"2 armies - 3 games 3 rules sets finished" Topic

The two armies: Crusaders & Saracens
The 3 rules set and games
Soldiers of God:
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War and Conquest:
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Warhammer Fantasy (but without magic, including weapons, etc)
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As a front note, I have been playing the various Warhammer derivatives (Fantasy Battles [WFB] 6th & 8th, Ancient Battles 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, English Civil War & War & Conquest [W&C]) for something like 25 years or more. I am quite new to Soldiers of God [SoG], this being only my 3rd game, and 1st solo, so I more than likely am yet to learn some of the nuances and tactics, etc. I enjoy all three games and will be playing all three in the future. Below is just some of the highlights and does not include every difference.
In order to make the games as similar as possible, I played without terrain and used the same number of figures and units in each game. This was based on SoG for the simple reason I played it first. One result is that the units in WFB and W&C were typically smaller than I usually play with. Finally, as is typical with me, most of my units are based upon what is fun to paint, rather than what is the best way to create an army list.
Biggest Difference:
WFB & W&C are pretty much typical games in that each player is free to move, or not move, any of his units as he so desires each turn. SoG is card driven and quite different. Before the start, your army is divided into three parts (two wings and a center). Each turn you get seven cards, of which three are recurring based upon your chosen pre-game strategy and four are random. When you play a card, it only applies to one wing (player's choice).
In WFB & W&C any unit with a missile weapon can shoot every turn, whereas in SoG, it is unlikely that every unit with a missile weapon will shoot each turn. This same concept applies to movement and combat as well.
End Results
In my games, both WFB & W&C lasted six turns, SoG went 13. The Saracens won W&C and the Crusaders won WFB in convincing fashion. The Crusaders won SoG in the ‘nearest run thing you ever saw." So pretty even across the board.
Army Lists:
Army lists in WFB are found in the various books specific to the army in question, of which there are many. In addition to the traditional fantasy lists (elves, dwarves, orcs, etc.) there are secondary lists for minor countries, most of these are loosely based on historical armies (Kislev, Araby, etc.). I personally can field: High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, Lizardmen, Tomb Kings, Empire, Bretonia, Chaos, Kislev, Norscsa, Araby, Albion, Amazons and Estallia.
Army lists for W&C can be downloaded for free on the author's web page. They are of two types. There is one group that has been "translated" from the DBA army books. Several armies (such as the ones I used for this experiment) have their own more specific lists.
SoG is specifically designed for the Crusades and the army lists are part of the rule book. Apparently, the author had a significant computer mishap and all the files were lost. So there will never be a second printing (although there are separate rules books for Rome and Napoleon still in existence). I got lucky. While visiting my "local" (actually 100 miles away) game store – one I have been going to since the late70s – the proprietress suggested it for me (it was in the consignment box).
Formations:
Basically, two for WFB and W&C: regular and skirmish. SoG has three: closed, open and skirmish. Closed has combat benefits, but slows movement, open and skirmish have movement benefits but combat penalties. In W&C skirmishers must flee from the charge of regular units. They can't charge the front of a formed unit either.
WFB and W&C are both figure based. So individual figures are removed as casualties, etc. These unit scan be pretty much arranged however the player wishes: so a 24 man unit could be 2 ranks of 12, 3 ranks of 8, 6 ranks of 4, etc.
SoG is unit based. A base is 2 cav figures side by side or 4 infantry figures (2 ranks of 2). A unit must be one of three sizes: small (2 bases), medium (3) or large (4). The unit stays at this size (there are a couple of card-driven exceptions) the entire game. When the time comes, the entire unit is removed at once.
In WFB, as long as it keeps passing morale, a unit can be reduced to a single figure. In W&C infantry (5 figs) and cavalry (3) have minimums; once a unit falls below these, they are removed, even if they won the battle.
In WFB you have to purchase unit leaders, flags and musicians, each of which has a specific benefit. In W&C and SoG these come with the unit and don't add any particular benefit.
Characters:
In WFB the characters can be very powerful indeed. Normally they can have magic weapons, armor etc. (although I didn't include magic in these games). In W&C the characters just add extra attacks at the same power as whatever unit they are attached to. In SoG characters act independently, but their stats are similar to other units.
Maneuver:
As long as enemy forces aren't too near, WFB and W&C pretty much allow double moves at any time. In SoG, only cavalry can double move and then only once per game, so you have to use that ability judiciously. Further, in SoG sometimes you can only move half speed, depending on the card.
This means that in WFB and W&C the armies close much faster.
Charges and reactions:
Charges in WFB are normal move distance plus a die roll and wheeling is allowed; in W&C if you charge straight ahead it is double normal move, but only half a move if significant wheeling is involved. In SoG it is a normal move, but can only be done when the right card is played.
WFB & W&C both allow missile units to shoot at chargers before contact. Only W&C allows for certain units to "fire and flee."
Only W&C allows for cavalry to counter charge. This allows both sides to use lances offensively, where as in WFB only the unit that charges gets its lance benefit. SoG is similar, in that only when charging does a unit get to use its lances (or spears for some infantry); however, in SoG this is for the unit's first charge of the game. After that, they only use the far less deadly hand weapons. Also, if you get charged, you lose your lance/spear benefit for the rest of the game.
Missile fire:
In WFB and W&C, crossbows (30") outrange bows (24"), whereas in SoG the crossbows are considered lighter, so bows (12') outrange crossbows (10") which in turn out range cavalry bows (9").
Missile fire tends to be a little more destructive in SoG as there are only two steps (hits and saves) vs. the three steps (hits, wounds & saves) in WFB & W&C.
W&C allows for combined units of spears and bows. So for example you could have a unit of 12 spears and shield coupled with 12 bows in the back ranks. This gives shooting ability and some combat ability. SoG sort of does, in that a unit of bows can fire over the top of a unit of spears, although they still remain separate units.
Casualties.
In WFB and W&C casualties are inflicted and removed by single figures. If you lose enough at one time a morale test is required. If failed, the unit will route. Unless overrun by pursuit, there is a chance to rally.
SoG does not count casualties, it counts "disorder hits." Once the amount of disorder exceeds the number of bases, the unit is permanently removed. Disorder points can be reduced during play, but once a unit is removed it is gone for good.
Combat:
In WFB, units can change formation after a combat round if desired. For example, if a unit is flanked and it manages to survive the combat, in can turn to face the enemy (and thus no longer flanked) if it passes a leadership test. In W&C and SoG there is no such option. You are stuck there as long as that combat lasts.
In both WFB and W&C after a victorious combat (and the enemy fails morale) there will be a flee and pursuit move. There is no fleeing in SoG. The enemy is either removed or not. There is n pursuit move either. The victorious unit remains where it is.
Ending the game:
To me, both WFB and W&C seem to be designed for quick games. WFB games run six turns. W&C is about the same, though sometimes they last a bit longer. I have had numerous games where they don't last that long. Perhaps these games were designed for tournaments or other occasions when time is limited? Usually by the end of the game there are very few units left standing. In my games anyway.
SoG seems to be a little slower paced. The missile ranges are about half and it takes longer for the armies to close. All three of my games lasted more than ten turns. Victory is SoG is based upon army morale. Quality of troops matter. That is the higher the quality of the troop, the more it hurts army morale if they are eliminated. In my games, both sides had several units still on the board at the end.
Conclusion:
All in all, I enjoyed all three games. Each has its own plusses and minuses. I will continue to play all three.
Incidentally, I was a little worried how SoG would work out being played solitaire, because it is card driven. My first two games were with my son – this was my first solitaire attempt. A big part of the game is not knowing what the opponent can do on any particular turn.
However, the system I developed worked really well. It kept enough of the mystery to make it fun and still resulted in a very competitive game.

Nice write up!

Nice analysis. For my money it sounds like SoG is more interesting. 😀

One thing I forgot to mention about charges
In WFB and W&C it isn't all that unusual for a charge and subsequent melee to only last one turn. W&C does have one cool rule, kind of a momentum thing. If you win a combat, but the enemy passes its morale check, it will count as an extra combat bonus point during the subsequent combat round. If the enemy only fails by one or two points, in some circumstances, the enemy will not route, but you will get two bonus points in the next round.
In some ways, it is quite different with SoG. There isn't a combat phase, it all depends when you play the charge card, so it could be at any time during the seven phases of the turn. But I have discovered that the timing is critical. You don't want to play it too early.
Here's why. A unit only breaks when it suffers more disorder points than it has stands. A unit cannot cause more casualties than it has stands (and usually doesn't). So it is difficult to break a unit in one turn. This is especially true because the defender has the ability to remove disorder points. Make your charge too early in the turn, and your enemy may be able to remove all of his disorder points before the end of the turn.
Wait too late and you may end up with other priorities and not be able to make the charge at all.
Add a whole new level to the game.