My OCD MSU List

Packing up right now for a game tonight! Below is the list I’m bringing. I’m still using just the free rules for list building, as no one else has bitten the bullet and picked up a rule book yet. Last time I played this gentlemen, I took magic items… and just seemed unfair. And then I lost the game anyway.. so if I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose on an even playing field!

Other than just the free rules, the list was born of 1) wanting to get my pike conversions on the field, and 2) fielding Ballista instead of typical shooters to free up Troop slots and points. Without Crushing Strength I’m worried about the deadliness of the Pikes… and the Ballista’s are mathematically hit-or-miss… so we’ll see how this all works.

Regiment	Pikes	135
Troop	Foot Guard (2hw)	95
Troop	Mounted Scouts w/ Carbines	115
Hero	Standard Bearer	50
Regiment	Shield Wall	100
Troop	Bowmen	75
Troop	Pole Arms	70
WM	Ballista	60
Regiment	Shield Wall	100
Troop	Pole Arms	70
Troop	Pole Arms	70
WM	Ballista	60
	Total	1000

The list is… well, it’s a bit OCD. There are no open slots or leftover points. As I was building it, I thought that would be cool to try. We’ll see how effective it is.

After looking into the "deadly" math behind our shooters, I also looked at Militia, Pole Arms, and Foot Guard with two-handed crushing strength weapons as both troops and regiments, to see how deadly each were for their points. The Militia (lacking Crushing Strength attacks) ended up looking rather feeble. I was surprised that looking at points spent / average damage expected, that the Pole Arms and Foot Guard were always within a single point of each other (related; anyone know how to make a good table in blogger?). I should stress that this is just “deadly math” looking at expected hits and expected damage compared to points spent.. not covering Nerve, Defense.. etc.

Troops of..	Def3	Def4	Def5	Def6
Pole Arms	16.8	21	28	42
Foot Guard 2hw	17.1	21.375	28.5	42.75

I’ve really liked my Foot Guard Troops, so I figured I’d put my newly transitioned Pole Arm Troops to the test. They aren’t as durable or as deadly, but they are cheaper, and should get comparable results for the points invested. Hopefully there are enough units on the table that someone will find a flank and do some damage, or walk away with an objective.

I usually have some general deployment plan with a list… I don’t here. The only plan I have right now is to deploy back a bit, to buy me time to position and react since Elves are fast, and to save my Pikes until he commits any cavalry. We’ll see what I come up with when the dice start flying.