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What benefit are Reg A?

 
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Art
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 6:40 pm    Post subject: What benefit are Reg A?

In building Romans, I'm trying to understand what makes Reg A troops better than Reg B?

For Samurai, Irr A are obviously better than Irr B but I haven't figured out what makes Reg A worth buying.

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Art
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Ewan McNay
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 6:50 pm    Post subject:

The biggest benefit is that A class troops are never - *never* - uneasy. Making Reg B troops uneasy is pretty simple, as a single cause will do so.

In a Roman list, though, the only troops I would seriously consider making Reg A would be auxilia, if that were an option; not cost-effective for cavalry, LI, or legions.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 7:16 pm    Post subject:

Art: Case in point, my Burgundian Ordonnance list. I have a unit (could have more) of mixed Household LB and CB. All are Reg B. I upgrade 1E to Reg A, presto, a unit that is *never* uneasy.

Keep in mind that this approach only makes sense if your playing style is one where you're willing to trade off waver checks for the ability to do things. I am. Thus, having such units means I'm only blowing tests on a 1. Now for some people, that is *still* odds they don't like, ie. the "play the game to minimize waver tests". If that's how you play, then a Reg A upgrade in unlikely to be of much use to your playing style.

scott

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Adrian Williams
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:08 pm    Post subject:

While any Reg A in a unit makes that unit never uneasy, there appears to be no additional benefit in having more than one element as Reg A where the remainder can be Reg B.

Tell me if I am wrong.

Adrian

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Adrian Williams
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:09 pm    Post subject:

The never uneasy comes from having a single element of Reg A. The problem to my mind is that if the unit is Reg B with a single unit of Reg A there is no benefit to making the whole of the unit Reg A.

I would be pleased to be corrected.

Adrian

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:58 pm    Post subject:

I can find no other advantage, but then, I don't play them. Note that the element(s) of Reg A must be in the front rank to render the entire unit not uneasy (see p. 25). Thus, units that contract and expand a lot or otherwise shuffle ranks, intentionally or as a result of formation or facing changes, would need to be quite careful about counting on this bonus to the entire unit from just one Reg A element.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:07 am    Post subject:

Multiple posts: posting almost always works, even when the system tells you it has not Smile.

Reg A - you're correct, a single front-rank element is enough. Greek is correct on 'shuffling,' however; note that this also matters for e.g. units with mixed armour classes, especially something like a unit of SHK/MC which turns 180 degrees and is suddenly a MC-fronted unit...
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:23 pm    Post subject:

Ewan McNay wrote:
Multiple posts: posting almost always works, even when the system tells you it has not Smile.

Reg A - you're correct, a single front-rank element is enough. Greek is correct on 'shuffling,' however; note that this also matters for e.g. units with mixed armour classes, especially something like a unit of SHK/MC which turns 180 degrees and is suddenly a MC-fronted unit...


Unless, of course, said SHK/MC unit is 2 elements with an SHK general since, as the rules tell us, the general is always in the front. Helps keep those Reg As in the front, too. Cheesy, but effective.


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Ewan McNay
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:34 pm    Post subject:

The rules really say that?*

[*No, I don't actually have any doubt that Mark is correct. This is purely a rhetorical device to indicate my own ignorance.]

Wow. So something like - oh, say my Sassanid SHC generals with their rear rank of EHC - had absolutely no need to spend time exchanging ranks this past weekend. Woohoo!
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 7:23 pm    Post subject: Thinking out loud...

Okay, just thinking out loud...

For EI Romans, Reg A are best only to be placed in the front rank especially for leaders (Mark's "cheesy" rule in effect) to prevent unease. As I have no experience mixing units, what effect does this have on tests such as waver test? Does the front stand's morale count as the entire units morale? Do you take the lowest morale as the unit's morale?

For Irr A (like Samurai), keep the entire unit as A in order to be able to charge unprompted. You can mix Irr B Samurai with Ashigaru. You can raise the Ashigaru morale to B but if the front rank is the modifying unit, do you really need to upgrade the Ashigaru? In fact, do you need to upgrade them to LHI from LMI if Samurai are the front line? What benefit is there to spending the extra cost?

Also, the front rank has 2HCW which only allows one rank to fight...does this mean that even if I purchase 1HCW or LTS for the second rank, can they fight?

Thanks in advance,
Art
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:13 pm    Post subject:

Ewan McNay wrote:
The rules really say that?*

[*No, I don't actually have any doubt that Mark is correct. This is purely a rhetorical device to indicate my own ignorance.]

Wow. So something like - oh, say my Sassanid SHC generals with their rear rank of EHC - had absolutely no need to spend time exchanging ranks this past weekend. Woohoo!


Page 38, section 6.122, "180 Degree Turn: Turns of 180 degrees are made by turning each element of the body 180 degrees in place. Elements containing generals may then replace a front rank element directly to their (new) front."


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 11:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Thinking out loud...

Art wrote:
Okay, just thinking out loud...

For EI Romans, Reg A are best only to be placed in the front rank especially for leaders (Mark's "cheesy" rule in effect) to prevent unease. As I have no experience mixing units, what effect does this have on tests such as waver test? Does the front stand's morale count as the entire units morale? Do you take the lowest morale as the unit's morale?


Jon will correct me if I'm wrong here (or below), but If you're talking about a mixed unit of Reg A and Reg B with at least one element of Reg A in the front, this is functionally equivalent to an entire Reg A unit: makes counters on anything but a 1, passes wavers on anything but a 1 because never uneasy, and removes one minus from a down roll in h-t-h combat.

If you mean Reg A with a lower morale grade like Reg C, would waver test (and counter) at the lower morale grade, but gain the benefit of never being uneasy because of the presence of the As.

Art wrote:
For Irr A (like Samurai), keep the entire unit as A in order to be able to charge unprompted. You can mix Irr B Samurai with Ashigaru. You can raise the Ashigaru morale to B but if the front rank is the modifying unit, do you really need to upgrade the Ashigaru? In fact, do you need to upgrade them to LHI from LMI if Samurai are the front line? What benefit is there to spending the extra cost?


You don't have to be entirely Irr A to charge unprompted. Read the Orders rules carefully on this. Having some Irr A is often enough to get that unprompted charge.

The Ashigaru question is more of a tactics question than a rules question, but here are the rules aspects of it:
- If you don't do a morale upgrade for the Ashigaru then the unit tests at the morale class of the Ashigaru but needs two causes of unease to be uneasy since its front rank is entirely Irr B.
- If you don't up-armor the Ahsigaru then, in the event that you become disordered, your opponent counts as fighting the armor class of the Ashigaru (LMI) but the shield bonus of the front rank (+2 for shieldless if LHI, +1 for shieldless if LEHI).

Me, I'd probably do the morale upgrade but not the armor upgrade, and hide the Ashigaru behind a front rank of Samurai. But again, that's a tactical question.

Art wrote:
Also, the front rank has 2HCW which only allows one rank to fight...does this mean that even if I purchase 1HCW or LTS for the second rank, can they fight?

Thanks in advance,
Art


LTS can fight only behind LTS. 1HCW can fight from behind 2HCW, and that often makes a nice combination. What you really want in the front is 2HCT, and yes, 1HCW can fight from behind that also.


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