Zagros Highlanders (Lullubi) vs. Elamites

[Texus Maximus]

My son and I played two games this weekend using my 15mm Lullubi (Zagros Highlander) and early Elamite armies. I took the Elamites for both games.

The Lullubi were the invaders in the first game so the topography was hilly. There were six pieces of terrain; one steep hill, one stream, and four wooded hills. The key terrain for this battle was a wooded hill in in the center, just in front of the Elamite camp.

The Elamites, having 22 Bow Levy and an Archer general, lined up, in many places two deep, in front of the camp. The general stayed behind them in order to be able to move to either flank. The Lullubi sent their two Light Foot and two Skirmishers to their right flank. The four Bow Levy and twelve Rabble made up the main line and left flank. The Raider General led from the front and aimed for the wooded hill.



Both sides advanced. The Elamites stopped at the top of the wooded hill while the main lines came into contact. The Elamite Bow Levy acquitted themselves well on the Elamite left flank, destroying many of the skirmishers and Lullubi Bow Levy. The Lullubi commander made good progress in taking the wooded hill, but his limited command and control radius while on the wooded hill made it difficult to adjust his troops elsewhere. The Elamites made more local attacks on isolated stands of Lullubi and won the game. Final losses: Lullubi:16, Elamites: 12



I will try to post photos and a report on the second matchup tomorrow.

[Texus Maximus]

A Lullubi scout advances along the river bed.


The scout overlooks the right flank of the Elamite army massing in front of their camp.


Overview of the battlefield.


The Elamite army prepares.


The Lullubi king leads his tribesmen out of the mountains.


The Lullubi right flank.


The Lullubi left flank.

The battle lines approach.

The Lullubi king leads his men up the wooded hill, driving back the Elamites.


Elamites and Lullubi engage in battle.


The Elamite left flank drives back the Lullubi, killing many.


The Lullubi flank has collapsed.

The Lulubi scout sneaks away from this lost battle.

[Rod]

Amazing looking battle!

[Brummbär]

Looks really really good!
I really like to see nice terrain in games like Triumph because some players tend to go for the "felt-terrain" solution with these type of armies/rules. (Which I can not stand a bit!)
If we have a good ruleset, pretty painted armies, we should also game on good looking terrain.
Well done!!!!

[Dekelia]

Looks great and great report. I love the individual scout minis, they really add to the look and immersion. These armies are so interesting and very different than the armies I usually play.

I've been a bit hesitant to get into a big mono army of cheap troops like that. Do you find them fun to play with and against? I'm also worried about the number of figs needed to paint, but that's a different issue

[markleslie4]

A lovely complete package!
Almost looks like drone footage from a time traveling war correspondent.

I've been a bit hesitant to get into a big mono army of cheap troops like that. Do you find them fun to play with and against? I'm also worried about the number of figs needed to paint, but that's a different issue

I echo Dekelia and much look forward to seeing the Grand Triumph version.

[Rod]

Biblical era armies in Triumph are really a hoot to play because of the Rabble, Bow Levy and Horde troops.

Also take a look as armies like Classical Indian, I won the very first Triumph open years ago with this army. Elephants, chariots, Bad Horse and a bunch of Horde and Bow Levy.

[Texus Maximus]

Thanks for all the positive feedback. I have enjoyed preparing these armies and am glad my son and I have had a chance to put them to the test.

We played a second battle using the same armies. Once again the Lullubi were the invaders and selected a battlefield with dense terrain. The most significant feature was a river valley (a stream flanked by hills) along one battlefield edge.

The Lullubi plan was to send the Rabble tribesmen down the river valley, because of their ability to move as a group in rough terrain. The general and Bow Levy went in the center. The Light Foot lined up on the other flank. The Skirmishers were in reserve but were quickly committed to the Lullubi left flank next to the Light Foot.

The Elamite plan was to move forward as quickly as possible and engage the Lullubu before their General got beyond the wooded hill. This would allow the strong Elamite right flank to overwhelm the Lullubi left flank while the Rabble were cut off from command and control by the wooded hill.

The Elamite advance was too slow so the fighting commenced after the Lullubi king advanced past the hill. The Lullubi quickly defeated the dispirited Elamites along the entire line and the army routed. The final losses were Elamites-16 and Lullubi-5.





This was one of the shortest Triumph! games I have played. It was probably 20 minutes from start to finish.

The color is off in some of these photos and I don't know why. The first picture below is an example of the true colors. The mat looks like a different green in some of the photos in the middle of this photo sequence.


The Lullubi right flank in the river valley.


The Lullubi left flank.


The Elamite's sluggish advance on the the left.


This is where the Elamites planned to win the battle.


Hope for victory fades as the Lullubi king starts to move past the wooded hill.


The battle lines clash.


The Elamite rout begins.


The Lullubi tribesmen emerge from the river valley to find the battle already won.

[Texus Maximus]

In answer to the question about how much fun the armies are to play:

These early-era armies are fun to play because of the extra challenges. There are not a lot of powerful troops, so getting the most use out of the more effective stands is important. For example, in this set of battles the Lullubi general is a Raider and so has a +5 modifier against foot troops (+4 for being a Raider +1 for being a general). It is hard for enemy rabble and bow levy to stand up to that. Which seems just right for this era - a small core of warriors leading the way surrounded by mobs of tribesmen. Even a few stands of Light Foot can make a big difference.

There are no mounted troops for these two armies. This makes it easier for beginning players. It also increases the importance of deployment because it is almost impossible to shift forces from one flank to another. Although one battle plan for the early Sumerians (suggested in another post) was to put all the Skirmishers and the General together and use them aggressively against the enemy flank or the camp. That kind of risky maneuver, if you succeed, will get you a victory stele or maybe an epic poem on a clay tablet for sure.

The actual combats end with a lot of destroyed stands and pursuits because the combat factors are low . So the fighting, once commenced, is over quickly. No pushing back and forth like hoplites. Again, this seems appropriate for this era and style of warfare.

It does require a lot of stands, but I find them easy to paint because of the lack of equipment. There are actually some very good Lullubi figures out there (Essex, Chariot, Eureka) so you can get an army like this ready in a few evenings. I just spent much more time converting figures for the Lullubi than I did actually painting them because I am too picky about how figures look.

[Roundie]

Great looking games, really like the look of your camps to, fantastic stuff.