Round 2 Long Island (Grant's Attack)
Mirko (Americans) - five banners won, 30 blocks lost
JR (British) - eight banners won, 30 blocks lost
Wow, what a titanic struggle! Mirko and I went at it hammer and tongs for turn after turn until I finally pulled out a win. I opened with a thrust to the right toward Battle Hill, worth two banners to the British. However, Mirko shifted to interdict my assault from the central hill mass. I redirected my attack to deal with his artillery and quickly learned the error of my ways. Mirko’s artillery played Hold the Line to ignore two flags and threw back my lead unit. I then lost a full Regular unit on a failed Rally roll and the rest of my Battle Hill gambit unravelled from there.
On the left, I used a steady supply of Line Command, Inspired Leader, and Line Volley to push back the surprisingly tough Militia and Provincial units holding that flank. Once their resistance was overcome I moved on the Cortelyou House, worth a banner to both of us. I trundled my artillery forward in support and we began the epic struggle that was the heart of the game.
Cortelyou House ultimately changed hands five times. After I took it the first time Mirko used Liberty or Death for a focused assault, retaking it. I responded with For King or Country to win it back again, and so on. In the meantime, I lost two more full strength Regulars to failed Rally rolls, while Mirko rallied a single-step Provincial on the board edge (but I’m not bitter). On the right, I finally got on top of Battle Hill after Mirko diverted center units to the Cortelyou fight.
Forced out of the house by ranged fire, I reoccupied it with Steal a March, which also got my artillery into position along with additional infantry support. It left me adjacent to Mirko’s units but I had First Strike in hand. Perhaps sensing a trap, Mirko stepped back and peppered me with musketry. In return, I ripped into him with yet another Line Volley, bumping the banner score to 6-5 in my favor. Mirko had no choice but close for one last push, using At the Quick Step to do so. His gritty Rifleman failed to bump me, and my battle-back sent them back and ultimately off the board. At this point we realized my occupation of Battle Hill had already closed the win – gotta say, the definition of ‘Absolute Majority’ always demands a refresher in any scenario in which it applies.
Great, great game, maybe my favorite of the tournament and I’ve had a couple good ones already. Our dice were roughly even – Mirko bested me in Rally rolls but I think I had the edge in combat results. Where I really had an edge, however, was in card flow. I had consistently good cards and was always in position to use them. I could’ve used Bayonet Attack more than once but I can’t complain – the Line Commands and Line Volleys were enough. Our session filled an afternoon, but it was worth every moment.
