Who dares to challenge Meluhotep II?
Bassano is the first tournament of italian DBMM championship, and it is usually dedicated to first period armies (3000BC-500BC).
This year I will attend using an Early Egyptian army. Why early Egyptians? Because the army is gorgeous and is resting in its box by too long time, I like it a lot and because using it is a real challenge.
The army composition is straightforward: a mix of bowmen and close combat troops, supported by few psiloi and bolstered by many hordes. This is an infantry army, and as such must fight attritional combat, surviving the many killer troops enemy can field and coordinate its two fighting types to prevail.
This is not an easy task: Early Egyptians are fragile, with low quality bowmen, and the prone to die RBdF.
This is the army list, using not in Delta terrains:
C1- CiC RBdO, 12 IBwO, 6 IPsI, 6 IHdO - 24ME
C2- SG RBdO, 10 RBwI, 6 RPsS, 10 RBdF, 8 IHdO - 28ME
C3- SG RBdO, 10 RBwI, 10 RBdF, 8 IHdO, 6 IPsO - 28ME
C4- 6 IBgI, 2 IHdO - 7ME
Stratagems: Scouting 5AP
The idea is to use C1 as a target or pivot, and use the pip dice to manouver the regular troops. Having low aggressivity I will try to use the terrain, with a flank protected by a WW and setting up RGo or difficult going as the enemy faced will suggest.
It is very important to tactically well manage the troops, because the army is rigid enough to not have a real reserve. The doctrine is quite basic: The army should rely on shooting, but a victory, if any, must be grasped using the BdF.
This is a sample deployment in a game fought versus a Makkan army. The Egyptian army has the left flank secured by the waterway and orchard, the opposite one by the Bua.
The psiloi are used behind the Bw with the task to slow enemy warband once these reach the charge distance. to let the Bd try to flank them and weaken the frontal attack versus the bowmen line.
The Scouting stratagem will protect from the night attacks, because I could not give such an advantage to enemy with an army slow and match ups sensitive.
I guess all the games will be hard fought with a lot of casualties. Not an army for the faint hearted.
Well, I can say after the fourth game I was tired and exhausted. The army is fun to use but I felt always on the edge of a gorge.
A large part of the combat I risked to be quick killed, while I almost never enjoyed this advantage. I needed too to be always focused and concentrated, because there is no way to recover from a mistake. Early Egyptians have problems too to force a victory once they gain an advantage. So a difficult army to use.
Said that, all the games were tense and fun and this was one of the most exciting tournaments I ever played: finishing third from my point of view is a real achievement.
Meluhotep can retire and rest in his sarcophagus waiting for his next campaign