One of the most significant unspoken elements of wargaming is list creation, that tricky step in which you have to decide what you want to take with you onto the battlefield. Whilst some create lists around a theme or mechanic, lore and the rule of cool can be equally influential factors in the outcome of your force.
We’ve taken some time to talk with Peter Sizer, Game Designer at Warcradle Studios, to discuss his own personal Commonwealth fleet and ways in which he has customised the force.
Polkovnik Obiidykhata’s Reavers
As I’m old enough to have grown up as a military history nerd during the last decade of the Cold War, I’ve had an interest in Russian history stretching back well over 30 years. So it was obvious that when I came to building my first force for Armoured Clash I’d be drawn to the Commonwealth, the mix of units really reflected the identity of the faction, drawing from the many different peoples that make up the polity.
Reading through the ORBAT I was drawn to the Jad Auxiliary Battlegroup, the mixture of lots of horse-mounted troops supported by the Kheshig Sky Cutters appealed massively. The blending of the known and steampunk/science-fiction elements embodies the appeal of Armoured Clash and the whole Dystopian Age for me. I started small with a 1000-point Skirmish force, tailored to what I was interested in.
Usually, I’m drawn to compelling narrative-style games that let me get immersed in the fictional world, so it was great to make a plan to see my vision realised in miniature form. This gave my modelling and painting a focus rather than trying to do everything all at once from the boxes I had got. Accordingly, this led to the creation of what I named Polkovnik Obiidykhata’s Reavers.
Born of Zaphorisian stock, Polkovnik (Colonel) Artem Obiidykhata first saw service as a young junior officer in the skirmishes south of the Caucasus mountains as the Sultanate’s wariness at Commonwealth expansion occasionally turned into outright fighting. It was here that Obiidykhata first met the Mongolian reconnaissance Officer, Zaya Ganbataar; her daring raids, first on horseback and later on the early prototypes of the now-famous Kheshig Sky Cutters, provided excellent reports on the dispositions and movements of the Sultanate forces.
This information brought Obiidykhata a string of victories, which propelled him up the ranks, taking bigger and bigger command positions; his lightning victories over the Imperium in the Pripet Marshes showed him to be an expert at raiding the enemy's rear through lines of approach they did not expect. With a partnership forged in the heat of battle, Obiidykhata made sure that he always requested Ganbataar’s reconnaissance unit to be attached to his command. Together they made a formidable pairing, with Obiidykhata’s command of the infantry and armour and the Kheshigs and cavalry of Ganbataar, they were assigned increasingly dangerous missions to exploit gaps in the enemy’s lines; to push through them and harass the enemy’s rear, disrupting their command centres and their logistics. Rising to the challenge every time, Obiidykhata’s Reavers are now in demand on multiple fronts, generals fight to get them assigned to their sector, such is their martial reputation.
Pete’s custom lore for the Polkovnik Obiidykhata’s Reavers
Tying The Force To History
There are three core units in this list: the Tsar Battle Tanks, the Steppe Outrider Cavalry, and the Kheshig Sky Cutters. Russian military history is replete with large cavalry forces, from the Napoleonic Wars and the skirmishes in the Caucasus, through the Great War, the Russian Civil War, and even the Second World War. Even though the twentieth century is ‘after’ the Dystopian Age in terms of timelines, don’t be afraid to pull your inspiration from everywhere.
I steeped myself in books, both fiction and factual, and films. YouTube is a great place to find clips from films outside the Anglo-sphere that might be hard to find elsewhere. Remember, if you steal from one place, it is plagiarism, if you steal from many places, it is research. Given the preponderance of tanks in Armoured Clash, alongside more nineteenth-century military units, I was pleased to find an excellent book on the Russian use of mixed cavalry and tank forces in the Second World War, John S. Harrell’s Soviet Cavalry Operations During the Second World War: and the Genesis of the Operational Manoeuvre Group.
This gave me the concept for the force: a steampunk cavalry / mechanised group that would slip between the frontlines and then cause havoc from behind. Drawing on Cossack traditions, they would strike hard and fast, moving constantly. A small infantry contingent would be included to follow the faster units and take and hold objectives.
I love narrative games and campaigns where you follow along the escapades of a force of your own creation. Even if it is not in anything as formal as a managed campaign, I like to think that each battle I play with the force I’ve created is a slice of their history, a certain battle from their past. By giving your force its own personality and named leaders, you identify with them more, almost to the point of being more cautious about how you deploy and use them on the battlefield, given your investment in them.
Building the Force
To build my force, I made use of both the Faction Battlegroup and the Jad Auxiliary Battlegroup, as the two in combination would give me access to lots of cavalry, tanks, and Kheshig Sky Cutters. Using two small Battlegroups in a Skirmish force allows the army the feel I want to have reflected in the force design. Aside from the thematics, it also means getting access to two Battlegroup bonuses, which is always worth having. With so many reinforced units getting access to the Hit and Run Special Rule, the Jad Battlegroup Bonus is going to be a cornerstone of this force’s playstyle. I’ll have to be on top of managing my Command & Conquest deck throughout the game as a result. The Ryadovoy Rodina Squadron can also work well alongside the infantry in my list, thanks to its support (Infantry) rule, which is another synergy I can leverage.
That is the list as it currently stands. There is a good mix of units there, which, most importantly, hit the theme and feel I wanted to. In game terms, I’m pretty confident that I’ve covered enough of my bases too in terms of units that can hold objectives, and shoot light, heavy, or aerial targets as appropriate.
Painting and Expansion
When it came to painting my force, I wanted to avoid the typical ‘it is Russian, so we’ll paint it green’ approach. I was inspired by the Commonwealth’s rich brown colour used throughout the ORBAT, as well as the Development Team’s playtesting models. I went for a rich, saturated, earthy brown and then, to break it up, camouflage stripes in a light stone grey-green colour, finished with a heavy, dusty drybrush. This should evoke the rolling steppes from which Polkovnik Obiidykhata’s Reavers came, but also work on any other theatre of war in which they might be deployed. Infantry will be speed-painted using a light brown wash to start with, then details picked out as appropriate. I paint to game, so I’m looking for a quick scheme that lets me get as much painted in as quickly as possible.
In terms of expanding the list, I want to add more Tsar Battle Tanks to get those units up to reinforced level, and a Miron Super-Heavy Borer to deploy them from. To speed up the infantry, and to also lean into the tunnellers theme I plan to introduce, I’ll get some Krot Armoured Borers to carry them in. Painted in the same colour scheme it should make for a cohesive looking force. I’d love to add some Kometa Interceptor Squadrons too, I think they would look great flying over the heads of the advancing cavalry (at least in my mind’s eye they do). Writing all this down, it looks like this will be a major part of my hobbying for the coming year. I can’t wait!
- Pete
Thanks to Pete for running through his customised Commonwealth force, packed with nods to real-life history and his own Dystopian Age Lore. Got your own customised force? Make sure to share yours on our Facebook, Instagram, and X and the Warcradle Studios Discord.