Hey all,
Happy New Year!!! War is only 6 1/2 months away and the time to prepare is NOW!!!
I'm half joking. I'm willing to fight in a melee anytime there's a good one available. Last weekend we had a long day of fighting in New York state. It was, quite possibly, the highest average quality of fighter I've ever had the pleasure to fight with. We had 25 fighters, which included 10 knights, and 6 additional members of the Order of the Tygers Combatant, all melee specialists.
The Format
It was pretty simple. Run some scenarios. Let each team figure out on their own what strategy to adopt, who to command, etc. Run through several iterations and then regroup and discuss. Rinse and repeat.
The Scenarios
3v3s, 4v4s, 5v5s, 7v7s, 10v10s, etc. all single death field battles.
Breach battles with a single resurrection for each fighter.
Breach battles with a "goat path" with a single resurrection for each fighter.
Control point timed bridge battles with different numbers of lives.
More small team single death field battles.
Looking for Mismatches
One of the problems early on was that a number of fighters were finding matched, 1v1 situations and fighting them as if they were in a singles practice.
What you want to look for in a melee, particularly in fast paced single death field battles, are mismatches where you have a clear advantage. Examples of these are:
- Numbers Advantage; You have more fighters than them at the point of contact
- Skill Advantage; You have a BIG mismatch in skill
- Range Advantage; ie a spear hitting a shield, or a shield within striking distance of a spear
- Positional Advantage; Hitting them on a flank, or when they are distracted by something else
- Momentum Advantage; They are on their heels
So in the flow of the battle, the goal is to identify when you have these advantages, and when the other side has them. If you have an advantage, execute quickly. If you don't, then deny the engagement and look to find an advantageous situation.
The only time you should really fight without a clear advantage is when your team has no better options available.
Note: This is only one piece of field tactics. I don't want to leave the impression that fighters should run out onto the field and look for mismatches without a cohesive strategy for the entire unit.
Don't Fight with Your Back to the Fighting
If at all possible, position yourself so that you are facing the main fighting with your opponent's back to the fighting. In the diagram below, each blue fighter can see the entire arena of battle, while each white fighter cannot. When possible, try to turn your opponents so that their backs are to the fighting.
Field Battle Tactics
The tactics in the field battles, in general, can be summed up pretty simply:
- Everyone run to one flank or the other
- Most people run to one flank while leaving a small number to deny the other
- Split into two units and run at both flanks
There were also some specific tasks given to individuals:
"You, run down the archer/spear in the backfield."
"You, don't get caught in a spear duel with their spear."
"You, hang in the middle and try to hit these internal flanks."
etc.
The above list is not the only way to execute a field battle, but they were all good ways to do it given the level of experience and weapons mix.
Shield Wall vs Mob
A shield wall provides a (mostly) impenetrable front to lead your forces into action. When it moves, there's not really any opportunity kills from the enemy as everyone is very well protected. In theory, a shield wall can move into position and crash through a less organized group of fighters.
Pictured below is a shield wall that is charging hard to its right flank, well protected, with the expectation that it will have a numerical advantage once it arrives (9v5 on the flank).
The benefit of the mob is that it can move faster as a tight unit cohesion does not need to be maintained. It also allows the fighters the flexibility to avoid the front of the slower moving shield wall.
Pictured below you can see that the white mob move's around blue's flank while avoiding the front of the wall giving them a flanking advantage as well as greater numbers at the point of contact. Moving as a mob allows them to move faster than moving as a wall.
Note: This is not an either/or situation. A unit can move as a tight shield wall, a loose shield wall, a tight mob, or a loose mob. To what the degree the shields are in the front or a different mix of weapons are in the front is also variable.
In most of our engagements this weekend, the units moved in what I wall call a shield lead mob. The right tactic entirely depends on a lot of variables including the abilities of both your team and the opponent's team.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
- Sir Bari of Anglesey, East Kingdom
