15mm Wargaming for Fun and Sanity: OGAM Thunder and Lightning, power and rain, a Japanese perfect storm!

There seems to be a time every year when my life turns Japanese. I'm building some larp stuff at present and after pulling all my Achaeans out of their (11) boxes it suddenly occurred to me that I'd painted some more (mundane, from Eurika via Fighting 15's) Japanese that I hadn't used yet. My original plan was to get Athene out, but then I decided to do the most diverse forces possible. A mundane high quality force with one legend and a mythic with 5 legends.

Ryujin, the Dragon King 396 points Q2 C5

Amphibious, Gargantuan, Shapeshift (human form: Q2, C5), Water God, Weather Control, Armoured, Flying, Part Waters

Warlord 144 points Q3 C3 Armoured, Mounted, Long Move, Shooter (Long), Bard, Rare (1)

Chosen Samurai (CO) Q4 C3 Armoured, Fanatic, Mounted and Long Move, Shooter (Long) and Good Shot. 32 points @8 =256

Samurai (CO) Q4 C2 Armoured, Steadfast Mounted and Long Move for 15 points. Shooter (Long) and Good Shot for 10 points. 8@ 47= 376

Samurai (CO) Q4 C2 Armoured, Steadfast 16@ 22 = 352

God 396

Legend 144

Mortals 984

Total 1,524

Raijin, God of Thunder 368 points Q2 C4

Lightning, Weather Control, Flying, Long Move, Hammering Blow

Kirin 124 points Q3 C3 Flying, Shooter (Medium), Dashing, Long Move, Armoured, Rare (1)

Jorogumo, Spider Woman Q3 C2 Labyrinth The Labyrinth Trait represent the Jorogumo binding her targets with spider webs. 2X 60 = 120

2 Nure-Onna, Snake-Bodied Woman Q3 C3 Amphibious, Huge 2x72 =144

Warriors (CO) Q4 C2 Armoured 16@20 points =320

Warriors (CO) Q4 C2 Shooter (Medium) 16@20 points =320

Spider demons Q4 C2, 15 animal-2 greedy (q test destroys enemy) -3 Dashing 8@ 14 =112

God 368

Legends 388

Mortals 752

Total 1,508

I've gotten some stick because I called KOW & Dragon Rampant “clunky” and slow. So I'm going to take my time (longer than it took to play) to describe the first 2 rounds.

Tony took the mythic. I used a box file to block off and we both set up more like Battlesworn, but I guessed this could be a long game. He struggled to get them all on and adopted a crescent formation.

He won the toss and started a general advance.

In DR you'd be lucky to get 1/3 to move, in both I'd be sat back twiddling my thumbs.

I was lucky as there were enough reactions to move most of mine forward. So as he advanced, so did I, just like real encounters. He got most of the way along before failing, so the play moved to me.

I continued to advance and got my archers to take out a spider. Now like uses likes reactions. I needed to get my dragon into the fray, reducing units and taking out legends. But I got 1 fail. The thunder god can use lightning once a turn. You can shoot on reaction. This he did, taking out my only legend.

In the other systems Tony would have been twiddling thumbs bar the one piece of shooting. That ended the round, so any at-the-back troops can take a move forward. Again, not possible.

I was working up a three-pronged attack. My left dragon & archers were keeping his archers busy, my central archers started a running battle with the spiders while my right Samurai engaged the goblins and the spiderwoman.

Then the Dragon took out some archers and a spiderwoman, the legends and god headed his way. At the clash Raijin got lucky and knocked down Ryujin, but it didn't last long and a chomp! Took him down due to rolling a 1 with a hammering blow. Morale, one group of archers goes off, most of the rest goes back. But you cannot keep a good god down. Up he pops thanks to Greenbacks Greenies. The Kirin went for my cavalry, Raijin my Samurai, and Ryujin the Nure-Onna. Time for another clash, and again the god of thunder goes. More retire, a couple of small units dissapear.

Up he pops again for the second time. My Samurai are looking ragged, cavalry reduced, legend dead. Tony's numbers have evaporated but I'm still outnumbered. The spiders make a break for the rear of my Samurai and I'm hard pushed to hold them. But Tony's are suffering so it's back to the brawl again – and it's another 1. The thunder god is done. More lose morale and there's not enough. Mine are left holding a stricken field littered with dead.

What a good game! Trading punches all the way. Fast, furious and we both had to think. Tony had the advantage of having troops to invoke and other forces to protect them. Quality will out.