose to strategically retreat, drawing the Matsumae Han after them into a pocket. Next turn the Han Bannermen attack the Matsumae Han with General Ming Liang bringing in the Standard Infantry for assistance, which causes the Matsumae Han to retreat.

The Qing Dynasty scores first hit, with the Mongol Bannermen advancing to attack the Asano Han from a hilltop and reducing them, then digging in with a redoubt. On a subsequent turn they push deeper into Tokugawa territory and set up another redoubt. At this point, the field looks like this:

There follows some give and take (including a failed attempt by the Tuan Lian Shaanxi to eliminate the Asano Han with rockets), with both sides move forces up to contact new units. The Shogunate reduces the Manchu Bannermen, and the Dynasty reduces the Tokugawa Han. Then the Shogunate’s Shimazu Han bombard the still-weakened Manchu Bannermen, eliminating them for the first loss of the match. With both sides now approximately halfway through their decks, the battlefield looks like this:

After a considerable further amount of more or less mundane give and take, the Qing’s Tuan Lian Shaanxi finally manage to eliminate the Asano Han, evening the score. Both sides continue to push back and forth, inflicting casualties but not eliminating anyone. Then the Tokugawa Han make a committed attack against the Standard Elite, driving them back and causing them to suffer a reduction, then eliminating them during pursuit. The Dynasty hits back hard with the Green Standard Cavalry attacking the Shimazu Han, forcing them to retreat and then eliminating them with two successful pursuit rolls. Nightfall is now fast approaching.

Tokugawa has pushed more units across into enemy territory, but the Qing Dynasty’s Mongol Bannermen sit uncontested in the heart of the Tokugawa territory.

The Qing Dynasty draws their last card; nightfall will be within a few turns. On a subsequent turn they use rockets to eliminate an already reduced Date Han. The Tokugawa Shogunate now reshuffles and takes their final turn, but cannot do quite enough to get away from the Qing units and gain battlefield control. The Dynasty takes it’s final turn and night falls, with Qing having a control victory. At the conclusion, the battlefield looks like this, with the purple markers belonging to Qing:

Analysis and Discussion

Tokugawa just plain didn’t do well in this match. Their major slip was in allowing the Mongol Bannermen to get behind their line, but it also seemed that they just could not catch a break with cards and dice. A pity, as it would have been interesting to see them go up against the French units.

Qing did surprisingly well again, managing to get through their deck relatively quickly and seizing the opening in the Shogunate line when it presented itself. This makes a second unlikely victory for them, and the question now is obvious: can they pull it off a third time against the French? They will head to the final round and try to do just that.

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Articles in this Series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4