ADLG: King In The North (York, 19 - 20 Oct 2024)

Introduction
After months of preparation, I set out for my third KITN competition on a decent October day. At one point I didn't think I'd make it this year, but I did thanks to some good friends. The trip across the Pennines went well and we found our B&B easily enough.

Unlike previous years, where we stayed in Haxby, we stayed very close to the centre of York on the Haxby road. The location was ideal for my wife and her friend. I had a 15 minute drive to the venue each day, but came to hate the number of traffic calming measures. So many on such a short road.

The event attracted 32 players: two more than last year. It's now a major event. The venue in Haxby is great and York is a fine place to spend an evening. There were 10 players ranked in the BHGS top twenty and 20 players in the top fifty. I was ranked 96th.

Fuelled by a full English breakfast I faced each day with optimism and hardening arteries.

Event Summary

Event	King In The North
Date	19th & 20th October 2024
Rules Version	ADLG 4
Theme	The Punic Pond. From the death of Alexander to the death of Julius Caesar (320-45 BC).
Venue	Haxby Memorial Hall, York. YO32 3HT
Army	Later Macedonian
Army list	45.0.6
Army date	200 BC
Entrants	32 players (all singles)
My results	23rd of 32 with 211 points. 1 win, 2 draws & 2 defeats.
All results	Official grid | Web version

By the numbers
The Later Macedonian army has a poor record in ADLG. As of 06 Oct 2024, the ADLG database records 37 games under V4: 8 wins and 14 defeats for a efficacy rating of 41.9%. The average efficacy for all armies is 50%: so statistically the army is a touch below par. My efficacy rating for the KITN was 40.0% in line with expectations.

Strategy & review
My plan was to advance using the medium and heavy foot to create pressure whilst taking care not to expose my flanks in the process. The cavalry were there to cover one flank, but mainly to delay and frustrate the opposition.

The Later Macedonians are a "vanilla" army. It is vulnerable to cataphracts, elephants and armoured heavy infantry (Romans etc). It cannot chase cavalry either. It contains only a few units that shoot. Therefore the foot have to do most of the fighting in close combat and this places lots of units at risk.

I played four games against armies with elephants and some with elephants & cataphracts! My first game was against Romans (with elephants). My last game was against cataphracts and light horse. It's fair to say I was up against it every game.

Keeping the infantry commands close together proved effective when coupled with "dancing" light and medium cavalry. My compact infantry frequently made life difficult for my opponents and provided plenty of scoring opportunities.

In my first three games I inflicted between 13 and 17 losses before winning my fourth in a close game which could have resulted in mutual destruction. Only in my last game did I fail to inflict a decent number of losses: chasing (shoot & scoot) light horse with pike is so frustrating.

Overall, the army lacks speed & "punch", but all my games lasted at least two hours proving it was difficult to beat. Oddly, it is slightly better when attacking, pinning opponents back.

Game #1

Opposition	Paul Dawson
Army	Republican Roman with Numidians allies
Army number	55
Army date	106 BC
Initiative	Lost
My Posture	Defending
Terrain	Mountains
Game time	02:05
Attrition Scores	24/24 to 13/24
Decisive	Yes
Points	20 to 90
Result	Loss

Paul is a highly ranked player and was using Romans with elephants lead by a Strategist CinC! I knew I'd have to be on my mettle. Historically Romans repeatedly defeated the Macedonians: ADLG is no different. The array of armoured Roman heavy units meant I had to win by two across my battle line. It didn't happen that often. The two elephants (mediocre) also proved a problem. Paul's play is so deliberate and controlled I could see my defeat coming a long way off. Having said that I was pleased it took him two hours to defeat me. I learnt a lot.

Game #2

Opposition	Seb Bales
Army	Carthaginian
Army number	55
Army date	218 BC
Initiative	Won
My Posture	Attacking
Terrain	Plains
Game time	02:00
Attrition Scores	24/24 to 14/22
Decisive	Yes
Points	22 to 88
Result	Loss

Seb was new to competitions, but had clearly had a lot of practice. I faced another army lead by a Strategist CinC with lots of good quality heavy spearmen and a couple of elephants (mediocre)! There's a trend emerging here. I managed to place a coast to secure one flank and avoided the heavy spear. I couldn't avoid the elephants and my cavalry didn't do too well. I was causing casualties but not quickly enough. Seb was a relaxed, genial opponent so, despite the result, I enjoyed this game.

Game #3

Opposition	John Hogan
Army	Early Successors
Army number	41
Army date	301 BC
Initiative	Lost
My Posture	Attacking
Terrain	Plains
Game time	02:25 (Timed out)
Attrition Scores	15/24 to 17/25
Decisive	No
Points	46 to 46
Result	Drawn

Would it surprise you to learn I faced an army with elephants and lead by a Strategist CinC? I decided to try a flank march. It arrived after a few turns, but it wasn't a surprise because I had placed a coast. However, it created a problem for John to solve. I had placed my infantry commands close together and the resultant congestion meant John couldn't always bring his best troops to bear. I killed an elephant: I'd had enough practice. The end of the game became very attritional and timed out for a perfect draw.

Game #4

Opposition	Dave Finnegan
Army	Seleucid
Army number	42
Army date	180 BC
Initiative	Won
My Posture	Attacking
Terrain	Plains
Game time	02:35
Attrition Scores	22/24 to 22/22
Decisive	Yes
Points	82 to 28
Result	Win

This was the game of the weekend. No Strategist CinC this time, but there were armoured elephants and a few cataphracts to deal with. I won a tussle on the left for control of some rough going which was to prove crucial. On the right my cavalry did well enough and two light horse headed for the baggage. They never got there: two light infantry blocked their path and destroyed them. Unfortunately for Dave his four pike units were left stranded in the centre with nothing to fight. Meanwhile on the left I killed an armoured elephant and my medium swordsmen came out of the rough to attack a flank. This eventually proved decisive, but I had to risk vulnerable units in close combat. Dave was always in this game. Again and again, I got close to winning only for Dave to recover; until the very end that is. As the game ended time was called. Close, very close, too close

Game #5

Opposition	Hunter Hope
Army	Armenian
Army number	71
Army date	204 BC
Initiative	Lost
My Posture	Defending
Terrain	Plains
Game time	02:25 (timed out)
Attrition Scores	13/24 to 7/23
Decisive	No
Points	41 to 47
Result	Draw

Hunter's army had cataphracts (ordinary & elite), lots of light horse bow and some light infantry bow. I placed my third coast: a record. My cavalry faced the cataphracts on the left and my infantry the light horse on the right. As the attacker, the light horse had lots of space to "shoot & scoot". Many of my losses were to shooting because I used my control points to try and push the light horse off the table. Meanwhile, my cavalry did well avoiding the cataphracts. Eventually I moved some pike to the left and gained a few points. We both chased opponents who wouldn't stand and fight.

Closing remarks
That's another enjoyable event over and done with. I'd like to place on record my thanks to the event organisers Paul & Marco. I'd also like to thank my opponents for their patience as I sometimes struggled with the more arcane sections of the rules.

By Sunday afternoon, I certainly felt I'd been well and truly tested, but on reflection I did better than I thought I would. I'm most pleased that all my games lasted over two hours. I take this as proof I now play ADLG well enough to make a basic army hard to beat. However, for future classical competitions I may consider morphing it into a Pyrrhic army. They certainly did well this year (5th & 8th).

Initially, I was placed 31st which was disappointing. There turned out to be a problem recording the result of my fourth game. Once corrected, I came a respectable 23rd with 211 points. This is my highest KITN score (by a whisker). Looking at my performance over all three KITN events it's possible to discern a modest trend of continuous improvement. Then again I might be biased.