HOTT 52 - Week 16 - Flash Gordon vs Narnia

I decided that I wanted to get my Flash Gordon army out for this week's game of HOTT, and cast around for a suitable opponent. Or an amusing one. And the Narnians were still on the table from the previous game of HOTT, so I decided to use them.

The Narnians defended, and laid a terrain designed to limit the movement of Flash's aerial contingent.

The initial Narnian deployment saw them set up on the big hill in their deployment zone, with their beasts in the rocks on their left.

Flash took to the centre, supported by Prince Thun's Lion Men and his rocket-ship.

But he went for a gamble - the Frigian riders and the Hawkmen were deployed way out to the left where they could swing past the rocks and turn the Narnian right, which was open terrain and defended by a warband and a couple of hordes.

Flash's centre looked temptingly weak, and simply sitting and waiting for his flank attack wasn't going to win the battle, so the Narnians opted for a rapid advance, aiming to hit the opposing centre hard. It did rely on using their hero general, but the Narnians had theirs well supported, and were confident that they could create the necessary overlaps required to minimise the risks.

The Hawkmen made an early attack on the Narnian right, but were driven back.

The Narnians continued to press forward. Aslan swung across to the right in order to take on the rocket-ship, whilst the beasts covered the left flank.

Having committed the Hawkmen early, such that they were now pinned, Flash had limited options when it came to slowing the Narnian advance. So he went for an indirect approach, continuing the Frigian advance out on his far left flank. If they could threaten the Narnian stronghold then they'd have to pull back troops to defend it.

The Narnians closed. They now had the advantage of the hill on Flash's right and, to make matters worse, Flash rolled a 1 for PIPs. Dale and Zarkov moved quickly to support the rocket-ship.

The Narnian attack was swift and brutal. The Lion Men found themselves attacked by a giant on one side and swarms of beasts and riders on the other.

They were wiped out. Flash and Barin were alone and exposed as Peter Pevensie and his brother and sisters closed in for the kill.

But Flash is a true hero, and more than capable of dealing with a bunch of London evacuees. A lucky combat roll helps as well.

The Narnians had lost their general, but with the Lion Men having been destroyed, losses were equal, so the battle continued. Flash only got one PIP with which to exploit this temporary advantage, and was still dangerously exposed to a vigorous Narnian attack should they get the PIPs to mount one.

He closed in on the giant, where he'd get some support from the rocket-ship.

The giant was driven back, but in the next bound the Narnians used their single permitted move to bring both him and Aslan back into the attack. This was a tricky decision for the Narnians; it was a risky attack, given the overlap on Aslan, and possibly holding back and bringing over a rider or beast from the hill would have been a better move. But Flash's response then could be an attack by himself and the rocket ship, with Dale and Zarkov swinging in on Aslan's flank in support of the rocket. This latter move would leave Aslan fighting at a greater penalty, since Flash's companions would be in bad going, forcing Aslan to take an additional -2 combat modifier. By moving forward into the attack Aslan avoided this flanking move.

It was the lesser of two evils, but the dice still punished it; Aslan was shot to pieces by the rocket-ship. This was sufficient to break the Narnian army ...

... but Flash finished things off in style, destroying the giant as well.

The end of the battle. Flash's risky initial setup looked likely to have cost him the game early on, and the Narnians were very much in control. But a single bad combat roll saw the tide of battle turn, Flash kept his nerve and pulled off a decisive win.