Rome's Frenemies at Warfare 2025
Numidian vs Ancient British
Game 1 Numidian vs Ancient British
Game 2 Numidian vs Late Imperial Roman (Italian)
Game 3 Numidian vs Late Imperial Roman (French)
Game 4 Numidian vs Late Imperial Roman (English)
Game 5 Numidian vs Bosporan (quite near Derby)
After accidentally winning Warfare at something of a Swiss Canter last year, I felt obliged to try and take an army which almost certainly might not be as competitive in the theme as the Swiss proved to be in 2024.
With the 2025 theme being "Frienemies of Rome - Allies, and those who's Facebook relationship status with the Eternal City could be "It's Complicated" there were a lot of choices, but as usual the combination of recently painted and never-used figures meant that one particular army stood out head and shoulders above some of the other options to take to the Farnborough Exhibition Centre - The Numidians
The Numidian army is a bit half-hearted in almost any dimension compared to the proper troops and armies in the region at the time. There are lots of cavalry, some elite... but all classed as the vulnerable unarmoured "Medium" types. The much vaunted Numidian Light Horsemen are categorised as only "Ordinary" quality, presumably as the "Medium" cavalry count as the really good ones
As for the infantry, it's even less impressive. You have a mix of javelinmen and loose formation swordsmen neither of whom can really stand up to a stiff breeze, lots of light foot skirmishers which sound good but then can't really actually do much other than hold steep hills, a couple of Impetuous Iberians who tend to want to hare off toward the enemy and get out of sync with the rest of the army, and two rubbish elephants who take the expression "glass cannon" to extremes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the historical Numidians must also have realised this at some point, and some of their enterprising commanders decided to conjure up a force of "Imitation Legionaries", copying their Roman opponents and paymasters to create a solid, although "not as good as Rome's ones" force of heavy infantry to stiffen the spine of their own army.
I had two sets of troops who qualified as "new" for this event - the Imitation Legions and some 3D printed Numidian Cavalry.
The cavalry I'd had for a while, bought to see what the March To Hell 3D Breed ranges were like in the flesh
As you can see they are great little figures, but unfortunately the eBay seller I got them from must have used particularly brittle resin, meaning they would struggle if carried in a box with a foam topper. As Farnborough iis a "drive to" event that's no problem, but I don't think they will see much action overseas! The post on my site where you can see them being painted is here.
The next lot are the Imitation legionaries - Forged in Battle figures in reassuring metal
For a pack that only has about 3 poses, none of which are all that different (apart from the Command figures of course) I'm pretty pleased with how they came out - again you can see the process and paint info here on this site.
Building an army around new figures, some of which quite literally would not survive contact with an enemy is perhaps not the cleverest idea, but hey, there you go!
So, with the travel to Farnborough successfully negotiated, parking attained, and having even remembered to bring a packed lunch due to the astonishing pricing of onsite catering in the venue (don't get me started on the coffee prices!) the Numidians were facing an Ancient British army in the very first round.
AncientBritish, with lots of Impetuous Swordsmen and clouds of light cavalry could in fact be a very dangerous opponent for the Numidians - as most of the warbands are quite dangerous to most things in the Numidian army, and also as its equally as bit if not bigger, so can go toe to tow for quite some time against the Numidian horde. However, a warband-led Ancient British army isn't usually that good against, erm, most other things it may meet, so many people lean towards the Cassiovellanieus (sic) option, replacing almost all of the infantry with Elite Medium Chariots and operating as a mounted army to go around the enemy flanks.
As it turned out, these Brits were indeed an Ancient British Panzer Division, and rolled onto the table as if ready to annex the Sudetenland and then go home for tea and scones later that afternoon.
Here's me, talking you through my Numidian List
The lists for the Numidian and Ancient British from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Warfare can be seen here in the ADLG Wiki.
I ended up defending in Plains, allowing me to drop some Fields and a Marsh on table to create some anchor points around which my army could hopefully flow, with the Numidian riders moving like smoke over the desert, shapeless and hard to pin down until they struck home with deadly effect. Hopefully anyway.
Cluttering the table also would channel the enemy chariots into a narrow frontage where I could try and force them into battle with the Imitation Legions and African Elephants, a combination that the British chariotry should have no real answer to.
Numidian Cavalry
On The Left: I have pushed two light javelinmen up to the edge of the Marsh, from where they can hurl insults at the Brits, safe in the knowledge that enemy Chariots can't go in there and get them out.
The British deployment has seen all of their Warband infantry on this side, facing off, but offset from my Imitation Legionaries.
My aim will be to drift the Legions and their elephant to the right, out of the way of the bulk of these unmaneuverable barbarian warriors, and hope a handful of Numidian Cavalry can both protect my flank and neutralise much of the British warriors fearsome charge.
On The Right: Here the Numidian infantry are facing only Chariots, and so take advantage of the Rough terrain of the ploughed agricultural field to find a home for their otherwise vulnerable Javelinmen and Spanish Mercenaries.
The presence of the other Elephant is going to give the British serious pause for though, as these exotic beasts are an anathema to the almost-Celtic horses pulling their chariots
The key opportunity though is on the far right, where only Light Horsemen extend the British line.
With their Chariots transfixed by the Pachyderm, the Brits are unable to redeploy Chariots to support their light horsemen, allowing a small command of Numidian Elite Cavalry to storm down the extreme right flank and pile pressure on the much weaker British screening force tasked with holding the end of their line.
In The Centre: The rightwards drift of the advancing Imitation Legions has seen them almost join up with the other main Numidian command, forming a near-solid line which is almost impenetrable to the British chariots - unless their javelin shooting is remarkably accurate, and is able to degrade the cohesion of the main Numidian infantry line.
The Numidian skirmish screen is therefore taking a pasting as it tries to protect and screen it's main battle troops for the inevitable conflagration to come.
Numidian Facts - The Numidian cavalry were famed for riding bareback, guiding their horses with just a rope around the neck. Roman generals admired their control so much that some claimed they could steer their mounts using only their knees — or, in one ridiculous account, by whistling the names of their ancestors.
In The Centre: Keen to avoid much more missile fire, the Numidians make the first move as I order the Elephants and Spaniards to charge, supported by a block of cavalry in the centre.
Conscious no doubt of the possibility of the Imitation Legions then joining the fray, or maybe drilled to "shoot, scoot and return" the Brits evade in waves away from the Numidian attacks.
The Numidian cavalry rode with no saddles, gripping their horses as if it were the world itself beneath them, unshakeable and resolute - but more importantly, the Brits had unwisely managed to get some of their own Light Horse in front of their warband, and having been charged by yet more Numidians, these horsemen has been squirted like cream from a well-bitten éclair along the very front of the British lines!
On The Right: The Numidian cavalry have now driven back the British light horse, and are almost in position to turn onto the flanks of the main body of British Chariots on the Numidian right.
The Chariots for their part remain anchored in place, focused totally on the wild gesticulating of the Numidian infantry who are taunting them ceaselessly from the complete safety of the Ploughed Field (into which the Chariotry cannot go, but from which the Numidians do still exert a "Zone of Control".
Something will have to give here sometime soon..
On The Left: The British Warband are now so close to the line of Imitation Legionaries that I decide that I have to do something to try and delay the main combat - and break it up from being a solid line of warband attacking the Legionaries in good order.
My drift to the right with this command also means that lurching forward with the Elephant I can hit the end of the British line, supported by another Legionnaire - whilst another pair of Imitation Legionaries are now moving forward in the centre of the table, joining up with the central block of cavalry to create something of a mobile rock and an even harder, faster moving hard place for the British Charioteers to deal with.
My plan here is getting rather complicated, but the aim is to do as much damage as I can to the British Warband, but even if my line does get swept away, to set myself up so that any potentially victorious Brits will then find themselves too disorganised to take much advantage of any successes they may experience.
On The Right: Mindful of the possibility of my Numidian cavalry hitting the flank of the British Chariot line, the damaged British light horse have been forced to come back to try and distract my cavalry - but suffering losses they leave open gaps for Numidian horsemen to filter in behind them.
These riders were the children of horizons — born wherever the sky met the sand, and able to flow around the enemy like water - and in so doing, prevent them from evading away from the dangerous charge of the main body of Numidian Cavalry led by one of their Generals.
With this development, an opportunity opened up in an exchange of shooting which has left the British skirmishers damaged, I am now looking at not only driving off the Brit's flank screen, but actually killing it off entirely to rack up some casualties before piling into the flank of the main line of enemy Chariots.
Numidian Facts - The Numidian army was remarkably mobile, able to traverse deserts that destroyed Roman supply lines. It was said they could find water where none existed — by watching where lizards refused to go.
In The Centre: The combination of Heavy Infantry Legionaries and Numidian Cavalry proves too strong for the British chariots, and as the wheels come off for Cassivelanius a gaping hole appears in the middle of his lines
So far I have still yet to commit the Elephants on this side of the table, but with this hole punched in the centre, and with the right wing also looking like it is fast tipping my way I'm almost happier with the Brits remaining in place and hurling javelins than evading away from a hopeful pachyderm charge and escaping the vice that I am even now constructing around them.
There is also the risk that I may end up separating my elephants from their supporting infantry - so for now, just keep plugging away at what seems to be working.
On The Right: The game is nearly up for the 3 English Light Horse, as the last one puts up a brave but surely futile resistance against one of the Numidian Commanders, his bodyguard and pretty much every other unit under his personal command.
The Javelineers are loving life in the PLoughed Field though, shrugging off hails of javelin fire from the charioteers with aplomb and amusement yet still managing to keep them ZoCced even as the Numidian cavalry work towards a huge advantage mere inches away.
On The Left: My elephant charge has faltered as it is absorbed by enemy Light Infantry - the best things to take down an elephant, especially a Mediocre one like this Numidian beastie.
Much as I would prefer to be careening through the Warband like a big grey bowling ball, this is still not all that bad, as the Warband are effectively trapped now, waiting for an opportunity to get in a clean charge against the Imitation Legionaries, who are almost certainly better than them if they can stand to receive the Warriors wild and unruly charge.
On The Left: My elephant is overturned and despatched!
This suddenly opens up the possibility of exactly that coherent, effective Warband charge sweeping away the Numidian Imitation Legionaries that I had long feared - although if the African Legionaries can withstand the first rush of fury, they have comrades ready to join in the fray coming back from the Centre of the table!
Numidian Facts - Their horses were never shod, as metal shoes were thought to “blind the spirit of the ground.” Some believed the animals could read the tracks of stars through their hooves, which is as impressive as it is physically impossible.
On The Right: With the British starting to come apart, this is the time for the second Elephant to charge, along with the Spanish warriors. The British decide this is time to make a stand, and are promptly trampled underfoot by this rather better charging great beast, tearing another huge hole in the enemy line.
Numidian Burial Sites
On The Right: The Numidian Commander finally has his moment, sweeping into the flank of the British line as heavily trailed on a website near you right now.
The hapless brits, already badly shot up by the accurate Javelinmen in front of them, are about to be overrun
On The Left: The Imitation Legionnaires are nearly swept away at first contact by the wild charge of the British Lager louts, inflicting massive casualties in the process.
But with their Chariots now fled far away, will the Brits be able to stop the rest of the Imitation Legion from swarming them from the centre of the battlefield?
In The Centre: The Numidian Elephant, poor quality though it is, has proved to be the magic long-trunked bullet to unzip the line of British charioteers.
Its forward rampage has been unstoppable, and the fear an elephant induces into any sort of horsemen under any set of wargames rules since time immemorial (ie WRG 2nd) has meant that its effects have been felt far and wide, or at least far and wide enough to allow the 2 units of Spanish mercenary swordsmen to also do the business on their cart-based opponents.
With the small cavalry command now rapidly rolling up the enemy left wing as well, the Brits are experiencing a level of in disarray that will not be seen again until the England Cricket team go into bat at the Wacca only needing less than 250 to record a test match win.
On The Right: The full scene of devastation can be viewed from this vantage point as the British are removed from almost half of the tabletop
This is where the numerous Numidian light horsemen really start to come into their own, flitting around the battlefield like a wind of knives, invisible until they appear to cut off the enemy's few remaining avenues of escape.
The elephant meanwhile continues its rampage - driving onward like a raging bull, aiming itself for the enemy Sacred Camp and anything daft enough to stand in its way on that journey.
On The Left: The main block of British infantry have become bogged down against the stoic Roman-like resistance of the Imitation Legionaries, who stand unbowed but battered in the face of the once-ferocious, now exhausted Brits.
With their attention fixed firmly to the front, the Anglicized army members have failed to spot the appearance of yet more Numidian Imitation Legions who have now swept in from the centre to slam into their flank, freed up to do so after all of the enemy chariots occupying them have retreated
Numidian Facts - In Roman triumphs, Numidian cavalry often rode ahead of the legions, dazzling spectators with displays of agility. One emperor reportedly demanded they ride up the steps of the Capitoline Hill — a feat they achieved, though the horses refused to come down for a week.
On The Right: The British are now scattered and shattered, surrounded and something else that should alliterate but which I have been unable to recall.
The final Coup de Grace is delivered through a thousand pinpricks, Numidian javelins raining in from all sides to irritate and injure the retreating charioteers, adding hits to an army break point already creaking as dangerously as a poorly made chariot wheel supporting a Greggs-loyalty-card-carrying British hooligan.
The Ancient British army crashes to defeat in a stunning validation of the need to ditch the wheels and hop on a pony!
Post Match Summary from the Numidian Commander
Hear me, riders of the long horizon, sons of dust and sun, keepers of the wind-worn spear. Today the earth itself remembers our names.
We stood at the edge of the world, where the sea breathes mist and the sky forgets its colour, and there came against us the Britons of Cassiovellanus—loud as storm-crows, proud as painted stones. They rattled their chariots like empty gourds, wheeling and shouting, darting forward and away, as if noise were courage and motion were wisdom. They thought the battlefield a stage for shouting, not a page for history.
But I, who have read the desert as one reads the palm of a hand, knew their dance for what it was. A chariot is swift only where the earth is obedient. Where the ground rebels, wheels become shackles.
So I chose the ground.
I drew you not onto the smooth fields where their horses might boast, but into the broken places—the torn earth, the rutted hollows, the stubborn ridges where stone grips iron and mud drinks arrogance. There their chariots faltered and stammered, their proud circling became confusion, and their noise turned thin and frightened.
From behind our lines came the answer they did not know how to ask a question of: the great children of Africa, the mountains that walk. Our war elephants advanced, not in haste, but in certainty, as the desert advances at dawn—silent at first, then everywhere. The Britons had never seen such truth in flesh: towers of bone and muscle, tusks curved like the crescent moon over the dunes, feet that made the ground confess its weakness. Their horses screamed. Their chariots broke. Their hearts fled before their bodies did.
Understand this, warriors: elephants do not merely trample men; they trample plans. No shout can stop them, no painted shield can persuade them otherwise. Against them, the Britons’ courage was like dew on hot sand—brave for a moment, then gone.
Some will say chance favoured us. Let them choke on that lie.Did chance teach me that rough ground humbles wheels? Did chance whisper that noise is often the mask of fear? Did chance place the desert in my blood and strategy in my bones? No. A man who grows among dunes learns that survival is geometry and patience. The sand teaches that straight lines are for fools, and that the longest road is sometimes the shortest way home. I am that lesson made flesh.
As the jackal waits while the lion boasts, so I waited while the Britons shouted. As the oasis hides itself until the traveller is worthy, so I concealed our strength until the moment ripened. When it came, I released it—not in fury, but in balance. Look now at the field. Their chariots lie like broken toys. Their champions have learned that shouting does not bend fate. And our banners stand where the mist meets the soil, unmoved.
Remember this day. Sing it when the wind is low and the fire is high. Tell your sons that when the noisy men of the north met the quiet wisdom of the south, the earth itself chose sides. I led you well because I listened—to the ground, to the beasts, to the old truths carried on hot desert air. Victory followed me as a shadow follows a man at sunset. And as long as I command, so it shall again.
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
Ah—victory, says he. A trumpet blown through a wineskin, but still, a sound. Come here, prince of pebbles and puddles, commander of cautious ankles. I have heard thy oration, and by Melqart’s salt-stained beard, I have heard braver speeches from men who won by accident and then apologised to the gods for troubling them.
You boast of confounding British chariots, yet confess—between your metaphors, like a thief between columns—that you had no true will to drive them off. Nay, you let them whirl and clatter and scream like drunken seabirds, while you hugged broken ground as if the earth were your mother and you a frightened child. That is not mastery of terrain; that is hiding with explanations. And what army was this, pray? Half of it loose-footed fellows in airy order, men who scatter at the sight of a wheel and call it flexibility. Infantry who cannot face chariots on honest ground should not congratulate themselves for surviving by skulking among ruts and stones. I have seen my fellow pirates show better cohesion when surprised at breakfast.
Worse—worse!—you dared to meet British infantry warriors in the open, as if courage alone would stiffen imitation legionaries into the real thing. A risky dance, sir, performed barefoot on spearpoints. Had those painted madmen pressed with a little more fury, your fine Roman costumes would have been trampled into Numidian rugs, and your speech today would be addressed to vultures.
You speak of elephants as if merely unleashing them were genius. Bah! A butcher lets loose an ox; a general conducts a beast. You sent them forward like a threat remembered too late, when with proper elan they might have shattered chariots, men, and morale in one rolling catastrophe of tusk and terror.
Yet—yet—since Fortune is a flirt who favours even the timid when she is bored, you did win. The Britons fled, the field was yours, and history will nod and write your name without laughing. For that, I offer you congratulations—grudging, like wine poured from an empty jug.
But know this: had I commanded your host, the chariots would have broken early, the infantry would never have been tempted, and the elephants would have entered the tale like thunder, not punctuation. The victory would have been cleaner, louder, and infinitely more insulting to the enemy.
Enjoy your triumph, desert poet.
Next time, try winning next game with at least a little style.
Here's me, talking you through this game
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition
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Game 1 Numidian vs Ancient British
Game 2 Numidian vs Late Imperial Roman (Italian)
Game 3 Numidian vs Late Imperial Roman (French)
Game 4 Numidian vs Late Imperial Roman (English)
Game 5 Numidian vs Bosporan (quite near Derby)
