Pointy Sticks Ayton Nov ‘21

[garyp]

Pretty flexible, the main thing is unit frontage. Standard units are supposed to be 160-200mm for infantry and light chariots, 150-200mm for cavalry, 160-240 for heavy chariots and 80-120 for artillery. Elephants are a single model for a unit.

Most infantry and cavalry are 2 deep, although heavy infantry in phalanx are 3 or 4 (I think the accepted convention is typically 3 for long spears, like hoplites, and 4 for pikes). Warbands are 4 deep.

Skirmishers are typically categorised as small, with 8 to 12 figures in an open order cloud.

Having said all that, my units don't comply because they're on Impetus 120mm bases, so we can pick any standard size we like. I suggest if we have lots of units we go 'epic' and have a 240mm frontage which will make a 2 deep line 24 figures and phalanx and warbands 48. If we're struggling for numbers we can halve that.

So it doesn't really matter what we do, as long as basing is approximately consistent throughout

I suggest we look at how the participants have based their figures and decide on the definition of 'standard' units at that point.

Clear as mud . . . . . .

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I’m not too phased about basing.

[goat major]

Ok thanks I’ll have a look at how that works out with mine. Should mostly be ok for me as my figures are based 20mm frontage per figure. Three deep Hoplite phalanxes is odd though and hopefully there’s a workaround otherwise I’ll be throwing my two deep based army in the bin

[garyp]

Depth is unimportant. It's about the look of the thing. Personally, I think a phalanx looks cool 4 deep, but there's no problem if you haven't painted enough figures and want to go with a 2 deep line

[goat major]

Ok..... hopefully we are mixing up phalanxes , I’m meaning Hoplites not pikemen. The Thebans may go deeper of course .

But if depth doesn’t matter then it’s all good

[Jeremy]

Thebans always like it deeper

[garyp]

Both hoplites and pikemen benefit from the phalanx rule which makes them harder to break in combat. A pike phalanx gets a better bonus, which is why it's suggested pikes are deeper. Crudely it's a way of visualising the 'rank bonus'. Some spearmen don't get the bonus (my Mycenaean spears for example) so they deploy 2 deep. We can quite happily use 2 deep hoplites and give them the bonus anyway.

[goat major]

Phew that’s a relief - as I’ve just realised that many of my Hoplite figures physically can’t be placed deeper than two ranks due to the legacy thrusting spear sculpts !

[garyp]

What size units have you organised them into?

[Jeremy]

I’ve got all my close order are infantry based on 40x40 with 4 to a base, 24 man units. Cavalry are 50x50 with 2 to a base, 12 man units.