So, after several games of Battlelore, I am finding that only a handful of games have been close, while many have been one sided, even though both sides were relatively evenly matched at the beginning of the game. When one side starts dominating the game, what are some good strategies for battling back or fighting defensively?

Here's a scenario I recently had: The English were fighting the French with the victory condition being six banners. Several rounds into the game the English had already collected four banners, while the French had collected none. How can a side come back from a battle that is going poorly for them (I know this is kind of abstract, without having the battlefield visually represented...I'm just looking for general strategies on how to employ different, effective strategies).

Here's some ideas I had:

• Should the French fight defensively, pulling units back and together, forcing the English to come to them? By pulling together, the French would gain the Bold status, but this does not really make them stronger on the attack. Also, would this be giving up the initiative to the English...the way to win is kill off units and collect banners, and a strategy of this type seems like it would give the English more opportunity to attack, thus eliminating units (assuming the English player pushed the attack).
• Should the French mass forward, battling back with a fierceness, attacking any English unit that was available, in the hopes of destroying some units and getting some banners on their side?

These are just some thoughts. Anyone else have any ideas or thoughts they'd like to contribute on Battlelore strategy and tactics?

As you said, a bit abstract here - is it 4-0 with the leading side still being at relative full strength, or is it 4-0 with the leading side having several 1 and 2 figure units? Typically it is the latter rather than the former, but if it is the former the losing side is going to have to catch some breaks to go along with smart play. If the leading side has several units about to break, chasing those down while protecting from further loss becomes the game for the side with the banner deficit. Yes, "thank you, Captain Obvious", I know.

So many factors to be considered in the game - is the side that is down gearing up for Assault, or some other ace-in-the-hole situation? What do the Lore goblets look like, what are the War Council make-ups? One of the reasons I enjoy this game so much are all the different factors in play during a game. Though there are some fundamental best practices, the game does allow and reward different styles of play. I tend to be cautious until an opening presents itself, and then go full bore. I am invovled in a lot of 6-2, 6-3 games, but sometimes due to poor results from the aggression, I am on the 2 or 3 side rather than the 6 Plenty of single banner victory margins as well though, and often very exciting games that have lore plays tilt the balance (sometimes a couple times within the same turn) early and late.

Yeah, I guess it's a little abstract...what I'm looking for I guess are good defensive and offensive strategies. By reviewing the rules after my original post, I realized I had been missing something the entire time I had been playing Battlelore. A "Battle Back"is allowed anytime your unit is Bold, not just when a flag is rolled against that unit. This makes putting your units into a Bold position very advantageous. If your units are arranged in a staggered line, like a Medieval shield wall, they can all benefit from being Bold and they can be in a very strong, defensive position where the attacking units can expect heavy casualities if they want to break the "wall." Below is an example of what I'm talking about, where eaxh "X" represents a unit in a single hex.

X X X X X

X X X X

Notice how each unit in the rear, if staggered between the forward units, lends its support to either side, and the two flanking units in front support each other, so no matter which unit is attacked, it always has two support units, thus making the unit Bold and easily able to "Battle Back."

My preferred formation is a little different from yours (let's call it A formation), allowing one empty hex between units in the back row (let's call it B formation). It's a little less strong, but offers flexibility .

First, it allows bold units to fall back in case of 2 flags. In a strong, rigid A formation like one you mentioned above, 2 flags will kill a figure while keeping the line intact. Unless it happens on the edge, formation B will maintain its boldness, and sometimes even creating a cavalry-baiting trap gap. Smart players mostly will not fall into this trap, but sometimes the lure of 1 or 2 figures unit is hard to pass.

Second, it allows units on the front to be quickly exchanged with the units on the back, retaining the maximum number of effective unit, while positioning the wounded unit to safety. This can really help in keeping your banners from your enemy.

Third, while formation A and formation B offers the same number of effective unit (those in the front line), formation B needs less units on the back row. This means those units can be used elsewhere and/or for other purposes.

But as I said, formation B is a little weaker than formation A, and some strikes on the right spots can destroy it faster than if it is were formation A.

Of course these all are hypothetical, as battle lines are often not a rigid straight line, and the actual 'number of effective unit' will always depend on the position of enemy units.

Sevejthose are some great ideas. I think both formations would be good defensive formations. If you are trying to hold an area or a line while reserve units in the rear advance, these formations (A and B) could hold well. They might fall apart offensively, because you could not effectively gain ground without breaking the formation. However, with an "Attack" card that allows you to move three units on a specific wing, you could advance your units in this formation, being an offensive juggernaught.

Another key component is, of course, making premium use of terrain, and matching unit types to the terrain - no use sending those heavily armed and armoured red units into the forest to fight - it limits them. Green banner units can make full use of the cover though and fare much better. I have had some great fight backs by making sure I seize on terrain features - also emboldening units through support who are in a good position (on a hill or in a forest for example - though it can be a balance between this and allowing for a retreat path when required).

Also, if my units are being pummeled, I try and pull back weaker units to preserve my flags (where possible). Using fast units or archers to go after retreating weaker units is also quite enjoyable!

Just some of my thoughts as well!

Cheers,

Giles.

Yeah, terrain is vital. Green units are best at marsh/forest, blues at hills, and reds at countryside. Therefore, green units are also viable sacrifices for knocking dwarfs off hill.

Other tactics that most players have already know:

Luring an enemy unit so that unit can later be attacked by 3 or more of your own units.

A good plan of attack. This is sort of complicated. It's something like this. First, if I want a full-strength enemy unit killed, I'd sent 3 or more units against it. 1 or 2 just don't cut it. So, suppose the enemy has unit 1, 2, and 3. I attack unit 1 with A, B, and C. An 'average' plan of attack means A, B, and C can attack unit 1. There are some things I do to increase the 'average' attack to a 'good' attack. One option it to make sure that unit 1 does not move anywhere, i.e. blocking its retreat path. But when you're already attacking with 3 units, chance are you will not be able to block its retreat. In this case, other units should have secondary targets. The best one is if the target unit is allowed 1retreat hex, and I have a cavalry adjacent to that hex.

Which unit attacks first? I usually make my first attack with a unit that has only 1 target to make sure all my units get to attack. There are some exceptions though. For example if the target unit is at 1 or 2 figure, and you want a bonus attack with a cavalry unit. Also, an attacker's health and banner color may affect my decision.

Look at the big picture. If a unit starts on the middle section, it doesn't have to stay there forever. Adapt accordingly.

Hand management. If you have 2 or 3 cards to order your strongest section, wait patiently until you have 3 or 4 (more is better obviously). Play other section cards to arrange units in defensive formation in those sections.In an ideal condition, I'd want at least 3 cards before I begin to launch an attack to keep the momentum.

Again, this is all hypothetical. No plan survives contact with battle dice or command cards (or those lores).

Sevej said:

I'd say the hand management is one of the tricky things to learn.

Also, I often find myself in a strongly reactive mode, and that's not a good place to be.

Yeah, it takes experience to determine when to push forward. Either wait until you've got solid command cards, or push immediately to gain first strike and initiative, praying to lady luck to give you the appropriate cards. Not a really good idea, but sometimes necessary. This is one of the subtle factors of command cards that I like.