Sumerian Mortem et Gloriam Game

Side view of the table - troops of Ur on the left and Lagash on the right

Armies advance

Lagash skirmishers and onager chariots

Ur skirmishers and chariots with army commander on a straddle car

Ur right flank command with skirmishers and chariots

Lagash left flank command

Lagash centre with two commands

Last Wednesday afternoon out in the shed I played a solo Sumerian Mortem et Gloriam (MeG) game. I've had these rules for a while but this was my first game with them, a Pacto (small) sized game with my 28mm Sumerians using 80mm base widths, featuring identical army lists from the cities of Ur and Lagash. The rules use a combination of cards and dice and, are very much designed with 15mm points based competitions in mind, but can be played with any scale (most of my painted armies are 28mm). There is a pre battle system with cards for determining invader and defender, the terrain and out scouting. I was a bit confused by this but ended up with Lagash invading Ur on an open plain next to the Euphrates.

The actual mechanics of the game itself are quite different and innovative. Cards are allocated to  commanders depending on their level, anywhere from five cards for a legendary commander to two for a mediocre one. The cards enable actions and movement, while shooting and combat are resolved with five coloured dice ranging in strength from black, white, green, yellow and red. There are three symbols on the dice a Skull, a Crossed Sword and Arrow and a S = Special. A real strength of these rules for me is the army lists with 650 detailed lists, grouped geographically and historically, available as free downloads on the MeG site along with an excellent QRS, army builder and other materials. A new updated MeG Compendium will be released at Salute this year along with 15mm Quality Cast plastic armies of Late Romans, Huns, Goths and Sassanids by MeG and the Plastic Soldier Company.

In my game the chariots were quickly in to the action with a charge and countercharge on the Ur left flank. This proved quite brutal and fairly disastrous for the chariots of Lagash and they were wiped out immediately with two kills. This caused a kill a base (KaB) test (basically a morale test) for all units within three base widths. The commander was wounded and then routed and was removed. In the centre two commands closed, a base of Ur spearmen were killed and the ensuing KaB test distributed wounds and slowed down movement (S dice result).

On the Lagash left flank the chariots charged the opposing Ur skirmishers and chariots. The Ur skirmishers ran away but still managed to inflict two wounds on the Lagash chariots, slowing them down so they failed to contact. Back in the centre a Lagash base of spearmen was killed and the subsequent KaB test saw the whole command wiped out, the Lagash army was broken. This was very brutal and bloody but I actually prefer this in a game, when things are resolved quickly, instead of dragging on for ages. Anyway I really enjoyed my first game, although I'm sure I got a few things wrong, but with a few more games under my belt, I will have a better grasp of the rules.

Ur left flank declares a charge

Chariots of Lagash countercharge

Disaster for Lagash - Chariots of Ur score two kills!

A block charge of Ur Spearmen, Guardsmen and Archers

Lagash chariots on the left flank charge

Ur skirmishers run away scoring two hits to slow down the Lagash chariots' charge

Surviving Lagash skirmishers on the right flank cower behind the hill

One of the Lagash centre commands is destroyed, the army is broken

The Lagash army commander heads for the hills!