The first turn card play continues with the Russian player. The Russians pull Lord Gavrilo from the command deck. Teutonic lords did not start with the usual strategy of immediately sieging Pskov so Gavrilo has been on the side lines thus far. Let’s take a quick look him:
Not knowing that the crafty Hermann was going to try a ravage strategy the Russian player absolutely loaded Gavrilo up with assets during the Arts of War and Levy phases. Gavrilo was given both Arts of War cards and he also mustered all three of his available vassals. This is all because Gavrilo sits in Pskov the usual early target of the crusaders. This has made Pskov difficult to take but has created problems now that the Teutons have chosen a more mobile strategy.
You can see why Pskov is a tasty target. It is close to the Teuton’s starting locations and Gavrilo is generally weaker than his Teuton opponents. It is very tempting as the Teutons to send Hermann & Gavrilo directly to Pskov for a siege and storm. This is why Gavrilo loaded up. The problem is what to do with him now that he is not likely to be defending his keep.
Gavrilo has 2 commands at his disposal. He is loaded for war with 9 units mustered. This means that moving and fighting costs him 2 provender. Gavrilo also mustered vassals instead of transports so he cannot take any provender when he moves. In short, early logistical decisions have hampered Gavrilo’s mobility.
We also need to consider the tactical situation. Gavrilo is between Hermann in the North and the yet unmentioned Lord Yaroslav in the West. Hermann is only 2 marches away from Pkov and has 1 card remaining. Should Gavrilo leave Pskov, Hermann could put it under siege and force Gavrilo to fight outside the Fortress. This would not be good. Worse when you consider that Yaroslav also nearby.
Yaroslav is not quite as yoked as Gavrilo but is probably strong enough to weaken Gavrilo enough for Hermann to complete the job. Here is Yaroslav’s mat for comparison.
It is both frustrating and boring but I think the best decision is for Gavrilo to stay put and see if Hermann moves out of range. The VP are still even so it is not yet time for rash decisions. Instead of sallying out Yaroslav can use a tax command.
Taxing will take Gavrilo’s entire card but gives him 1 coin token which can be used to extend the service of a Lord by pushing the service marker on the calendar to the right 1 space.
The Russians will be hoping to see Hermann’s card drawn. Since there are only 2 lords on the Russians side we know Yaroslav still has 2 command cards in the deck. Knowing Hermann is done for the turn would allow Yaroslav some much desired operational freedom. For now he is stuck holding Pskov.
Hermann’s card is not pulled. Instead, play returns to the Northern coast with Lords Knud & Abel.
Knud & Able have their own concerns. They have an large army (7 units) that requires 2 provender to feed and they only have 2 commands per card. They have to get a lot done with just 2 commands. The raiding Arts of War card will help with this situation. Here is Knud & Able’s mat:
The Raiders Arts of War card will allow Knud & Able a free ravage action as long as it is to an adjacent location connected by trackway. The order of operation for this turn is important. They will need to move first then ravage since they do they did not levy cart transportation and can’t take provender.
For command 1 Knud & Abel march to Vod. They use their raider Arts of War card to ravage Ingria which is adjacent by trackway. The ravage grants 1/2 VP and a Provender. Then with command 2 they ravage Vod where they are located for the 2nd Provender giving them a total of 2. This is enough to feed their troops and remove the moved fought marker. The 2nd ravage also earns another 1/2 VP for the Teutons.
That ends Knud & Ables 2nd command card. The score stands at 2 1/2 points for the Teutons and 1 1/2 points for the Russians. Gavrilo is going to need to start taking some risks or the game will be over.
We will take up the action with the Russians in the next post.
Strategic Buffoonery 