Just talkin' Billhooks

 just talkin'...

 A Game of Chance?

Never Mind the Billhooks, as the author Andy Callan himself declares, is a fun game of toy soldiers and is not in any way an attempt to simulate actual historical warfare.

  Andy also says “Forget plans! Never mind the Tactics! Rolling high and drawing the best cards is the only way to win at Billhooks”. And of course he is right!  However, it is worth taking a moment to consider the composition of your force and the strengths and weaknesses of the various units in Billhooks and how they may be best deployed. Having played some forty games and participated in all three BASHes here are my thoughts.

Front Rank minis- a delight to paint

 

But at the same time games of Billhooks do tend to play out in a way that feels historically right. The game captures the essence of the period well and while there are sometimes entertaining routs and slaughters other battles will quite often be close-run things. The question I always ask my opponent at the end of the game is, did this feel like it could have been an historical report of a battle from the Wars of the Roses? The answer, invariably, is yes. 

In Nevermind and for Albion in Deluxe, Bows and Bills  companies are the meat and  potatoes of your army. You can field  a decent force that is quite able to win many battles by just using them. The big decision is whether to deploy them in blocks or singly. The deciding factor here is inevitably the ability of your leaders as single units require a lot more orders to be issued. Leader abilities are diced for randomly at the beginning of the game and decide how many orders a leader can issue, which in turn determines how many units he can command. Two units in a block require only one order whereas two individual units requite two orders. Companies in block are stronger in melee but if one unit has to test its morale and fails then both will be affected by the result.   

 It’s ultimately a question of finding the right balance for your play style  If in doubt the Bow/Bill Block is reliable, adaptable, and effective; it can deal with most threats and is certainly recommended for players who are new to the ebb and flow of the game. 

Double de bows is double de arrers!

Double Bows? Archer blocks, in line, can be deadly, loosing an arrow-storm of 48 dice, but they are vulnerable to being charged, so attach a leader to them that they may choose to evade away from charges

    A double unit of archers can effectively remove a pike block’s ability by causing enough casualties to reduce its ranks as the Pikes lack their own archers to screen them from harm. In Deluxe the fast moving, lightly armoured Swiss pikes are likely to prove more vulnerable to this tactic.

  Overall- loose your arrowstorms as regularly and opportunistically as you can. The micro dice tracking a unit’s arrow supply rarely runs out before they get bogged down in melee, are evading trouble, or otherwise engaged in activities that stop them pulling some bowstrings.

Bristol boys! De Bare and Mead-land pirates!

Murder Machine“These monsters of mayhem, these mothers of murder, these masters of melee” without doubt Men at Arms are the most reliable, effective slaughter machine on the field. These are often game winners, particularly if led by a hero. TIP- shield them with bows or skirmishers from enemy arrow-storms and get them into combat undamaged by the most direct route you can.

Overall: Heroes on the battlefield, use these armoured men boldly and count on them to be about the most reliable unit at your disposal. If you’re going to build a plan around any unit, make it the Men-at-Arms!

TIP -Try to "get the drop " on your opponents by charging them before they charge you and benefit from rerolling any 1's in your first round of melee.

Picture courtesy of Mark Taylor

Don’t tell ‘em your name… Pikes are the nearest thing to an OP unit in Nevermind. They cost the same as Bills but can count four ranks in melee. At BASH 3 Ian Callan’s pike men went on a spree in each of his battles, cutting a path to the enemy’s baseline and returning by the same route on two occasions. He did not think it too many. 

  TIP counter pike blocks with skirmishers and archers as at the third battle of BASH, the Yorkist archers and skirmisher shot great blizzards of arrows into the ranks of pike men and then charged them with an intact company of Men at Arms Picture courtesy of Mark Taylor

  TIP always charge pikes with Men at Arms, if melee is inevitable, to gain the advantage of rerolling 1’s, and the extra protection in saving rolls from the Men at Arms heavy armour should carry the day. 

Deluxe gives us the mighty pike blocks of the Swiss, fast moving, hard hitting and fearless! They suffer an extra hit from each shot from a Great Gonne and have low saving throws so shoot them with your cannon, and your archers and use skirmishers to harry their flanks.

Deluxe introduces the Herce formation, a combined unit of longbowmen and spears, used by English Armies and Free Companies. The archers in this unit can shoot twice in response to being charged., effectively reproducing the arrow storms of Crecy and Agincourt.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Billhooks is a surprisingly subtle game in some aspects. The balance between the different types of units is pretty near perfect. There is a kind of rock, paper, scissors element to the game. For example, artillery are notoriously “swingy”, very often achieving nothing or blowing themselves up, however, they can knock great holes in your Men at Arms as found out at the battle of Bristol Independent Gaming, 3rd March 2021 when the opening shot of the battle killed five of them. Artillery are themselves vulnerable to attack from Light Cavalry or skirmishers. TIP: wait for your opponent to set up his artillery before you deploy your M@A and place them anywhere but opposite them.

Picture courtesy of Mark Taylor

Artillery has one weakness tho, apart from spontaneous self-inflicted explosion of course, in that they have to return fire at any unit shooting at them. Artillery can only roll half their dice at skirmishers so one tactic to nullify your opponent’s artillery is to send a band of skirmishers to harass them. This tactic also has its risks as the skirmishers will be exposed to shooting from archer units, however, if your opponent places his artillery in an exposed position, unsupported by archers, as at the first Battle of BASH, Peters v Harris, where skirmishers were able to harass the artillery crew to death!

TIP, if possible, negate artillery by skirmishing them with skirmishers

Artillery has another prime function due to their long range, they can stop the manoeuvre phase and put an end to any scouting light horse looking to flank your position. TIP don’t plan for a long manoeuvre phase if your opponent is equipped with a Great Gonne

Skirmishers, a Forlorn Hope?

Swiss mercenary Harqubusiers-with Pavise

 Skirmishers are a bit of an historical anomaly, at least in there is no documented evidence of their existence in the Wars of the Roses yet bands of mercenaries bearing bows, crossbows and hand guns are known to have been employed universally during this period and not en masse in formed units, so they are at the very least an historical possibility. 

In game terms skirmishers are never going to be a game winner. They are frail compared to other troop types and are often wiped out by a couple of arrow-storms. They are vulnerable to being charged by light cavalry and will rarely survive a moral test. However, they can be a nuisance and can keep your opponent under pressure with a steady flow of casualties. As mentioned, they can nullify artillery TIP use your skirmishers on the flanks of your opponent’s units outside of the targets  45 degree frontal arc where he is unable to shoot back

Deluxe introduces some new armies where skirmishers have a bigger presence, notably the Portuguese who also use mounted skirmisher bands. It’s hard to predict how they will perform on the tabletop but I suspect light cavalry will be the antidote to their hit and run antics

TIP Skirmisher carrying crossbows and hand guns cost the same points as those armed with bows and have the added advantage of reducing the saving throws of Men at Arms for no extra points! Say no more squire!

15th C knight, Very heavy armour, no flowing Caparison

The Knights Tale Knights are an expensive rarity, however, legend has it that they have a powerful, unstoppable charge which if used correctly can destroy enemy units in one swift round of melee. I have never witnessed their use and the accounts, nay say rumours, that I have heard tell only of their inevitable defeat. They can be a great liability as their high status means that all units within 12" will have to test morale if they break.

However, with Deluxe covering the hundred years war and other knight-heavy periods and with rules for double blocks the knight will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in future games

A scurrer by any other name

Light cavalry is a horse of a different colour however. Whether they are scurrers, prickers, jinetes, ginetes, Besteiros de Garrucha, Stradiots or just light horse they are all swift and manoeuvrable and can turn on a groat, they can disrupt your opponent’s plans by their mere presence behind his lines or by threatening his flanks or the vulnerable Great Gonnes. How to counter them? Turn to face or ignore them and risk a charge? A single charge even into an enemy’s rear is unlikely to result in victory but their ability to “bounce” off their target can lead to a series of consecutive charges that may eventually bring success.

Unlike most troops, they have a double ability to evade or counter charge that means they can usually get themselves out of trouble or deliver a punch in response to threats. They are death to skirmishers or artillery crews who cannot move quickly enough to evade them. They can tie up several of your opponents’ units by being in the right place. A word of warning tho, they are vulnerable to missiles and their high status, can cause multiple routs if they are broken, as at the second battle of BASH Brease v Peters or third BASH Peters v Clark wherein both instances, routing light cavalry caused a chain reaction of routing units that lost the battle for their own side. Deluxe introduces javelin hurling Jinets and crossbow wielding light cavalry, be it the Latch toting reivers or the heavier crossbows of the Portuguese. 

The"Plump" Yorkist Prickers deliverd a killer charge at Tewkesbury

TIP light cavalry can be invaluable, indispensable even, if your opponent fields them, however, they will not win the battle and might cause you to lose it. They are definitely best used as an independent command, under the leadership of a dolt if you have one, as far from your battle lines as they can reach

TIP light cavalry are vulnerable to missiles, they have a lower saving throw from missiles than they do in melee so shoot them whenever you’re able. Like skirmishers they are a small unit and only require four casualties to take a morale test and, like skirmishers, they only roll one dice to test morale and will fail half the time.  

Kern Up the Volume

I have nothing to say of Kerns as I have not had any experience of employing or facing them. “Shoot them full of arrows” would seem a wise historical precedent to follow. However, Steve Woods of Arcane Scenery has used them often and says “Do not underestimate the power of Kern skirmishers! I always take a band. They can move quickly and so can out flank the enemy and if available, skulk in cover out of harm’s way until they are ready to pounce. They throw 6 dice in hand-to-hand combat and save on a 5 and 6. (they only save on a 6 against archery). This gives them an advantage against other skirmishers who only throw 3 dice in combat. As they are as fast as other skirmishers, they can usually catch them if they attempt to evade. Their shooting is poor, with a range of only 6 inches but if they are behind an enemy unit, they are a damned nuisance! If they can charge a flank from cover or within one move, the enemy unit cannot turn and face and so a mixed block of bill and archers will be fighting with 3 dice against 6! If the dice Goddess is kind, you can win the combat and force a morale check. They are fragile though and tend to be a one shot unit as they will pursue a routing unit (even if it runs off the table) and if they bounce in combat will become disarrayed.”

Be Lucky!

Billhooks is a wickedly capricious, fun game where no two battles are the same. When you win you can take the credit for your excellent generalship, when you lose, you can blame your bad luck.

General TIP 1 be aggressive! The game rewards he who attacks, archery has its place but is unlikely to win many battles and Bow units caught in melee inevitably come off worse. The rerolling of “1’s” in attack can make a huge difference.

TIP 2- Use your Leaders attached to units in melee, the automatic hits they generate are game winners in later rounds when companies are disarrayed.

TIP 3- Do not camp in your deployment area. If your units are daunted, they will rout from the table and cost you dear

TOP TIP always use your lucky dice and issue a silent prayer to the Goddess before EVERY roll.

Deluxe brings new armies and many surprises. The scenarios add a whole new dimension to the game. The Reivers look like pure fun, Helvetia is very colourful if somewhat frightening, the Irish give me an excuse to get those Antediluvian Gallowglasses that I crave and I have no idea how to deal with a Hussite army but I can’t wait to find out!

 Thanks to Mark Taylor for thr pics of Pikes and the Great Gonne, more of Mark's beautifully painted figure scan be see here https://www.flickr.com/photos/rlps/albums/72157716748719937?fbclid=IwAR135iuERuILX2uoaK0NHDdDkelIzCekzoq--YD0BmpmNjxujttgMi0yvEQ/with/50754727042

And thanks also to Steve Woods for his wise words on kerns and the picture of the wild wooly saffron dyed lunatics. A link to Steves blog can be found here https://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/